Playing for Real Money at an Online Casino

When you’re first stepping into the world of online gaming, it’s best to take your time to get used to how everything works. Even after you’ve signed up and made your first deposit, you shouldn’t rush into playing anything. If you get the opportunity to try out a few of the demos of the games on the site, you should. It will help you to understand how they are structured, and it will also give you the chance to see which ones appeal to you. At some point, however, you’ll want to engage in a bit of real money play, and to see if you can win some actual cash.

What Should You Consider Before You Play for Real?

Before you place any real bets, you need to know that you’re fully protected while you’re playing online. In many cases, you won’t have access to all of the facilities on the casino website until after you’ve signed up, and so it’s at this point that you can take a moment to see exactly what you are being offered. The majority of the venues are reputable companies, but it’s still wise to make a few final checks before you part with any of your money.

Recommended Online Casinos

Playing Through The Welcome Bonus

If you have signed up to any of the online promotions, this is one of the first areas you should look at. Most casinos have a welcome bonus on offer for their new customers, and you’ll probably have accepted this when you first joined. The key thing to bear in mind here is that you need to check what playthrough requirements are attached to this promotion. When you’re placing bets with real money, it’s best to be certain that the games are actually contributing to the wagering conditions. If you don’t verify this, you could be wasting a whole load of cash unnecessarily.

Checking the Terms of the High Roller Bonus

Some of the USA online casinos offer larger welcome bonuses for members who are depositing bigger sums of money. If you have taken advantage of one of these promotions, be sure that you’ve read the small print carefully, so that you know the terms and conditions attached to the deal. In some cases, you will need to have added your funds to your account within a specified time frame. This is set as a relatively short period on certain sites, but as long as you’re aware of the expiry date, it won’t be a real issue.

Making Sure Your Information Is Protected

For most players, this is the area that they most want to have confidence in. Fortunately, it’s relatively simple to verify the authenticity of the site before you part with any real money. Most casinos use some kind of encryption during financial transactions. Whenever you’re using any of the online banking facilities, look for the padlock symbol in the browser bar. This verifies that you are using a secure connection, and that your information is being encrypted as it is transferred. As long as you’ve verified this, you will be able to add your funds and play your games without having any concerns about your personal security.

Adding Funds to Your Account

Once you’ve ensured that you’re using a legitimate site, your next step is to see which method is the best one for you to add some cash to your account. The majority of the casinos will accept the major credit and debit cards, which are, on the whole, perfectly safe to use. Many players prefer the anonymity of an e-wallet. This ensures that no financial information is shared with the venue, and that there is a third party involved in any of the real money transactions. There are also pre-paid options and vouchers available on some websites, and these will also give you a degree of protection while you play.

Faster Payouts for Your Winnings!

If you haven’t already checked, you should see which withdrawal methods are on offer to you before you play with any real cash. If you do win some serious money during your game, you’ll want to be able to get your hands on it pretty fast. Ensure that there is a banking option that’s suitable for you. The best online casinos will allow you to use a wide variety of payment methods to withdraw your winnings. These could include major credit and debit cards, e-wallets, bank or even a wire transfer. All the methods will be safe and secure, but you should check the costs and the time period associated with each one.

Participating in the Big Jackpot Games

All of the top casinos have separate sections on their sites for the jackpot games. This is your chance to make some real money while you’re playing online, but you will need to keep to a few guidelines during your play. Make sure that you are using the bet max option at all times. If you don’t, you could find that you aren’t entitled to the big cash prize. The other piece of advice is to stick to your own budget. It’s easy to be tempted by the large sums on offer, but as long as you only use your disposable funds for your gaming, you’ll be fine.

It is Possible to Win!

You might not become a millionaire over night, but it’s certainly possible to win some tidy little sums while you’re playing online. Mega Moolah is one of the progressive slots, and is a good example of the kinds of numbers that can be won at the casinos. One lucky player bagged a prize of over $1 dollars in November 2017, and the previous jackpot had been paid out just a few weeks before that at a mind-boggling 3.9 million dollars. Now that’s real money!

Finding Out About the Loyalty Clubs

Once you move from playing the fun versions of the games to placing bets with real money, you should check out the facilities on offer for the members. At some of the online casinos, you’ll be automatically enrolled into the loyalty programs, but at others, you will have to play for a while and accumulate some points before you are allowed to become a member. These schemes can be lucrative in terms of bonuses and prizes, so it’s worth checking how they are structured, and then working your way up through the ranks.

Accessing the VIP Clubs

In a few of the casinos, you can only ever become a member of the most prestigious club if you are invited to join. However, at many of the other online establishments, your membership is linked to how often you play for real money. For every game you place bets in, you’ll get points, and the more of these that you collect, the closer to being a member you’ll get. There are countless benefits to being a VIP member, with an array of special incentives and rewards on offer. You will even have access to your own dedicated customer care team on some sites.

Using The Mobile Sites

You can access most of the online casinos on a wide range of mobile devices. This can either be a native app or via an in-browser version. The good thing about this is that you’ll have the freedom to participate in one of your games from any location. There are, however, a few precautions that you should take if you’re playing with real money while you’re out and about. Never store your passwords or any of your personal details, and always log out when you’ve finished your session. It’s best to activate the screen lock too, as this will protect you should your phone or iPad be stolen or lost.

Checking the Venue is Licensed

Before you spend any real money, you’ll need to be sure that you’re playing at an authentic online casino. Fortunately, this should be easy to verify. The genuine websites will openly display this information, and you’ll usually find this at the bottom of the home page. The regulations vary from country to country, but there are some industry standards that you can rely on. The European jurisdictions tend to be higher, so if an establishment holds its license in Malta, Gibraltar, Alderney, or the Isle of Man, you can be certain that it has been some stringent checks. The other licensing body to look out for is Kahnawake. This gambling commission is located in Quebec, and regulates many of the non-European establishments.

What the Regulators Check

The top online sites have already undergone a series of checks by regulators to ensure that they are providing a proper service to their members, and further audits are carried out at regular intervals. These verifications include checking the credentials of the casino owners, as well as analyzing the software and the games to be sure that the fair play policies are being followed. The regulators also ensure that there are suitable banking facilities in place, so when you are playing for real money at a licensed establishment, you can be certain that your wins will be honored.

Verifying Fair Play

The competition is fierce at the online casinos, and so it really isn’t in their interest to behave improperly. In addition to following the licensing terms set out by the authorities, a fair number of them opt to join one of the independent regulatory bodies. There are two leading companies in this field. The first is ECogra, which mainly focuses on player protection. The company has policy objectives in areas such as prompt payouts, customer privacy, and the safeguarding of information. The second is iTech Labs, which tests and certifies the software. To verify the fairness of the products on offer, the lab audits the return to player rate (RTP), and the real number generators (RNGs) that are used for the money games.

What about the House Edge?

It’s a simple fact that the odds are always favorable to the casino. The online sites have a built-in advantage, which might seem a little unfair at first. In reality though, this is usually just a few percent on each bet. Each category has its own percentage. For example, blackjack tends to be around 0.5%, whilst Keno can be more than 25%. It’s useful to have a look at these statistics before you place any real money on the table, as your chances of winning are increased when the game has a smaller house edge.

Understanding the Payout Percentage

When you’re playing at an online casino, it’s good to have a closer look at the payouts. These are determined by a comparison of the number of real money bets and the amount of winnings. The top sites will have this information readily available, and you should be able to find out the percentages for each individual game. An example would be that if the rate is 95%, for every $100 that is wagered, $95 is returned to the players. A quick look at these figures might help you to decide on the best gaming options for you.

Dealing with the Customer Care Team

If you have any issues while you’re playing online, your first port of call should be the customer support team. They will be able to assist you with any problems you may encounter, whether it’s to do with your account or if it’s just a general inquiry. It’s useful to keep a note of the casino’s phone number to hand, especially if they don’t have an instant chat facility available. That way, you can quickly contact them, should the need arise.

To Sum Everything Up!

It’s perfectly okay to participate in some of the real money games. In order to stay safe, you simply need to follow a few precautionary procedures, and then you’ll be able to take part without having any stress or hassle. If you’re new to online gaming, the advice is to start slowly. Limit both your playing time and your funds until you have grown a little in confidence. You’ll then be ready to hit the casino floor full-on, and hopefully, you can net one of the big wins!