August 7th 2000©

Since the Internet has become popular in the past three years, people have been hesitant to begin making online purchases. With the advent of companies like Ebay and Amazon, however, the general Internet public have become noticeably more receptive to the idea of typing their credit card number into an online form. Those willing to give their credit card to online gambling enterprises, on the other hand, are a significantly smaller group of people. Why are people reticent? Should they be?

It seems to me that the 'faceless' element of many existing online casinos has made people uneasy about gambling online. They are happy enough to hand over their money to a cashier in a land-based casino in return for some nicely colored chips, but the idea of exchanging money for bits and bytes leaves the majority of the population clicking the back button!

It is much easier to give your credit card number when you are pretty sure a product is on its way in the mail, but the nature of online casinos means that you are changing numbers on an electronic bank account; there is never anything you can hold in your hand! How are you to know if the online casino operator is actually going to give you any winnings?

The truth is that you can't know unless you trust someone who has dealt with the specific casino and can offer some insights into the way they do business. This is where I hope to help you out.

In my experience, the most trustworthy Online Casinos are those who have a professional customer service team on the other end of the phone. It is always easier to gauge a company if they are good at talking to their consumer-base. With this in mind I suggest that you call the customer service line when you find a casino site that you are thinking of gambling at. Ask them all the security questions and voice anything that makes you uneasy. If they give you good answers and make you feel at ease, then chances are that they have fair odds and give quick pay-outs. If they don't even have a customer service number then I would forget it and find another site!

To sum up I suggest that you explore the entire website before you make a decision about an online casino. Make sure they have a good support structure, and call the number if you have any qualms. If you do have any problems then be sure to e-mail me and let me know so that I can make sure no-one else makes the same mistakes!

For a list of casinos I have personally played blackjack at and enjoyed, please check out our online blackjack reviews section.

The Blackjack Man