How to Play Real Money Slots, Safely

If you would like to play slots for real money safely, it's much better to be prepared and ask yourself the right questions before you start, rather than make mistakes and learn the hard way.

- ask yourself why you want to play, make sure it's genuinely to have fun, and that you have the spare money to play. Will you be able to stop, once you hit your limit? If not, then it's not a good idea to play.

- choose a safe, legal online casino (or sweepstakes social casino), that has a good reputation with players, is regulated, tested and accredited by professional gaming authorities.

- decide if you will take a bonus offer, or not. Or in the case of sweepstakes casinos, look into what the bonus alternatives, compared to real money casinos.

- set limits for how much you are prepared to lose, and stick to those limits.

- if the fun stops, stop. Naturally, this is an entertainment, and you are not enjoying it, it's time to stop and do something you do like instead.

1) Ask yourself the question: "why do I want to play?"

This tip is our number one priority, and the most important thing to do before you start playing.

Casino games are a form of entertainment, and never a way to make money. So if your reason for playing is anything other than enjoying yourself, then online casino is not for you.

All casinos are designed to make money for the house (the casino), and never designed for the players to make money. So it's important to set limits on the amount you are prepared to spend, and manage your play responsibly.

Set Limits

If you really are playing to have fun, which most of us are, then the next thing to do, is set your spending limits. Just as you would do with any other form of entertainment.

Even though casinos offers a chance of winning money, you are much more likley to lose, than win. If you can't afford to lose your money (and you probably will), then you should not even think about playing.

Limits will of course vary from person to person. For some people, it might be $20, for others it might be much higher, depending on their financial circumstances. This is something to think very carefully about before playing.

If you are unsure how much to set your playing limit as, choose a very low amount and play for very small stakes.

As you know, we peter free slots, and penny slots here, and to play minimum bet. However, even penny slots have gone up in price hugely over the last decade, so you still need to be careful

One thing that can help, is to plan something else you like doind for when you hit your spending limit. It could be something like going for a walk, meeting up with friends, having a meal, watching a movie, or playing a different game, other than casino. That way, you still have something to look forward to, once you hit your limit.

If the fun stops, stop

If you find that your gambling is no longer fun, that you are wasting too much time or money, and it is adversely affecting your life in any way, it is essential to get help. Get advice on how, exactly, to stop.

There are lots of excellent, free resources and helplines that can help you (see below). They will give you the support you need and also help you self-exclude.

Self-excluding is a process by which the casinos add you to a list of players that are not allowed to gamble online. For many problem-gamblers, self-exclusion helps them avoid the 'impulse' gamble, because the process of putting a bet on becomes difficult.

As well as self-exclusion, counseling and therapy are vital tools in helping people with gambling problems. The following organizations are excellent resources, and if you are having a problem with online gambling (or any gambling), do not delay, call them now.

Gambling Help Resources:

National Council on Problem Gaming (US)

Gamcare (UK)

Gambling Help Online (AU)

Canadian Gambling Helplines (CA)

Gambling Help in Your Area (Worldwide)

Remember, you don't have to be a high roller to have a gambling problem. If gambling is affecting your life, and preventing you doing things you want to do in your life, then you do need to seek help.

2) How to choose a safe casino

If you would like to play online casino, you should look to choose one which is trusted, certified, and able to provide secure reliable banking. This is exactly what we do when we create our listings.

Accreditations

You might like to look for casinos that have been accredited by the following highly respected companies:

• eCogra (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) is a regulatory group specializing in assessing and auditing UK online casinos. Considered the best in the world, eCogra also help with resolving player disputes

• iTech Labs are a highly respected Australian company that works on a worldwide basis, verifying casinos for their fairness. They have been in the business for many years and are excellent at testing all games, including video slots, table games, video poker and also, sports betting.

• TST (Technical Testing Systems) has been established for over 25 years and is the gold standard in the testing casino games. They perform testing for many bricks and mortar casinos around the world and now also assess online casinos to the same high standards

• BMM Testlabs is a genuinely worldwide company that tests games for fairness, as well as compliance services. Working in over 400 areas in the world, they have an incredible depth of knowledge and test a vast number of casinos around the world.

The best casinos are Government regulated and certified for safety and security by an agency like eCogra.

Regulatory agencies are important, because they test all the best online gambling sites, including their random number generators, to make sure that each time you play, you get a fair game.

Reputation and trust is everything

When it comes to casino, reputation matters. You need to know that the casino is trustworthy, and adheres to the regulations. You need to know that your money is safe and secure, and that when it comes to cashing out (or redeeming wins for prizes, with sweepstakes), that the process will be quick and secure.

Some players get a bit frustrated with having to provide documents to cash-out winnings, especially the first time they do this (which is always the time-consuming one), but things like this are actually there to protect you.

Imagine if someone pretended to be you, and cash out your winnings, without verifying? This is why it's important to be patient at first, and to have the identification documents to hand.

One of the main reasons we list just a few online casinos on this site, is so that we can select just the best of the best, in terms of trust and reputation.

We also build a strong relationship with the casino management, so that if you have a problem, you can contact us on facebook, and we can pass that on to management to get it sorted.

3) Should you take a bonus?

Most slots players that play online, like to use welcome bonus offers to get more game-play and more chances to hit a jackpot. Some players say that bonuses allows them to play like a VIP, with higher stakes and bigger potential wins.

For example, it might allow you to play max bet, which opens up the chance of winning a jackpot, which would not be possible if you are playing minimum bet.

So there must be a catch with bonuses, right? Well, the answer to that is yes and no...

The upside of a bonus is that you get a lot more play for you money. For example, you could deposit $100, and get $300 to play with, if it's a 200% matched deposit bonus.

But on the other hand, the terms of a bonus means you must keep playing through that money on the machines a number of times, before you can cash out.

For many players, that is fine, as they were intending to play anyway. But the problem comes if you hit a win, want to cash out and can't, because you have 'play-through requirements' to satisfy first. You might still end up running out of money before you hit that play-through amount, despite your earlier win.

To find out more, see our bonus terms and conditions examples

What types of bonus offers are there?

There are two main types of online casino bonus for new players:

1) the matched deposit bonuses

The matched deposit gives you the most bang for your buck, and with that, more chances to hit a progressive jackpot. Example: you deposit $100, the casino gives you a 100% 'match' of $100, which means you get $200 to play.

2) the no deposit bonus / free-spin bonus

This bonus is fun, but not worth much, because of the terms and conditions. If you just want to test the games out, that's fine, but don't expect to win any money with a no depsoit bonus.

However, if you are in the US and play sweepstakes, then you get something much better, for free. You get to play with no purchase necessary 'offers', which gives you free sweepstakes coins, which you can redeem as cash prizes.

We discuss the social sweepstakes casinos no purchase necessary offers, later on this page.

Bonus terms and conditions for real money casino

All online casino bonuses have terms and conditions. Without them, players would just take the free money and run, bankrupting the casino. The main term is called the 'play-through.'

The play-through is a wagering requirement - having made the deposit, you must play a specific value of bets/spins (based on the value fo your deposit + bonus), before you are allowed to withdraw winnings.

Example 1: 100% match, 30x play-through: You deposit $100, and the casino matches it with $100 (100% bonus), giving you $200 to play with. You then need to spin through 30x times the value of the deposit+bonus before you can withdraw = 30x(100+100) = $6,000 in spins.

Example 2: 200% match, 40x play-through: You deposit $100 and get a $200 (200% match) bonus, giving you $300 in total. You need to spin through 40x times the value of the deposit+bonus before you can withdraw = 40x(100+200) = $12,000 in spins.

TOP TIP: It is always worth checking the T&Cs, because sometimes bonus play-through is limited to certain games, or has a time limit, or even a limit the total you can cash-out if you used a bonus.

Sweepstakes Bonus Offers

If you are playing sweepstakes, you will not be offered a bonus offer. Bonuses are not something that is allowed in a social sweepstakes casino, or any form of sweepstake, for that matter. You can, however, claim coin packages that come with free sweepstakes coins.

Sweepstakes coin packages can be remarkably good value, so they are worth looking out for. If you would like to claim a sweepstakes coin package, see our sweepstakes casinos page

Banking

Another important consideration for playing real money slots, is the banking. You need to be able to deposit funds quickly and easily, and have plenty of options for making the transfer of those funds.

Likewise, for withdrawing funds to your bank account. You don't want to be waiting weeks to get your money, or worse than that, not be able to withdraw your money at all.

It's a sad fact, that there are many rogue casinos out there, that do not pay out. Many of these casinos look impressive upon first glance, and they may look reputable, with false claims of accreditations, and endorsements.

One of the main reasons we choose to recommend a very small number of casinos in our listings, is to make sure that they are the best of the best when it comes to cashing out.

How to deposit funds to play real money slots online

Before being allowed to deposit funds, will need to verify your identity. This is necessary, to prevent fraud. It can sometimes take a little time, but once you've done that, you're good to go.

The four most popular deposit methods to fund an account are:

- Debit Cards (including VISA)

- Credit Cards (including Amex and Mastercard)

- e-wallets (including Neteller, Ecopayz, Paypal, and Skrill)

- Bitcoin (and some other Cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash). In general, we remain quite wary of casinos that accept Bitcoin, or other crypto as a payment and withdrawal method. That said, there some very good casinos out there, that work with crypto. You just need to be very careful to pick a good one.

Once you have made a deposit, you can start playing for real money straight away.

If you struggle with your initial deposit, with the identity verification etc., all good casinos have 24/7 customer support to help you, and talk you through the process. This can be particularly useful for the first time you make a deposit, which is always the one which takes the longest.

Deposits for sweepstakes casinos

When it come to Sweepstakes, rather than make 'deposits' like you would at a real money casino, you instead buy 'coin packages'. These packages are for free play coins (often called Gold Coins, or GC), but when you buy the coins, you get some free sweepstakes coins (often called Sweeps Coins, or SC) bundled in.

With Sweeps Coins, if you win, you can redeem that win for cash prizes. You can buy coin packages using VISA, Mastercard, or bank transfer.

How to withdraw your money from an online casino

If you win big, you will most likley want to cash out

Casinos vary enormously in their cash-out times, especially between different countries. UK, for example generally offers the quickest cash-outs, and the US being one of the lowest.

Also, different methods take different amount of time. Bitcoin is super-quick, but cheque or bank transfer can take many days, and have quite a few restrictions, regarding how much and how often you can withdraw.

Top methods to cash out winnings

• The four main ways to cash-out and withdraw your winnings are:

◦ VISA Debit Payment (as well as other debit cards)

◦ Bank Transfer and Check (payments that go directly into your bank account)

◦ e-wallets (for example; Neteller, Ecopayz, Paypal, and Skrill)

◦ Bitcoin (some casinos may also cash-out Ethereum or Bitcoin Cash)

Using e-wallets to make banking easier

E-wallets like Neteller, Skrill, Paypal, and Moneybookers are becoming hugely popular, especially for US players. They are very secure and allow you to separate your casino play from your bank account, which lots of people find useful.

Setting up an e-wallet account is a bit like setting up a new bank account, but much quicker. You send funds to your e-wallet, and then you can make deposits to the casino easily.

The e-wallets are also great for making a withdrawal - much faster and reliable than a bank account.

Links: Paypal Casinos - Skrill Casinos - Neteller Casinos - Ecopayz Casinos

How long does it take to cash out winnings?

The time it takes casinos to cash-out winnings varies a lot. It can range from a few seconds to more than a week. Mainly, it depends on the casino you're dealing with, but also the value of money, and the method you are using.

Most UK casinos will cash you out instantly or in a few minutes, but some US casinos can take up to a week and also have restrictions on how much you can cash out in one go.

How to Win at Slots

Slots are not designed for players to win, over the long term, but you can play to win prizes, with no purchase required, at sweepstakes.

To put it simply, you can't win ove over the long-term, because all casino games, including slot machines are designed to house edge. You will, instead spend money.

Casino games are an entertainment, and not a way to make money.

With that said, there are some circumstances, where you do have a slight chance of winning, with no risk to your capital. Below, we discuss the best option, which is a sweepstakes social casino.

Sweepstakes require no purchase necessary to Win

With sweepstakes you can redeem winnings for prizes, including cash

If you live in the US, most likely you can't yet play real money slots online, at a regulated casino yet.

Only New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia have a regulated market. But Sweepstakes social casinos are allowed in almost all States, and they are by far the best option.

The big thing about sweepstakes is that, by law, they must offer a chance to play and win with no purchase required. This means you can in theory, win with no chance of losing money.

You can also buy coin packages, and if you win sweepstakes coins, you can redeem them as prizes. Most people choose cash as their prize, but you can also get vouchers.

Currently, sweepstakes casinos are only available in the US, and parts of Canada, but we expect to see them appear in many more countries, soon. We will update the site with information a soon as that becomes reality.