New Players Guide

If you have never gambled online then this guide should give you all of the information you need to get started. We cover the history of online casinos, how they work and how to play. For commonly asked questions about online casinos visit our FAQ Section.

A Brief History of Online Casinos

While there is some debate over who was first to offer real money casino gambling online we can say for sure that the first online gambling sites started to appear in 1994. The earliest casinos where InterCasino and The Gaming Club. In the last decade there has been a substantial increase in the amount of operators and the amount of choice for casino players. This competition makes for some great bonuses.

Today with so many sites competing for the same players you will find that all casinos offer new customers a welcome bonus of some form. This usually comes as a first deposit bonus but some are totally free requiring no deposit at all. If you want to jump right in an claim some free offers visit our Casino Bonuses section for all the details.

How Online Casinos Work

To simulate random outcomes such as cards being dealt or dice being thrown, online casinos use random number generators. To ensure fairness these RNG's are reviewed and audited by well know third party companies. As soon as you press bet your computer sends a signal to the gaming server which sends back the result.

Quick Start Guide : How To Play Online

Before you can start making bets you have to first choose a casino. The five listed on the right hand side of this page are our featured picks, you can also find more in the Casino Reviews and Casino Bonus Offers sections of this site. Once you have selected a casino you need to visit their website and download the free gaming software.

Unless otherwise stated the downloadable software is only compatible with Windows based computer systems such as those using Windows 98, Me or XP. If you are a Mac user then you will have to play at the no download versions. Once you have downloaded and installed the software on your computer you are ready to register.

All online casinos offer two registration modes. A guest and a real player account. If you want to try out the games without using real money then sign up for a guest account. If you want to play for real money and have the option of collecting some bonus money then go for the real account option.

The last thing you need to do before you can claim your bonus cash or start betting is make a deposit. There are a wide variety of ways to deposit funds into your account. The most common and easiest are credit or debit cards. Other options include virtual wallets such as NETeller or Money Bookers. With money in your account you are ready to start betting. Choose a game and away you go.