Seal of Approval

There are thousands of online casinos and gambling websites out there on the net. Whilst most players have a pretty good feel for what makes a quality gaming portal, sometimes seeing a seal of approval can really make the difference.

Our seal of approval lets players know that the site in question shares the same ideals as us – that is to provide the highest quality of games, software, customer service, and a safe and reliable platform for players to play on.

So, when you see a site that displays our seal of approval, you can rest assured in knowing that the site has passed our most stringent test criteria and has your interest at heart.
So, what do we look for in an online casino that makes us recommend them to you?

Fully Licensed and Legal

First and foremost, a casino and gambling domain must be licensed. There are many licensing jurisdictions out there, and whilst it is true that any official license is better than none, some are far more respectable than others. Our seal of approval is only given to casinos which are fully licensed and regulated and only cater to the players they are legally allowed to do so. The jurisdiction which issues a license to a casino can also tell you a lot about the type of portal you are playing at.

Licenses issued from the following jurisdictions tend to be the safest and best regulated:

United Kingdom
Gibraltar
Malta
Alderney
Isle of Man

Although, there are plenty of top casinos out there which are licensed out of the following jurisdictions which can also provide stellar gaming opportunities:

Curacao
Cyprus
New Jersey
Costa Rica
Panama

By only selecting fully licensed and regulated casinos, we can deter players from playing at rogue casinos or blacklisted websites, offering them a safe and secure alternative to play at.

Transparency is Paramount

As well as being fully licensed, transparency is also of paramount importance to us. We require our casinos to be as transparent as possible, and this means that we want to know not just about their licensing credentials, but also who owns them. Sometimes a casino can be licensed out of a so-so jurisdiction (appearing fully legal) but be owned by operators who are widely renowned for being less-than-fair with players. We do the digging behind the owners of each of our reviewed casinos, so you don’t have to.

Other things we look for include regular auditing by independent auditors, certified testing, and fair play certificates, such as the famed and respected eCOGRA certificate, or the Provably Fair mark in bitcoin gaming portals.

Is There a Backlog of Complaints?

Again, you can do the homework yourself if you want to, but we are happy to do it for you. We categorically check through a list of complaints to see if any apply to a casino we are considering recommending to you. If there is a backlog of complaints against said casino, they won’t win our seal of approval, and won’t be recommended to you.

We regularly check for the following complaints:

Slow withdrawal times
No payments
Poor/unhelpful customer support
Rigged and/or pirated games
Unacceptable wagering requirements
Nasty and hidden terms and conditions

If a casino fails in any of those respects, it won’t win us over, and thus we won’t recommend that you play there.

Games and Playability Can Make a Difference

Rogue casinos often advertise games that they are not allowed to offer. If there is a US-friendly casino (for instance) it is highly unlikely that they are permitted to legally offer Microgaming or NetEnt games. So, as part of our protocols, we check to make sure that casinos can legally offer you the games they claim.

As well as that, we also take a close and in-depth look at the games the casino is legally entitled to offer you. We want to see solid RTP rates (around the 95% and upwards mark), we look for good payout history, as well as games which have been tested and audited independently to ensure that they aren’t rigged.

If a casino offers software from multiple developers (which is ideally what we all want to see), we need to make sure that the operators haven’t just chosen the table games from developers which offer hefty house edges. With casinos which offer software from several developers, we check to make sure that there are several variants of the same game. After all, we all want a bit of variety and choice when it comes to casino games.

Quality Support, Around the Clock

No matter how good a casino or gambling website might be, there are times when you may need to contact customer support. Poor support options are one of the warning signs of a potentially dodgy casino. Again, this is where we come in. To win our seal of approval, a casino must be able to offer most of the following options…

Toll-free telephone support: and not just for US players, or during a brief window
Live chat: an absolute must in this day and age
E-mail services: preferably in several languages, or for different departments
FAQs: which can assist you in any simpler, more elementary queries you may have

We get in touch with customer support at each casino we recommend, to ensure that their staff are friendly and efficient, as well as ensuring that you don’t have to hang around for ages to get the kind of help you require.

A casino which also has a social media page (such as a Twitter or Facebook page) also wins points with us. This way, you can vent any frustrations or anger you have on their page for all to see, which in our experience, generally tends to see your issues resolved quicker.

Customizability and Preferences

We appreciate that not every player wants to play in English and with the US dollar as their currency of choice. Nor do they want to use payment method X for deposits, and payment method Y for withdrawals. Each of us has our own tastes and preferences.

In that regard, there are a few more things we like to look out for. Although these won’t necessarily stop a casino winning our seal of approval, they may just tip the decision in their favor. These optional things we look for in a casino or gaming portal include…

Multiple languages and currencies
Plentiful deposit and withdrawal options: without lengthy fees and transaction times
Mobile capability for those who want it
Multiple platforms: instant play is a must, so a casino must not be download only
There’s More to Casinos than Promos and Bonuses

It may be appealing to see a surplus of promotions and bonuses at the casino, but when we review a casino and recommend it to you, it must be able to offer more than that. It doesn’t really matter to us how much the promotions can be worth in cash, but whether they offer value for money and fair gaming.

To win our seal of approval, a casino site must be able to offer

A good range of promotions: such as tournaments, loyalty deals, deposit deals and more
Have low wagering requirements: ideally no more than 30x-40x the total bonus
Have clearly defined terms and conditions which are easy for all to understand
Have a good track record with satisfied players from their promotions and bonuses

Any casino which fails in these regards won’t win our seal of approval, and thus won’t be recommended to you.

The Final Hurdle

At our website, we aren’t just reviewers out to make a buck or two. We are casino enthusiasts and players of slots, just like you. We like to think that we know what you want from your online casino gaming experience because we genuinely want the same thing.

The final steps in winning our seal of approval are potentially the most important. Firstly, we have tried playing at the casino ourselves. Then we ask ourselves a very important question:

Would we keep playing there? If the answer is no, then the casino fails the final test and isn’t recommended to you. If we’ve literally had a whale of a time playing at said site, it may just pass our tests, and we are proud to pass on its credentials to you, a fellow player.

We are gamers and we try and test for ourselves as well as you. If we aren’t happy playing there, we don’t expect you to, either.

Now that you know a little bit about what we look for in online casinos and gambling portals, you should be able to decide where to play a little easier. After all, why spend hours researching the ideal place to play. We’ve done your homework for you, so you have more time to play.