How To Play At Mobile Casinos Safely And Smartly

In many ways, playing at a good mobile casino is no different to gambling on an online casino. You register, you deposit, you play, you cashout. It’s also a little like dating. You meet someone (in this case a casino) for the first time and you quickly have to make a decision whether to go ahead and give them a go, or walk away.

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Here are our top casino tips on what we’ve learnt along the way, specifically to mobile casinos; what to do, what to say and how to ensure you both get a happy ending.

If you’ve gambled online before, some of this stuff might be familiar to you, but we wanted to make sure we included everything for anyone interested.

However, even expert gamblers could find a few tips in here. It’s our ultimate post of how to play on mobile casinos safely, securely and keeping all the fun.

Reputation is Key

First things first, make sure the casino you choose has a solid honest reputation. We researched, played and spoke to the representatives of each of the mobile casinos on this website. It’s the reason why we only add new mobile casinos every month or so. The process is slow.

So, a good place to start? Our mobile casino section where you’ll find all our reviews. Consider us your gay best friend giving you a list of acceptable singles with a clean record.

Then, simply bookmark each of the casinos on your homepage. This way they will, more often than not, take up the whole screen and look their best for you on their first date.

Quick & Easy Registrations

This is, strangely, where so many mobile casinos online go wrong. They make the fonts too small, boxes hard to type in and generally make you jump through hoops to get you registered. Sometimes even casinos are not as smooth as we’d like to be.

But much like meeting a stranger down the bar and despite the occasional fumble, you are either interested and give them your correct details, or you get a bad feeling and don’t. You can’t play the ‘give them the fake number’ trick here, it’s one or the other. Here’s why and how.

What’s your name good looking?

Make sure your contact name, information, and address is correct. You will be asked to prove your identity before you make a withdrawal. This includes documents proving your current address and ID matching your registered name. They have to do this, by law, in order to prevent fraud, money laundering and to make sure you are over 18.

Yes it’s a pain, but you only have to do it once. Mobile casinos, in order not to interfere when you first start playing will tend to ask you for this information once you withdraw. So make sure your details are correct when you first type in the information to avoid problems down the line.

It’s a matter of trust. It’s hard to explain at the end of the date why your name is not really John/Jane.

Let’s connect online

Make sure your email address is correct. I know in the back of your mind you are afraid they will spam you. Casinos will, of course, send you notice of new offers and casino bonuses of course. You should be able to opt out of these in your lobby or when you get the email. But this is still the best way they can contact you if there are any problems with your account.

Also, many mobile casino still use the old ‘confirm your email address before your account is activated routine’. So make sure your phone or tablet has access to your email. It’s annoying, but it’s a tried and tested method for them to ensure you’re not a fraud trying to open up ten accounts with dummy email address and take advantage of their no deposit bonuses.

Can I have your digits?

Make sure your mobile number is correct. Yes we know, getting those annoying text messages on your phone can be very intrusive, but, as with emails, it’s one of the only ways to confirm that you are who you are. You can’t register with Mr Green or Mad About Slots unless you have a valid phone number for example.

Which makes sense as when you play casino on mobiles phones it’s far easier to confirm your number than your email.

You are one of sextuplets? Really?

Most casinos will only accept one registered account per IP address or household. This is to ensure you don’t open multiple accounts under your name. Can’t remember your password? Ask for a reminder, don’t open a duplicate account.

The casino will have the right to close whichever account they choose if you have more than one, and if you’ve played and won with one account, they will simply refund your money… without your winnings. They don’t care how many husbands, wives or brothers play at the same house, there can only be one account per household at any one casino.

Mobile Casino Bonuses & Bonus money

Right, so we’ve been introduced to the casino and so far so good. Now they are offering to buy you a drink, but should you accept?

We all love a good deal. Some free spins here, some free money there, juicy casino deposit bonuses to finish… the choices are yours, but you still need to be careful.

Is the drink spiked?

All mobile casinos on our site clearly state the terms of their casino sign up bonuses should you wish to take them. So read them. You have an advantage here.

Some are better than others and the first thing to look out for is the wagering requirements. This simply says that if the casino is going to give you bonus money, you will need to play that free money bonus X amount of times. In our mobile casino reviews we write about the standard wagering requirements for all welcome bonuses, but special offers may vary, so make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully.

If you have a bonus active on your account and you win big, you will still have to play that bonus before you can cash out, otherwise you could lose the bonus. Worse, some casino bonuses come with a maximum win limit which can hurt a little.

Can you imagine winning £$€1,000 and finding out the maximum you can withdraw is a measly £$€100?? Trust us, it hurts.

The best welcome offer at the moment? Guts casino has a generous deposit bonus with 100 free spins. The deposit offer comes with your standard 35x the bonus wagering, but the 100 free spins have no wagering or max cashout! Everything you win is yours to keep.

Beer or Tequila

You don’t have to take a casino bonus, but if you do, read all the T&Cs. Other than the two terms and conditions we mentioned above, there are plenty of other ways for casinos to get you dead a** drunk and losing your wits. This can include:

• Wagering requirements are usually played on slots and instant win games; table games rarely count for much. So if you are a roulette, video poker or blackjack player, beware.
• Some mobile casino welcome bonuses are only partly available on mobile. So you can get the deposit bonus but if you want the free spins on top you’ll need to go play online.
• You can have maximum wagers in order to clear the bonus; ie. Only 8 coins per spin max, making it more difficult to clear the wagering.
• Sticky Bonus: Even if you clear the wagering you won’t be able to withdraw the bonus. Sticky bonuses are only good if the winnings have no wagering. Otherwise avoid.
• The bonus is on the deposit and the bonus money rather than on the bonus money alone. In the first case it basically doubles your wagering.
• Free spins will have about 30x wagering on the winnings, free money around 50x wagering and deposit bonus should have 35x the wagering on the bonus only.

Mobile casinos online are not out to con you. They just don’t want you to bleed them dry after having ordered ten champagne cocktails. They don’t know you any more than you know them and they want to just buy you a beer to get to know you better before they invite you back for more good times.

It’s just that some casinos are a little more aggressive at it than others. But it’s always up to you to accept or reject the bonus. We know plenty of good mobile casinos with below average bonuses, but it’s everything else about the mobile casino itself that makes it worthwhile playing at.

If you’re not sure which bonus you like, read our ‘which bonus personality are you?’ blog piece. Then you’ll know which drink to order.

Making Your First Deposit

They caught your eye, you’ve had a drink… now it’s time for you to get ready for your big date and pick the right restaurant.

How you make a deposit can directly impact how quickly you get to play, but also how quickly you can get your winnings out. It’s also the best way to ensure you play safely at a mobile casino. So far, all they have is an email, address and phone number. The worse they can do is send you love letters of spam. Once you decide to deposit, you are risking a little more, so play safe.

Don’t put yourself in debt for a first date

Generally speaking, we strongly suggest you do not use a credit card to deposit. Debit card? Sure fine. You know how much money you have in your bank and when you ask for your casino cash out you’ll just get a bank wire straight back into your account.

But credit cards are dangerous things. Gambling on credit is dangerous generally. Never play what you can’t afford to lose. Equally credit card issuers can restrict gambling transactions, sometimes cancelling your card or the amount you can transfer across.

Plus, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to put any winnings straight back onto your credit card, which could lead to built up interest at the end of the month.

Pick somewhere safe and anonymous

In our opinion, the best and easiest way to deposit (and then cashout) are by using e-wallets. Not all casinos accept these, but most now take it as standard to offer either Neteller or Skrill (Moneybookers).

Both are safe, easy to use and have the advantage that it’s one of the easiest ways to pay anonymously to your casino account. All they will have is your email address (which they already have) and maybe an account number (which they can’t use to log into your e-wallet account).

These are free to use, though sometimes there are small transaction charges on withdrawals.

Unfortunately, neither of these e-wallets can be used in Canada or the United States, so if you are from either of these countries we would recommend pre-paid cards (such as UKASH) as a suitable alternative.

Pick somewhere local

When you register, make sure you pick your local currency of choice. If you didn’t (because, hey, we like the funny Japanese yen symbol), then this is the time to change it before you make your first deposit.

This is especially important if you are paying using a debit card, as some banks don’t like foreign currency transactions and those that do, give you below average exchange rates, or worse, take a commission out of each transaction you make.

Time to Start Playing

Ok, so, you like them, they like you, you’re sitting at a beautiful safe restaurant that you’ve picked; now for the main course.

A mobile casino will live or die by the quality of their slots and casino games. Mobile casinos, more than any other, vary hugely in the types of games they provide as so many are still learning how to create a great handheld experience.

Which mobile casino software makes the best starter?

Well that really depends on what kind of player you are. The different software have their good and bad points, otherwise we wouldn’t have a ‘casino software review’ page, now would we?

Generally speaking, if you want beautiful graphics, great game play and dependable casino games that won’t break over mobile phone networks or WiFi, NetEnt and Microgaming are the best.

IGT are not bad, but some of their older slot games for mobile look like they’ve been squashed in a blender. Play’n Go have a couple of hidden gems and their casino games are made for mobile phones, especially Windows phones, but you’ll have to dig through a lot of very sub standard games to get at the good ones.

Playtech are beautiful, but good Playtech casinos on mobile are hard to find. If you’re from the US you have even less choice, with only RTG or Betsoft to really keep you company. Both ok, the second better than the latter.

Those are our recommendations, but feel free to browse through our list and find the right one for you.

iPad casino, iPhone casino, sir? Perhaps you prefer Android?

Some casinos are simply better suited for different devices. Casinos for mobile phones are probably the easiest to find in many ways, as so many have devoted their games and casino sites to the smaller screens.

Android tablets and iPad casinos are probably a little trickier because this should look and feel the same as an online website, but make it easier to touch the screen. Not something all mobile casinos consider.

The best way to tell is simply to take a look for yourself or have a look at our lists:

• Best iPad Casinos and iPhone Casinos
• Best Android casinos for tablets and phones

Making Withdrawals Easy

Now comes the crucial moment in the relationship… who will pay the bill?

Now if you are lucky, you’ll have managed to get some winnings and are ready to get your money out. In good mobile casinos this should be easy. In bad ones, it can be very difficult.

Asking to cashout at a mobile casino

It’s always hard to end a date, especially if you are having a good time. But, sometimes it’s wise to cashout whilst you are ahead.

This is usually as simple as going to your casino lobby, or the menu bar, and finding the ‘withdraw’ tab or button. Once in, you put the amount you want to withdraw, where you want the money sent to and press the confirm button. Simple.

Here’s a slight annoyance… not all mobile casinos will give you the option to withdraw on your mobile or tablet. So you may have to go online to make a withdrawal. This is the exception rather than the rule, but it’s always best to look around the mobile casino first and see if the option is there.

If it isn’t, it’s not always a deal breaker, but can be dangerous as you may be tempted to continue playing rather than cash out.

Getting your money back

Usually, you will get your withdrawal in the same manner you deposited. So if on your debit card, this will be a bank transfer, if you paid via Neteller then back again via Neteller. This is completely normal.

Except for mobile casinos, in which the withdrawal methods are usually less varied than the deposit methods. So sometimes (not always), the only option left to you is wire or bank transfers. So make sure you have all the necessary details at the ready and that the account matches with your name and details.

Cashout time

How quickly will they pay the bill? Well, that depends on the casinos.

USA casinos are by far the worse, sometimes needing a whole week to validate the payment and then another 5 days to get the money. It’s annoying, it’s frustrating and there nothing you can do, you just got to suck it up if you want to play at online casinos in the USA.

European, Canadians and Australians get life a little easier, where you can expect about a 24 to 48 hours waiting time. Sometimes less, especially if you use a gambling e-wallet such as Skrill or Neteller where it can take as little as ‘instantly’ to 2 hours.

Don’t let them fool you into paying

Some casinos have ‘processing times’. This means the casino waits about 24 to 48 hours to release your money, during which time you can ask to cancel the withdrawal.

Why would you do that? Because in those hours you’ve asked for a withdrawal, you can’t make a deposit. But you can ask for your money back into your account so you can keep playing. Casinos do this on purpose to make you think really hard about continuing to play your winnings on their games.

Don’t do it. Once you commit to it, let the withdrawal be. Good mobile casinos (such as 32red for example) allow you to ‘flush’ your withdrawal, meaning you are saying to the casino ‘no, I won’t change my mind, please fast track this payment’. It’s rare, but a great feature to ask for from your mobile casinos.

Documentation requirements

We don’t really have a clever dating allegory for this one. If a date wanted to see our passport, utility bill and credit card number on a first date, we’d run for the hills.

In this case, it’s required by law and to avoid player fraud. So perhaps if you are dating a cop?

These checks will only happen the first time you withdraw, and then it should all be smooth sailing, hassle free withdrawals from there. Things to bear in mind:

• You will need a Photo ID (Drivers License or Passport) and a utility bill to prove your address. These are sent electronically and we have, in the past, simply taken pictures of them on our phone and email them over.
• No casino, ever, has the right to ask you for the original documents. So DON’T send them.
• If you’ve used a debit card, you will be asked to send a picture of the front and back of the card. Just make sure you cover the first 3 sets of numbers on the front and only show the last three digits of the security code at the back.
• The name on the card should be your own. Not your spouse, not your mother or son. This is liable to credit card fraud in the casinos mind and they can, by law and by right, easily not release your winnings to you, simply refund the original deposit and report you.

This is by far, the last hurdle in any successful dating and playing at a mobile casino. If you can do your first withdrawal smoothly, then the rest, as they say, is the start of a beautiful friendship.

Where to go from here? As your dating best friends we have to point you to our little black book of mobile casinos recommendation. Pick your favourite and go call them for that drink.