There are many forms of gambling in the world and depending on your local legislation you may be able to bet on horse racing, boxing, state lotteries, slot machines, card games or various sporting events. People bet on election results, the Oscars and all manner of things.
Gambling has been around thousands of years and can be traced back to ancient China and India where the Kings themselves would bet precious items in a dice game. Modern gambling is somewhat different and can involve bitcoins, online betting and even Virtual Reality casinos.
There is so much choice out there in fact that it can be hard to pick through the wheat and the chaff. That is where reviews on platforms such as Google and Facebook can help you to find a trusted casino.Â
Why should you read reviews on Google and other online sources?
In the past people would either rely on word of mouth from friends or colleagues or try pot luck. You might have put your faith in a famous brand name but before the internet there were only magazines like Which? and consumer affairs programmes to watch and try to get advice from. Now though anyone can review something they have purchased or a restaurant they have visited. There are reviews online for movies, cafes, bars, cars, beer, cheeses, markets, hotels, sausages, computers and, well, basically anything you can possibly think of. The internet has turned everyone into a critic. At least it feels that way sometimes.
Being able to write about good or bad experiences can help other consumers from making mistakes but it does also leave the door open for trolls and petty, spiteful reviews from possibly entitled reviewers.
However by reading a selection of reviews over a reasonable time period and from perhaps more than one source you should be able to build a picture of how good or bad a product really is.Â
Why read reviews for online casinos though?
If you visit a real casino you will take into account various things before visiting. The distance, the costs involved. Is there a dress code and what games do they have? These are just a few things you may want to check out.
In an online casino though you have none of these issues. You aren’t logging in to soak up the atmosphere and ambience of the gaming room, you won’t be ordering any cocktails from a server (unless you have a very kind room mate or partner) and you don’t have to worry about travel in the slightest. You might want to know if it has your favourite games like blazing star, craps or blackjack but that’s about it. So why the need for reading reviews?
Simple. You are about to hand over your photo ID, proof of address and some financial details such as your debit card number, expiry date and CVV code. Would you just hand that to someone in the street without knowing who they were? Doubtful at best.
What should you look for in reviews for casinos?
Firstly take a time range. Say the last six months or even just the last quarter, just to get an idea of good and bad reviews. You should be able to spot fake ones quite easily and companies such as Google are good at weeding these out and deleting. A professional online casino should have no need of fake reviews anyway.
Once you have your section of reviews look for similarities in the quotes, these may be fake. Readi through the reviews and try to judge them on their merit. If there is a bad review does it sound like a legitimate complaint or someone venting because they lost? Also very important is to read the replies.Â
Customer service is important too
The replies to reviews, both good and bad can tell you a lot about how the online casino respects its customers. If they take time to say thanks to good reviews and address bad reviews then you can have some faith that the company involved cares somewhat about it’s players.Â
What about other online sources?
It isn’t just reviews that you need to consider though. If you are about to sign up to a large brand name you probably don’t have to worry about being fleeced. In fact you can probably trust most smaller casinos too but a google search of the company and the casino name might bring up some interesting information. What you don’t want to see is reports of the company behind the casino being fined for any wrongdoings.Â
Free bets and loyalty bonuses
Everyone loves something free, but if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. This old saying is still true today. Most of the online casinos and other popular games like bingo will offer a new player some sort of incentive to register. This might come in the form of a free bet, free bingo cards or cash to match your first deposit. Although the T’s and C’s are there on the website they aren’t always that clear on what you will receive and how you can claim those potential future winnings.
Google search and look at some of the many gambling forums to see if anyone has had a bad experience with getting paid out on these sign up bonuses or free bets. Better to choose a reputable website with a smaller ‘sign up bonus’ than to win $50 for nothing and find you can only cash it out once you have played $200 of your own money.Â
Bitcoin casinos
Be wary of bitcoin only casinos and check out reviews and even Google the licensing on the company as bitcoin casinos are still very unregulated leading to quite a few fly by night operations taking advantage of unaware gamblers.Â
Technology
One last reason to check the review is to make sure your hardware runs smoothly with no problems. Most smartphones can run apps like book of dead slots or other online games as websites are optimised to run on most devices. If you have a small screen or older phone then search for good slot or card games to download for older phones.
Whatever and wherever you choose to play online check out the casino or app first and play safely.
