A brief guide to Twitch streaming
Account Management
Best Payout Casinos UK %%currentyear%%
Blacklisted Casinos
Casino Bankroll Management
Casino Dictionary
Free Casino Games in the UK
No Wagering Casino Bonuses
RNG Explained
Slot Tracker
Understanding House Edge
Wagering Requirements
What can you learn from our UK casino guides?
Our online casino guides will help you navigate the world of online casinos as a British player. The industry is rapidly evolving as we speak, with new trends as well as updated regulations emerging on a regular basis.
For this reason, it’s important to remain informed and to learn how to identify those licensed UK casinos that offer the best value.
Learn the proper casino terminology
If you are a beginner in the world of online casino games or discovering new types of games, it’s always better to be aware of the terminology used in the industry.
Volatility, RTP, house edge, wagering requirements and many other terms can prove to be extremely useful if you know them and ruin your gameplay if you don’t.
Below are some of the most essential terms that you should be familiar with before joining any new casino sites:
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Bankroll | How much money you have in your player account |
| Bonus bet | The maximum bet allowed when playing a game with a bonus |
| Bonus Funds | Funds that are derived from a casino bonus, and which need to be wagered first, before you can withdraw. |
| Bonus Spins | These are spins given away as part of a bonus, and which need to be wagered before any winnings can be withdrawn. |
| Cash Funds | Funds that you deposited or won that are instantly withdrawable, and not linked to bonus funds |
| Conversion limit | A maximum amount that you can win from a bonus |
| Eligible games | The list of games that you can play a bonus on, or which are included as part of a casino promotion. |
| Match bonus | A deposit match bonus involves a bonus that matches your deposit by a certain percentage (for example a 100% match bonus doubles your deposit, whereas a 200% bonus actually triples it). |
| House edge | This is the advantage that the casino (or game) has over the player when it comes to every single game – calculated over a huge number of rounds. The house edge is the very opposite of RTP and is expressed as a percentage (e.g. 2% house edge or 98% RTP) |
| Prize drop | A casino promotion or game feature whereby a certain cash prize is dropped at random to be won by a participating player. |
| Reload bonus | A bonus that is offered to existing players, typically on a weekly or monthly basis. |
| RTP | Return to Player – this refers to the percentage that you can win from a game in the long run, and is calculated over thousands of game rounds. For example, if a game has an RTP of 96%, then you can expect to win £96 for every £100 played, but only in the very long run. Typically, you can hit the jackpot or win more, or else run out of luck and win less! |
| Wagering Requirements | The number of times you need to wager a casino bonus before it becomes withdrawable. This is normally indicated by a number followed by an ‘x’ (e.g. 35x, or 35 times). |
| Wager-free spins | Free Spins that are free of wagering requirements, allowing you to keep what you win. |
| Game weighting/contribution | The percentage that a game contributes to the wagering requirement (e.g. if a game contributes 100% to a wagering requirement of 40x, then you need to wager the bonus amount on that game 40 times. If a game contributes only 50%, you would need to wager the amount 80 times). |
| Self-exclusion | A responsible gambling measure available at all online casinos that allows players to exclude themselves from real-money gambling for a period of time, or permanently. |
Tips and Tricks to improve your casino experience
And now, we’re going to share with you some simple tips to help you make the best of your online casino experience. After all, knowledge is power, and if you play smart you can avoid unnecessary losses and disappointments.
- Read our reviews
Our casino reviews go into a lot of detail to let you know whether it is worthwhile to join a casino and claim its offers. We take a look at different aspects, including game selection, interface, bonuses and payment options available, to determine how user-friendly and rewarding a casino is.
In the end, we give our honest opinion, based on how a casino compares to others, as well as depending on our personal experience when we register and play at each casino.
2. Watch streamers play
When watching the pros playing casino games online, you can get a pretty good idea of how a game plays out, and of the best strategy to use for each game. Casino streamers typically run a commentary that gives you a good indication of how good a game is, as these people have a lot of experience and are able to compare each game to its competitors.
Nowadays, you can view dozens of casino streamers try their luck and strategy on channels like Twitch and Facebook Gaming.
3. Read about the game rules and strategies
Whatever game you intend to play, it’s very important to grasp its rules and find out how the best wins are to be had. Even if you’re playing a slot game, knowing something about the size of payouts and volatility can help you with your betting strategy.
In the case of table games specifically, knowing the rules is even more important so that you can take advantage of their low house-edge to the full. For example, if you play Blackjack according to basic strategy, the RTP can go up to 99% (depending on the variant you’re playing)!
Our Baccarat and Roulette Strategy pages can help you learn the best strategies to increase your winning chances on these games.
4. Practice playing for free
One of the advantages of playing casino games online is that you can always play the games for free first, before risking any of your own hard-earned cash!
Most casinos allow you to play their slots and table games in demo mode after registration, so you can get familiar with the game and refine your skills!
Learn how to manage your bankroll
No matter which casino game you’re playing, it’s important to keep an eye on your bankroll and plan a bit ahead.
It’s always recommended to have a budget that suits your income and lifestyle. Thanks to the flexible betting limits of online casino games, you are free to bet small amounts as well as higher amounts on each game. Slots start at £0.10 per spin, which means that if you stake lower amounts, your budget will last you for a good number of rounds!
Today, licensed online casinos have tools in place to help you manage your bankroll, as part of their responsible gambling policy. These include deposit and loss limits, which automatically notify you to stop gambling if you reach certain preset limits.
Wagering requirements explained
If you’re claiming a bonus, then you ought to know all about wagering requirements! These requirements actually determine your likelihood of keeping your winnings from a bonus.
If a bonus is attached to a wagering requirement of 40 times, that means you have to wager your bonus amount 40 times before you are able to cash out. This means that with a bonus of £20, you have to wager £800 in total. If you run out of bonus funds, you might need to deposit again in order to complete the wagering requirement.
For this reason, low wagering or wager-free bonuses are your best deal. Luckily, these have become more common in the UK lately.
In our reviews, we always clearly state the wagering requirements attached to a bonus. We have also created specific low wagering casino and no wagering casino guides to help you find the best bonuses!
How does an RNG work?
An RNG, also known as a Random Number Generator, is a program behind an online casino game that generates outcomes at random. The program is based on an algorithm and makes use of a seed number. This random number will then correspond to a particular result in a game (such as which pocket the Roulette ball lands on, or a particular winning combination in a slot game).
RNGs keep on working even when nobody is playing, generating numbers in milliseconds. When the player clicks on a spin or play button, the outcome will correlate to the number that has been generated in that split of a second. This is why there’s no way you can affect the outcome of a game that uses a Random Number Generator!
Find out how the House Edge affects your game
Every single game at a casino comes with a house edge. This means that in the long run, the operator is going to make a certain profit from this game and that overall, there will be more losses than wins.
That said, the house edge can be pretty slim. For certain Blackjack and Baccarat games, it could even go up to 1%.
When it comes to online slots, the house edge is typically around 4%. In this case, this advantage is also expressed as an RTP (Return to Player). A slot with an RTP of 96% will have a house edge of 4%! You can check out our list of best RTP slots here.
Both house edge and RTP are calculated over thousands of rounds, so it doesn’t mean that you’re always guaranteed to lose the 4%. In fact, you may get really lucky and win the jackpot!
That said, the house edge does give you a good indication of how much you can expect to win from a game in the long run.
Find a High Roller Casino!
Some online casinos suit high rollers more than others. If you like to stake big and can afford to, then you might as well join an online casino that offers perks for high rollers.
Some of the casino sites we’ve reviewed, have loyalty rewards for their players, and enable you to unlock these rewards the more you stake.
If you’re a high roller, you also need to find a casino with high withdrawal and deposit limits, as well as flexible table limits. LeoVegas, for example, has various VIP live dealer tables where you can stake big!
Tips to manage your casino account
Every time you create a new account with an online casino you will be required to set a username and password. Make sure that you do not share these details with anyone, and to change your password if you suspect any unauthorized access.
On your casino account, you’ll be able to view different personal data, including your bankroll, your bonus balance, and other information. You can also take control of your gambling behaviour by using the casino’s responsible gambling tools (for example by setting deposit limits or session limits).
Casino licenses explained
A casino needs a licence in order to operate in a certain jurisdiction. All casinos that cater to British players need to be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.
A license guarantees that an online casino is fair and safe. Although some unlicensed online casinos may allow you to join, these do so illegally, and more often than not, they impose very unfair and non-transparent terms.
Licensed casinos adhere to certain common measures and standards. For example, they all need to make available certain responsible gambling tools, and they cannot offer games with illegal features or from unlicensed providers.
The Casinos we recommend at CasinoHawks are UK-licensed casinos.
Discover which casino payout the most
When you know exactly what casino sites pay out the most, you’ll spend less time looking for ways to maximise your profits and more time playing.
Check out our Best Payout Online Casinos page to get the most out of your casino site experience.
Blacklisted casinos
There are, of course, those casino sites that you will want to steer completely clear of, and we’ll help you with that.
On our Blacklisted Casinos page, we have all the information you need on how to recognise untrustworthy casino sites.