With literally hundreds of different online social casinos out there in the digital world, it can be hard to know which to trust and which to avoid. And that’s all the more important when making online purchases.
Whether you’re just getting into online social casinos or you’re a seasoned pro looking for another place to play, follow this handy guide to finding the best and most trustworthy social casinos out there.
How Does an Online Social Casino Differ From Other Types of Casinos?
Unsurprisingly, online social casinos operate entirely online. Popular with novices and experienced players alike, players can experience the social side of traditional casinos, without having to leave the house.
How to Find an Online Social Casino You Can Trust
1. Start by Looking at Their Licenses
After compiling a list of online social casinos, the first thing you need to do is look at the casino’s license.
Pretty much every online social casino you’ll encounter will have some sort of license. That in and of itself does not, however, make them trustworthy. Remember: not all licenses and jurisdictions are made equal.
Social casinos can have their licenses from any number of jurisdictions, some of which are more trustworthy than others. Some of the most trustworthy regulators (and thus licenses) are:
- Nevada Gaming Control Board
- Malta Gaming Authority
- The Kahnawake Gaming Commission
Having a license from one of the above regulators (or similar) is a sign you can trust the social casino for two reasons. First, it minimises the likelihood the casino is an outright scam. Second, it means that if a problem arises, you can turn to someone with legal authority over the casino to protect you as a player.
Most reputable casinos will have their licenses featured prominently across their website. To prevent yourself from falling victim to scams, it’s always recommended you double-check on the regulator’s website.
If the online social casino(s) you are looking at isn’t regulated by one of the above agencies or one with similarly high standards, the chances are it’s not a trustworthy casino.
2. Check Fair Gaming Practices
Though they say “the house always wins”, games should be fair. Most reputable social casinos will have fair games that ensure the outcome of games is truly based on chance.
To do this, they will use Random Number Generators (RNGs) that are regularly audited by third parties to ensure this.
By far the two most reputable auditors are iTech Labs and eCOGRA, who regularly audit most of the most reputable online social casinos (such as iTech Labs who audit Chumba Casino) and publish the results to be viewed by the public.
3. Read Other Players’ Reviews
Once you’ve checked the license, perhaps the second most important thing to look at are the reviews of that particular online social casino.
Most casinos will have reviews by professional casino review sites like Casino.org and AskGamblers.
These reviews will often look at things like the license how fair the games are, as well as evaluating other aspects like the selection of available games, level of customer support etc.
Always remember to read multiple reviews from reputable websites to ensure you get multiple points of view on how trustworthy they are. Remember, just because one minor thing is bad, doesn’t mean the casino as a whole is untrustworthy: exercise caution.
Similarly, you might want to read player reviews on sites like Trustpilot, Yelp and Google Reviews to get a sense of how players feel about the site.
As with everything else, no casino will ever have 100% positive reviews (and if it does, that may be a sign of untrustworthiness itself) so don’t be put off if there are negative or one-star reviews.
Indeed, one-star reviews might actually make it more trustworthy, if the casino has since fixed the problem that caused the poor review in the first place.
Also, be sure to read the five-star reviews and note what they say; if they all seem to say the exact same thing just in different ways, it may not be as trustworthy as it may appear (such as if they are buying positive reviews).
If they are more varied or general in what they are positive about, however, the casino may indeed be more trustworthy.
It’s also worth reading the most recent reviews first, as these likely represent the current state of the casino and its operations.
4. Look For Secure Transactions
When it comes to your money and financial information, you want to know that it is secure. Any reputable online social casino will keep such information secure.
Whilst there are numerous things you can look at to determine how secure your information will be with a casino, there are two important ways you can find just on their website.
The first is an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate ensures that end-to-end transmission of data is secure and cannot be intercepted. If the casino has an SSL certificate, it will have a padlock next to the URL (website link).
The second is that most reputable casinos will have a dedicated page on their website explaining how they keep your information secure.
If one or both of these things are missing, or the information on their page is overly vague or unconvincing, it’s probably best to avoid them entirely.
5. Think Logically
Having researched and considered all of the above, the final last thing to do is to look at all of your research objectively.
Just because an article you read whilst doing the first step says that Casino X is the best or the most trustworthy, doesn’t necessarily mean it is or it isn’t.
Similarly, look at things like the rewards. Are they in line with what other casinos, including traditional online casinos, are offering? If they seem unrealistically high, it may not be the most trustworthy casino, as they may not honor the payout.
If at any point while following the above steps, something doesn’t feel right, follow your gut and look for other online social casinos that you feel more comfortable trusting with your money.