Online Casino 101 – A Complete Guide

Online Casinos: What Do I Need To Know?

Online casinos are hugely popular for offering people like you a way to beat your boredom and earn a little extra cash on the side, if you’re lucky. Although there are hundreds of horror stories regarding gambling, many of which end in unfortunate circumstances, online casinos go out of their comfort zone to help you and provide you with a safe, fair and fun experience.

One of the first things you need to know about online casinos is how they work. In the UK, you generally register with an online casino, verify your account, and then must deposit money into your account to play games. Let’s take a closer look at all of this.

Part I: The Basics

Registering At A Casino

We’ve said before that registering at an online casino is one of the hardest things you can do, and we’re sticking to that. In today’s modern world, with the plethora of online casino available, it can be difficult finding a site that works best for you. It’s out there, you just have to find it. We at CasinotoPlay.com suggest you register at a brand new online casino since they tend to offer a wider selection of games, offer a better welcome bonus, and provide better customer support.

You can find a list of the latest online casino sites right here.

Once you’ve found an online casino that meets your needs, it’s time to register. This usually just involves filling in a short form requiring information such as your full name, date of birth, email address, mobile number, and home address. You’ll also need to create and username and password which you will then use to log in whenever you want to play.

Licensing

All online casinos operating in the United Kingdom must possess a gambling license fro the UK Gambling Commission (The company that regulates all gambling in the United Kingdom). To acquire a gambling license, firms must meet a series of strict regulations and rules set to protect you, the player. You must ensure that the online casino you’re registering with possesses a UK license, done by checking the footer of the website where the UK Gambling Commission logo should be clearly displayed.

Verifying Your Account

Under rules from the UK Gambling Commission, you need to verify your account before you can do anything at an online casino. This generally requires you to share several verification documents with the support team. Depending on the online casino, the documents accepted include:

• For ID: Copies of your passport, an identity card, or driver’s license
• Address: Recent utility bills or bank statements

Once you’ve shared these with the customer support team, they’ll work to verify your casino account and you will then be able to play games and make deposits.

Funding Your Account

After registering and verifying your account, you’ll need to do one more thing before you can begin playing games; fund your account. To do this, you’ll need to head towards the cashier of your online casino (Usually by clicking a wallet symbol at the top of the screen) and then select a payment method. When doing this, you’ll be required to enter relevant details such as your debit or credit card number or PayPal email address, and so on. You’ll also need to enter how much you’re looking to deposit at the casino. Once you’ve done all of that, and noted any fees the site may be charging, you can confirm the transaction and the money will be added to your account instantly.

Part II: Enjoying Your Online Casino

Games

Now you’re registered, verified, and funded, you’re ready to play. Depending on the online casino, you’ll have a wide selection of games to play including video slots (Modern takes on the traditional slot machines), classic casino games (Blackjack, roulette, and poker), and live casino games (Classic casino games but filmed at a studio where real dealers are streamed to you). Some online casinos will also offer other games such as video poker and online scratchcards.

To play a casino game, all you need to do is scroll through the list of content available at your casino site until you find something you like and then click it. The game will load up instantly and you’ll be free to play. Within the game, you’ll be able to adjust your wager which is deducted from your casino account funds. Any winnings you make via the games are added to your casino funds and when you have used all of your casino funds up, you will no longer be able to play until more funds are added. However, it’s important to note that you don’t need to use all of your funds at once or completely since you’re free to withdraw your funds and winnings whenever you want.

Return to Player (RTP)

One important note to make when it comes to games at online casinos is that you’ll need to keep an eye on the RTP, a term which stands for Return to Player. RTP, which can be found at both brick-and-mortar and online casinos, refers to the percentage of all the wagered money that will be paid back to gamers over time. The higher the RTP, the more frequent a player will win.

Let’s say you’ve made 100 £1 bets on a game with an RTP of 95%. You should receive about £95 in winnings. However, it’s important to note that RTP is calculated over the long term and involves several players, so it’s not guaranteed that you will make wins. Although the result of a casino game is pretty much unpredictable, it’s still a good idea to go for games with a high RTP because they generally offer a better of making wins. Opting for games with lower RTP means you will have a lower chance of making wins.

Random Number Generators (RNG)

Random Number Generators (RNG) are also incredibly important. They are the backbone of every online casino game and the mechanism behind the results of each one of them. RNGs are essentially computer programmes that produce a sequence of random numbers with mathematical algorithms and provide you with outcomes in online casino games. RNGs are usually tested by third-party agencies, which means you don’t have to worry about rigged games.

Part III: Withdrawals & More

Withdrawing Winnings

Once you’ve played at your online casinos for a while and have managed to rack up some big wins, it’s a good idea to withdraw your winnings. To do this, you simply have to head over to the cashier and then select the option to withdraw. Most casinos will require you to withdraw your winnings to the same payment method used to fund your account. You’ll need to enter the amount you wish to withdraw and confirm the payment, after this, you’ll need to wait for the casino to process the transaction and then send it to you. The time it takes for you to receive your payment varies depending on the method used, e-Wallets can take as little as 24 hours while other options such as debit and credit cards can take several days.

Source of Funds

However, before you withdraw your winnings you’ll be asked to present evidence declaring the origin of your funds. It’s a legal requirement for online casinos to ask players where their funds come from to minimise fraud and money laundering. Operators can either do this by verifying players’ funds when they sign up to the casino, or when a player deposits, spends or win £2,000 or more.

When you’re asked to verify your funds, you will once again need to submit various forms of evidence. This can include:

• Proof of income such as payslips, dividends or pensions
• Bank statements or savings account
• Dated proof of payments made to the player.

Failing to submit this evidence means you will be unable to withdraw your winnings.