In the past, online casinos have been approached with an amount of circumspection due to decades of legal and bureaucratic bungling by regulatory bodies in South Africa. This caused unscrupulous online gambling operators bringing their casinos into the market in foreign currencies, with restrictive wagering requirements on their bonuses and unfair withdrawal polices. There has been a lot of changes in the last few months and a host of European online casinos with the MGA casino license have entered South Africa. Just do a search for za4onlinecasino to see evidence.
Choosing a new online casino
When faced with this new bunch of online casinos, South African players need to do some legwork to sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. A good way it to scrutinise the casinos license. If this has been awarded by a well-known legitimate regulatory body then half the battle is won. The license basically allows an online casino to trade in a certain market under certain regulatory conditions. Similarly the licenses of the casino's game providers needs to be checked.
- Casino operating license
- Licenses of game providers
- Responsible gaming certifications
- Casino encryption security
In addition to the casino's license and that of the casino's game providers there are also two other important aspects. The casino should bear a seal or certification of a fair-play and responsible gaming authority that it will treat players fairly and assist in the case of problem gambling. A certificate from an authority like eCOGRA should be evident. Also, a casino should be trusted with player details and also the players financial data. Look for evidence of SSL encryption adopted technologically by the casino.
What do free games offer?
If a casino offers players to play its games for free, it brings a host of advantages for the player. Firstly, it shows that the casino and its game provider is transparent enough to let the player have a glimpse into its operations without any financial commitment. The player can see the variety of games on offer and also try out these games to see how the games play, find suitable themes and see the games' bonus features that can help the player increase his chances of payouts.
There is no difference between the free-play games and the paid-for games of these legitimate casinos entering the South African market. They both should run off the same random number generator. Other advantages for the players is that he can get a glimpse of the casinos financial policies that govern its deposit and withdrawal processes. The latter is usually the cause of the most player disputes, so if the player understands it up front, then there is no need for tears later on.
Playing free games in South Africa
Free games is a good way for the South African player to gain insight into the games of a new casino. The free play allows for game providers and their game features to be checked out. Furthermore the way that the casino will handle the player's money can be investigated along with any limits or fees imposed. If the player can also check out the customer service of the casino then it also gives an idea of how he will be treated once he is a fully fledged depositing player.