Getting started with the online casinos

Getting started with the online casinos While the online casinos quickly established themselves as the leading form of internet gambling, lots of people are understandably having troubles understanding how the online casino works and how to get started. We have created this quick and basic guide to get you started with the online casinos, aimed mostly at those with very little overall internet experience. If you have been browsing the internet for a while, getting started with an online casino is rather easy, although we still recommend to select an online casino from our best online casinos list, on order to avoid the many bad apples in this industry. Here are some of the most often asked questions when getting started with the online casinos and the brief answers.

Which online casino to choose? – Naturally, this should be the first step in your new endeavor. Again, we must advise you to select only a casino which is listed on our approved casinos page here. There are literally thousands of online casinos these days and a large chunk of them should be avoided at all cost. Believe it or not, it's much easier to find out which are the good casinos than trying to list the bad ones. The internet casinos we have recommended are not only some of the best in the last decade, almost all of them are country-neutral, i.e. the don't limit players based on country of residence. A big plus when we have so many international visitors from all over the world and when most casinos in general disallow players from certain countries.

Comparing bonuses Should I choose the casino with the biggest bonus? - The answer to this question is a bit more complicated than it would first appear. Now that we have established that the safest way to gamble online is to patronize online casinos on our approved list, the question of the bonus arises, since it will be the first thing you see when you visit the casino's website.
Our recommendation is to indeed take advantage of the biggest bonus you can find, the issue here is defining “biggest”. There are two types of presenting the casino bonus, yet only one actual way to get it. Let's elaborate further to clear the fog I can see forming in your head.
The online casinos use two ways to advertise their bonus offers: the first way is to simply state a dollar amount, for example “get $500 free on your first deposit” and the second way is as a percentage of your deposit, example being “receive 100% match on your first deposit”. While the first option may sound as this bigger one, it's not guaranteed to be the case. What the casinos mean when they say “$500 free” often is that the player could take advantage of a bonus worth up to $500, but the exact amount will be almost always based on a percentage of your first deposit. The bonus may be based on only 50% match, in other words you have to deposit $1,000 to qualify for the $500 free, whereas with the second offer – only $500 deposit would double your bankroll. Rule of thumb is to always look for the actual percentage of the bonus and do the math. You can find the bonus terms and conditions on the promotional page of the particular online casino.

Can I just deposit, get the free bonus and then withdraw the money? - To anyone with online gambling experience this question may seem amusing, but you'd be surprised how many newbies ask it. And it's perfectly understandable – people hear that the online casinos will give you free money once you deposit and it's only natural to come up with the “scheme” of withdrawing your money and bonus as soon as you get it. Sorry to burst any bubbles, but the casinos had thought about a contingency a long time ago – the playthrough requirement. Every bonus the customer chooses to use has terms and conditions, the most important being the “playthrough”. What this means is that before one can withdraw the bonus and winning, a certain amount of casino chips must be wagered first. This is often shown as “X times Bonus”, where X is a number the online casino feels fair. For example, the casino you've chosen may have 3 times bonus wagering requirement, before the customers can withdraw a first-time bonus. If we say you took a bonus worth $100, before you can withdraw you must make wagers worth $300 (3x$100). Keep in mind that this is just wagering requirement, i.e. a turnover of certain amount must be completed and not a loss. Still, it's better to always check the bonus terms before deciding to take advantage of one.

Is my money safe at the online casino? - That would depend on the online casino. If you have followed our advice and selected on of the casinos on our recommended list, then YES, your money is safe. If you won them fair and square you will get your winnings paid, no issues here. The again, if you just went to Google to look for a casino and chose the one with the best sounding name – it's anyone's guess what could happen to your money, personal and financial information. On the other side, all the web casinos we have listed have been around for many years, most of them for well over a decade and will continue in the future, with great customer service and safe personal data.

How do you put money into your online casino account? - Each casino has its own list of depositing (and for that matter, withdrawal) options. You can find those under the casino's “Cashier” or “Banking” page of their website. Some payment option s will not be available in some countries, others would. Overall there are always some easy way of depositing, e-wallets being the “new thing”. Customers can open an account with the e-wallet, put money in it and then use it to fund their casino account. With he most popular e-wallets, customers can put money in not just one but many online casinos, making them an easy and very convenient way to deal with financial transactions on the internet.

How do you get the money out of the casino? - The most common options for withdrawing your winnings from the online casinos include ewallet, i.e. the casino will simply send your winnings back to the ewallet you used to purchase chips, bank transfer or the casino will simply mail you a check. Just like with the depositing options, withdrawal options vary by casino and one should check with the casino cashier for the available options.

Why some online casinos have the same games? - There are only a few major software developers creating and maintaining online gambling software, which in turn is licensed to the online casinos. That's why it would not be a surprise when two casinos offer nearly identical list of games. Even in the offline casino world, the local casinos source their slot machines from a handful of manufacturers and two casinos in a state could have very similar slots, often even identical. If you want to see whether a new casino will have the same games as your old one all you have to do is compare the software the casinos are using. If the software is the same, chances are most of the games will be the same. But always remember that just because two casinos may use the same software developer - it doesn't make them equal. More depositing and withdrawal options, faster payments, good customer service, higher payouts, etc. Are all major factors for choosing an online casino. The games are just one small aspect of the equitation.

Can you really win at the online casinos? - The simple answer is “yes”. Many people win large amounts daily and people all over the world have become instant millionaires thanks to the progressive jackpots the online casinos offer.

Got more questions on getting started with the online casinos? Send us an email at news@ogpaper.com

Published on 05/05/2013