Do you play online casinos? Of course you do! Otherwise, what the hey are you doing here? If you’re familiar with our news section, you know that we’re here to give you the latest news, but also to give you pointers about how to play your best game when you visit the UK’s casinos. This article falls into the latter category. Below, I’m going to talk you through the top 5 online casino mistakes you can make.
The article aims to help you make the most of your online gambling experience. By understanding the following mistakes, you’ll be able to avoid making them and, consequently, keep your gambling habit fun.
Mistake 1: Not Researching the Casino to Make Sure It’s Safe
You should NEVER play for real on a casino that you haven’t researched first. There are some unscrupulous people out there on t’internet. They set up fake casinos to scam the unsuspecting and gullible.
We are lucky in the UK to have a regulatory body that looks after online and real-world casinos. It’s called the Gambling Commission (the GC), and, amongst other things, it’s responsible for issuing licences and making sure casinos operate legally and fairly. Casinos have to follow strict rules if they want to get a licence through the GC. This is great news for us, the consumer because the GC gives us plenty of protection against casino scams…
…but only if we play with registered/licenced casinos.
So my biggest piece of advice is ALWAYS to research a casino before you give them any personal details or deposit any money. Check that they have a gambling licence and check out review sites (like our review section) and forums (like Reddit) to see how other people rate your chosen casino.
Mistake 2: Blindly Accepting Bonuses
You’ll find that much of the advice around bonuses for online casinos advises you to use bonuses whenever you’re offered them, and they’re partly right. You should try to use bonuses where possible, but this DOES NOT mean blindly accepting any bonus you’re offered.
Some bonuses are absolutely terrible, and the wagering requirements leave you tied into playing for a long, long time before you can make any withdrawals. You have to ask yourself if you really have the time to play through 100x the deposit with a cap of £1 on a bet – you’d have to play £1000 worth of bets on a deposit of £10 before being allowed to withdraw any winnings.
So here, my advice is to read the Ts&Cs carefully of any bonus the casino offers you, calculate exactly how much you’d have to play through your deposit, and only accept the bonus if it seems reasonable to you.
Mistake 3: Only Playing the Slots
Many people will visit online casinos just for the slots. But the slots are like the junk food of the casino world – they’re quick, easy, and they have virtually no value. The slot manufacturers effectively design them to be as addictive as possible so that you spend silly amounts of money that you never win back.
You’re really not making the most of the gambling experience by sticking to the slots. It’s good if you want a way to mindlessly wind down now and again, but it’s not good to play them all the time.
Instead, play the games with a bit more strategy to them, like Poker or Blackjack. You’ll get more personal growth out of them, and you won’t be stupifying your noggin quite as much.
Mistake 4: Not Knowing the Gambler’s Golden Rules
There are rules that every gambler should follow, regardless of how rich or poor, experienced or inexperienced, old or young they are.
Golden Rule 1: Thou Shall Not Tilt
Tilting is where you start gambling erratically because you’ve just fallen into a losing streak and it’s thrown you off your game. You start making stupid mistakes and spending money you don’t have.
Golden Rule 2: Thou Shall Set Limits
You should approach every gambling session with a budget in mind – an amount that you can comfortably afford to lose. This money should come out of your disposable income.
NEVER GO OVER BUDGET
I know that’s hard for the impulsive ones amongst us, but the banks and casinos are there to help.
Yes, you read that right, the casino will help you not spend money. This is the beauty of the GC regulations. Online casinos in the UK have to provide you with ways to limit your spending. Soon, they might even have to check that you can afford to play. It’s a bit draconian, but I guess it helps.
If you decide to gamble on a non-UK online casino (heartbreaker!), your bank may be able to help you set limits (they help if you play the UK casinos too. I’m just showing non-UK casino players there’s still options if the casino doesn’t offer help). Some banks let you set limits on certain types of transaction, such as gambling transactions. Once you hit your limits, you can’t deposit any more money. These are great tools for helping those of us who are a bit compulsive.
Golden Rule 3: Superstition Ain’t the Way
I don’t know, maybe the universe does listen to your pleas, but honestly, how often does it seem like that? Not often enough to start believing in superstitions. If a dove lands on your window as you’re contemplating making £1000 bet, it’s probably not your grandma in disguise telling you to go for it. Just because you’ve lost 5 times in a row, doesn’t mean the universe owes you a win now (or that the casino odds will favour you next spin/hand/horse).
I’m sure there are more rules, but you get the gist. You shouldn’t approach your gambling without thinking about the outcomes you want, like not plunging yourself into poverty.
Mistake 5: Signing-up With Fake Credentials
Of all the online casino mistakes, this one is getting harder to make because the GC is bringing in ever-stricter verification steps. Nevertheless, many people choose to sign-up with fake credentials when they first encounter a new casino. It sort of makes sense because it helps keep you safe from unscrupulous casinos. But, if you follow the advice above (Mistake 1: Not Researching Casinos…) then you don’t need to bother using a fake ID.
The problem with using a fake ID is that, if you win, you can’t withdraw any of the money. It’s utterly pointless.
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