Online Gambling Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Start Playing?
I suggest looking around at a number of casinos before making any decisions.
Especially look at the deposit requirements, minimum bets etc. There is
quite a variety of Internet Casinos out there. Many will let you visit
for free and even place some bets without signing up (You won’t win any
money, but you can play for free).
Once you pick a casino that you like, you will be asked to sign up.
Usually this will mean filling out an online form. Many will not even require
that you give your name and address. You will end up with an account number
and a password. (Remember, if you only have an account number and password
on file with them, and you forget them, you have lost your money)
How Safe Are Internet Casinos and Sportsbooks?
How safe is anything. So far there have been almost no problems with
casino payouts and deposit security, but that is not to say there will
never be. Many of the jurisdictions require that the licensee posts bonds
of cash or insurance as part of the license requirements.
As an example, the groups licensed in Curacao have to post an amount of
money equal to the average win in a special account in order to
guarantee that they can pay winners. To even get a license, those who
apply have to go through some extensive government checks.
Your personal security (including credit card details and other personal
information) is also guaranteed under license agreements in many, if not
all, jurisdictions. Most casinos and sportsbooks use secure servers to
conduct all of their transactions, and all information about you is held
offline. Many also take out insurance against fraud.
How Fair Are Internet Casinos and Sportsbooks?
Online Casinos are fairer than many people realize. The "house" is
happy making the normal profits of gambling. In many of the countries,
the computer programs must be submitted to the government for thourough
checking of fairness toward the player, and the firm also has to be
guaranteed by one of the big eight international accounting firms.
In all cases with casino gambling the odds for single deck blackjack,
for instance, are exactly the same with an Internet casino as with the
real thing. The same is true for baccarat, roulette etc.
As for the gaming machine type games (slots, video poker etc) the
player payout percentages are determined by the casino, and many will
post what the percentage of payout is online.
How Do I Make Cash Deposits and Withdrawals at Online Casinos?
In all cases you will have to deposit money up front before you can
gamble online. This will mean sending online casinos money via Western
Union, Moneygram, cashiers checks, money orders, wire transfers, credit
cards etc. Most of them will take money almost any way you want to send
it. Most will not take personal checks as they would have to wait up to
two weeks for the checks to clear to the overseas location. Having said
this, you can normally use personal checks with prior approval from the
casino, but your money will not be available for play until your check
has cleared. Nearly all casinos now accept credit card deposits. In fact,
these are highly recommended due to the low cost and speed of the transactions.
All casinos operate on the account system - you send them money and
your account is credited for that amount. As you gamble, money is credited
or debited as you win or lose. When you wish to withdraw money from your
casino account (you don't have to, you can leave it in for future gambling)
you can do so in nearly all of the ways that deposits could be made.
Many operations now allow you to have money withdrawn directly placed
back onto the credit card that you first deposited money into your account
with. This option is recommended as you can access your winnings within
days. Casinos charge reasonable fees for other withdrawal options.