What to expect when joining an online casino
You know what to expect when you order something from Amazon. Or when you head to your local burger joint. Or what’s going to happen during an episode of Stranger Things.
But if it’s your first time joining an online casino, you might not know what to expect at all.
It’s very different to heading to your nearest bricks-and-mortar casino for a night out and the more you know about what to expect at an online casino, what you can take advantage of and how it all works, the better.
Here’s your guide to it all.
The sign-up process is quick and simple
Why wouldn’t it be? The sooner you’re signed up and have money into your account so you can start playing your favourite games, the better for everyone.
So, all the casino needs from you generally is your full name, home address, proof that you’re not underage, a username and password for yourself and an e-mail address so they can contact you about any problems, or alternatively, send you Marketing materials like promotional offers.
The whole thing shouldn’t take you more than three or four minutes to do.
You’ll need to make a deposit
Most casinos let you play certain table games like blackjack, slots and other games in freeplay mode.
What they don’t let you play are Live Casino games because they’re expensive to run, so it’s not practical to let customers play them for free.
But once you’ve decided to play for real money, you’re going to need to make that all-important first deposit.
Most online casinos in the USA these days will offer you numerous depositing methods including the use of debit and credit cards, bank transfers, E-Wallets such as PayPal or Skrill, or even deposits made with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Some casinos insist that you use the same payment method when making a withdrawal as the one used when you made the deposit.
So, check out if that’s the case as you might have to re-think which payment method suits you best when it comes to withdrawing money.
There will be a verification process
Speaking of which, whereas making a deposit is super quick and easy and doesn’t require any further identification process than the one you used when opening your account, withdrawing money is a bit more complex.
The casino needs to make sure you are who you say you are and that your bank account, E-wallet or card where you want to receive your money is actually yours and doesn’t belong to someone else.
After all, they’ll have to safeguard themselves against customer funds going missing and making sure they’re not inadvertently taking part in money-laundering activities.
You’ll need to prove it’s actually you by supplying a copy of your ID such as a driver’s licence or passport; you may also need to show proof of address, like a recent amenity bill.
There may be some to and fro in terms of what they need and what you need to show them, but it shouldn’t be too laborious or complicated to do.
If our online casino review suggests this verification process is unnecessarily lengthy and pedantic, then this might be a casino worth avoiding.
You’ll be offered a welcome bonus
New casino players are like gold dust to the casinos, so they’ll need some persuading to join that casino and not a rival one. This persuading comes in the form of a welcome bonus.
A typical welcome bonus would be for the casino to match the value of your first deposit and also throw in some free spins to use on a particular slot or choice of slots.
At worst, you’ll get to play with (extra) real money, at best you’ll turn that bonus money into winnings, which you’ll then be able to withdraw after meeting the wagering requirements.
So, by all means claim the welcome bonus and free spins but…what you don’t want to do is tie up your original deposit in wagering requirements.
In other words: it’s not a great idea to claim a bonus, however big, if it means you can’t withdraw your original deposit, made with your own money, when you want to.
If taking a bonus means having to meet wagering requirements of 35x or more on your deposit, it might be best not to claim the welcome bonus at all.
You’ll be invited to opt-in to receive promos
Assuming you’re not one of those people with a phobia of busy e-mail inboxes, then you might as well opt in to receive news of bonuses and other offers.
That way, you’ll know right away when there’s a decent promo coming your way that’s worth taking advantage of.
You don’t have to take part in it and as per above, if wagering requirements are too high, then don’t take part!
But at least it’s always worth knowing about what you’re being offered so you can pick and choose what to take.
You’ll have a load of games to choose from
The exact number will depend on the casino but any casino worth its salt will have at least 200 or so spread across online slots, table games, Live Casino and special games.
You’ll need a big bank to get through them all.
But you can of course play most of them in freeplay mode before deciding which ones you want to play for real.
