As the number of people who visit online casinos continue to grow, we thought we’d write an article to help you chose the best and the safest casino to play out.

There are five key areas that all new players should do some research in to before making their first deposit with an online casino. Those five areas are as follows:

Reputation:
Arguably the most important factor out there, a casino’s reputation encompasses all the industry’s opinion of the casino since it launched. All the flashiest graphics and the smoothest animations will be completely useless to you if the casino is run by poor management.

Therefore, have a look in to how long the casino has been running for. Everyone has their own rules, but generally speaking, if a casino hasn’t been running for 18 months, I’ll be wary of depositing. There are of course exceptions but I’m not prepared to lose my money if a casino goes bust within its first year of operation.

Support:
It’s very important that if you have any questions while you’re playing, you get them answered immediately. Therefore, make sure that any casino you’re thinking of signing up with houses a 24/7 support team. Ideally, that support team should be reached by methods other than just an email address and most casinos will now offer a Live Chat feature of toll free phone numbers that players can ring in order to get an immediate answer to their queries.

Withdrawal Methods:
Before you make any sort of deposit, make sure that you are able to cash out nice and easily. If you’re in the US, make sure that a casino’s withdrawal methods are satisfactory. Some of them may have problems, so you’ll want to check that the casino can send you any winnings via bank wire or cheque.

There’s nothing worse than hitting a huge jackpot and then realizing you can’t get your hands on the cash.

Choice of games:
What kind of casino player are you? Do you prefer playing the slots? Or would you rather sit down at a table and get involved in the action there? Either way, make sure that the casino you’re signing up to has a good range of the games you want to play.

For example, if you’re a roulette player then you’ll probably want to make sure that European Roulette is on offer, as that will offer you better value for your bet.

Most casinos will have a list of games on their website, so you shouldn’t need to register to find out what’s on offer.

Bonus Terms:
Due to the size of cash on offer, the terms and conditions associated to casino bonuses are very strict. Players should realise that these bonuses are very different to those that they may find when signing up to a poker room.

Players are generally asked to wager through their initial deposit and the value of their impending bonus twenty or thirty times. What’s more, the player isn’t usually allowed to wager on those games which have a high house edge (blackjack, roulette and baccarat for example) in order to earn their bonus.

This can come as a bit of a surprise to new players, so be sure to check the requirements of any casino bonus and if anything doesn’t appeal to you, make sure you contact the casino’s customer support to opt out of their bonus scheme before you make any deposit.

Playing in a casino is hugely entertaining – just make sure you follow these five steps to ensure that you find a good, reliable casino to entrust your money to for years to come.

See you at the tables!