Online gambling sites have made playing slots and table games more accessible to a wider audience. There are now so many different places to play games on the internet, it’s hard to know where to begin or which site to join. But just as you would check the credentials of any other kind of site where you’d spend money, it’s important to make sure that you’re playing at a safe online casino.

Before you start to play online casino games, here are five things to look out for on your site of choice – before you sign up and make a commitment with them.

5 things to look out for before you start playing games online

1. Check that the site is licensed

As we mentioned before, there are so many different gaming sites online, but unfortunately, some of them are less reputable than others. Thankfully, regulatory bodies have been established to make sure that a certain level of safety is upheld and that visitors to these sites have some level of protection.

In the UK, the Gambling Commission is in charge of licensing and regulating sites, and ensuring that they comply with certain criteria, and conform to safe gambling standards. Depending on where you live or play, there might be a different regulatory body involved, but you should always check the gambling site’s footer for further information. 

If the site you are playing on has no mention of a licence or being a member of any kind of safe gambling organisation, this is a big red flag! For example, on a proper, licensed online casino site in the UK, it will say at the bottom of the page: “[Name of the company running the site] is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number [a unique licence number].” What’s more, you should also be able to click on a link with the site’s licence number, to double-check its credentials. 

2. Take note of online security features

On any site that conducts financial transactions, there needs to be some kind of guarantee that it is safe to spend money on the site. This includes having SSL encryption on the site, which means that the operator has taken steps to protect your personal data. 

To check whether the site you’re playing on has SSL encryption, look to the left of the URL address in your browser. If the site uses encryption, you’ll see a little padlock icon sitting there, right next to the URL. In addition, to ensure your safety, when you register with a casino site, it might use two-factor authentication to make sure that you are logging in securely.

Other security features to look out for include compliance with other regulations, such as PCI (payment card industry data security standard requirements to make sure the site takes your card details in a responsible way), and GDPR (fairly new rules that protect your data and limit how the site can use it) in the UK. By complying with these regulations, you can be assured that the site is managing your financial and other data legally and responsibly – and, of course, that spending money on that site is safe.

3. Decide how user-friendly the site is

Another red flag when it comes to playing on gaming sites is that many of them aren’t user-friendly, and processes such as customer service or payments take a lot longer than normal or necessary to complete.

While you might not know this before you start playing, you can do a bit of a test on a site to check – it’ll serve as a good indicator of what you’re likely to be in for. For example, how easy is it to set up an account, are the menus and game subdivisions well presented… and what kind of checks are in place to ensure your safety? 

Following on from the point above, a safe gambling site will invariably offer a range of banking options to make the payment process seamless and easy for you. If you don’t see several payment options available on the site (usually towards the bottom of the page or in the footer), it might indicate that the site isn’t 100% legitimate. Ultimately the choice is yours – which site do you like engaging with best, and where are you going to have the most fun?

4. Establish that the site promotes safe gambling

Of course, we know that playing slots, table and card games, and live casino games, is incredibly fun, but it’s also important to know that the site you’re playing on has taken adequate measures to implement safe gambling practices.

This means you should be able to find links to initiatives such as Gamstop, BeGambleAware and GamCare, which all provide support for those who might be worried about their own or another person’s gambling habits.

GamStop also allows you to self-exclude yourself from any site if you think that putting controls in place and limiting your activities is necessary at any point. The important thing is it’s good to know that help is out there, and that it’s easily accessible should you ever need it.

5. Ensure that game providers are reputable

There are so many types of slots and table games, but only a select number of truly decent gaming providers; not all titles are created equal – they differ hugely in quality and gameplay experience depending on which company made them. Some of the most popular slots providers are Microgaming, Red Tiger, IGT and NetEnt, while some of the best casino live game publishers are Evolution Gaming and Authentic Gaming.

Depending on which site you use, there may be titles from a broad selection of game providers that are available to play. We’d recommend having a look at some of them and doing a bit of research before playing them if you aren’t sure (some even offer “toe-dippers” a few free goes!). 

All games hosted on reputable sites should be top-notch, but you can always check out some online reviews if you aren’t sure about the gaming provider. If you happen to come across a lot of negative reviews, you can always choose to steer clear and rather play some tried-and-tested favourites by well-known developers.

Play safely and responsibly at Lucky VIP

At Lucky VIP, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that your experience as a player is not only user-friendly but also as secure as possible. You’ll find all the relevant regulatory and safe gambling information at the footer of our site.

If you’re interested, we offer casino rewards when you play live casino online games or slots – as well as with our various roulette, scratch, and arcade games. Register with us to start playing any of these games, which are – you’ve guessed it – all hosted by reputable providers!