How To Gamble Online
This Guide To Online Gambling is dedicated to helping new players who are just getting their feet wet in the virtual online gambling waters, and also for more seasoned players who could use a refresher on some of the basics. It is our commitment to become a valuable and informative resource to players regardless of their level of experience with online gambling, a resource that will equip you to become a master online gambling enthusiast. Along with valuable gambling site reviews, we want to also provide gamblers with 'how to' info that will help them along. We will cover several topics in this guide, to include the following:
- How To Choose A Safe Online Gambling Site
- How To Fund Your Online Gambling Site Account
- Online Gambling Bonuses 101
- How To Get In The Game
We will cover the basics of each topic in this Online Gambling Guide, effectively providing a foundation on which you can build your online gambling knowledge and understanding. The information has come from a team of highly experienced individuals that eat, breath, and live the online gambling venue.
How To Choose A Safe Online Gambling Site
Why do you need a trusted Online Gambling Guide as a working resource for you? It is important that you understand that not all online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, and bingo halls are operating on the 'up and up'. Many online gaming sites are actually traps for unsuspecting gaming enthusiasts who are just looking for some easily accessible gambling action. Large numbers of players have become victims of the predators at these rouge gambling sites and have been robbed blind.
One significant purpose for creating this resource guide is to help online gambling enthusiasts, such as yourself, find safe and secure opportunities to engage in online gambling. We have exerted the time and effort necessary to thoroughly investigate each of the online gambling sites featured on iGotGamble, including their legitimacy, licensing, and history as an online casino, sportsbook, poker room, or bingo hall.
By choosing an online gambling site not listed on a trusted and reputable Online Gambling Guide such as this one, you are putting yourself much more at risk for becoming a victim of identity theft, or online gambling fraud, and are potentially putting your personal financial information at the fingertips of a predator. We highly recommend ONLY visiting gambling sites which have been investigated, reviewed, and extensively analyzed by a team of experts.
How To Fund Your Online Gambling Site Account
One of the trickiest parts of online gambling can be the banking end of things, particularly if you are a USA player. Due to restrictions which have been placed on gambling related credit card transactions, we have seen an onslaught of alternative deposit method options spring up to fill the gap left by the major credit card companies. These include ewallets, prepaid cards, gift cards, echecks, and other online funds transfer options. The online banking industry has become quite astute in their development of legal, creative alternatives for players facing the challenges of funding their online gambling account.
All of the online gambling sites featured in this Guide To Online Gambling have a 'cashier' or a 'banking' page. This is where you will go to fund your account or request a withdrawal. The cashier will include a menu of deposit method options, and sometimes this is where you will find the opportunities to claim casino bonuses. You will be walked through the process via dialogue prompts on the page, and will be able to make a deposit and claim your bonus in to time flat. Most online gambling sites have a minimum deposit amount around $20.
It is in any gambling site's best interest to keep the funding processes as simplified as possible, and you will be relieved with how easy this part of getting your game on really is. Remember that to use any ewallets or prepaid cards, you must first fund that alternative banking option prior to attempting to use that source to fund your online gambling site account. There are usually direct links to register for any of the accepted deposit methods. The hardest part of the process is choosing which online deposit method option you want to use.
A few rules to remember:
- NEVER deposit money into your online gambling site account that you cannot afford to loose. It is NOT a good idea to deposit your child's college money or your mortgage money with the 'hopes' that you will increase your bankroll and will come out fine.
- Quit while you're ahead. The idea is to walk away, or in our case, click away, with more than you started with. Staying in a session too long and squandering away every penny you've won will leave you with regrets.
Online Gambling Bonuses 101
We could not label this an Online Gambling Guide without giving you the 411 on gambling bonuses. These bonus offers and promotions are one of the sweetest parts of online gambling, and are virtually never found at land based casinos or bingo halls. As the various online gambling sites compete for your affection, they will use monetary incentives to entice you to check out their website. There is always a welcome bonus of some type for new players, and very often there are also reload bonuses, loyalty programs, preferred deposit method bonuses, special promotions, referral bonuses, and much more.
Most of these bonuses come by way of 'match deposit bonuses'. An example would be a bonus offer of a 100% match bonus up to $500. In this case, the gambling site is offering to match your deposit 100%, not to exceed $500. You will see offers ranging from a 100% match to a 500% match, and routinely the offer is good for multiple deposits, sometimes up to 12 or more deposits, which can turn into thousands of dollars in free cash.
Most bonus offers are not cashable, meaning you cannot cash out the initial bonus amount. You can, however, keep the winnings associated with the bonus once the wagering requirements have been met. These requirements are different for every bonus offer, so be sure to read the terms and conditions to make sure you understand them. A cashable bonus is quite rare, but they are out there. In this case you are permitted to cash out any of the remaining bonus and any associated winnings once the wagering requirements are met.
The last type of bonus we want to mention is the 'no deposit bonus'. These are usually small in size, but are a fabulous way to try out a site prior to committing any of your personal finances. You get a chance to see if you like the look and the feel of the site, and if you deem it to be a 'lucky' hot spot for your online gambling action. Upon registering at the site, you will be eligible for a free bonus which does not require any deposit by you to access. In most cases it is automatically put into your account, however some sites ask that you email customer service and request the bonus.
How To Get In The Game
For those who are new to online gambling, the best way to become acclimated to the online software platform is by taking advantage of the free play. Every online casino featured in our Guide To Online Gambling offers a selection of free play games that allow you to familiarize yourself with how bets are placed, and the functionality and features of the software platform and gaming interface for that casino. You will almost always be able to play slots, blackjack, craps, roulette, and video poker for free at any online casino, a perk in online gambling that you'll never see in Vegas!
Simply getting used to the online virtual environment helps a lot to get you to a comfort zone with the gaming options. The casinos, poker rooms, and bingo halls that offer free play usually put 'funny money' in your account, so you have the experience of placing wagers before you spend any real money. Once you feel comfortable playing your favorite games in free play mode, you can move over to real money games. The free play options are a great way to learn new games as well. Even experienced players might consider the free play option when playing at a casino that uses a software gaming interface that is new to them.
Another useful reason to engage in free play is to test out new strategy techniques or betting odds strategies that you have recently learned. The Internet is a wonderful virtual world that allows us access to gamble from the comfort of our own homes, any time of the year, month, week, day, or hour, joining a community of people from all over the world.
