The online gaming industry is thriving right now, so it's no surprise that new casinos are being launched at an unprecedented rate. Hardly a month goes by without at least a handful of new sites opening their virtual doors, and that's good news for players everywhere. New online casinos give gaming fans an ever-expanding choice of games, bonuses and promotions, and that keeps things fresh and exciting.
In this article, we will discuss what you should look for when choosing a new online casino to play at. We'll talk about the pros and cons of new casino sites, what kind of bonuses they offer and how they are helping to take online gaming in increasingly immersive directions with things like augmented and virtual reality. It's exciting stuff, that's for sure, so read on and you'll be an expert in no time.
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How to Choose a New Casino Online
With so many new online casinos being launched and available to Kiwi players, it can be tough to decide which ones are worth joining. Different players have different needs and preferences, so it is unreasonable to expect everyone to rate online gaming venues in the same way. And that's why we advise all players to assess new casinos by looking at what they have to offer in several key areas.
Game Selection
The main purpose of joining any casino - new or old - is to play its games and be entertained. For that reason, the first thing that you should look at when assessing a new casino is the game selection that it offers. We suggest that you consider the quantity, quality and range of casino games in turn:
Bonuses
The online gambling marketplace is already extremely competitive, so new casinos almost always offer bonuses to make themselves attractive to players. It is common for players to judge bonuses on how big they are, but we would advise you to check bonus terms and conditions as well. Similarly, check the wagering requirements of the bonus so that you can satisfy yourself that they are reasonable.
The best casino bonuses will be ones that are awarded to you straight away for registering, or making deposits. If you need to jump through hoops to get the bonus, the casino might not be as player-focused as it claims to be.
Payment Options
Before you can start playing casino games for real money you will need to make a deposit. Take a look at the payment options that are available to you for this purpose, and make sure that there is at least one that you will be happy to use. Ideally, there should be several payment options that suit you equally, as that will give you alternative ways of making a deposit should your favourite method be unavailable at any time.
Licensing and Regulation
When you play at a new online casino you want to be confident that you can trust it with your money. The easiest way to get that confidence is by checking to make sure that the venue is properly licensed and regulated. Look at the small print at the bottom of the casino website and you should see the name of the company that operates it and what kind of license it has. For example, you might see that it is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority or the UK Gambling Commission. If no license details are provided on the casino website, don't get involved.
Mobile Compatibility
Being able to play online casino games on a smartphone or tablet is always useful, as it makes it possible to entertain yourself wherever you are. Even if you don't intend to play games on a mobile device in the immediate future, it is still a good idea to see if this will be possible, just in case you change your mind. There are so many casinos around that there is no reason to play at one that can't be enjoyed on tablets and other mobile devices.
Many new casinos will let you play on your mobile by playing via mobile web browser. Others may ask you to download a dedicated mobile app to play. Both ways are valid, so just make sure that you're happy with whatever option the casino gives you.
Security
It can often be assumed that a properly licensed online casino will be safe to play at, but it is still worth checking to see what measures are in place to keep your personal and financial information as secure as you want it to be.
This information can usually be found on the privacy policy page at most new operators, and what you want to see is that the venue uses some kind of encryption (usually 128-bit SSL or better) to protect your data from prying eyes during transmission. Also look at how your data will be stored, and make sure that you are happy with that before signing up.
Customer Service
An often overlooked area to consider is customer service. Hopefully, you won't need to use it often, but if you do, it's good to know that it's available when you plan to play. In a perfect world, casinos would offer live support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unfortunately, 24/7 support isn't always available, so find out if Customer Service will be available when you expect to play. You can also send an email, or submit a question via Live Chat to see how friendly and responsive the support team is before signing up.
Pros and Cons of New Casinos
Like most things in life, new casinos have both advantages and disadvantages. Here's what we think are the main pros and cons, so that you can compare them directly. We believe that the pros mostly outweigh the cons, but take a look for yourself and you can reach your own conclusion:
Pros of New Casinos
- New casinos will often try to stand out from the crowd by giving players bigger and better bonuses than established venues, especially in the weeks and months following their initial launch.
- The design and layout of new casinos are generally more appealing and user-friendly when compared with older venues. Some older venues do make an effort to refresh their looks, but just as many rest on their laurels.
- Mobile compatibility is less of an issue with new casinos than it is with older ones, simply because new venues are built for players who have come to expect mobile gaming as standard.
Cons of New Casinos
- New casinos have fewer independent and objective user reviews than their older counterparts. This can make it more difficult for players to find out how good a venue really is before signing up.
- Payment options can be more limited at new casinos than they are at more established ones. Fortunately, this tends to improve over time.
- The range of games that is available at a new casino might also be less impressive than at a venue which has been around for several years. Again, this is something that usually improves over time as additional developers get involved.
What Kind of Bonuses Can You Get at New Casinos?
We mentioned a few moments ago that the bonuses offered by new casinos can often be more impressive than those from more established venues, but what kind of bonuses are we talking about? Well, while casinos do their best to make their promotional offerings as unique as possible, most will fit into one of the three categories detailed below:
No-Deposit Bonuses
These are bonuses that are given just for signing up with a new casino, so you won't have to deposit a cent to take advantage of them. You might be given a modest amount of bonus cash to play with, or a certain number of free spins to play on selected pokies.
Deposit Match Bonuses
A deposit match bonus will match your real-money deposit up to a stated maximum. For example, you might be offered a 100% bonus on your first deposit, up to a maximum of NZ$500, in which case the casino will award you bonus funds to an equal value of your deposit, up to NZ$500.
Cashback Bonuses
This type of bonus will give you a percentage of your cash back if you happen to suffer a net loss during a specified period of time. For example, a casino might give you 50% of your losses back if you lose money over the first 24 hours of playing. Again, these bonuses usually have a stated maximum value.
Common Payment Methods at New Casinos
New casinos want to make it as easy as possible for players to make a deposit and get involved, and so they usually start out by offering the most popular payment methods. These include credit cards such as VISA and MasterCard, Interac, PaySafeCard, iDebit, ecoPayz and bank transfer. The range of payment methods available will often be expanded over time to include lesser-known alternatives and possibly even cryptocurrency options.
Game Providers at New Casinos
Online casino gaming fans trust big names, so new casinos always work hard to partner with at least a handful of the best software providers. The good news is that when they succeed, it can be taken as a sign that the new casino in question has impressed the developer sufficiently for them to enter into a deal. For that reason, you can usually have more confidence in a new casino offering games from the likes of NetEnt, Microgaming, Play'n Go, Evolution and Pragmatic Play than you can in a venue that has only managed to partner with studios you've never heard of.
New Casino Trends
Today's new casinos are much more advanced than the ones launched a decade or two ago, and we can expect online gaming to continue progressing and evolving in the years and decades ahead. Every new casino does its best to push the envelope a little further than those that have come previously, and we expect this to lead to big developments in two areas in particular: augmented reality and virtual reality.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality uses computer-generated visuals to enhance the physical props and/or environment of a game. It is already being featured in Live Casino games such as MONOPOLY Live and Gonzo's Treasure Hunt, and we definitely anticipate many more augmented reality games to be released in the future.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality takes things one step further and immerses you in a completely virtual computer-generated environment. Players need to wear a purpose-built headset and controller to experience and interact with a virtual reality game, but the cost of such technology is decreasing all the time, so in a decade or two we would expect VR headsets to be just as common as tablets and smartphones are today. When that happens, playing at an online casino could be every bit as realistic as playing at a land-based venue - albeit without the free drinks.