New Players Guide

There are a vast amount of online casinos new players can try but it can be quite confusing on where or how to play. Then there is also the trust issue that concerns many new players. Can I trust the casino? Will I get paid if I win? The answer is yes if you play at any of our recommended online casinos as we vet them closely and monitor them on an ongoing basis.

Always Google a casino by name if you have any doubts as to its integrity. If we find that players are having ongoing unresolved issues the casino is removed from the Winning at the Slots web site immediately. Most players that have problems usually break a term or condition for playing therefore we recommend that you at least read the bold outlined terms and conditions that could void your winnings located at the end of this article.

The best way is to break it down by games brand. We found the best way for new players to understand online gambing is to first break it down by the brand of software you've decided to play. Typically the casino software consists of the games (game lineup), casino lobby and cashier/banking. So when you visit an online casino's home page and look at the bottom you'll usually see the brand logo icon. Currently we promote several major brands:
Real Time Gaming, Parlay Entertainment, Top Game, Microgaming, Playtech, CryptoLogic, Rival Gaming and WagerWorks.

Each of these brands offer a wide selection of bonus slots, traditional slots, progressive jackpot slots, video poker, blackjack, keno and some specialty games like scratch cards.

Player are more limited by their location than anything else. Some casino brands accept USA players while others don't and yet some do not accept Canadian players. Let's sort it out a little based on casino brand.

For USA players: The and Real Time Gaming and Parlay brands are your best bets. We also list the software brand under any casino promotions and banners displayed throughout the Winning at the Slots web site. There are some states that do not allow US players and the casino has blocked real money play from these locations. (Excluded states include: Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Indiana, Nevada, South Dakota, New Jersey and New York. States bordering KY also excluded. Some casinos ignore the restricted states altogether, so if you live in one of these states ask the casino's live help if you can.)

For Canadian players: You can play at the Real Time Gaming, Parlay, Microgaming, Playtech and Cryptologic casinos. You can not play at any Rival casinos.

For USA and Canadian players: If you do not see your countries' flag under any promotions and banners we list on the Winning at the Slots site it means that particular casino does not allow players from your country.

For players outside the USA or Canada: You can play at pretty much any of the casino brands with few exceptions. Some casinos carrying the IGT/Wagerworks games accept players from United Kingdom and Europe only. Excluded countries are listed in the casino's general terms and on our WagerWorks page. Always read the general terms completely before registering.

Once you pick a brand and casino to play you should consider how long the casino has been around, the longer the better. We don't promote any new casinos unless it is a newly released sister casino of an already well established casino. Look for a audit and or testing logo at the bottom of the home page to ensure the games are fair. You should also check out what the casino offers for support. Typically the casino should offer live support, email support and toll free numbers.

Installing the casino: Many of the casinos allow players to either download and install the full casino suite or play a flash version while others only offer a flash version like Parlay does. We like to dowload the full casino as it plays better and in many cases offers games the flash version does not. For your convenience we have listed most of the casinos we offer separated by brand, bonuses payout % and player eligibility on our downloads page. From this page you visit the casino's home page or directly download the casino. For some casinos we have included a link to the flash version.

Deposits and Withdrawals: For most players including USA players playing the casinos we mentioned previously, you should be able to make a deposit with your Visa credit card or prepaid card. You can check out the deposit methods by visiting any casino home page and clicking on the cashier or banking link without the need to register. Casinos usually list the deposit method logos on home page as well, suchas the visa logo. You can read more about deposit methods on our view deposit methods page.

Depending on the amount, withdrawing any winnings may require you to send the casino some documents, typically an id, a telephone bill and both sides of the card used to make the deposit. You can easily fax these for free or even email them, however some casinos may not accept an online version of a bill. You can usually take a photo with your digital camera and email it. This only has to be done once.

After you've reviewed the deposit methods, review the withdrawal methods. Many times there are few more deposit methods than withdrawal methods. If you're from the USA and want to get your winnings by check ask the casino via banking support or live help if the check is drawn on a US bank. This will save you any hassles when you go to deposit it in your bank. Also you can reverse all or a portion of your withdrawal up to 24 or 48 hours after cashing out. The casino wants nothing more that for you to play back your winnings, so don't get sucked in by temptation. However you can ask live support to flush your withdrawal.

The casinos offer all kinds of free cash bonuses: There are no deposit bonuses where the casino will give you a few bucks just to try their games. Many times the amount you can withdraw is limited so read the terms of the bonus offer fully no matter what the bonus offer. You could accidently break a term and forfeit your winnings. Another bonus is the free cash and 1 hour free play to win as much as you can. These to limit the amount you can withdraw.

There usually is a certain amount of wagering (bets made) required before cashing out when a bonus is involved. This is listed in the bonus terms as well as the games that do not count toward the wagering requirement. You can forego accepting the bonus to avoid having to make the wagering requirement. Contact live help prior to making your initial deposit.

The best bonus is probabally the 100% matching bonus: The casino will match you deposit with free bonus cash up to a certain amount. For example, deposit a $100 get a $100 bonus for a total bankroll of $200. Some casino require a bonus code to be entered before making your deposit to claim the match bonus. Bonus money can not be withdrawn.

Casinos have ongoing promotions and bonuses: Cash back bonuses, birthday bonuses, refer a friend bonuses and multiple deposit bonuses. These are listed on the casino's home page under promotions and can change from frequently to occasionally depending on the particular casino.

When you do start wagering with real money, make sure you're accumulating player points so you can redeem them later for free bonus cash. Sometimes you have to sign up but most casinos automatically sign you up for their points program.

A frequent depositer is the casino's favorite player and usually boosts the player to VIP status where they get additional perks and extra free bonus cash.

Money goes faster playing online than it does in land casino so stay within your budget. Generally we found that when the games are paying they pay better than land casino slots and most of the online slots pay. The opposite is also true, when online slots are cold, they all seem to be cold. We don't recommend chasing a game to get a bonus round. After a while you'll find that the games seem to pay well on certain days and at certain hours.

So to summarize, find a well established casino that accepts players from your area, review both deposit methods and withdrawal options, carefully read both the general terms and bonus terms as you do not want to forfeit your winnings because you missed or broke a specific term. Each casino has their own set of terms and conditions, although many terms are similar, don't think that because you read them at one casino they're exactly the same at another caisno.

Common ways players forfeit their winnings include, but are not limited to, opening multiple accounts, taking the welcome or signup bonus and playing one or more restricted games, taking the welcome or signup bonus and exceeding the maximum bet allowed, cashing out before meeting the wagering requirement when taking any bonus, using the auto bet play feature to meet the wagering requirement.

Because of fraud casinos have to be strick when it comes to the terms and if you break them will deny your withdrawal but will refund your deposit. Chargebacks are another big no no when playing online and usually come back to haunt winners. Avoid making chargebacks. If you made chargebacks for whatever reason tell the casino up front before you start playing.

Always ask live help or call or email casino support with any questions before registering, accepting a bonus or for clarification on the terms and conditions. Make sure you're entered into the casino's loyalty points program.

If you've never experienced the fun and excitement of playing the online casino slots, play some of our free Slot & Table Games. No download or registration is required. Don't forget to read our Slot Articles for additional tips, strategies and online gambling information.