I have had many opportunities throughout the years to test and experiment with mobile casinos and playing from a desktop computer. At first, phone casinos tended to be a little too clunky, giving me headaches. I remember myself trying to figure out which game would run on my phone.
Well, that was back in the early 2000s.
Things have changed a whole lot since then, and I can confidently say that most mobile casinos I test in 2019 are quite good. There has been a great deal of effort put in by both vendors and actual casino operators to make things work in favour of the customer.
That’s good news for you. Specifically, I will explore what makes the best mobile casinos unrivalled forms of entertainment today.
New Mobile Casinos and How to Single Out the Best Ones
When a casino is new, it’s not necessarily trusted. Unless you know that the company behind the brand has already launched a few successful projects. Well, you probably don’t follow industry moves for a living, so you won’t necessarily be aware of who is who in the iGaming world. I do, however, and I can tell you whether a company is worth anything at all. When an entirely new company is entering the market, it’s a little more difficult to tell. Many of the new mobile casinos out there are in fact created by companies I haven’t heard much about.
This makes it challenging to determine if they can be trusted. Well, years of experience have taught me to spot a good casino when I see one. Here are the criteria I use and have seen my colleagues rely on in determining the authenticity of brands.
- Is the mobile casino licensed? A casino may be new, but this doesn’t mean they can’t get a license. Overall, there are licensing authorities I prefer and trust more than others. For instance, in my book – a license from the UK Gambling Commission is slightly more valuable than Curacao. Similarly, there are still risks to entertain. The Spelinspektionen – this is Sweden’s gaming authority – had to slap an operator with penalties for breaking advertisement rules. All things considered, when a market is new, there is little data to go on, and a gut feeling with diligent research will have to do.
- Are they really mobile responsible? If a new casino says it’s a “mobile casino”, they better be. I have all the gizmos necessary to conduct thorough tests on the spot. With a small army of tablets and smartphones, I usually don’t mind browsing until I find that loophole, the wrinkle that the casino thought it’s not worth spending time on to iron out. Well, this is a particular thread I am going to pull at.
- What about banking options? New or old, a casino in the 21st century must not ask any fees of its customers – and if it does, I will definitely note this down in my reviews. Now, what you should and can expect from banking options is for them to be a) swift, b) without extra charges c) not subject to any limitations
- Can the casino prove its payout rates? A casino may very well claim they offer 99% of all money back to customers. To be able to verify this, they will have to hire an experienced auditing company such as iTech Labs or eCORGA, TST or GLI. There are quite a few more, of course. A new casino needs to establish itself as a trustworthy authority.
- A good bonus matters. The best online casinos won’t try to lure you in, but to offer you a good deal. Now, there is no guarantee that you will end up in the black after you are done playing the bonus. What you need is a chance though and if a casino is not willing to offer you so much as a shot at being rich, then what sort of entertainment is this? I know what to look for, specifically when examining bonuses.
These are some of the essential aspects that any new mobile casino should be checked for. Establishing a credible name is not at all complicated, but most new brands may be a little hectic about it. Branding should be a top priority.
If the owners of future mobile casinos are reading this, you better make sure that you have ticked all the boxes before launch. Otherwise, I am probably coming for you.
Meanwhile, I also pay attention to what an example of a baseless complaint is. I suggest anyone who has a bone to pick with a casino to study carefully under what circumstances complaints are made and acted on.
My Approved List of the Best Mobile Casinos
All these years of experience have yielded a trove of reviews that I am quite happy to share with you today. Each operator has been approach individual, and I have put myself in the shoes of a player foremost.
While in some of the reviews I identify myself as a reviewer, I will never change my objective narrative for the sake of being well-received. I am probably going to look favourably at customer support, however.
What I want to establish during my reviews is whether all essential information is there. This includes things such as the payout rates at individual casinos, banking options, and whether they are fully mobile-friendly.
I consider it a grave sin to advertise a company as a mobile casino, but not to have bothered to integrate over 90% of the portfolio for iOS and Android. Understandably, there are some limitations occasioned by vendors as well, but a good company should learn that its word matters.
My Research Methodology
To make sure I have covered all my basis, I start at the website of the casino and take a good look. Then, I will usually move on to study any complaints that have been lodged against mobile casinos and their nature.
In some cases, customers are just trying to recuperate a loss they should have known better not to incur in the first place. For example, in the United Kingdom, the number of complaints has risen by 5000% within a five-year window. This is a lot, to say the least, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect the instances in which a gaming company has wrong a customer.
This is why it’s important to keep a cool head. A brand I won’t name here has threatened to sue a popular community board, specifically because the website refused to take down a complaint against them. In that case, customer support agents were asking from wronged customers to mail personal details to a post box in Moscow, Russia, which turned out not to exist in the end.
Well, so far as my work at CasinoHipster goes, you can expect to get in the ring with any gambling company playing the bully and give them a good seeing-to.
What Types of Mobile Casinos Are There?
When I say phone casinos or casinos for mobile, you need to understand that this doesn’t just mean something you can play from your smartphone. Or only on your smartphone. No, in fact, there are quite a few great devices you can use to make sure you are having a blast, and here they are.
iPad Casino: Play anywhere
An iPad casino is a form of a mobile casino. This is an online portal that has been well-optimized to run on your iPad, which is one of the most popular types of tablets out there. Manufactured by Apple, iPads are a very convenient gizmo, and they are used a lot in the United States.
Admittedly, their numbers are not as high as those of iPhones, for example, or regular Android-powered tablet, but a good deal of players relies on iPads to play. This is also true for the United Kingdom, and other places where Apple is steadily gaining market share.
iPhone Casino: Taking a Big Boost
Go back ten years, and iPhones weren’t really as popular for casino gaming. This was in pre-HTML5 times. Today, things sit a little differently, and you will be able to access all mobile casinos from your iPhone.
The reason is simple: instant play casinos are all developed largely relying on HTML5. Forget about Flash and its restrictive quirks. It’s all about keeping your gaze firmly on the future these days, and iPhone casino users are a big part of the future. In fact, they are just as many as their Android counterparts.
Android Casino: Still Reigning Supreme
Android devices – from tablets to smartphones – are still the most popular way to access mobile casinos. The rather low price of the hardware often makes it a preferred payment method among players.
You can purchase a phone that will run a casino without a flaw at a nominal cost, and this is specifically what makes this operating system (OS) attractive. Plus, HTML5 is not restrictive in any way, and it readily allows Android users to enjoy the full portfolio of online solutions.
In terms of actual gameplay, you will find Android devices to be very reliable. That allows you to have a great time playing your favourite casino games.
Real Money Casino App for Your Smartphone
Another essential part of any mobile casinos is, of course, the app. As I specified before, there are native and dedicated apps for some of the best operators out there. Today, an app is not a necessity, but it’s definitely a comfort.
An app would allow you to access a casino right away. Like you would use your bank’s app to manage your funds, so you would rather do the same with a casino, rather than typing up the address in the URL.
Now, there have been quite a few essential changes to the App Store and Google Store policies. As a result – and based on the jurisdiction – apps may not be fully available. For example, an app that is not “native” can no longer appear on the Apple Store.
Google is a bit less skittish about apps, but there are still some policies that could lead to a broader crackdown on such software. Meanwhile, in places like New Jersey and even the United States, casino apps are very popular – and new.
What Games Can You Play at Mobile Casinos?
I remember the days when I had to sort through a casino and try and determine which games I could play from my smartphone. Well, I didn’t really own a “smartphone” back then. It was a bit tedious and time-consuming. I was hoping that the day would come when the best online casinos would allow us to have full access to a portfolio. Well, this day has come, and you and I can enjoy fully-optimized game selections.
What’s changed? Well, you probably know – HTML5 is the technology that has helped shape much of the industry as we know it today. More importantly, you can access casinos at any time of the day and night, and this is what stands out to me.
Speaking of the specific games these are all video and classic slots, 3D slots, progressive jackpot machines, and other customizable slots where your decisions affect the gameplay.
It’s not just slots that you can enjoy, there’s more, such as:
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Baccarat
- Pai Go Poker & Craps
- Video Poker
- Bingo
- Lottery
- Live casino
Looking for Mobile Casino Bonuses?
Looking for great promos? Your mobile casino will have something valuable to offer. All you need to do is to make sure whether the offer is a good one for you. To do so, you check a few things about each bonus:
- What are the deadlines?
- How many times do you need to wager the bonus (or/and deposit)?
- Are there casinos with better offers right now?
- What do other people say about the bonus?
In each case, there is something about the bonus to find out. In my opinion, the wagering requirements are the most important here. While you can turn a blind eye to any bad deadline or even the amount of the bonus, too steep wagering terms and conditions mean that the casino is just being greedy. That means that a brand has no consideration for how you are supposed to roll the total amount and cash out the reward.
Mobile Casinos and the Best Payout Options
Payment options are determined by two factors – the jurisdiction they are based in and how willing a casino is to work with transparent payment processors. I have been able to examine hundreds of casinos, and in each case, the biggest deterrent to introducing better payouts were lawmakers.
However, some of the mobile operators I had the chance to play were also targeting countries and jurisdictions which they weren’t supposed to. Meanwhile, players had little to no options to play at a licensed casino – so it all evened out in the end.
My point is that to have providers, such as POLi, Neteller, Skrill, and especially PayPal, you need to have a well-regulated market. Even the best online casinos can’t operate in a country where online casinos are forbidden. Take, for example, the Netherlands where lawmakers are only now introducing changes to legalize the industry.
Meanwhile, if you are playing in fully-regulated markets, such as the United Kingdom, there are dozens of available options, to wit Trustly, VISA, MasterCard, Maestro, Wire Transfer, Cheque, Paysafecard, ApplePay, and many more.
The biggest plus of playing at such regulated casinos on your smartphones and tablets is simple. You can rely on very quick cashouts, which is exactly what you want to have as a player.
Pay ‘n Play
Trustly has invested quite a bit in developing one of the most innovative payment options that will save you a lot of the red tape – Pay‘n Play. This payment method has been designed specifically for the needs of casinos, allowing players to avoid the registration process.
Instead, Trustly runs all necessary KYC and AML checks and provides the casino with information and you – with an account. Forget about ever having to spend a single moment on the tedious registration problem, all courtesy of Trustly.
How to Sign Up for a Mobile Casino?
I figured that it’s important to explain the registration process. To register at an online casino, all you need to do is follow several rather simple steps:
- Find a casino you enjoy and click on the registration button
- Make sure the casino is a respected online brand with a proper license
- Provide truthful information about yourself
- Go through the identity verification check
- Start depositing and playing from your smartphone or tablet
The process is always straightforward. Just double-check you are playing with the right brand first, and you are good to go. If you look up individual reviews, you will see that I have some specific notes about the registration at each mobile casino I test.
In any event – want to find out more about a specific casino? Just refer to CasinoHipster’s dedicated reviewing section.
Mobile Split Screen: Do More While You Play
Intuitiveness is a driving principle for mobile casinos. Therefore, enjoying cool and apt features such as a split-screen for your mobile is now a viable option. Wait, split your screen for mobile? Isn’t that just going to make it difficult to access any of the casinos’ products? Not in the least. Casinos know how to make their games, bonuses and other parts of the navigation work in almost all conditions.
Mobile Casinos: Are They Superior to Desktop Only?
Absolutely, if a casino cannot offer you a mobile skin to play on, it means that there is something rather fishy going with that casino. All operators today understand the importance of being ready for the mobile wave – which is upon us, and they will do their damndest to have you all set up.
I, for one, have put together a list of mobile casinos that I believe in having met all criteria that the industry’s regulators expect from their operators. As a result, you will have a quick reference list that has been critically examined and will continue to be studied in detail. Ready to play some awesome mobile slots? Let’s get started!
