A Simple Guide to Identifying the Best Casino Bonuses

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Best Casino BonusesOne of the best things about playing at online casinos is the generous and rewarding bonuses that are up for grabs. As there are hundreds of casinos on the internet, operators use these special offers to encourage you to join their casino, rather than opting for another. Yet with so many to choose from, how do you decide which is the best offer for you? Well believe it or not, there is more to consider than simply which is the biggest. When it comes to casino bonuses, bigger does not always mean better. All bonuses come with certain conditions attached to them, and by familiarising yourself with the following criteria, you can identify which is the best bonus to cater to your requirements.

Bonus Amount – Some operators provide a free, no-deposit bonus to welcome you. This type of offer gives you chance to play some games and win real money before making a deposit. Yet most welcome bonuses reward your first deposit by matching it with bonus funds. Casinos will match your deposit by a certain percentage. Therefore, generally speaking, the more you deposit, the bigger the bonus. However there are different maximum bonus amounts provided from one casino to another. You should therefore consider how much you intend to deposit and choose a bonus that will give you the best value for your money. You will find a list of some of the best online casino bonuses at www.realmoneyonlinecasino.co.uk

Wagering Requirements – Any bonus will need to be played through a certain number of times before you can withdraw it. This condition is applied by operators to ensure that you use your bonus to play games, and do not simply withdraw it. If you try to make a withdrawal before fulfilling the playthrough requirement, then you could forfeit your remaining bonus plus any winnings you have made with it. This requirement can vary from around 10x up to as much as 100x your bonus amount. Generally speaking, the lower the wagering requirement, the more favourable the bonus is towards you.

Weighting of Games – As a general rule, when you play slots, any money you bet will contribute fully towards meeting the wagering requirement. However, there are casino games which have an incredibly small house edge, like blackjack and roulette. Therefore, these types of games generally contribute just a small percentage towards fulfilling the wagering requirement. In some cases, you may find certain games excluded from the bonus altogether. Therefore, you should check that you can play your favourite games before accepting a bonus and familiarise yourself with how much they contribute.

Bonus Validity – The majority of casino bonuses have a time limit attached to them. Given that you have to play through your bonus a set number of times before you can make a withdrawal, it is important to check how long you have to meet those playthorugh requirements. Many operators give you around 30 days to use your bonus, yet there are others that may be valid for just 24 – 72 hours. You need to consider how often you are likely to play casino games to determine if the bonus is suitable for you.

How to Find the Best Online Casinos in the UK

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Guide to the Best Online Casinos in the UKIf you want to play casino games online, you may be surprised at just how many casinos there are to choose from on the internet. Of course choice is a good thing…. until you have too much, that is! So out of the hundreds of online casinos, how are you supposed to know which are the best for you to play at? Well, for starters, you could use this quality guide to the best online casinos in the UK. You can also test and compare operators yourself using the following criteria:

Security – Hands down the most important factor. When choosing a casino, you need to be certain that it is safe and secure. The simplest way to do this is to confirm that they hold a valid licence from the UK Gambling Commission. This government body licences and regulates all operators who provide services to UK players. In order to get a licence, an operator must adhere to strict standards. These include the use of sophisticated technical security, such as encrypted transactions, to ensure players are protected against fraud. They must also use an independent, commission authorised testing agency, to analyse game results and payouts to ensure they are fair and random.

Game selection – Next on the list is a good game selection. This does not simply concern how many games are on offer, but also the variety and choice available. Say your favourite game is blackjack. You will find some operators provide a wide selection of tables, along with interesting and unique variants. On the other hand, there are some casinos that will offer you little other than the classic version. It is also worth checking out an operator’s mobile casino app. Again, there can be big differences in the quality and quantity of mobile games available from one casino to another.

Bonuses and Promotions – With so much competition in the online gaming industry, you will find that pretty much every operator provides some kind of welcome bonus to entice you to join. There are a variety of offers available, and the best one for you will depend on the type of player you are. The welcome offer usually consists of a match deposit bonus, giving you a bigger bankroll to play your favourite games with. There are also offers available such as free play, free spins and no deposit bonuses. A good casino will also reward loyal players with regular promotions and special offers. Of course, all casino bonuses come with certain conditions that need to be met before you can withdraw them, so always check the t&c prior to accepting a bonus to ensure you are getting a good deal.

Payment Options – Of course, if you want to play your favourite casino games for real money, then you will need to make a deposit. The best operators provide a wide variety of payment methods, to cater to all types of players. As well accepting credit and debit cards, many casinos also accept payments using an e-wallet, such as PayPal or Skrill. There are also prepaid options available, and even payments through your mobile phone bill. It is also worth checking how quickly transactions are processed, and whether there are any fees involved. The top online casinos will process your payments in a swift and straightforward manner, with no fees incurred.

Pennsylvania Might Legalize Online Gambling In Fall

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Online GamblingThus far, only three states in the US have legalized online casino, poker and other gambling activities done over the Internet, namely – New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada (which is world-famous for its physical casino resorts, most of which are located in Las Vegas). While numerous attempts have been made to officially legalize and regulate online gambling in other states, such as Florida, nothing has come to fruition as of yet, and as of July 2016, these three states still remain the only ones that allow gambling fans to play poker, slots and place bets over the Internet. However, within only a few short months, that all might change! Currently, Pennsylvania is heavily considering legalizing online gambling within its borders. After several proposed bills were rejected, the latest one – proposed late last month – was finally approved by Pennsylvania’s House, and will move over to the Senate for further consideration this fall, according to the Associated Press.

Currently, the Senate – which did not go in recess for the summer, as planned – is in discussion about the state’s budget for the next year. Legalizing online gambling will inevitably rake in a lot of profits (as the bill that was approved by the Senate suggests taxing online casinos 15%), but the process of creating and funding the appropriate organs which would handle the various regulations necessary would be a pretty large initial investment on its own, and it could be one that has no place within the state’s budget. In addition, many (both politicians and ordinary citizens) oppose the notion of legalizing online gambling, for several reasons. People are skeptical of whether the legalization will even bring the projected $300m a year in the long run, considering how legalizing physical casinos doesn’t bring nearly as much money to the state in taxes as it once did. Another major concern is whether it’s worth risking a gambling addiction epidemic within the state (of the same kind that countries with a lot more lax gambling laws, like the UK, are having) just for money, especially when similar sums can also be gained by increasing income tax by 0.1%. Others, however, wholeheartedly support the legalization. “Here’s something opponents of these online bills forget…or don’t want to admit: Pennsylvanians are ALREADY gambling online, at off-shore sites where (a) the state gets NO tax revenue, and (b) there are NO consumer protections,” one commenter writes.

Honestly, I might be slightly biased when it comes to this, but I believe that the legalization should happen. At the end of the day, we’re all humans who have our free will and, as such, should have the freedom to make our own choices. I think it’s a bit hypocritical when certain people claim to know what’s best for others – at the end of the day, online gambling opponents aren’t our parents, and as such shouldn’t have the right to tell us what we can and can’t do. I’m not from Pennsylvania, myself, but I can certainly sympathize with wanting to gamble online and being completely unable to do so without going out of your way to sign up for potentially unsafe foreign casinos. Here’s hoping that things will turn out okay for gambling-minded Pennsylvanians!

More Troubles for Gambling Online in Russia

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Russia’s new regulations of the online gambling marketAfter last year’s harsh laws on online and land-based gambling, Russia is going at it again with tightening rules on online payments. This will of course make life even harder for the remaining bookmakers in the country. If you remember, back in 2014 there were some threats to ban just about anything the western world has to offer. Then by December the following year over 50 online gambling destinations were blocked, including sites belonging to giants like PokerStars, William Hill and Ladbrokes. Ladbrokes and Betfair officially announced their withdrawals from the Russian market as a result. To top that there is the ongoing Bitcoin story.

To put things simply, they are trying to put some order in online payment methods and providers. A new centralised online betting payments hub was introduced to achieve that. It’s called TSUPIS and is handled by the QIWI Group, which operates over 175k electronic payment terminals across Russia.
The new system was supposed to kick in last month but was postponed indefinitely as operators line up behind rival self-regulatory organizations (aka SRO). A number of bookies, including well-known names like Fonbet, Atlantik-M, Bingo Boom and Johnny Game, recently quit the group known as the First SRO and joined different ones with experts in the field pointing at the reason for that being a concern that members of the First SRO will be required to pay higher commissions for TSUPIS. The information was publically denied by the head of First SRO Oleg Zhuravsky. He insisted that all bookmakers will be treated fairly and charged the same rate.

Rumours have been spreading that the government is going to increase taxes on gambling more than ten times in the not too distant future. Even though the information has not been confirmed by officials, what has been made officially available is that casino operators and bookmakers will be required to submit annual and interim financial statements to the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Service. So it doesn’t really look good, does it now.

As if all that wasn’t enough, operators from abroad have voiced suspicions that the Russian bookies have planned an operation to prevent them from accessing TSUPIS in the first two years of it being put in place (ahem, if and when that ever happens) in order to allow the domestic market time to adjust to the new reality without before being swiped under the more experienced foreign competitors.

Another brilliant rule introduced for bookmakers was the addition to the Physical Culture and Sports law, whereby all bookies have to now contribute 5% of their betting revenue back to Russian sports federations. Each sporting federation has to be paid a minimum of RUB 3m ($44k) per quarter with the total minimum for all federations exceeding RUB 15m. That means each operator has to put in yearly at least RUB 60m (US $888k). One has to wonder what on earth are they going to do with all that cash since they are banned from the Olympics…but you know, Russia.

Well that’s all for now, I know, I know, I promised you an article on online mobile casinos but bear with me, I just couldn’t help writing this. I will get you that one soon enough, stay tuned.

The State of the Online Casino Gambling Market in the UK

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United KingdomIn the United Kingdom, online gambling is legal and exclusively regulated by the government authority UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). If an online operator wants to offer real-money games to players residing in the UK, then it has to get approved and licensed by the commission. As of today, there are over 420 remote gambling operators in the UK which hold over 700 activity licenses. For the last year, the gross gambling yield generated from online gambling operators in the UK alone was over £1400m, over £800m of which were generated from casino games (the rest is distributed between betting and bingo as follows: £500m+ for betting and £80m+ for bingo).

As for the biggest names on the online casino market, more often than not they come from the betting world. The hands-down biggest gambling operator in the UK, both online and offline, is William Hill. This is also the oldest company on the market, having been founded in 1934, and today it is worth an estimated 5.17 billion dollars. Their casino is hugely popular in the UK, it features the game collection of the biggest software house in the industry, Playtech, and has even won the prestigious EGR ‘Best Online Casino 2015’ Award. The other big fish in the pond are, again, betting operators that also have casino sections: Paddy Power, Betfair, Bwin and more. One big operator that isn’t primarily a bookmaker but a casino is 888. This operator is actually considered by many to be the best online casino in the United Kingdom.

Sure enough, the above-mentioned operator worth billions of dollar and generate millions in revenue on a yearly basis, but the fact to the matter is that they don’t develop their own games and software (with a couple of exceptions), but rather pay for the products developed by external companies. I already mentioned the biggest one, Playtech, which today is worth over three billion dollars and is the casino software supplier of a huge percentage of online casinos. The other big software house which offers whole software platform is Microgaming while in the live-development field Evolution Gaming are the ones to watch out for.

A big name in the casino development field is also NetEnt (worth over 1 billion dollars). This provider won itself a spot among the biggest companies in the casino gaming field not by offering all types of products and solutions, but rather focusing on only one – the games. They truly offer the hands-down best games in the field which also have the best mobile versions.

Speaking of mobile this is an aspect of online casinos that is getting more and more important as more and more players prefer to play on the go. As of today, absolutely every online casino has a mobile-friendly version but, of course, not all are all that great or feature enough games. Still, this is a very long topic to discuss so I plan on tackling it in a separate article which you can expect to be published sometime next week.

Welcome to the World of Online Casinos

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Hello 3d textWant to know more about online casinos and take full advantage of the experience of playing real-money games on the Internet? Then you’ll surely find this blog very useful, especially if you are a British player. Here, you’ll soon be able to find news reports about the current state of the biggest and most popular online casinos on the market and articles presenting the latest promotions that you can find there. Also, you’ll find many useful tips which will help you wager the bonuses you manage to get your hands on faster and with better chances for a win. Not to mention that we’ll present to you the latest real-money game releases and compare them to the most popular ones that are already on the market. Sure enough, we’ll try and warn you about the latest dangers and scams in the field and about the rogue casinos that we’ve found so that you can avoid some big troubles in the future.

So what’s the starting point? Today, the state of the online gambling industry around the world, and especially in Britain, is the following: 90% of the gambling operators have reported revenue growth, many of whom record ones; online casinos are offering huge bonuses and many other gifts to attract even more new players; mobile gambling is exploding which creates new opportunities but also new challenges for operators and players alike; regulatory bodies around the world make sure they keep the players safe and the casinos – responsible toward their customers and the society as a whole. All in all, these are exciting and truly dynamic times in the field and there is a lot to cover.

As every new endeavour, this casino blog won’t be perfect from day one. We hope that you’ll stick with us and help us make it more useful to you and to the other players, so make sure you follow us and don’t hesitate to contact us in case you have a question, want to give a suggestion or simply want to say hi!