Playing at online casinos is one of the most popular types of gambling in the United Kingdom. The convenience of being able to play at home coupled with the huge libraries of games that online casinos offer makes them very appealing. As we move towards summer sunshine, the ability to play on mobile apps while enjoying the weather is even more attractive.
In the UK, we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to online casinos. That can come with its own challenges – how do you choose the best online casino for you when there are so many options?
Like with any booming industry, there will always be some bad actors who will try to take advantage. There are also some online casinos that are just mediocre. The best online casinos really do stand out. When you play at the best online casinos in the UK, you can play with confidence.
In this article, we’ll explain our criteria for choosing the best online casinos. After that, we’ll give a brief rundown of some of the casinos that sit at the top of our list.
How we ranked the best online casinos: our criteria
Security and legitimacy
Like with anything involving entering your personal and banking details online, security is essential. Online casinos are no different. When choosing an online casino, it is important to consider what types of security and encryption they have.
Legitimacy can be hard to measure in certain circumstances but with online casinos there is one clear indicator that you can rely on – the license. All UK online casinos must be licensed through the Gambling Commission.
These licenses should give players a sense of security, most notably since the UK Gambling Commission is one of the most highly regarded licensing bodies in the world.
Smooth gambling experiences
A smooth gambling experience makes for a fun experience. Anyone who has played any online video games knows how frustrating lag is – it takes you out of the moment and in worst case scenarios, the connection is dropped and progress is lost. With an online casino, that could mean losing a spin bonus you’d been working towards or missing out on a hand.
A good website with an intuitive and easy to navigate user interface can make a huge impact on the player experience. Being able to find all of the games that you’re interested in prevents frustration. Similarly, being able to easily make deposits or withdrawals gets rid of any worries about the transaction not going through.
It’s very difficult to tell how well a website will work without actually trying it out. It isn’t practical to do this with online casinos where you need to make an account in order to play. The best thing to do is to read reviews to get a complete picture of how the site works.
Welcome bonuses
Welcome bonuses are a treat that online casinos offer to new players to entice them to create an account with them. The best welcome bonuses include multiple perks. The most common of these are free spins and deposit matching. Deposit matching is when your account is credited with an amount based on how much you deposit.
It is important to be aware of the fine print when looking at welcome bonuses. There are often time limits on bonuses. There are also wagering requirements, which mean you must wager a certain amount before being able to withdraw any winnings made from the bonus credit.
Secure payments
Secure payment methods are very important in the online casino world. Luckily, these days we have multiple options for making secure payments. When choosing an online casino, you want to look for those that accept multiple different methods.
The most popular payment methods include bank and wire transfers, credit or debit cards, and payment apps. Among the most popular payment apps are PayPal, Skrill, and both Paysafe and Paysafecard. Different payment apps might take more or less time to process, so be aware of this when choosing how to pay or how to make a withdrawal.
If you prefer anonymity when playing online, there are also many online casinos that accept cryptocurrencies. These usually only accept the major coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, not altcoins or meme coins.
Great customer support
We all know just how frustrating having to deal with bad customer support can be. Great customer support, on the other hand, can make a huge difference to how you view a company. Online casinos need to have a strong customer support team in order to handle the questions and concerns of their users.
The best customer support is one that is responsive and easy to get in touch with. There are three typical ways of contacting customer support – telephone, email and live chat. Whichever of these methods you are most comfortable with is the one that’s the best for you.
New best casinos to visit in 2023
Magic Red
If one license tells you an online casino is legitimate, three should tell you that they are a serious operation. Magic Red holds three licenses, allowing them to operate in multiple locations. They have the game library to back up this wide spread – they have nearly 1,000 games from many of the top developers.
Duelz
If you like the security of knowing you can access your funds at any moment, Duelz may be the perfect choice. They have no daily or monthly withdrawal limits, and withdrawals are typically processed in less than 24 hours.
Duelz has a good game library and a mobile site that is easy to use. Their live casino options are particularly good. One thing to consider is that users have reported that their sign-up process is fairly complicated and verification can require thorough documentation.
Mr Play
Don’t let the name and mustache logo fool you, Mr Play Casino isn’t just for guys! Its aesthetic is a bit quirky but that just adds to the overall experience. Two of the biggest slot developers – NetEnt and Microgaming – are heavily featured among Mr Play’s over 900 titles.
Mr Play offers live chat and email options for customer support but neither are available 24/7. There is no telephone option but they have been found to be fairly responsive.
Win British
Win British is an online casino for those players who like a dash of patriotism with their gambling. They accept most of the popular payment methods, including credit or debit cards and PayPal.
Win British’s welcome offer is a bit different – you receive one free spin on their Mega Wheel. This wheel gives out prizes ranging from free spins to gift vouchers for major retailers. They also have a strong loyalty program.
The Vic
The Vic is our big brand representative on this list – it’s the online casino of the famous Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London. They have a smaller game library than some of their competitors but all their games are of a very high quality.
One of The Vic’s main focuses is on live casino games. With over 50 live options, they are one of the leaders in the industry. They also have an extended welcome bonus, with deposit matching and free spins spread across the first three deposits.
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