Online Casino Reviews

Our trusted online casino reviews focus a great deal on the reliability of all casinos we research. An individual casino’s reputation is a key element of our evaluation process. OUSC discusses whether a website has the games you want, but we offer more than a simple discussion of blackjack, roulette, and slots. Where many sites discuss only the software, games, and payment methods, we go one step further: we discuss the gritty details of an online casinos reputation.

When it’s time for a player to choose an online casino, that person has hundreds of casinos to consider. The most important decision a gambler makes is their first one: choosing a reliable online casino. Players need operators with good payment processing, helpful customer support, and a solid reputation in the industry; all part of our comprehensive casino reviews.

Finding a reliable casino is of prime importance when you gamble online. All the fun of playing and winning doesn’t matter if you don’t the payoff. In effect, you lost from the beginning.

Pick the worst online casinos and it’s not a matter of losing your winnings, but all the money you deposited. Remember: if you can’t trust an operator to pay your winnings, you might not be able to trust them with the personal information you provided. Choosing a trustworthy online casino is, therefore, the key to your enjoyment of Internet gambling.

Collectively, OUSC’s staff has been involved in the gambling industry for several decades, so we understand what’s important when reviewing a casino. We know the current landscape of the gambling world. We’ve heard of all the tricks and traps used by bad operators. Understanding what players are sometimes up against, we use our collective knowledge to your benefit.

We have grouped the online casino reviews into three categories: Recommended, Not Recommended, and Blacklisted. A reputable online casino meets all our criteria and standards for a full recommendation. Sites that are not recommended neither receive our approval nor a warning to avoid them.

Blacklisted sites are those we consider dangerous for gamblers to use. We recommend readers avoid online casinos on that make it onto our blacklist.

How We Review Online Casinos

The OUSC staff has many years of experience in the gaming industry. We understand the player experience because we’ve been players ourselves. We put gamblers first by helping people find safe and reliable casinos.

OUSC strives for transparency. Our casino review process is detailed and thorough. Below is how we arrive at our conclusions. Gamblers don’t have the time to research every single website, so we shorten the process for them.

Our goal is to make the best online casino reviews, being the most thorough in the online gambling industry. We encourage players to contact us if they have any problems or concerns about one of our online casino reviews. If you need a clarification on one of our points, send us an inquiry. If you think we have misrepresented a casino, give us your opinion and the reasons you think we’re wrong.

In these instances, it’s best to define terms. Below is a brief discussion of the reasons we blacklist a site or decline to recommend it.

Blacklisted Casinos

A blacklisted casino has demonstrated to our reviewers either high levels of incompetence or outright fraud. These are the worst of the worst: operators who should be avoided at all costs. We still write a casino review to show what they have to offer, but recommend players not join based on the negative feedback.

Casinos which do not pay winnings are at the top of our blacklist. This includes sites which simply do not pay when it’s time for a withdrawal or those with a reputation for making up so-called policy violations to avoid paying.

Not Recommended Casinos

We have a category for casinos which are not on the blacklist, but are not recommended, either. These casinos are not fraudulent, but do not meet our standards. A variety of reasons might cause us to avoid recommending them.

These sites might pay, but pay slowly. If a casino has a reputation for being unfair, that can affect our online casino reviews. Unfair policies put players at a considerable and consistent disadvantage. Badly worded policies also might trick gamblers, whether intentionally or not.

Sites with inferior games are not recommended. If a casino’s games have a high house edge or an unreliable technology, we decline to give those sites a good recommendation.

Closed Casinos

A closed casino no longer accepts new registrants or supports online gambling. Sometimes a closed casino has had its domain seized by a regulator, due to a criminal investigation. Other times, the online casino isn’t profitable or has its player database bought by a competitor. If a criminal investigation causes a casino’s closure, accounts might be frozen or confiscated. Closed sites usually try to pay out their customers and affiliates, but that is not always the case when their assets are seized.

The closed casinos reviewed in this section all once were US-facing online casinos. Six of these casinos were owned by NetAd Management and the Affactive Group affiliate program, while the other four casinos were owned by Milore Limited and the Revenue Jet affiliate program. The owners of all ten sites, Ziv Orenstein and Gery Shalon, were arrested for the JPMorgan-Chase cyber-attack of 2014, so all 10 online casinos were closed. These were considered rogue casinos before they closed, which is why readers should read warnings about sites before depositing money there.

How to Choose the Best Online Casinos

Once you’ve gone through our list of standards and reviews of online casinos, you might have some questions. How do you choose which casino to play at? What is the most important factor when choosing a casino?

I suggest players make a checklist of factors, ranked in order of importance. This helps players evaluate as they go, according to their own criteria.

Each player is going to have a different checklist, but I’ve taken the time to list factors you should consider. Use your checklist to determine whether to play at a site. Only play if all factors are checked in the casino’s favor.

You might place these factors in a different order. Make certain a site has a reputation for reliability and trustworthiness. It’s no use winning if you can’t collect your winnings. For that reason, the casino’s reputation for payment is #1 in our expert opinion.

Security is another key factor. If you can’t depend on the casino to protect your credit card information and privacy, then you shouldn’t be playing at that site. Make certain a casino has a solid verification process and secure encryption technology, so withdrawals are secure.

Fast payouts are important, too. When you want to cash out, a casino shouldn’t drag out the process. To do so is like a bank refusing to pay when a depositor asks for a withdrawal; it’s a stalling tactic to hold onto your money longer. Also, some casinos delay, hoping you’ll cancel the withdrawal and start gambling again.

Bonuses and Promotions

Choose sites with realistic bonus offers. The deposit bonus, no deposit bonus, and reloads need to be attainable. The match rate should be to your advantage. A wagering requirement should give you a chance to cash out a bonus. Players don’t need a casino which plays word games in its terms and conditions.

Solid VIP rewards are a must. The welcome bonus is nice. At the end of the day, if you’re picking a website for the long haul, you want an online casino which offers solid VIP rewards on an ongoing basis. Most sites have a silver rewards, gold rewards, and platinum rewards level. Make a realistic evaluation of your level of play, then see whether that VIP tier is advantageous to you.

Finally, after all of those factors are met, I take a look at games selection. Table games usually have the same house edge from casino to casino, so table games in my book come down to the layout of the virtual table and its gameplay. Selection of common variants is key. When playing slot machines online, I want a casino with the most games that I enjoy, along with a few of my all-time favorites. Memorize the software provider of your favorite games.

Conclusion

Because of the thoroughness of our evaluation process, some of our best online casino reviews are going to be in-depth and comprehensive. We hope they’re brief enough to hold your attention, but we want to serve the greater interest in providing useful reviews you can trust. Ultimately, if players don’t have a good gaming experience, they might stop playing and the entire online gambling industry suffers.