Finding Safe and Fair Online Casinos

We talk to casino review expert Roy Brindley to get an insight. Whether playing for fun or to hone your skills, finding safe and fair online casinos is essential to having a decent online experience. Just doing an internet search can be hit-or-miss, to say the least.

Where you are based in the world determines which kinds of online gaming you can access. While countries like the UK have a well-established national gambling market overseen by the UK Gambling Commission, other countries' markets are much more fragmented.

For example, Canada regulates gambling at the provincial level, and the US is quite a confusing picture for anyone unfamiliar with the market. Despite being home to Las Vegas, the city synonymous with casino gambling, the US restricts online casino gambling to a handful of states.

Fortunately, there is plenty of independent expert help for anyone who feels they need a bit of guidance. We sat down with Online-Casinos.com expert Roy Brindley to talk about how he helps players find the best sites for their needs.

Alexandra Necula: Hi Roy, welcome to Vegas-Aces. Before we get into the specifics, could you let us know a little more about yourself and the site you work for, please?

Roy Brindley: Online-Casinos.com is an international, independent casino review site that offers market-specific information. We have both global and local knowledge and let our readers home in on the specifics of where they are playing from (or want to play from). So, in addition to finding out about your local market on our site, players can also see the options available anywhere in the world.

My background goes back to training greyhounds in the 1990s and then running a magazine about the sport. That gave me contacts in the gambling industry, and from there, I boarded the ‘poker boat’ at the turn of the century and was lucky enough to win a few televised tournaments during the fabled ‘boom years’.

That all led to commentator duties on poker coverage for several TV broadcasters. Since then, I’ve written for several newspapers and broadcasters on the wider gambling picture. It’s been a blast, and right now the gambling space is more exciting than ever. It is evolving so quickly.

Alexandra Necula: What is the process that Online-Casinos.com recommends for players to find fair casinos?

Roy Brindley: Well, the very best thing that players can do is hop onto our pages and follow our recommendations. We provide comprehensive, fact-driven reviews and guides covering software providers, payment methods, games and bonuses. We assess online casinos against our quality criteria to ensure we are comparing like for like.

Alexandra Necula: Is the process the same across all jurisdictions?

Roy Brindley: Broadly speaking, yes. While different rules and laws apply depending on where you are playing from, what makes for a great online casino is consistent. While localisation is key to getting the best player experience, the basics apply no matter where in the world you are.

Alexandra Necula: So how do you rate for fairness and safety?

Roy Brindley: We think players need to take their research seriously. While online gambling is great entertainment, it is only fun if it is done so in a way that is safe and fair. We aim to do the background work for players so that they can trust our recommendations.

We kick off the process by assessing trustworthiness and security, as we understand how important financial and personal data security is. We check that online casinos hold a license from a legitimate body, are independently regulated and have valid SSL encryption. These are the basic requirements that any trustworthy online casino must adhere to.

Responsible gambling is a key element of fairness and safety, too. If there are insufficient or no responsible gambling tools, we will blacklist a site and seriously recommend readers stay away. We currently have 90 casinos on our blacklist due to a combination of lack of licenses, no data protection, lack of responsible gambling tools, untrustworthy payment methods and too many customer complaints.

Alexandra Necula: What about the games? Do you check these out?

Roy Brindley: Yes, we do. Our review process is long and thorough. While we start with background checks, we also thoroughly review the player experience. After all, online casinos are about entertainment - a great online casino has to be safe and fair, and it also needs to deliver a fun experience that offers great value for money.

To be recommended by us, an online casino must offer an amazing gaming experience. There are so many different game variants and software providers, we think players should be able to enjoy the best of the best. A truly impressive game selection will include online slots, classic table games and live-dealer options. There should be a wide range of jackpots and features provided by quality software developers such as Microgaming, NetEnt, and Evolution Gaming.

Great developers will not allow their products to be used by unscrupulous online casinos, so their names are all part of the overall Trustmark -the same goes for the payment providers.

What players should be doing is building up an overall picture. If there are any red flags, move on and find an alternative. If it doesn't feel right, trust your gut instinct.

Alexandra Necula: Should bonuses affect a player's decision-making process?

Roy Brindley: That is quite a hard one to answer because everyone wants to get the most for their money. What we say is that if everything else gets a tick, then bonuses and promotions are a key part of the decision-making process, but only when everything else is scoring highly. Everyone loves a bonus to give them that extra boost, and most online casinos offer them.

However, they are not all as beneficial as they sound, so we always check out wagering requirements and limiting terms and conditions and suggest your readers do too. Headline figures on welcome and loyalty bonuses might not look so attractive when you factor in game validity, weighting, ineligible payment methods and time limits. They say that the devil is in the details, and that is often the case with promotions and bonuses. We only rate them highly if they are as good in practice as they are in theory.

Alexandra Necula: What should people do if something goes wrong?

Roy Brindley: A great online casino will value its customers and provide excellent customer service, with multiple ways to contact customer support. Well-trained and helpful support staff should respond to queries and complaints quickly and effectively.

Safe and fair online casinos are a whole package that covers the entire experience. A truly great online casino is more than just the sum of its parts!

Alexandra Necula: Thank you for your time, Roy.