The best online casinos and real money gambling sites in 2022 – Times of Malta

These days, online casino sites are practically begging for your custom everywhere you go, whether that's through a lucrative welcome bonus, free spins, or exclusive games. But what are the best online casinos and how to find them?

We've played at most of the popular online casinos, and now we're going to rank them from one to 10 for your convenience. Don't get caught out playing at an online casino that's not worth your time. Take an educated punt with us instead.

Let's see who made the list, shall we?

1: Best online casino overall: Genesis

2: Best for exclusive games: Royal Panda

3: Best banking methods: Slotty Vegas

4: PlayOJO

5: Mr Play

6: Bitstarz

7: Wildz

8: Europa

9: Lucky Days

10: Fun Casino

1. Genesis: Best online casino overall

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At number one, it's Genesis, with a healthy 1,800+ library and a beautiful theme and design that sets it apart from the competition.

Games: 5/5

There's a rich selection available at Genesis, with over 1,800 games to choose from at our last count. They include the classics such as slots, roulette, and blackjack, and over 90 live casino games to try out too.

We particularly enjoyed browsing the 'Must-Fall' jackpot section, with tons of jackpot slots ripe and ready to be won.

Bonuses: 4.8/5

Genesis features a welcome package split over four deposits that nets you up to $1,000 in bonus funds, as well as 300 free spins to play with. This is about as good as it gets, and its another reason why Genesis made it to the top of our list.

Functionality and design: 5/5

With a name like Genesis, you might have guessed that it features a beautiful space theme.

Its a gorgeous deep space decor filled with dark and starry backdrops that make your time spent on the website a very pleasant experience.

Navigation and exploration are of high quality, too, with the game categories featured prominently at the top and a handy search function on the far right for any specific requests.

Banking: 4.5/5

There are several ways to fund your account at Genesis, including popular new methods such as Apple Pay.

If you use e-wallet options like Skrill or Neteller, your withdrawals will often be processed instantly and available in your account within the hour. Other methods can take up to three to five business days.

2. Royal Panda: Best online casino site for exclusive titles

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Royal Panda is our pick for number two, featuring a solid library with exclusive titles and an excellent $1,000 welcome bonus.

Games: 4.5/5

With over 1200 games to sink your teeth into at Royal Panda, you aren't going to get bored any time soon. Their most robust offering comes in the form of slots, including its own exclusive Royal Panda Megaways title.

Meanwhile, those who enjoy their gambling in the company of smartly dressed dealers will enjoy the live games section featuring roulette, blackjack, and other classic casino table games.

Bonus: 4.7/5

The headline welcome bonus at Royal Panda is a $1,000 deposit bonus match, with wagering requirements of x35. While this isn't as much as some competitors, it'll still take a considerable amount of time, luck, and patience to cash funds out.

Other promotions include the Royal Jackpot, in which eligible slot games have the potential to pay out up to $5,000,000.

Functionality and design: 3.9/5

Royal Panda's design is simple - perhaps a little too simple, if we're being honest. While we love the Panda mascot (because mascots are always a good thing!), there's not much else going on, to be honest.

The colour scheme is black and white with no frills whatsoever, and aside from the cute but infrequent Panda icons, it's hard to differentiate it from other gambling sites out there.

Fortunately, the website functions as well as could be expected, with games loading quickly and the search feature providing an easy way for you to find your favourite casino games.

Banking: 4.3/5

There's a vast array of banking methods to take advantage of at Royal Panda, including popular wallets such as Skrill and global debit and credit cards like Visa and MasterCard.

There will be some changes to payment methods depending on the geo-location of where you access Royal Panda from. Still, broadly speaking, it caters to a wide variety of payment tools that will make most players happy.

3. Slotty Vegas: Best welcome bonus

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Arriving at number three is Slotty Vegas, the City of Slots. Featuring a vast array of banking methods and a unique theme and design, there is a lot to like about this slots-based online casino.

Games: 3.8/5

There are just over 1,700 games available to play at Slotty, which is certainly nothing to sniff at. The vast majority of them are slots, but they are certainly varied, coming from a range of different software developers, including Netent, Evolution, Microgaming, and Play'n GO.

Blackjack fans are the second most-catered players here, with no less than 85 variants to choose from. That's one of the largest selections of blackjack games we've seen and potentially the most on this list.

Bonus: 5/5

There's $1,500 in bonus funds up for grabs when you register a new account at Slotty, with 300 free spins available, too.

Other promotions available include a weekly bonus every Monday and daily prizes to be won on Pragmatic Play slots.

Functionality and design: 4/5

We like Slotty's unique theme, even if the design matches a lot of other casino templates. We wish they'd have expanded on it a little more, as the idea of a city filled with slots is a pretty fun idea.

As expected, the casino functions well, with quick loading times and games that play smoothly without much, if any lag.

They have a dedicated mobile app too, which provides a similarly clean experience for gaming on the go.

Banking: 5/5

Sloty's strong point is certainly its wide range of banking methods, which - at the time of writing - stand at an impressive 22.

They include Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Neteller, Skrill, Trustly, PayPal, and tons of other reliable and efficient offers for bettors.

4. PlayOJO

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5. Mr. Play

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Each of the online casinos on our list is subject to a set of criteria to ensure it meets a certain standard. In an effort to be as transparent as possible, we've shared this methodology below so you can be confident in our recommendations.

Game library:

All the top casinos on this list will feature a healthy library packed with games of all different varieties. It's not just a numbers game, though. The more diverse the selection, the better. If you can play specialty games as well as the classics like slots and roulette, that can only be a good thing.

More than anything, it helps to have more options in general. If you're engaging in a marathon sesh, it's not going to last as long if your choices are slim.

Casino bonuses and promotions:

With the online gambling market as saturated as it is, casino sites have to work harder for your attention and custom. One of the main ways they will aim to do this is by offering juicy welcome bonuses and ongoing promotions that keep you coming back for more.

Not all online casino bonuses are as good as advertised, though. You may be taken in by a large number only to find out the wagering requirements are so high you'll never be able to cash out, anyway.

That's where we like to give extra insight. We'll analyse the bonus packages so you don't have to, and we'll highlight the ones worth your time and money.

Functionality and design:

We love casinos that look good but run even better. It's a simple philosophy, really. If an online casino site's design is easier on the eyes, then it's going to make you want to stick around for longer. But what's under the hood matters, too. It matters a lot.

See, a casino can have all the pretty bells and whistles in the world. But if it runs terribly, it's just not going to work, literally. Examples of lousy functionality are as follows:

It's not an exhaustive list, but you get the picture. We make sure our top-rated casino sites avoid these common mistakes.

Banking tools

Put simply, this is how you fund your account and how you withdraw from it. The more sources available, the better. But quality matters, too. E-wallets are generally considered the gold standard when it comes to payment methods at online casinos because they often provide the most efficient and quickest service for both depositing and withdrawal.There are other good options to consider. For example, Apple Pay and Google Pay are relatively new forms of payment but have become extremely popular due to their ease of use. More and more bettors are forgoing traditional methods for new ones that allow them to access their money more efficiently.

Are online casinos safe?

Yes. All casinos that appear on this list are licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority and are bound by the rules and regulations that are in place to protect bettors.

Which online casino has the best deposit bonus?

Although this is mostly a matter of opinion, we can't help but think Slottys $1,500 welcome promotion is exceptionally hard to beat. Play OJO also has a good welcome bonus (albeit not a deposit match), mainly because of its complete lack of wagering requirements, which means all bonus funds can be withdrawn immediately.

Can I play live dealer games at online casinos?

Yes, you can. Some casinos feature more choice and variety than others, but all good casinos will feature some form of live casino action.

What type of online casino games can I play?

There are a number of casino games available to play online. Below is a non-exhaustive list:

Some casinos will offer more than this; some will offer less.

Can I get free spins at an online casino?

Yes. Free spins are often offered as a welcome bonus. As weve mentioned before, Genesis provides 300 free spins on the Starburst slot game, for example.

You may also find free spins offered as part of ongoing promotions for specific casinos.

Which are the best online gambling sites for me?

While your favourite online casino may be a personal choice, we'd like to think there are specific indicators of quality that may provide you with a better experience than others. We've done our best to outline these in the article.

We've confidently crowned Genesis as the top online gambling site for its overall quality, from design to casino bonuses and promotions. Whether you agree or not isn't for us to say. But even if Genesis doesn't turn out to be your bag, there are plenty of other great casinos to try on this list.

Heres how to sign up to Genesis:

Step 1: Register a new account

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The best online casinos and real money gambling sites in 2022 - Times of Malta