Comparing Online Casinos: Avoiding The Hype

If you are like most people, it can be tough to go through all the different casinos the internet has to offer and separate the wheat from the chaff. Everywhere you look casinos are offering to throw massive bonuses your way and of course nobody wants to tell you they have had trouble paying out winnings. Even though it can be hard to get to the truth, signing up at an online casino can actually be something of a commitment, and as such it deserves a healthy dose of research and investigation. Don’t get tangled up in an unreliable or rogue casino, pick the right online casino the first time.

The Truth about Welcome Bonuses

Before anything else you will probably notice the generous bonuses that the casinos are all too happy to extend your way. Seems like a sweet deal right, money free for the taking? Not exactly. Before you get your hopes up for any given bonus, you should check it out to see if it even applies to you. If you are primarily an online craps player, or you only hit the roulette tables, most of the advertised bonuses will do you more harm than good. Most bonuses can only be used in the slots, but there are exceptions of course. Even if you know you can use your bonus, you need to understand that it is not free money. Online casino bonuses carry strict requirements known as “wagering minimums” that force you to make a total amount of bets equal to ten to twenty times the sum of your bonus and your first deposit. For example, let’s say you made a $500 deposit and the casino matched that with a $500 bonus with a wagering minimum of 15x . You need to wager $15,000 to meet this requirement (500+500=1,000 x 15 = 15,000). As with anything though you really need to read the fine print (terms and conditions) to make sure you understand what you are going revieve, and what you are obligated to do.

Take a Look Under the Hood

The two most important things to look for in an online casino are: reputation and software. These two factors make up the foundation of any casino. To learn about the reputation of a casino you really have to look around for unbiased opinions. This means read at least a handful of reviews and make sure they have a reliable track record. To evaluate the software, you really want to make sure a major company is providing it. Some of the biggest casino software companies are Playtech, Microgaming, and Real Time Gaming (RTG). The software that is being used in an online casino controls everything, and has the single biggest influence on your experience. All the graphics you see, the color scheme, the speed of play, and of course the stability of the program are all dictated by the software package being used; even the fairness of the casino is determined by the random-number generator that is built into the software.

There are a handful of other factors that affect which online casino is right for you, but the first step is to narrow down the choices to casinos that have a good foundation. Once you have a small list of solid casinos you can go through the selling points and decide which one best meets your needs.

Things to remember:
- Focus on the software and reputation of an online casino before considering welcome bonuses and comp programs.
- Pick a reliable casino the first time. In the long run it is well worth the effort.