Online Casinos Explained

Are you skeptical about fair play at online casinos? Then you're wise -and you're not the only one. Nobody wants to visit a casino site and blindly pay to take part in a game that could cost you your money.

We spent long hours of research into this matter before we were prepared to risk even one cent at any casino. We wanted thorough explanations. How does the gambling work? Are the games run honestly and fairly?

In our investigations we came upon some helpful organizations. There's the Gambling Commission, an independently run body with the single objective of regulating the gaming organizations and combating corruption. It was founded in 1999 to ensure that players would be participating in an environemnt which is closely monitored and safe. Then there's the Online Players Association (OPA), formed by gamblers and approved casinos in 2000. The OPA aims to provide a secure and pleasant online gaming arena for its members. Readers of Gambling Online Magazine named the OPA "Watchdog of the Year" for 2001. There is also the website of the Internet Gaming Commission, where you'll find useful data on the majority of online casinos. Find out which ones are licensed and accredited. Learn if any have been identified in disputes. And see which ones you should avoid by a mile!

From our studies we've concluded that online casinos are generally improving across the board. By and large, they have certain sensible atributes in common. One, since a casino is a business, its clients would abandon it and it would quickly close if they found out the casino was cheating them. Two, it would be inordinately costly for a casino to produce software that deliberately crooks the user, and here, too, the gamblers would quickly twig on to the fact that they were being ripped off and the casino would close for lack of business. Three, even though the odds are always with any casino, online gamblers actually have a betterr chance of winning at an on-line casino than they do at a land-based establishment because the on-line sites can afford bigger payouts... they don't have the massive overhead costs of their land-based counterparts.

The strongest suggestion we can make is that you should always know the casino's reputation before you start playing there. Keep an eye on things while you're gambling. Be bold enough to speak your mind if you think you've been the victim of cheating; email or make other direct contact with the casino.

The casino is licensed

To be licensed an online casino should follow certain standards of the hosting country. Licensing starts around $50k and is usually for a minimum period of 2-3 years. It is estimated, that about 20% of online gambling operators are not licensed - never play at an unlicensed casino.

The payouts is certified by a major accounting firm

Reliable online casinos engage them to review and report on the payout percentages of participating casinos.
For example, Microgaming and all its licensee casinos, has PriceWaterhouseCoopers review historical return to player rates. These reports are usually posted at the casinos' site.

The casino is a member of a respected watchdog organization.

Not every organization proclaiming itself a "watchdog" can be trusted. Often it is just a online advertising portal for some group of online casinos. Good watchdog organizations proclaim a set of good practices its members (casinos, software vendors, casino portals and players) have to adhere to.

There are also some things to look for:

• The casino has a good reputation on the major gambling message boards
• The casino is affiliated with the land based casino
• The casino has adopted by a self labeling content rating system
• The casino is supported by respected and well established casino portals

The casino that takes the time to put together a well - planned site, reliable software, reports from audit company and license is usually aimed to the long term success. Such casinos do not have to cheat players to make money - there are many operators that have worked long to establish a brand that players associate with professionalism and honesty.