Before You Sign Up

The first time I opened an online casino account, I was doing research for an article. I thought it would take five minutes. It took an afternoon. There was a registration form that asked for more information than my bank, a welcome bonus with terms longer than my university dissertation, a verification process I did not understand and a lobby with hundreds of games whose rules nobody explained.
I remember thinking: if this is confusing for someone who is paid to understand it, what must it be like for everyone else?
Since then, I have reviewed many new operators and written dozens of beginner guides. I have walked through registration flows, uploaded verification documents, read bonus terms line by line and tested withdrawals. This book collects what I have learned into a single, plain-English guide for anyone who is thinking about signing up to an online casino, or who has signed up and wants to understand what they have agreed to.
I want to be clear about what this book is and is not. It is not an invitation to gamble. Online casino games are designed so that, over time, the operator wins and players lose. That is not a secret or a conspiracy; it is simply how the business works, and I explain the mathematics in detail. Gambling can be an enjoyable pastime for some adults, but it can also cause serious harm to finances, relationships and mental health.
What this book is, is a guide to making informed decisions. If you choose to gamble, I want you to know how to choose a licensed operator, what to read before you accept a bonus, how to set limits and what to do if something goes wrong. And if, after reading it, you decide online casinos are not for you, that is a perfectly good outcome too.
You must be of legal gambling age in your country to gamble, and online gambling is not legal everywhere. Check the rules where you live. Help for anyone affected by gambling is listed at the end of this book.