Shopping for any new service can be an arduous task. When it’s a service or platform that handles all of your financial and personal data, as well as withdrawals and deposits, it’s strongly advised that you do your research and shop around.
This might sound like sage advice, but if you do not know where to begin, it may as well go in one ear and out the other. Our first port of call is the world of marketing, promotions, bonuses, free spins and how to navigate the market to find the best options.
The power of promotions and bonuses
You’d have to search far and wide to find a casino that offers no bonus or promotion to new customers. The art is in finding those that offer more on their profile, whether free spins, an extra bit of credit or a matched deposit – specific criteria that stand out in any promotion. If you know what to look for, you can understand the market better.
Due to the global nature of online casinos, marketing companies are competing against the brightest minds worldwide. Prior to the advent of the internet, they only really had to worry about local or national competition, as regional laws made it challenging for platforms to offer their services in a multitude of countries. The internet transformed all that.
It meant free cash and spins for Irish players and online casinos catering to the Irish markets, as well as the international markets. Sure, the Irish market was slightly late in joining this global surge. Still, our point is that marketing companies are now targeting millions of people all over the world, rather than a regional market, which means that only the best bonuses truly stand out. Here are some of the key characteristics to look out for:
Wagering requirements
This is how much you need to play through before you can cash your bonus. Generally speaking, this will be between 20x and 40x. Anything over this is regarded as high, and a £10 deposit for this type of bonus could mean winning and then playing through up to £500 in cumulative spins before you can cash your winnings, so it’s an important figure to be aware of.
Available games
Some bonuses may have no wagering requirements but they’ll usually have other conditions, such as only allowing you to play on one or two particular games with the bonus. If you miss this in the T&Cs, then you could play and win on a game that’s excluded from the bonus, and you won’t be able to cash out.
However, this applies generally, too; even if you don’t register for a bonus, the number of available games on a platform can be a prominent factor dictating how many people check it out.
Max cashout
Bonuses will be capped at a specific max cashout. So, if you win big with your bonus and you net a £500 win, a max cashout of £100 means you can only claim the £100 and then you have to use the additional £400 as betting credits on the site. Not ideal, perhaps slightly misleading, but this is why it pays to scour the terms and conditions before registering for a bonus.
Sure, casinos take a small financial hit to put themselves in the shop window, but they also want their pound of flesh, and how they obtain it is often buried in the terms and conditions. They are businesses, after all.
Online reputation and site security
If you take to social media to see what people have to say about a casino, then you’re not going to find any with a perfect score. You can find several hilarious and frankly unhinged reviews of some of the world’s biggest platforms, but it doesn’t mean they don’t have a highly-rated set of gaming options.
Such reviews usually mean that people have lost and they’re taking their frustrations out via Instagram or X. Online reputation management continues to be a huge talking point in the world of digital media. Still, the best way to get an idea of whether an online casino has a decent reputation is to take in several comments on social media, check some expert reviews, and see if there are any negative news stories about the platform on digital news outlets.
Negative press usually ties into a cyberattack or a security breach, and while a breach doesn’t always mean a site is untrustworthy, be sure to look for the correct licensure that applies to your country or region. While casino safety issues might not be the top headline on national news, doing your research and finding out how secure a site is hugely important.
Gaming preference
Find the game you most like the look of, learn the rules and check out a few demo games, and then look for a site that caters to your preferences. Responsible gambling is vital, and you can only do this from a foundation and basis of understanding how casino gaming works, how vital it is to manage your time and monetary limits, and only gambling with money you can afford to lose.
If you feel like you are losing control or can’t operate within the restrictions you set, then problem gambling charities can assist.
Gaming preference also refers to the type of device you use to play your casino games. If you’re a smartphone gamer who prefers mobile apps and playing on the move, then specific platforms have a range of bonuses and promotions to incentivise this. If you prefer to play on a tablet, game designers – especially in slot gaming – look to design games specifically for this type of device. There are also poker-only sites, those that focus solely on slots, and others that only want to capture a live table gaming audience. With such a plethora of options out there, it pays to shop around.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, start by understanding how games work, the fabric of casino gaming and the importance of responsible gambling. Once you have this knowledge, you can examine the quality of bonuses and promotions, which can offer a more cost-effective way to play.
Also explore the size of the gaming library, your gaming preferences and the brand’s reputation. Check out what people say on forums about the casino, and settle on a site that ticks all the boxes but also matches what you enjoy. It might sound like a lot to take in, but once you spend a few hours checking out bonuses and researching sites, this information will all fall into place.
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