iGaming is a fun way to pass the time when you want something enjoyable to play. It’s a great option for long-haul flights or when you’re at home feeling a bit bored. Some of the most popular iGaming games are found across slots, roulette, live game shows and more. Hundreds – maybe even thousands – of websites exist with game libraries that could satisfy your every urge.
Finding some casino games to play is easy – but picking a trusted website is a lot harder. You need to watch out for scams and dodgy platforms, so make sure you only join a site with these qualities:
A recognizable iGaming license
An iGaming license is a specific license handed to an operator by a governing body. It means the website is regulated, which is normally the biggest trust factor to look for when choosing where to game.
Multiple iGaming licences exist and a UK gambling licence is perhaps the most common and hotly sought after. However, as shown in this Jokabet Casino review by CasinoGam, you may also come across a Curacao gaming license. This is offered by the Curacao Egaming Authority and is one of the most trusted offshore licenses a site can obtain.
Don’t be fooled into thinking these are the only two options – other licenses to look for include:
- MGA Licences
- Alderney Licences
- Gibraltar Licences
- Phillipino Licences
Where can you find a site’s licensing details? As noted before, it should always be apparent in a review. You can also look at the website and scroll to the bottom of the home page. Licensed sites will always include details of the licenses they have in the page footer. Be aware that some iGaming platforms have multiple licenses – the more the merrier!
Reliable and reputable game providers
iGaming websites are known for their vast game libraries. You’ll have thousands of games to pick from across dozens of genres – and the games you see will play a big role in seeing if the site is trustworthy.
Don’t focus on the types of games (or the quantity) but rather look at who supplies the games and what titles are available. Trustworthy sites will have games from reputable providers that are known throughout the iGaming industry. We recommend keeping an eye out for any of the top game providers mentioned below:
- NetEnt
- Microgaming
- Pragmatic Play
- Evolution
- Playtech
- Play’N Go
- Quickspin
- Yggdrasil
- Blueprint Gaming
- Playson
- Big Time Gaming
- Red Tiger Gaming
These names are generally considered the best iGaming companies in the world – though you should also look for a few others as well. Our advice is to Google the name of a game supplier if it’s not on this list or the one linked for you. A quick search should give you all the info you need to tell if the provider is legit.
To recap, if an iGaming site has games by some of these reliable names, then you know it should be trusted. Reputable companies like these don’t tend to offer their games to illegitimate sites. On the other hand, if a site doesn’t have any games from well-known brands, it’s a pretty decent sign you can’t trust it.
Safe banking systems
What separates iGaming from other forms of online gaming? A mixture of differences spring to mind, but the obvious one is that you need to spend money to play the games. It’s not like you’re buying a game and leaving it at that; you’re supplying the website with payment details and will keep depositing or withdrawing money.
Therefore, a trusted iGaming website must have a safe banking system to allow for secure online payments.
What does a system like this look like? It will have all of these features:
- SSL and TLS encryption to protect your data and keep it unobtainable to hackers
- Trusted and well-known payment options – debit/credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Skrill, etc.
- An on-site banking section – you aren’t forced to use a third-party website to spend your money
- Secure payment gateways
This might sound complex, but there’s good news! The majority of casino sites will have safe banking systems. We’d go as far as to say it’s harder to find bad banking systems than it is to locate good ones. This will be the easiest sign to spot; just ensure the platform also displays the other signs on this list.
Genuine reviews from players with a positive track record
Trustworthy iGaming enterprises will be reviewed by players. If you come across a site without any reviews, it means one of two things:
- The website is brand new
- It’s a dodgy platform
You can tell if a site is brand-new as you shouldn’t be able to find a lot of information about it and its licensing details will tell you when it was established. Still, we think it’s safer to avoid sites without reviews and to only pick ones with a good selection of genuine reviews from proper players.
Read the reviews and see if the site has a good track record or is rated highly. Pro tip: stay away from Trustpilot here. We know this feels counterintuitive but it’s the worst place to get accurate reviews for iGaming sites. Players give platforms one-star even if they’re completely legitimate and well-run websites because they lost money on a game.
Legitimate tools to promote safe gambling
Never trust a casino website that doesn’t look to promote safe gambling. You should always be given tools to gamble responsibly, such as:
- The ability to set deposit limits
- Options to restrict your time spent on the website
- Self-exclusion plans
- Self-assessments to see if your gambling habits are bad
The more tools a site provides, the more you should trust it. Especially if it also partners with respected gambling organizations and charities like GamCare and Take Time To Think.
Please keep in mind that you’re looking for all five of these telltale signs when seeking trustworthy iGaming sites. It’s not good enough for a platform to have three or four; if you don’t see them all, walk away from the site and you’ll avoid any drama.
