Writing a casino review is not something you just do. This requires a lot of knowledge and experience. Fortunately, we have been involved in the online casino world for a while. So we have a lot of experience with online gambling. This means we know what we are talking about when we review a casino. But how do we rate casinos? We explain it for you here so that you know where you stand.
How Do We Rate Online Casinos?
The best way to judge an online casino is to play there yourself. If you haven’t played it yourself, you can’t judge it. We first create a new account to see exactly how this process works. It is not easy to register yourself in every online casino. We also take this into account when writing a review.
Reliability of the Casino
An important point that we check as standard is reliability. As a player you should be able to gamble and deposit money somewhere safely. If this is not possible, it will be ready for us quite quickly. We will write our review, but we strongly advise you not to gamble there. We are always completely honest in this regard. This means that you as a player know exactly where you stand.
Player Friendliness
Player friendliness involves more than just depositing and withdrawing. That is why this aspect also counts for 23 percent.
The inactivity fee is not player friendly. Some casinos charge these costs if you still have money in your account, but do not play with it for a certain period of time.
An inactivity fee applies if costs are charged at any time if an account is not used for a certain period. It does not matter how high these costs are and how long this period is.
Casinos with a Maltese license in particular often charge an inactivity fee. The UKGC has already asked its Maltese colleagues to reconsider this inactivity fee. Without results, by the way.
In the UK, charging an inactivity fee is prohibited. Online casinos with a license from the UKGC therefore score a 1.00 on this component.
Sports Betting
The more complete a casino’s offering, the better it is for a player. You can then play online casino games and place online sports bets with one account.
When you bet via a betting exchange, you do not bet against the bookmaker, but against other players. A betting exchange is a kind of marketplace for gamblers. You can bet on a specific outcome of the match, buy (‘back’) and sell (‘lay’). The prices are determined based on supply and demand with a (small) margin for the bookmaker. An example of a betting exchange is Betfair. A betting exchange has a small advantage over traditional bookmakers, and therefore produces a slightly higher score.
Poker
Poker is a different game than most casino games, because you don’t play against the house but against each other. The best poker sites in the world have their own network and do not operate on someone else’s network. If an online poker room has its own network, it can solve problems faster, it has more control over the offering, and the software is usually better developed.
An example of a private network is the networks of GGPoker and PokerStars . An example of a skin on a network is poker at Holland Casino Online and bet365. Those are skins on Playtech ‘s iPoker network .
Bingo
Bingo is a fun game where you play with many people at the same time. Not all online casinos offer Bingo. Those online casinos that do offer bingo have an advantage over sites that do not. By bingo we mean that form of the game where you play against other users. Automated variants of bingo do not count in this assessment.
Live Casino
An essential part of an online casino is the live casino. Here you do not play automatically, but against live dealers and you watch via a live stream. The live casino is on the rise and therefore counts relatively heavily in the assessment of a casino.
The language spoken at the live casino gaming tables is also important. After all, most British online gamblers prefer to play at a table with British-speaking live dealers than at a gaming table where English is spoken.
By an exclusive gaming table we mean gaming tables that are designed exclusively for a specific casino. You will notice this from the logo on the tables. If an online casino has exclusive live casino tables, it means that they really focus on that part. This results in a slightly higher score.
Maximum Bet Per Spin
The fewer restrictions, the more attractive a bonus is. One of the restrictions that often applies to wagering a bonus is the maximum bet you can play per spin.
Casinos do this because the higher the bet per spin, the higher the prizes you can win. After all, prices on online slots are based on your bet.
For example: you get a bonus of €100 via a 100% casino bonus up to €100. You have to wager this 30 times, which means a total wagered amount of €3,000.
You win 500 times your stake on the Book of Ra slot. With a bet of € 1 that is € 500. You have a total of € 3,000 to play, so there is a chance that you will lose this € 500 or at least part of it.
Suppose you played with €100 per spin. Then you win €50,000. You ‘only’ have to wager €3,000, so the casino must pay out €47,000 to a sensible gambler.
Some casinos do not have a fixed maximum bet per spin, but a percentage of the bonus received.
Responsible gaming
Gambling is a fun pastime for most players with the chance to win nice amounts of money. Of course it has to remain a game. That is why it is important that you can set limits to control your gaming behavior, close your account if you feel necessary, and that the casino itself also keeps an eye on things.
These matters are all mandatory under British law. Online casinos with a license from the UKGC therefore automatically receive a ten on this section. Online casinos without a license in the UK cannot be connected to GamStop and therefore by definition receive a lower score.
