An internet casino is a new form of entertainment

An online casino, otherwise known as an internet casino, is a great way to entertain yourself and the good thing is that there is no need to leave home but at the same time there is no obligation to stay at home as nearly all online casinos can now be played using phones, tablets or other mobile devices. Casinos used to be considered the domain of the wealthy especially in Ireland where the only way to play at a casino was to travel abroad but today everybody can play and even Irish casino players have plenty of choice. In those countries where there are land based casinos there is a definite shift towards playing online but in Ireland it is a growth industry as internet casinos have brought a whole new sector of entertainment. One of the problems now is that with so many online casinos available it can be tricky to decide where to go but that is where casinos.ie can help. There are a few fundamental things to watch for when deciding to ensure that your casino games play remains safe and honest.

Firstly any online casino needs to have a license to operate and in the EU a license issued from one member country allows operation in the whole of the EU. This all sounds very simple but still the Netherlands does all it can to block any online casino which might compete with the state owned one and the UK (if still a member of the EU at the time of publication) insists on online casinos having a separate license issued in the UK in addition to an EU one. In theory any EU country can issues a license but in reality there are just a few that do and they have become specialists in legislating and controlling all forms of e-gaming. Most online casinos will be registered and licensed at one of these countries which include Malta, Gibraltar, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. It is no coincidence that these are also low tax countries but the point is that online casinos licensed in one of these countries should be safe. Needless to say all of the online casinos listed at the casinos.ie site have licenses from one of these countries.  The license required in the UK which does not affect Irish casino players in any way is really designed for tax reasons rather than any additional security measure. The UK decided a couple of years ago that it was missing out on tax from UK players and therefore introduced a system whereby online casinos had to declare what income came from players in the UK and pay tax on that. There is no indication that the Irish Government is planning anything similar.

The second point to watch for is that the online casino you are thinking of joining is using good casino software which guarantees fair casino games. Unlike at sports gambling sites where the gambling company writes and develops it’s own software, online casino software is in the hands of comparatively few companies and online casinos buy/lease/rent from them. The largest of these casino software companies are Microgaming, NetEnt, Playtech and Amanet although there are plenty of smaller ones around. Some online casinos such as Paddy Power Casino choose to use just one supplier of software in an exclusive arrangement whereas others such as No Bonus Casino choose to use several at the same time which clearly provides a much wider choice of games although that is mostly in the area of casino slots. It really makes no difference as long as the casino software in use is well respected and honest. Once again all online casinos listed on this site use correct casino software from one or more of the suppliers. It should be noted that smaller casino software developers are no less good than the larger ones, it merely means that they have a smaller selection of games.

If your chosen internet casino meets both these requirements then it becomes a question of choice of what graphics and games they have and where you feel comfortable. Large online casinos belonging to major groups tend to be quite impersonal whereas smaller online casinos can be friendlier. There is generally very little difference in the deposit options which are offered but there can be quite a difference in the way they try to attract and treat new players. Many online casinos have introductory offers for new registrations which generally come in the form of a bonus. This bonus is money which can be used to play casino games and the size of the bonus is usually equal to the size of the players first ever deposit into their casino account. This all sounds great but there are catches which you should be aware of the most important of which comes when you want to take out winnings. There are terms and conditions attached to withdrawals the most of which is that the bonus money must have been staked a minimum of 40 times on certain casino games before any withdrawals can be made. Those certain casino games will not include Blackjack or Roulette as they are considered low risk games. This requirement definitely makes it tougher to actually get your hands on any of the bonus money but you will of course have the pleasure of playing for longer than would otherwise be the case.

As an alternative casinos.ie would suggest going to No Bonus Casino where as the name suggests there is no bonus. What this online casinos does offer however is cash back if you lose and not only for new players but for all players on every deposit they make. The system is simple enough and says that if you make a deposit on any day and manage to lose the whole lot on the same day by playing any of the casino games on site then 10% will be refunded as cash the very next day. It really is cash as well as there are no staking requirements so you can do what you want with it which includes taking it from your account if you so wish.