All PlatinPlay Online Casino Reviews and Ratings 2023
Our approach is simple: the players always comes first in our online casino reviews. Let’s take a deep dive into how exactly we decide whether an operator deserves the PlatinPlay seal of approval.
Before we dive into our how we rate and review our casinos, here's a list of casinos our our team of professionals highly recommend.
Our UK Online Casino Review and Rating System
Our online casino review ratings are based on a list of 7 crucial elements that includes the following:
- Casino Bonuses
- Licencing and Security
- Payment Methods
- Game Selections
- Customer Support
- User Experience
- Mobile Responsiveness
Let’s go into some more detail about how we test and analyse these seven key elements as part of our online casino review and ranking system.
Casino Bonuses
One of the things every casino player looks for is a generous bonus with fair and simple terms and conditions. This is why these are at the top of our list of criteria when reviewing online casinos. For new players, the best welcome bonus casinos typically offer a match deposit, free spins, or a mix of both. Over and above the casino welcome bonus for new players, our experts expect to see other forms of loyalty promotions and special offers for returning players too. These can take the form of reload bonuses, cashbacks, free spins and even match deposit. A site that ticks all these boxes is guaranteed a top spot on our list of UK casino reviews.
Licensing and Security
No one wants to spend their time wondering if they’re being ripped off when they’re trying out a new casino, right? This is why licensing and security play such an important role in determining our online casino reviews.
At the very minimum, the UK casino sites needs to be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). This is the UK’s gambling regulator, a highly respected, independent organisations that keeps operators to the highest standards. If the site is licensed by more than one regulator – for example, it has a second Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) licence for other respective markets – then this is a further sign of trustworthiness as it means the site satisfies all the different requirements of multiple regulators.
However, this is only the minimum we expect for a positive online casino review. In addition, our experts look for platform security, for example via SSL encryption that guarantees the privacy of personal and financial data. In other words, spotting the SSL padlock means that no-one’s going to get their paws on your funds.
We also look for sites that undergo willing independent auditing on a regular basis so as to ensure that their games are fair and truly randomly generated. International organisations like eCOGRA and iTech Labs will carry out rigorous testing before giving their seal of approval – if an operator has successfully passed these tests, the company seals will be proudly displayed towards the bottom of the casino’s landing page.
Finally, we check the site for responsible gambling tools. On this aspect, full points go to those operators that offer an in-house safe gambling programme, with betting limits, loss limits, possible self-exclusion and more. We also want to know that players who are facing problems will be directed to the professionals, via links to safe gambling support groups such as BeGambleAware, GamCare, Gamblers Anonymous and Gamstop.
Payment Methods
Massively important for our UK casino reviews are the casino payment methods available on the site. We expect to see a good choice made available to players, with an average of at least 7 methods.
Needless to say, these need to include the most popular ones such as:
- Modern E-wallets like PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Apple Pay and Google Pay because of their high usage and demand across the online casino space.
- Bank transfers such as Paysafecard and MuchBetter as they allow you to transfer money from your bank account to a casino without divulging your financial details.
- Debit cards like VISA, MasterCard and American Express as they have retained a high level of popularity in the UK with those players who favour a more convenient casino payment option which requires no third parties.
- PaybyPhone Options because of their popularity amongst UK players.
- Cryptocurrency payments such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are rising in popularity in the UK and some casinos are providing this audience with the possibility of using their crypto to play with.
When scoring our UK online casino reviews, naturally we want to see most of these options available. Their presence further signals trustworthiness and reliability on the part of the platform, as here we’re taking massive brands that have their own high standards to uphold, so a partnership with them is always a sign of excellence.
Finally, we take a good look at the site’s cashier policy. If you have to jump through hoops to cash out, it’s a no go for our online casino review. Ideally, withdrawals are processed within 24 to 48 hours. Additionally, E-wallet withdrawals should be instantaneous or almost.
Games & Software
Games are the primary reason we’re here, let’s not forget that. So, it stands to reason that the game selection, game play experience and software available are going to make a huge difference when it comes to scoring our best online casino reviews. Nowadays any operator worth its salt will offer a 360-degree package of games that reaches the hundreds, if not thousands. This is not to say that we won’t value smaller operators, but reality is that UK players look for variety and any casino that offers it is obviously getting a better rating than one that doesn’t.
While progressive jackpots and online slots for real money remain the most popular games, we do expect to see a decent selection of table and live dealer online casino games such as roulette, blackjack, poker and baccarat. Lottery games, bingo and scratch cards have really become sought after by British players in recent years, and we reward sites that offer a good selection with higher scores. Game shows in their live dealer format and crash games are also on the rise, so we do tend to look out for those too.
Because we want to make sure the games offer a fair deal to the players, we look for known and trusted software providers. Names like Pragmatic Play, Evolution Gaming, Big Time Gaming, Playtech, NetEnt, NoLimit City and other popular labels are what we like to see, because these are highly reputable brands that offer authenticated and audited titles. Our experts also look for a reasonable selection of the best casino software providers – anything over ten is great. Exceed the 20 and you’re getting closer to that top score in our UK casino reviews.
Customer Support
Glitches happen and questions arise. And when they do, we want to make sure that the operator has the players’ back. The level of customer support offered makes a huge difference here. The best possible scenario is a choice of five methods: e-mail, phone, online form, live chat and a clear detailed FAQ section. Extra points if live chat is available 24/7 and if, when we test it, we receive prompt, clear and polite replies that solve our issues without too much game interruption.
Mobile Compatibility
Nowadays many UK players prefer to gamble on the go, so we also test a site on various mobile devices before committing a positive online casino review. Some sites offer dedicated casino apps that can be downloaded via the Google Play or App store. Here, we rate whether the App is easy to download, whether it’s too large, whether it offers all the same casino bonuses and games as its desktop counterpart and whether it loads up fast, without any glitches.
However, more modern casinos are designed using HTML5, which means that the in-browser site can easily be accessed via mobile. This removes the need to clutter your device with an App and you can still enjoy all your saved games and bonuses from your phone or tablet. We won’t necessarily reduce points from our UK casino reviews if a site doesn’t have a dedicated App, as long as players can enjoy seamless gambling in-browser anyway through their web mobile casino.
User Experience
So we like the bonus, we’re happy with security, payments and gaming options are cool and we can play off our mobile with ease. We’re still not done. Our final test involves the user experience, because ticking all the boxes but having a confusing interface that ruins the entire session won’t get any site on to our good side for an online casino review, that’s for sure.
Here we look at whether the site is intuitive and has been designed in such a manner as to favour players’ needs. Is there a good filtering system for games? Does the search bar work? Is the layout neat or is it chaotic? Can we find the FAQs easily? All these aspects make a huge difference to whether a player will actually enjoy playing at a casino or not, which is why we’re careful not to omit them from our criteria for online casino reviews.
Top Online Casinos UK 2023
Benefits Of Online Casino Reviews UK
Why do we need UK online casino reviews? The reasons may not be immediately obvious, but reality is that it can get very expensive for a player to simply use the trial-and-error method of personally testing every casino they’re interested in without knowing what they’re going to find.
Quite apart from the waste of time of registration, and the fact that you’ll end up spending your bankroll on questionable sites that you won’t ever go back to, the wrong choice is literally cutting into your relaxation time. We play games to have fun, and choosing to spend our time at the wrong casino will seriously ruin our leisure time.
This is why honest and transparent online casino reviews are so important to players nowadays. Here are some ways that they can improve your gambling experience.
- Our UK online casino reviews target UK players specifically – You’re not just looking for the best online casino reviews, you’re looking for the best ones for players in Britain. There are a lot of online casinos out there, and there are a lot of new casinos too; however, the ones we recommend offer the games that are most popular with Brits, convenient payment methods and (most importantly) are licensed for UK players. Which means that in case of any complaints, you’re fully protected under British law.
- They guide you directly towards the best online casino reviews – A casino license is the bare minimum to ensure your security. Our UK online casino reviews take note of other aspects, such as external auditing, responsible gambling tools, efficient customer support and more so you can be sure of accessing the best sites.
- They give you updated bonus information – If you want to know all about the latest promos while receiving a simplified explanation of the terms attached, your best bet is to check out a reliable online casino review. We all know how difficult it can be to decipher what the bonus terms and conditions page is trying to tell. While we still recommend that you take a look for yourself, we do the heavy lifting by explaining everything from wagering requirements to expiry and eligibility.
How To Pick The Right Casino
By now you should have a good understanding of how online casino reviews work at PlainPlay, and why we can say with full confidence that our ratings are 100% honest and objective. UK casino reviews such as the ones you find on this site are based on the seven key criteria that we mentioned earlier, so you can be rest assured that the most important elements that players value in an online casino are all present and correct if they’re on our list of best online casino reviews.
Still, is it enough to read a couple of our reviews enough? While this is a good start, we still encourage players to conduct their own research. After all, you want to be able to take the decision on your own steam, and there are some extra steps that players can take to make sure they have the full picture.
Step 1: Read several reviews like ours here at PlatinPlay
It’s important that the reviews you read are based on factual criteria. Choose casino review sites that have a transparent review process and explain how they reached their ratings, like PlatinPlay.
Step 2: Take a look at user-generated reviews
Checking out what other players have to say is always a good idea. Online forums like Reddit offer several channels related to online casino reviews, and here you’ll find a wealth of information about the tiniest details. Obviously, use your own judgement when evaluating complaints and praise. Not every user is genuine, and some players do enjoy complaining simply because they lost a few games fair and square.
Step 3: Take a look at the games library
The whole point of a casino is a games library. Take a peek at what partnerships it has with software providers. If there are only a handful of obscure, small brands then it’s a sure fire sign that this site is not going to be on any list of best online casinos.
Step 4: Check if the casino has won any awards
Nowadays there are many industry awards that tackle specific areas of casinos, from game variety to customer service, gamification and innovation. If you’re looking at a site with a multitude of awards from well-known gaming events, then you know that it’s legit. Casinos usually list all their awards at the very bottom of the homepage, and many will also have a specific section on their website.
Step 5: Take a look at the App rating
If a casino offers a dedicated App it’s always a good idea to see what Google and Apple users are saying about it. Anything under a three-star rating indicates issues that you may wish to avoid. A poor online casino review on the App is probably an indication of a poor player experience. Though, once again you need to use your own judgement here.
The importance of licences
We’ve already mentioned licensing and regulation as one of our topmost criteria when rating sites for our real money casino reviews. Here we’re going to delve into a little bit more detail. The UKGC is considered one of the strictest gambling regulators in the world. It was incorporated with the aim of protecting the interests of British players across several criteria including game fairness, data protection (both personal information and financial), protection of players’ funds and responsible gambling. To this end, it has instituted several regulations related to each area that licensees are required to follow.
Before granting a licence, the UKGC makes sure that the operator satisfies every single one of these regulations. But matters don’t stop there – even after the licence is granted, the regulator regularly audits those sites that operate under its license so as to make sure that they are not letting standards slip. If they’re found to be in violation of any of the rules, they will not only get fined but can also get their license suspended or revoked, so there’s quite a bit at stake here. This is why we place such strong trust when we see the UKGC seal of approval.
Moreover, a UKGC licence means that a UK player enjoys right of redress and legal protection under British law. Players can file a complaint against an operator directly via the regulator, without having to deal with bureaucracy and legal expenses. The UKGC will then take it upon itself to investigate the complaint and to provide a timely solution.
Highly Recommended Casinos by PlatinPlay
Now that you have a solid idea of what to look for in casino comparison sites like PlatinPlay, it’s time to introduce you to our highest-scorers on the list of best online casino reviews. The sites below passed our experts’ testing with flying colours and we’re happy to recommend them for an excellent gambling experience.
Online Casino Reviews and Ratings FAQs
All your questions answered about Online Casino Reviews and Ratings
To find the best online casinos you can start by checking out online casino reviews on sites like PlatinPlay. We’ve employed a team of casino experts and have created a transparent rating system to ensure that reviews are genuine, reliable, and most importantly factually correct.
There are many online casino reviews that claim to have found the best sites. Though in reality you need to start out by making sure that the online casino review site is recommending casinos that are licensed to operate within the UK. For this, you’ll need to check for the UKGC logo when you scroll to the very bottom of the page, as well as its licence number.
On this page you’ll find a selection of UK sites that are recommended by our experts for their high level of trustworthiness and standard of operations. They have all passed the stringent requirements of our rating system and earned themselves a PlatinPlay recommendation.
Game selection is one of our seven main criteria when determining an online casino review. Our recommendations only include sites which offer a good selection of slots to UK players and that have partnered up with reputable software providers.
Online casino reviews are essential as they provide valuable information about the reputation, reliability, and quality of different casinos. They assist players in making informed decisions, avoiding scams, and selecting reputable platforms for safe and enjoyable gambling experiences.
We review and rate casinos at PlatinPlay by carefully evaluating key aspects such as casino bonuses, licensing and security, payment methods, game selections, customer support, user experience, and mobile responsiveness. Our comprehensive assessment ensures that we recommend top-quality online casinos to our users.
PlatinPlay always puts the player first, and that’s why you can trust our online casino reviews. We prioritize your needs and carefully evaluate important factors like bonuses, security and licensing, game variety, customer support, user experience, and mobile friendliness. Our aim is to provide honest and reliable recommendations, so you can make informed choices and have the best online casino experience.