Do Online Casinos Pay?

One of the most frequently asked questions I get asked is, do online casinos pay?

The basic answer is yes. But the answer requires a little explanation.

If you just selected online casinos at random, the chances are very high that you would be ripped off at some point, either by software blatantly designed to cheat or, more typically, simply by not being paid if you win. The estimates of the numbers of crooked casinos in general are as high as 30%.

However, you'd be stupid to select online casinos at random. There is a wealth of information on the web about which sites pay and which sites don't.

The one cast-iron guarantee that a casino will not rip you off is that it has a regulated presence in the terrestrial gambling world. I call this the bricks & mortar principle. Obviously an operation with a reputation and pedigree offline is not going to start cheating players blind the moment it sets up online.

Real-world casinos are not allowed to operate online operations in the US currently, however British and Australian casinos, which are strictly regulated by gaming boards with real teeth, are. For this reason you will never be ripped off by the likes of stanleyacropolis.com, williamhillcasino.com, or lasseters.com. Unfortunately there are not that many of these well-regulated and well-run casinos.

The next consideration you should have about an online casino is that it pays. Find out if someone else has played at a casino you are proposing to play at. If they have been paid recently, the chances are very, very good you will also.

Be wary. Some people are affiliated with casinos and will try to hustle you. The giveaway is a little code on the end of the hyperlink they give you. For example, www.bigcasino.com is not an affiliate link. If someone says, "www.bigcasino.com are great they paid me quickly", then unless they are actually an employee of the casino, they are telling the truth. If someone says "This casino is great, give them a try "http://www.bigcasino.com/affID=2447", they are trying to hustle you. The code on the end tells the casinos who referred you and they will get a kickback from any losses you incur when playing there.

The third and to my mind slightly overrated consideration is software. Many gamblers believe certain casinos with the same software will never cheat you and that casinos which use other software brands are big trouble. The latter assumption is correct, the former isn't. It would be more accurate to say that certain casinos with the same software have not cheated any one yet. World Gaming software, previously Starnet, was reckoned to be reputable several years ago but went bad. MicroGaming casinos are reckoned to be reliable but recent problems with outfits such as goodfellows.com and the fortune lounge group have called this assumption into question.

Casinos which use Boss Media and Cryptologic software, however, are reckoned to be completely trustworthy...but keep an eye out for trouble....

I have yet to be ripped off by a netcasino. Sure, I've been paid slowly or had to deal with administrative hassle, but the bottom line is that I got paid and the experience was ultimately rewarding.