Mia's Online Casino Journey

Deciding on Whether to Take The Ultimate Leap – It’s a Personal Choice

Should you or should you not play at an online casino? This is a question that only you can answer for yourself. It’s one that I muddled over for quite some time before I finally decided to give it a try.

First and foremost, gambling is a highly personal choice. There’s no law that says you have to gamble. There’s also no time limit on when you can choose to do it.

So, if you really don’t feel like gambling online, then don’t. If you feel like waiting, then wait. If you want to play, but you’re not sure if you should – or that you’ll even like it – maybe explore a few things first. That’s what I did before I decided to start playing.

What Should You Explore? Here’s What I Did Before Trying an Online Casino

• I played games for fun first 🎰🆓 –  First, to get a feel for how playing online worked and how different it was compared to gambling at a land-based destination, I tried different casino games online in a demo (no-risk) mode to see if I even liked the experience.  
  
  🌟Mia’s Tip: I suggest demoing all the types of games you like – slots, roulette, blackjack, video poker, etc. Play a variety of variants. A place where I found a lot of different games to play for free was casino.org.  Just note that if you’re interested in live casino games, these cannot be demoed in a free-play mode. The best thing to do here is to head to YouTube and watch videos about other people’s live dealer experiences to get an idea of what it looks like. Live casino game provider Evolution Gaming’s YouTube channel is a good place to start.  

• I played games on both desktop and mobile💻/📱 – Knowing that the online casino world isn’t just restricted to a desktop or laptop computer, I decided to try it on my smartphone and tablet, too, to see if there was one platform I preferred over another.  As I’ve mentioned previously, I prefer to play on desktop.
  
  🌟Mia’s Tip: Knowing what platform you like best for enjoying your online experience is important. For instance, if you’re not comfortable using a computer (or if you don’t personally own one), you’ll want to make sure if a mobile online casino experience is something you even like or that runs well on your device.

• I considered what payment option I would use💸 – I found out that credit cards, debit cards, bank transfer, and prepaid card options are available for Ontario online casino players. I liked the idea of using a prepaid card for making online casino deposits, and after a bit of investigating, decided to use PaySafeCard.
  
  🌟Mia’s Tip: I suggest using a non-credit card payment, like Interac or PaySafeCard for making deposits. It’s better to keep track of your budget and bet with the money you have in your account than to put something on credit.

• I thought about what personal documents I would provide to verify my ID and address 🪪 – I had to accept the fact that I would need to provide personal information and send personal documents to the online casino I would choose to play at, to verify my identity. I investigated this verification process at the online casinos that interested me as well as investigated what the Ontario local regulator had to say about these verification processes and what to expect, to make sure I was okay with providing this information. Eventually, I decided that I would provide my license and a utility bill.
  
  🌟Mia’s Tip: Make sure you’re comfortable with providing your personal information online as well as sending images of sensitive documents like your driver’s license, passport, utility bill, bank statement, etc. There’s no way around this if you want to gamble for the chance at winning real money at a secure and legitimate online casino.

• I researched my regulator 👩‍💻 – I found out that the regulator in Ontario is the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and that the license provided to online casinos is from iGaming Ontario. In short, I discovered that the best place to check if an online casino is reputable and secure is through iGaming Ontario.
  
  🌟Mia’s Tip: Protect yourself and know your rights as an online player. Learn about the regulator in your jurisdiction and find the answers to any questions you have.

• I talked to my husband about my interest to play online🗣️ – I let him know that I wanted to try it and was curious about his opinion. Talking to him and telling him why I was interested in playing online and learning his perspective helped me to think about my choice in new ways. It also encouraged me to seek out answers to other questions I didn’t think about like, will I be taxed on any winnings?  
  
  🌟Mia’s Tip: It can be beneficial to talk about your plans to play at an online casino with someone who’s opinion you respect or who has played at an online casino before. Discussing your thoughts and any concerns you might have with another person, could help you sort things out and decide if online gambling is something you really want to do.  

Playing at an Online Casino is a Personal Choice, But It Shouldn’t Be a Secret

Choosing to gamble online is a personal choice and should be your decision. However, while you don’t need someone’s permission to gamble online, and you don’t need to justify your choice, you also shouldn’t keep your decision to gamble online a secret 🤐, especially from the people closest to you.  Hiding the fact that you gamble from those you love is not a safe way to enjoy this type of entertainment and could be indicative of a problem gambling behavior or lead to one over time.

I’m not suggesting that you share your pass time with the world or talk about it incessantly, but if you decide to play at an online casino – or even if you’re thinking about doing it – maybe be open about it with the people you love and trust just as you would be open with them about other activities you enjoy. I feel that this is especially important if you share your life with someone, and doubly important if you share your finances with them.

In my case, I’m lucky. Justin (my husband) has always been super supportive, and we have great communication, and trust. I hope you have someone in your life like that too.

Alright, so this post kind of ended less about how to decide if you should play at an online casino and more about why it’s important not to keep it a secret.😂 That wasn’t my initial intention, but I got on a bit of a tangent. Oops!🤭

Anyway, bottom line, if you’re on the proverbial fence, I hope that by letting you know about some of the things I did to help me decide if I should gamble online, will be of use to you in your own online casino journey of discovery.  

Until next time, good luck and have fun!

Mia 👩‍💻

*All links used in this post are for information purposes only.