Big mistakes when gambling online

While we can play the same casino games online as we do at land-based gaming venues, betting with real money can be very different via the Internet. This is why so many players make big, but avoidable, mistakes when gambling online.

Therefore, we have found some of the most common online gambling mistakes made and have provided solutions for each so players can have the most enjoyable experience possible when playing at a web casino.

Not doing your research

The number one tip when playing online is to always do your research. Far too many new, and even experienced players too, fail to look into the online casino they are playing at and end up paying the price because of it. We recommend only playing at online casinos which are regulated and we encourage every player to do their research using the following methods.

Regulated online casinos

Web casinos that are regulated have a license from an advanced gaming jurisdiction and can also be regulated by a third party auditing organisation. There are two steps to ensuring if an online casino is regulated.

1. Scroll to the bottom of the Internet casino’s homepage and run your mouse over the any logos that are detailed here to find out what license, if any, the casino has and if there is a third party organisation that also governs the site.
2. Follow up by typing the web casino’s name into Google along with search terms such as ‘rogue’, ‘blacklisted’, or ‘regulated’.

The first step ensures you are are wiping out any online casinos that either aren’t governed by a regulatory body (there won’t be any gaming jurisdiction logos), while the second step ensures the credentials are real and are from a trustworthy licenser (Costa Rica is an example of a bad gaming jurisdiction).

When looking for the gaming licenses, keep an eye out for;

• Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)
• Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission
• The UK Gaming Commission
• Alderney Gaming Gambling Control Commission
• Kahnawake Gaming Commission
• Gibraltar

These are the best of the best gamin licensers. Additionally, look out for the eCOGRA logo as this is a company which ensures the games run on Random Number Generators (RNGs) are fair for players.

We have a list of regulated casinos we have found ourselves to share with fellow players who are less inclined to do their research.

• G’Day
• Slots Million
• Royal Vegas
• Thrills
• Jackpot City
• 32 Red
• Roxy palace
• Guts
• 7 Sultans
• Casino-Mate

Not reading the rules

Regardless if you have played at a land-based casino or not, you still need to read the rules of the online casino game you are playing as it could have slight rule variations that are different to the land-based title you have played, despite having the same name.

To read the rules of a title, simply open the game and click on the ‘help’ option which is often represented by a small question mark situated somewhere on the game’s interface. Here, all of the rules will be detailed for you to read.

Blackjack strategy charts

This is imperative for blackjack players especially if they plan to use the basic strategy chart. Since there are now many variations of blackjack available online, there are also a vast number of blackjack strategy charts. By reading the rules you can confirm which chart you need to use in terms of the game rules. For example, in Microgaming’s European Blackjack Redeal title, players not only need to know the unique rules to this variant, but they also need to know whether or not the dealer stands on a soft 17 in order to find the right blackjack strategy chart. In this case they do, so the player can refer to the chart which sees the dealer standing on a soft 17.

Picking the largest welcome bonus

Many players are tricked into thinking that the biggest welcome bonus is the best when signing up as a new player. However, this may not be the case and it all depends on how much you plan to deposit, how many times you want to deposit, and whether or not you can fulfil the wagering requirements.

For example, if you aren’t planning on depositing more than twice in a certain period of time, such as a month, or if you want to get your deposit bonus faster you need to find the bonus with the least number of deposits required. You should only go for the biggest bonuses if you plan on depositing a large sum of money, or you plan on making quite a number of deposits in a short period of time since large welcome bonuses generally require three or more deposits.

Additionally, you need to read the terms and conditions of the welcome bonus at that web casino as some games, such as table games, don’t qualify in terms of releasing the bonus.

Wagering requirements

Wagering requirements are the number of times you need to wager on a certain category of game in order to release the promotional bonus. These are set out in the terms and conditions of the web casino, which you will find in the ‘About’ section, or featured as a link at the bottom of the homepage.

Generally, the slots see 100% of your stake contributed to the wagering requirements so if you are a fan of the pokies, matched promotions generally are quite fitting. Some Internet casinos will accept table games in terms of the stake contribution, but they may only contribute 10%. This is why it is important to read the T&Cs before singing up and claiming a bonus, especially if you prefer table games over the slots.

Forgetting to manage your money

When you are at a land-based casino, you can manage your funds quite easily as once you have run out of cash you need to locate an ATM, which are usually hiding out of sight, and even when you find it you find you are taking a break from the games to really think about your financial situation.

Online, however, it is quite easy to top up your account via whatever payment method you used first as you can store it on the online casino and do not have to re-enter details. Since this is quite a quick process, you can get carried away with how much you deposit.

While this doesn’t apply to every player, it can be quite easy to keep topping the account up without having much thought to your financial situation. Therefore, we recommend the following tips.

Create a bankroll

Bankrolls are incredibly important, regardless if you are good with money or not, as they mean you won’t get carried away and end up in debt.

A bankroll is a set amount of money you plan on playing with. You create this by taking into account your personal finances and how much you can afford to gamble with. This amount is then added to your casino account and you can then work out a set bet size to coincide with your bankroll.

Bankrolls also help you play for longer as they prevent you from making large bets in order to make up for losing streaks. Once you have used up your bankroll it is advised to avoid making a deposit until you can afford to do so again. If you are likely to use money you don’t have to keep playing, such as using a credit card to fund you account, we recommend using another payment method to help manage this problem.

Use an e-Wallet

An e-Wallet is the best payment method to use if you are likely to overspend or top up your account without thinking as it allows you to only place how much you plan on spending into the e-Wallet account and then use this to fund your online casino account. This prevents players from draining their personal account, which can easily happen with a linked credit or debit card to the online casino account. It also means in order for players to top up their casino account, they will need to fund their web wallet again, allow that to process (though that doesn’t take too long) and then fund their online casino account again, which gives players some down time to think about their finances.

Set depositing limits

If you find that you are really bad at managing your money you can contact the online casino and ask them to put a deposit limit on your account. This is a set amount of times, or a set total, you can deposit in a certain period of time, which is designed to help players manage their funds.

Not utilising customer support

A big mistake players make when they have a problem is not using the customer support provided by the online casino. The help staff are there to answer any questions and to help with any problems a player may have, regardless the issue.

Top online casinos, such as the many listed above, have 24 hour, seven days a week support available for players to use, so while the online casino you are playing at may be located overseas you can still contact them at any time of the day. They also have many options to make it convenient for players including a phone number, email, live chat, Skype and more.

Not utilising this service when there is an issue will only make your time unenjoyable, which can be avoided, especially if it is an easy-to-fix problem, just by contacting the support staff.