A global lockdown and the lack of live sport has seen a big push by gambling businesses to get casual punters to try their online casino offerings.
Anyone who’s been surfing the net more than usual in lockdown (and let’s face it, that’s all of us) will have noticed the increase in digital advertising for online casinos, and this sees to have paid off. In the UK alone, research by the Gambling Commission showed online slots playing in March was up by 25% compared to the same month the previous year. April’s figure is likely to be higher still, given the timetable of the lockdown.
Avoiding a bad casino experience
There are many more first-time casino players than ever before, and even seasoned sports betters are novices when it comes to navigating the murky waters of online casinos.
Online gambling is more heavily regulated in some jurisdictions than in others, and you’re always wiser betting with a company who’s registered and regulated by one of the reputable gaming authorities. The UK Gambling Commission, Malta Gaming Authority and the Gibraltar Gambling Commission are among the most respected.
Regulated online casinos will not only have to stick to a set of rules and codes of conduct, but also have to verify their financial situation to ensure they can pay out, and they must have a robust complaints procedure. They also have to agree by the regulators’ decisions if complaints are elevated to them.
All this is good, but it doesn’t really tell you about the actual experience of dealing with an online casino.
Casino review and comparison sites
This is where comparison portals come in extremely useful. Sites where the best online casinos are reviewed allow you to check out a casino’s reputation, its customer service offering, and what bonuses or special offers they are currently giving to new players.
Some review sites allow players to post their experiences, and this can be useful – although it’s always worth remembering that happy players rarely post reviews. You might find these sites skew the reviews towards negative experiences.
Some review portals use professional reviewers who write about their experience using the casino. They will tell you everything about their experience in signing up, depositing cash, talking to customer service reps, cashing out, and the choice and quality of games available. They also tend to get fed the latest hot bonus offers and free spins deals by the casinos or their affiliates.
Something for nothing?
But there’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? That’s as true of casino reviews as it is about anything else.
Casino review sites earn money in two ways. The first is from ads on the site – often for casinos or gambling, but not always, thanks to the Google algorithm.
The other way they make money is through affiliate links. This means they earn a small commission if you sign up to an online casino or take advantage of a bonus offer by clicking on the links they publish.
Some people feel that this is a bad idea because it’s not in the site’s best interest to give anyone a bad review. In practice, it rarely works like that. Trust is a key part of a review site’s success, and if punters go to a recommended casino and have a terrible experience, they’ll let everyone know. This will put the review site’s reputation, and therefore their income stream, in jeopardy.