Getting Started in Online Gambling

So you fancy a flutter online, but you have a few concerns right? That’s perfectly understandable, particularly with the huge choice of online casinos and gambling sites out there. You may also have a few concerns about the safety of your personal information and credit card details. Again that’s perfectly understandable, particularly with some of the scare stories in the press about internet fraudsters. Hopefully then, this article will help to allay some of your concerns and help you get started in this fun and profitable pastime.

Is it Safe?

This is probably the most common concern expressed by potential online gamblers. The answer is most definitely yes, provided you choose a reputable and established online gambling site. Look for software provided by one of the major casino software providers such as Microgaming, RTG (RealTimeGaming), Playtech, Boss Media, Cryptologic/Wagerlogic, Parlay Entertainment, iGlobal Media, Grand Virtual and Wagerworks. These software providers rigorously test their software to ensure that it is safe and hack proof, and ensure that your personal information is rigorously encrypted and safe. Any banking information is inputted over a secure connection, meaning a hacker will never be able to access your data. Because of the rigorous security measures in place, entering your banking information is just as safe as banking online with your normal bank. There are also several other excellent casinos who are not powered by the above software, but who are equally trustworthy. Look for a secure connection when entering personal information, this may be denoted by a little padlock icon in the corner of your screen, if you are in a normal browser window a secure connection url will show up as https: the s denotes that the connection is secure.

I don’t want a casino to know my credit card info, are there any other ways to make a deposit?
Yes there are many other ways other than credit card to make a deposit. One of the most popular is Neteller – http://www.neteller.com which is an online wallet specially designed for online gambling. When you sign up for a neteller account, you receive an account number, a secure Id and a password. The secure ID acts like a pin number, you will not be able to use your account without it. You can deposit funds in your neteller account by credit card, debit card or bank transfer and you can withdraw your funds via a special free debit card issued by neteller. Thus you can not only deposit at casinos but also withdraw your funds. There are many other ways to make deposits without using a credit card, Paypark, Click2Pay, Ecocard, Moneybookers, Ukash, to name a few. You can find more about casino deposit methods here

How do I withdraw my winnings?

Your winnings can be paid via many methods depending on the particular casino – you can choose which you prefer. One of the fastest is via Neteller, which if you sign up for the free neteller debit card then you can withdraw your winnings instantly.

So Is It Necessary to have one of these Neteller accounts?

No not at all, there are many other ways to make deposits and receive your winnings.

I have Paypal can I use that?
In the UK and parts of Europe you can use paypal to play at online casinos. Find a list of paypal casinos here

How do I actually sign up at a casino?
There are two types of casino – browser based or flash, and download software. The downloadable versions tend to have the best graphics and variety of games, they are generally about a 5mb download, and then you download whichever games you wish to play. If disk space is limited or if you don’t want software permanently installed on your PC then you can choose an instant casino or flash version. Many casinos let you choose between downloadable and instant play versions.

But I’ve never played at a casino before I don’t understand some of the games.
All casinos have a built in help file which show you the rules and how to play the game. In some casinos you can actually set the auto play button to play the game for you ensuring you play to perfect strategy. Also you can play the game for fun before you start to play for real money so you can learn how to play without risking your cash

How do I know the games are fair?

If a casino has been around a while the chances are its games are fair – after all it wouldn’t stay in business very long otherwise!! All the big software manufacturers rigorously test their software for randomness and fairness and many publish their payout percentages on their sites. These are usually audited by external auditors, so you can be assured that these are accurate. In addition you can request play logs, these are provided for you automatically on Microgaming and Playtech casinos, so you can check your hand history and winnings/losses.

But I’m worried I will get addicted
The vast majority of people who play online play recreationally and never develop a problem, but for a few people gambling may become an addiction. This has often spurred vehemous attempts by anti gambling campaigners to ban online casinos. However to put things into perspective, more people abuse alcohol than gambling yet no-one is campaigned to get alcohol banned. Like anything, if you play sensibly, know your limits and never spend more than you can afford, then gambling shouldn’t become a problem. If you or someone you know has a problem, please seek help from agencies such as gamblers anonymous

I see a lot of casinos offering bonuses and special offers – how do I know if im getting a good deal?

Like any industry, the casino industry is competitive and in order to compete, many casinos offer special offers and bonuses. It can be confusing for the new player to navigate their way around these offers – and of course there is no obligation on the part of the player to accept these bonuses – if there are added automatically when you make a deposit you can always request that any bonus is removed from your account before you begin to play. However many players like bonuses as they give them a bit extra value for their money, although you should be aware that there are always terms and conditions attached to bonus monies. Always check the rules regarding the bonus on the casino website before you play, if necessary take a screen shot by pressing CTRL + PRTSC, so you can refer to them later. There are two different types of bonuses – no deposit bonuses which require no purchase to be made and deposit bonuses which are depending on your making a purchase at the casino. These may be in the form of a percentage of your deposit, or a fixed sum, and may be sticky or not – a sticky bonus stays in your account and cannot be withdrawn although you can withdraw your winnings from it. No deposit bonuses are the casinos way of giving out free samples – kind of like a try before you buy, but because these are costly for the casinos you will find many restrictions regarding games you can play and how much you can cashout from them.