Reputable Online Casinos and Licensing

The goal of this guide is to help you find online casinos known for their solid reputation and for operating under a recommended licensing authority.

Here at Casinoplusbonus EN, we focus our content on six English-speaking countries – Canada, Ireland, The UK, South Africa, India, and New Zealand.

Find Reputable Online Casinos Available in Your Country

If you are looking for a trustworthy online casino with a licence that protects players in your jurisdiction, check out our country-specific pages. You will find lists/tables complied by our Casinoplusbonus EN experts to give you an idea of online casinos available to you.

Reputable Online Gambling Licensing Authorities

First, the most important point the team here at Casinoplusbonus EN wants to make in this guide is as follows…

Never choose an online gambling platform with no licensing

A reputable licensing authority offers one key protection mechanism – ‘Player Protection’. If you ever have any issues with an online casino, then the licensor will step in to make sure you are getting a fair deal.

Regulators will also ensure that:

• Online casinos offer games with fair RNGs (tested and certified).

• Ensure gambling platforms implement security measures such as SSL encryption, cookie, and privacy policies.

• Ensure the operator keeps player funds secure.

• Responsible for ensuring casinos carry out KYC (Know Your Customer) to avoid underage gambling.

• Carries out regular AML (Anti-Money Laundering) checks and specifies guidelines to operators to prevent money laundering.

• Has rules in place to make sure gambling sites promote responsible gambling awareness.

Non-EU citizens protected by EU laws under MGA licensing

For economic reasons, the EU legally protects non-EU eCommerce customers under its financial, privacy, and consumer rights laws. This is to encourage eCommerce business from outside the EU borders.

Therefore, players from Canada, New Zealand, India, and South Africa are all protected.

Furthermore, the MGA offers a free legal mediation service to resolve online casino disputes, while the EU has an ‘Online Dispute Resolution’ website also available for complaints about unscrupulous eComm companies.

Top Rated Licensing Authorities For Casinoplusbonus English-speaking Audience

Always Check The Gambling Website’s Licensing is Valid

At the bare minimum, any online casino looking to be classed as safe and trustworthy will have at least one license from a regulatory authority. Some of the bigger online gambling establishments have a UKGC and MGA licence. For cryptocurrency casinos, you should look for casinos operating the Government of Curacao’s ‘Master Licences’, while Alderney, Gibraltar, and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission licensing are also options.

• How can you spot a fake iGaming licence? While many unlicensed and unsafe online casinos make it easy to establish they have no licensing at all, others will claim to operate under a reputable iGaming licence. They will place fake licensing information in the footer of the pages on their website, and some even go as far as placing the logo of the licensing authority, too.

There is a simple way to check the validity, and these rogue casinos hope you do not know how to do it. Just follow the information in the accompanying boxes (to the right if you are on desktop and below if you are connecting via mobile.

• Watch out for fake clickable logos: Some rogue online casinos have gone further in their attempts to deceive casino players. They have created clickable logos which take you to a fake website made to look identical to the website of the licensing authority. Please avoid getting fooled by this by doing some additional research, which is also in the accompanying boxes.

• Other Certificates: Once you have ensured any license is valid, check the bottom of the page at any online casino for any other certificates. Many will list the certifications received from testing agencies like BMM Labs and iTech Labs.

Full Guide to Checking Online Casino Licensing: We have a complete guide to help you check whether a casino operating online has the correct licensing in place. The guide also helps you spot casinos faking licensing.

Security and Game Results Integrity

Knowing an online gambling platform operates under a secure licensing authority is step one. If you want further piece of mind, you can check how secure the platform is and whether game results are fair.

RNG Testing Laboratories for Software Providers

Each of the above online casino licensing authorities ensure that only software providers that hold a B2B game supply licensing certificate can supply online casinos operating under their framework.

For a software provider to gain a licensing cert in each jurisdiction, its ‘Random Number Generators’ (RNGs) must gain a certificate from a third-party algorithm software testing company. These test guarantee the software provider’s RNGs produce random results according the advertised ‘Return to Player’ (RTP).

Casinoplusbonus EN RNG Guide: We have a fully comprehensive guide covering how RNGs work for those that want to learn more. Please visit the ‘Guide to online slot RNGs‘.

Reputable Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Casinos

The new buzzword in the online casino industry over the past few years has been ‘Bitcoin Casinos’. Many new online casinos have popped up which accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as for deposits and withdrawals.

Much like any standard online casino, some crypto gambling platforms offer a safer experience compared to others. As you don’t have much of choice in licensing, the Casinoplusbonus EN team recommends Curacao or KGC licensing if you decide to play on a cryptocurrency online gambling platform.

On top of this, a good deal of software developers offer casino games that allow cryptocurrency bets. Some of the cryptos include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Tether, TRON, Ripple’s XRP, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and more.

• The problem: There are a large number of online casinos offering crypto gambling with no licensing.

• The Solution: Choose a crypto casino operating under the Curacao licensing authority.

Why is crypto gambling often considered more reliable than fiat currency gaming?

In this guide you will have read about eCogra. There is also GLI and BMM Test Labs. These expert testing companies test RNGs, which are computer-designed algorithms. However, with crypto bets, the Provably Fair algorithm allows players to verify results from their gambling sessions.

RNGs Vs Provably Fair Algorithm

When you open a session on a virtual casino game (not live casino), an encrypted list of random results for the game loads onto the public ledger blockchain ecosystem of the crypto you are using. Once your session ends, the entry into the public ledger decrypts, and you can then access this to check the results of every spin of the reels or deal of the cards.

You can then verify the results were indeed random. With an RNG, you cannot verify the results. You have to rely on the honesty of the software provider’s algorithm, which has been checked by one of the RNG testing companies.

We have a guide to cryptocurrency casinos under our Bitcoin casinos page, which is part of the Casinoplusbonus payment methods page, and it is a menu option under the payment options drop down.

Check the Casino’s URL For HTTPS Encrypted Connections

Most web browsers will highlight a website that may be unsafe to browse. This is usually because the prefix does not use HTTPS. Instead, it uses the standard HTTP protocol.

Here is an example of URLs that use  encrypted connections Vs non-encrypted connections:

• Safe Encrypted Casino Connections: https://www.safecasino.com

• Unsafe Encrypted Casino Connections: http://www.unsafecasino.com

As online security evolved to fight the threat of cyber attacks and hackers stealing unencrypted data packets with your personal information, in the mid-2000s, HTTPS using SSL encryption was essential so websites could offer safe connections to their platforms. TLS has now replaced SSL as a stronger form of encryption.

Why should you choose casinos using HTTPS? When you connect, an encrypted tunnel from your device to the casino forms. All data sent to and from the casino servers goes through this encrypted connection, and therefore, your data is disencourages by hackers.

Operators Financial Security

When the Casinoplusbonus EN team checks an online casino, we always look at the operator information. Sometimes this will help to give you an idea of how financially the secure the operator is.

• Does the operator manage more than one online gambling brand? This is often a good sign that operator is financially secure.

• Is the operator under a well-known company name? Below we look at online casinos whose head company is listed on a major stock exchange.

Financially Secure Gambling Operators Listed on the Stock Exchange

Another point to consider when choosing a safe online casino is whether the owner is a PLC company listed on a global stock market.

There are also software providers (game developers listed on stock exchanges). We also cover this topic in step 1 of our page, covering how to choose the best online casino, where we help you learn how to shortlist online gambling platforms using a step-by-step formula.

Here are some of the top gambling companies publicly listed on stock exchanges:

• Playtech: One of the UK’s most renowned game developers and casino platform suppliers. The head company, Playtech PLC, is a London Stock Exchange corporation.

• 888 Holdings: William Hill Casino, Mr. Green Casinos, and 888Casino are all 888 Holdings online casino and sports betting establishments. 888 Holdings is the flagship company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

• Bwin: Bwin Casinos and Poker operates under the head company Entain (formerly GVC Holdings), a UK company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

• LeoVegas/MGM Resorts International (MGM): The LeoVegas and Royal Panda online casinos used to operate under LeoVegas Gaming PLC on the NASDAQ Stockholm-listed entity. However, MGM Resorts International (MGM) purchased LeoVegas. The MGM ticker is available on the NYSE.

• Evolution AB: Evolution is a pioneering live dealer game developer. The company also owns NetEnt, Red Tiger Gaming, NoLimit City, and Big Time Gaming (BTG). Evolution AB is a NASDAQ Stockholm-listed company.

All companies listed on a stock exchange operate under strict financial laws, they publish quarterly financial reports for their shareholders, and most are worth over a billion Euros. Other brand names you might come across listed on global stock exchanges include Gamesys Group PLC, Aristocrat, Caesars Entertainment, and Rank Group PLC.

Identifying Fair Vs Unfair Casino Bonuses

Another area the Casinoplusbonus EN team looks closely at in our casino reviews is the casino bonus rules. It is easy to overlook the the small print when a bonus looks so attractive.

However, it is often those ‘to good to be true’ bonus deals that hide unfair bonus rules within the small print. This is why the team has spent so much time writing numerous bonus guides to help you avoid bonus deals with unfair rules.

On the face of it, a welcome bonus comprising something like a 200% match deposit up to £-€-$1,000 sounds great.

However, upon further investigation, you might find it has 60x wagering requirements that must be completed within 3 days. So, your £-€-$500 bonus requires wagering 60x over within a week before you can withdraw it! This is unrealistic and, therefore, a worthless welcome bonus.

Always read the terms and conditions of a bonus to establish what you need to do to get your hands on the cash. Look for wagering requirements, max betting limits, when the bonus cash expires, and whether you have to wager the deposit alongside the bonus.

FAQ

How do I recognise a reputable online casino?

First, establish the license an online casino has and whether it is valid. Then, look out for the valid testing of random number generators. Finally, consider everything else mentioned on this page.

• A valid online casino license, which preferably comes from an EU country or UKGC for UK players
• Independent and tested random number generators
• Secure SSL encryption and secure personal data

What bonuses do reputable online casinos offer?

Most online casinos will offer bonuses and promotions. However, read the terms and conditions to establish the wagering requirements and any other stipulations. Be warned that many bonuses do not apply to live casino games, but check just in case.

Do reputable online casinos offer quality live casino games?

Of course! In fact, reputable online casinos offer the best live dealer brands and games and offer a wide range of tables to choose from.

What verification is required at reputable online casinos?

As standard, an online casino will require ID verification. This usually happens on your first withdrawal. The casino may ask for proof of ID, address, and age. This requires sending in documents for them to examine.

What is affiliate disclosure or affiliate commission?

To support the Casinoplusbonus website financially, we earn a commission when you sign up for an online casino through one of our links. It is an introductory fee as a thank-you gift from the casino or sports book. Now, this may concern you, as it should. There are many affiliate websites out there that put any casino out there and hope to get your business. This is why we recommend reading our casino reviews. We offer pros and cons in every review, leaving no stone unturned. This way, you will see not only all the good parts the casino has to offer but also all the bad parts. This was when you could make up your mind.

Does Casinoplusbonus offer support?

Yes. We offer player support if you sign up for an online casino or any online gambling platform via Casinoplusbonus. If you run into issues, then contact us through comments on any of the pages on this site and leave your email. We will get back to you within 24 hours. We will then offer mediation between you and the casino and help with any complaints we think we should make to the licensing authority under which the casino operates. For more information, you can read the Casinoplusbonus affiliate disclosure information page.