How We Rate Online Gambling Sites

Ryan Fowler | April 28, 2020

Updated on April 28, 2020

When you read our casino reviews, poker reviews and sports betting reviews, know that each one is an unbiased critique of the pros and cons of the casino sites. Better yet, as players we’re looking for the same benefits, bells and whistles at the online casinos you’re considering. Because of this, how we rate online gambling sites are via a thorough checklist of several factors.

Welcome Bonus and Other Promotions
Deposit Options
Variety of Games
Mobile Compatibility
Software
Security and Safety
Customer Support

How We Rate Online Gambling Sites: Welcome Bonus and Other Promotions

In an effort to earn your business and trust, our recommended gambling websites will offer generous bonuses and promotion. The “best” promotions vary by online casino, but the most popular are:

First deposit welcome bonus is practically free money for signing up. This is typically a dollar-for-dollar match often up to $1,000-$2,000. Don’t leave free money on the table and keep an eye out for deposit promo codes. Some welcome bonuses are automatically added, while some require a keyword typed in during the deposit process.

Sports, poker and casino bonuses are promotions tied to the things you like betting on most. Whether it’s hitting up the online sportsbook or sitting down for a weekend poker tournament or trying your luck at the slots, this genre-specific bonuses boost your account with cash, free entry tickets and free spins.

Reload bonus is as simple as it sounds. Once you refund your account, the casino rewards you with free cash or spins.

Cryptocurrency deposit bonus is to entice players to fund their accounts with crypto like Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ripple. If you use certain crypto during deposit, you’ll earn that significant bonus.

Cash back loyalty programs are to reward players who stick with the same casino over long periods of time. Basically the more often you play, the more hands are dealt, the more reels you spin, the more you wager, the more the casino rewards the loyalty to the brand. These are often tiered programs that kick back a certain monetary percentage to you.

How We Rate Online Gambling Sites: Deposit Options

When it comes to online gaming, the best casinos offer five-or-more deposit options. These are the most popular:

Credit card

Typically Visa and Mastercard, while some accept American Express, most casinos will accept at least two credit cards. Whether your banking institution accepts the charge is another question. If you are unable to make a deposit via your credit card, you have several options to choose from.

Pre-paid cards

You can typically purchase them at the check out of your local grocery store. Pre-paid gift card look just like credit cards except that they are loaded with a specific amount of money. When you go to deposit at your favorite casino, you’ll provide the multi-number pin located on the back of the card to unload the balance into your account.

Cryptocurrency

The most popular deposit option of the past couple years has been cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. Not only do many casinos offer significant cash bonuses when making a crypto deposit, the withdrawal processing time can take as little as 15 minutes once your cash out request is approved. It really is the best deposit method currently.

Bank Wire Transfer

Another common option, bank wire transfers occur when you provide your account routing number to the casino and they pull the requested amount out. However, the transfer often comes with a banking fee of $15-$20. Plus, when it comes time to withdrawal money, there’s often another fee going back the other direction. Just keep this in mind and research before selecting a bank wire deposit.

E-Wallet

These are products like Neteller and Skrill that are used to transfer money to and from merchants. They aren’t available in all countries.

Voucher

These are peer-to-peer, gamer-to-gamer in-house credits transferred from person to person who may then either cash out or redeposit back into their casino account.

How We Rate Online Gambling Sites: Variety of Games

Our recommended casino sites offer a vast array of table and card games, including different poker variations, while most, like Bovada and BetOnline, are best known for their elite online sportsbooks.

However, the introduction of LIVE dealer gaming over the past few years is what sets our preferred sites apart from the rest of the field. For those who are unfamiliar, LIVE dealer gaming options, like blackjack and roulette, allows for players to be transported to a real-life land-based casino where a real-life dealer or croupier is working a casino table all in real time thanks to video streaming technology. You, the player, are able to then play blackjack and roulette as you would at a brick-n-mortar casino all via LIVE video feed. You can even interact with the dealer through a chat function.

How We Rate Online Gambling Sites: Mobile Compatibility

Because we live in an on-the-go society, it only makes sense that our entertainment and gaming options be available on-demand, right? The gambling sites we suggest offer next generation mobile gaming experiences. Thanks to advances in technology, our online casinos have optimized their sites for mobile like Apple and Android devices. So, when you visit our favorite casino sites on your mobile device, the experience matches what you love about it so much on a desktop or laptop. No longer is there a need to download a clunky third-party app. Players get to game in their web browser and so long as they have connected to a strong Wi-Fi network, the gameplay, sites and sounds are just as smooth, just as bright and just as pleasing on your phone or tablet.

How We Rate: Software

When it comes to gaming software, online casinos have dozens of options to choose from, but there’s a difference between a good/great software provider and an industry leader. Our recommended gambling sites partner with those software industry leaders to power their blackjack hands, roulette wheels, and aesthetically pleasing, cutting edge slot machine graphics. Brands like Evolution Gaming, Real Time Gaming, BetSoft and Playtech are just some of the names to be on the look out for when researching your next casino.

How We Rate: Security and Safety

Without question, casino sites we recommend must prioritize security and safety above all else. After all, they are storing some of your personal and financial information, right? After visiting a gambling site, the first thing you’ll want to learn is if the provider is licensed by an agency like the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. This information can often be found on the “About Us” or “FAQ” sections. If it’s licensed, find out by which agency and if those details aren’t available, be sure to reach out to a customer support rep. The more transparent an online casino is with its licensing information, the easier it can be trusted with your data.

In addition to licenses, which allow them to operate a gambling site, casinos must also be regulated on a regular basis by a third-party gaming auditor. These regulatory bodies are often tasked with verifying the random number generator is providing fair play to all participants. The regulators’, such as eCogra, iTech Labs, and GLI, job is to make sure the gaming experience for the player is on the up-and-up and force operators to provide complete transparency to the back-end of their gaming platforms.

How We Rate: Customer Support

At some point, you’re going to need to lean on customer support for assistance. This may have to do with unlocking your account, a deposit question or withdrawal request, but at some point you’ll them. The best online casinos offer three forms of contact: via phone, via email and, more recently, via LIVE chat. A casino’s support representative should be able to answer nearly all your questions without issue. There are instances where you may need to log into your account before the rep can assist you. So long as they are polite, courteous and attentive to your needs, that’s the sign of an incredible customer support staff.