Finding a quality online casino should be every player’s number one priority. After all, if a casino offers the best games, fast service, a generous bonus, but it won’t pay your winnings fairly when the time comes, what’s the point? We created Legitcasinosonline.com to help you find the best casino sites and avoid the rogue operators that want to scam you.
We have trained our team of experts to find and identify legit online casinos. We give every single site a review and a score in a few specific areas which allows us to assess its safety and legitimacy. If we’re not 100% happy with it, we will never recommend it to you. But how do we know? This page will tell you all you need to know.
One of the paradoxes of playing casino games online is that you have so many choices that it can be difficult to know where to play. It’s easy to pick when you have a handful of options, but it’s much harder to decide when you have thousands of options with more coming online every week. To help you decide where to play, we’ve come up with this quick checklist. Ask yourself these 3 simple questions:
This should be the first thing you ask yourself when you visit any site. Do you feel you can trust it? If yes, check for evidence. As in other areas of life, looks can be deceiving when it comes to online casinos. We can tell you for a fact that some of the best casinos don’t look great, and some of the worst ones have million-dollar designs.
Look for signs like valid gaming licenses from trust iGaming regulators, a verifiable track record for the operator, and clear information on who owns and operates the casino site.
There are all types of safe online casinos. Some offer every game you can think of and multiple variants of each one, and others specialize in one type of game such as mobile slots. It’s important to check out the game library, the bonuses, and promos section, and the banking options to make sure it has the games you like, the bonuses you desire, and that you can deposit and withdraw with one or more of your preferred payment methods.
You don’t have to find a perfect casino that ticks every box. However, you should aim to find a site which offers you most of what you want. We have plenty of options for you to begin researching.
Almost every trusted online casino has a list of restricted territories. Sometimes, they don’t have a license to operate in your country, and at other times, it’s illegal for them to accept you due to domestic laws. It can be frustrating to find out that you can’t play at a casino you like, but we assure you there are lots of options for every country.
Many players from the USA, Australia, Finland, Norway, and other countries with restrictive online gambling laws falsely believe that they can’t play casino games online. That’s not true at all. We’ll help you find a casino that accepts players from your country.
There are many different ways to make deposits and withdrawals at safe online casinos. Every single one of them has its advantages and disadvantages, and you can find out more about them by exploring other pages on this site. Some of the most popular ways to pay are these methods.
Good old plastic may be going out of fashion in an increasingly digital era, but it’s still one of the most reliable and trusted ways to make deposits and withdrawals at legal online casinos. Lots of gambling sites accept Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Unionpay, Discovery, and other credit and debit cards.
While they may intimidate some less tech-savvy players, we urge you to learn as much as you can about using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple. They’re super fast, the fees are usually much smaller, and some of them can allow you to play casino games privately.
There are dozens of ways to pay online these days, and the best casinos enable you to pay with as many of them as possible. Some options include e-wallets like PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill, pay by mobile options like Boku, and fast bank transfers like Trustly, Klarna, and Sofort.
Whatever way you prefer to pay, we almost guarantee we have reviewed and approved at least one casino which accepts it.
We do our absolute best to steer you away from rogue casinos that won’t treat you fairly. We’ve even created a casino blacklist to help you avoid them. However, we understand that you might not always want to stick with our approved options, and from time to time, you might struggle to get paid what’s yours.
Some casinos use every trick in the book to pay you as little as possible and to take as long as possible to do so. Firstly, they earn interest on money in the bank just like you do, and secondly, some of them genuinely do not have a large cash flow to pay you quickly.
When you’re getting the runaround, there are a few steps you should take.
Speak to Customer Service – This is always the first thing to do. Let them know you’ve been waiting. If they keep delaying, be firm, but not abusive. Let them know you’re considering step two.
Report Them to Adjudicators – Most reputable online casinos have third-party mediators to settle payment disputes. Organizations like IBAS in the UK mediate and try to reach settlements between players and casinos. Go to the adjudicator if you can’t get paid.
Cut Your Losses & Spread the Word – If the adjudicator can’t get them to pay, we’re sorry, but you may have to walk away and take the loss. Let other players know about it on popular gambling forums. We use player comments to gather information when we are writing our reviews.
These are some of the most respected casino software companies:
Microgaming is a British software firm that claims to have created the first legal online casino. It is a master creator of video slots as well as other casino games. Progressive slots like Mega Moolah are what it’s best known for.
IGT is one of the “superstars” of online casino gaming. It also has a huge worldwide presence in land-based casinos. The best IGT games are slots like the Wheel of Fortune series and its video poker collection.
Playtech was founded in Estonia in 1999, so it has been around since the early days of online gambling. Playtech casinos offer a full suite of games, but it’s most famous games are slot machines like Jackpot Giant, Gladiator, and the Age of the Gods series.
Betsoft made a name for itself as one of the best producers of 3D slot games. It offers a full catalog of top slot machines including Take the Bank and The Slotfather as well as table games and video poker.
Play’n GO is an award-winning gaming company with a history going back as far as 1997. It has released some of the top slot games online including titles like Hugo and Grim Muerto. It also offers scratch cards, digital bingo, and table games.
This company dominates the live dealer gaming niche, and there are no competitors who come close. It offers baccarat, blackjack, roulette, and poker as well as exclusive games like Dream Catcher and Football Studio.
These aren’t the only legit casino game developers. There are plenty of others such as iSoftBet, Playson, Bally Technologies, Barcrest, Pragmatic Play, Thunderkick, WMS, and dozens of others. You can learn more about many of them by exploring this site.
It’s quite easy to identify games operated by known rogue software companies. We know who they are, and we’ll warn you off them in our casino site reviews. However, there is another more sinister type of rogue software which is harder to identify unless you’re an experienced player.
Some rogue operators clone the games of legit operators. These appear to be the same as the real games. They have the same themes and graphics, the same features, etc. However, the code is different, and these games will rip you off. They may pay you small amounts here and there, but the jackpot will never come, and slowly but surely, you’ll lose your bankroll.
One of the fastest and easiest ways to test if a casino is a quality or not is to assess its customer service options and operators. You can usually do this without creating an account.
Make sure that you can get in touch by email and live chat at least. A telephone helpline which doesn’t cost you anything to call is another positive sign.Ask the operators a few questions about bonuses, games, and terms and conditions. Assess their attitudes. Do they answer quickly and give you direct and true answers? That’s a good sign. If they take ages to reply and either lie or dodge direct questions, it’s best to look elsewhere.
Customer service isn’t the only thing you should consider, but it is seriously important. Remember, these are the people you’ll be dealing with when processing payouts, reporting game malfunctions, and more. They can make or break your gaming experience.
As well as being a team of experienced casino players with decades of experience to draw on, we also have a methodical review process during which we look at every single important element of an online casino. Before judging a casino as reputable and legitimate, we consider these things.
We’ve covered this a little above. We check the licenses the operator has (e.g. UKGC, MGA, Curacao), the other sites owned by the operator, what previous and existing players say about it, whether or not it has fair and player-friendly terms and conditions, and more.
It’s more important that a bonus is fair and reasonable than large, but of course, we consider both sides of the equation. We want you to enjoy free spins, deposit bonuses, cashback bonuses, and more, but we also want you to stand a fair chance of keeping what you win.
Every player is different and unique. Whereas John might play slots and slots alone, Karen might enjoy roulette, video poker, and a little bingo from time to time. We make sure there are plenty of games to suit all types of player, and that they’re powered by world-class software companies that play fair.
Have you ever visited a casino that only to find that half of the menus don’t load correctly, the games freeze and malfunction, and finding what you’re looking for is like searching for a needle in a haystack? We have. We don’t recommend casinos which make your life harder.
The size of the jackpots available today is staggering. You could win tens of millions on a single spin of some slots. We also give casinos which offer big progressive jackpots a few extra points.
We’ve already mentioned how important effective customer support is. We want to see 24/7 support from active and professional agents. The more ways to get in touch, the better.
We test all casinos on iOS and Android tablets and phones. We prefer casinos which offer both instant play and mobile apps for download. However, a well-functioning mobile site is the most important thing.
Plenty of ways to pay as well as fast payouts with low fees is the combination which wins the most points in our reviews. PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, Trustly, Boku, and plenty of other payment options is a good sign.
Waits of more than 48 hours for payments and withdrawal fees bring the casino’s overall score down. The faster a casino pays you, the more likely it is to be legit.
Online casinos have their pros and cons like most other things in life. We feel that the pros far outweigh the cons, but we wanted to outline both to give a fair analysis of reliable online casinos.
Convenience and Choice – You can play at thousands of reputable online casinos from the comfort of home.
Variety of Games – It’s highly unlikely that your local casino offers anything close to the variety of games available at online casinos.
Lower House Edge – The sheer competition of online gaming and the reduced expenses of online casinos allow the casino to reduce its mathematical advantage slightly.
Faster Play – When you play digital games, the pace picks up. Many games even have “turbo mode” or something similar.
Bonuses, Promotions and Rewards – Unless you’re a high roller, you won’t get a bonus in a real-world casino. You will get them at almost every legit online casino.
Suitable for All Budgets – There are penny slots and roulette games as well as high-stakes games that cost thousands per spin/hand.
Playing Casino Games for Free – Try playing for free at a real casino and see how far you get. Many trusted online casinos allow you to play the games with demo credits.
No Needs for Tips – Tipping dealers, bar staff, servers, and others in a casino can add up. When you play online, you can either save that money or use it to play more.
No Instant Cashouts – You can’t just walk up to the cage and walk away with your winnings. In most cases, you’ll have to wait a few hours, and at some casinos, payouts can take days.
Less Social Experience – This is changing somewhat thanks to live dealer games. However, brick and mortar casinos are still much more sociable experiences.
Easier to Lose More Quickly – You need to have financial discipline when playing online. It’s too easy to keep hitting the reload button and chase losses.
The Atmosphere – Casinos typically offer live music, food, drinks, and you’ll meet other players. While playing at home is more comfortable, the atmosphere isn’t the same.
Here are some of the key pieces of iGaming legislation governing online casinos:
USA – The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (2006) banned online casino games in America. In 2013, New Jersey made online gambling legal to residents of the state. There are some signs that other states will soon follow, but casino games remain a grey area in most of the USA.
Unite Kingdom – The Gambling Act (2005) legalized online gambling in all forms. As a result, the UK has some of the safest, best-regulated online casinos in the world.
Australia – The Interactive Gambling Act (2001) makes it illegal to provide casino games to Australians. The government got serious about enforcing this a few years back, and many Aussie online casinos closed down.
Canada – Canada’s online gambling laws are decided on a province-by-province basis. Generally speaking, Canadians can play at safe online casinos not based in the country.
New Zealand – The NZ Gambling Act (2003) made previously reputable online casinos based in New Zealand illegal, but left the door wide open for Kiwis to play at offshore casinos.
Europe – Every country has different laws. Malta is an international online casino hub, while other countries like France and Italy are protectionist and players can only sign up on locally owned sites.
