How to choose the right online casino

Choosing an online casino

Here at No Deposit Bonus Club we quite obviously review many many casino’s. But how do we choose which casino’s are worth our time and worth a space on this website? We have many questions we ask ourselves when checking out a new casino release so we thought we’d share those questions with you, our readers. It could help you decide if you’re planning on joining a new casino and also help you be more informed in the future!


⭐ Can you trust the casino?

It’s an important question to ask but perhaps a difficult question to answer. Trust isn’t something that is easily gained and a casino has to do a number of things to make it trustworthy.

✅ What licenses does the casino hold?

A big aspect of a understanding the trustworthiness of an online casino is if it holds a license that allows the casino to operate legally within the country that you’re based. For instance, if you’re based in the UK the UK Gambling Commission has jurisdiction over casino’s promoting within the UK. If you come across a casino offering a bonus to sign up but it doesn’t have the relevant license, walk away. It’s a telling sign of shifty operator that doesn’t do it’s business legally.

✅ Who is the operator?

The operator is the company that manages the casino. This can be confusing to work out sometimes as the operator may not be the license holder and the casino may be hosted on a platform owned by another party. But, it’s worth doing the homework especially as many operators have more than one casino that could be well established…or not. The reviews and quality of existing sister casino’s can give you a good understanding of how much trust the operator has within the industry. For instance, Genesis Gaming are operators of a number of well renowned online casino’s like Casino Cruise, Vegas Hero, Casino Gods, Sloty and more. So when they released Kassu Casino in late 2019 we knew that it would be a trustworthy brand with a good operator sat behind it.

✅ What security measures have the casino implemented?

Security is a huge deal when it comes to anything online. That’s a fact. Over look it and you may unknowingly end up in a situation that hard to get yourself out of. What? Well, on any website, platform or app that you create an account for, that holds personal information you’re at risk of having that information stolen or sold!

When it comes to online casino’s it’s no different, in fact, the risk is even higher. Why? To join an online casino you may have to provide your name, address, date of birth, bank information, identification…pretty much every piece of sensitive information about you is handed over by you. This is gold dust to online criminals. But fear not, it’s not that easy these days provided that the operator has implemented measures that store your information in a way that is inaccessible to hackers and cyber criminals.

Make sure that the casino website uses SSL encryption. The easiest way to figure that out is if the full URL in the website address bar starts with “https”. The “s” on the end is the most important part. You should also notice a lock symbol before the website address. This means that website is secure and stores and moves around data that’s encrypted first, What the heck does encrypted mean? It means the data is scrambled prior to it being transferred and if it’s hacked, is of no use to anyone.

Most modern casino’s are built on platforms that have all of this built in. It’s also a requirement of many licenses from authorities like the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority.

✅ What is their customer support offering?

There may be a time when you need to get in touch with a casino to resolve an issue or even ask a general question. You want to know that there is someone who can assist you and that’s where customer support comes in.

Taking an early look at what customer support options are available is a good way of scoping out how trustworthy a casino is. If they don’t offer good support that has direct contact then it’s alarm bells time. If they offer 24 hour live chat support or a freephone number you can call then you know it’s a casino that is open to contact with players and will be there to resolve any issues you’re experiencing.

✨What features does the casino have?

Features, what are features and what you should you be looking out for? Questions that you should be asking when you arrive at a new casino. Read below to find out exactly what you should be looking for…

✅ How easy is the casino to use?

An online casino is essentially a website. A website is collection of pages that are linked together. Nothing new right? Modern casino’s are generally easy to use because they have conventions that you are used to. Things like a navigation bar, a login link, footer links are all elements that most web users are used to. Older casino’s that haven’t been updated are just like websites of old. They use strange design patterns that might once have been cool but ultimately cause frustration because they don’t follow conventions that we’re used to.

A good casino is one that you don’t have to learn to use, you can just use it and it instantly feels familiar. Other causes of frustration are when casino’s try to cram too much in the screen at once, it’s not a good idea and doesn’t provide a great user experience. Casino’s like Casumo, Luck Days, PlayLuck and Rizk are all examples of casino’s that get the user experience spot on.

✅ Can I play on mobile devices?

Most players these days enjoy playing casino games on their smartphone. Games are now designed to work great on touch screens and it’s easy to see why there’s appeal. Tapping your screen to spin the reels is quick and easy and just feels like it’s the way it should be. Casino websites have followed suit and now focus on designing their casino websites for mobile first.

We haven’t come across a casino that isn’t adapted for mobile screen sizes for a long time and most modern casino’s do a good job. Most games operate in an instant play format aswell, which means you don’t need to download anything to play, it all happens in your mobile web browser.

mFortune Casino is one of the original mobile casino’s and still operate in the way they did way back when. You download the game to your device and play the installed game. They also offer to play in instant play also so you get the best of both worlds. You’ll see many casino like 888 Casino offer an app that can be installed via your device makers app store but essentially its a website wrapped up in an app. You get a few extras though, for instance an app can save where you left off. So picking up where you last were can be an added bonus.


🎰 What slots and games does the casino have?

There are so many slots being released that’s it’s hard to keep up. Gaming companies are in competition to bring players the ultimate game experience. We won’t go into the different types of games here (that’s another blog post in the making) but different providers are churning out games like there’s no tomorrow right now.

A casino can offer games in a few different ways:

  • Multiple providers – they will offer games from 2 to 30 providers.
  • Single provider – all the games on offer are from one provider.
  • Original games – this is where the casino develops it’s own games that are not available at other casino’s.

The main game providers that you’ll find at a casino are Microgaming, Netent, Big Time Gaming, Merkur Slots, Play N’ Go, Barcrest, Lightning Box Games, Amaya, Evolution Gaming, RT Gaming, Extreme Live Gaming, NYX Gaming, Yggdrasil, NextGen Gaming, Williams Interactive, WMS, GVG and Bally. That’s quite a list right? Well there are many many more providers which each have their own style and features that players love.

NetEnt and Microgaming are the two heavy weights and often casino’s that offer multiple providers will have both. Play N Go is another provider that’s gaining alot of attention thanks to it’s popular Book Of Dead slot. Progress Play is a casino platform that many casino’s are built on and are an example of where you’ll find 25 – 30 providers which amounts to 1000’s of games on offer.

Casino’s like Quatro Casino offer only Microgaming slots so the game selection is limited but focused. In contrast Video Slots casino has dozens of providers and over 2000 games which gives the maximum choice to all players. In contrast to both of those mFortune Casino, Dr Slot and Mr Spin who are owned by UK based InTouch Games develop their own unique and original slots that you won’t find anywhere else.

If you’re a seasoned casino player then you’ll know what you like so may opt for a single provider. If you’re new to the world of slots then it may make sense to join a multi provider casino. If you’re after something completely new then the original game casino’s can cater for you. The good news is there’s plenty of options to suit all needs.


🏆 What bonuses are on offer?

Casino’s offer bonuses to entice players to sign up. Bonuses have changed dramatically over the last couple of years, especially in the UK. From the messaging they use, to the graphics used in advertising. This is mainly down to the UK stopping casino’s using terms like “free” when in the small print they aren’t.

The different types of bonuses offered are generally:

✅ No deposit bonus

A cash bonus added to your account when you register as a new player. This is generally £5 or £10 and almost always will have wagering requirements (see below)

✅ Free Spins No Deposit

Same as above but this time you’ll get free spins upon registration. The spins can be anywhere from 5 – 100 and may or may not have wagering requirements. The value of each spin can also vary so look closely at the terms.

✅ Bonus spins

These are spins that you get when you make a deposit. Again, the amount you get will vary as will the spin value, minimum deposit required and wagering requirements. Spins offered can range from 5 up to 300 spins and even more! Sometimes spins are spread across different days or spread over multiple deposits.

✅ Bonus cash match

The percentage matched will vary (10% up to 400%) as well as the maximum cash matched. Sometimes it’s unlimited but will always have a wagering requirement.

✅ Cashback

A bonus that’s becoming more popular. Some casino’s will offer something like 10% cashback on all losses for ever. Not a bad option if you’re looking to be a regular player.

😧 What are the wagering requirements?

Getting your cash out of a casino after a win is a massive part of your experience. Wagering requirements are set on bonuses and are detailed in the terms and conditions. Fortunately all good, licenses casino’s have to be upfront and show significant terms alongside any bonus advertisement and these will include the wagering requirement.

The wagering requirement is the amount of times you’ll need to play through your winnings before you can cash out, This can be anywhere from 2 times to 100 times (bad and should be avoided unless you don’t expect to cash out and just playing for fun). As an example if a bonus has 10x wagering then if you win £50 you’ll need to play through £500 before you can cash out your £50.

But it’s not all doom and gloom and completely impossible to cash out winnings. Many casino’s offer zero wagering requirements on bonus winnings…hooorah! The winnings will often be capped but at least you’ll be able to cash out without playing through hundreds of pounds of cash before getting your hands on the winnings.

The main point is always read the terms before taking a bonus. That way you’ll avoid disappointment upon getting a cash win!


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