When transacting online, you should never underestimate cybercrime. Apparently, there are more than 40,000 online crimes that are happening around the world, and some will affect also gambling sites.
Everyone in the gambling industry knows that there are good and secure sites but there are also others that are failing the security checklist and that could potentially expose financial and personal information. There are stories of players that have been ripped off and surely this is a concern for the whole industry. Generally, though the online casino sites are safe and for this reason, we have asked industry experts at Casinobiggestbonus to highlight some of the most common scams we should be aware of when evaluating an online casino site.
Don’t be afraid as only a small amount of casinos are rogue and if you make sure you are gambling with sites that have a regular license, then you are in a safe situation.
What are the signs you should look for to find an honest and secure online casino?
1. Data Encryption
Online casinos should definitely have 128 or 256-bit encryption. With the encryption personal and financial data are turned into unbreakable code. This is the same technology used by banks and it is very secure. You can see immediately if your casino is using encryption by taking a look at your toolbar. If it does say https in front of the website URL then they have a SSL certificate which means your data is encrypted.
2. Random Number Generators
A random number generator is a software used by online casinos to decide the outcome of virtual games. If a casino is fair, the random number generator will produce every time random numbers: those will dictate the outcome of virtual games of chances.
Although the random number generator can be potentially modified the online casinos that have regular license have to have it regularly audited by third-party companies that are specialised in checking if the software is fair. One of the leading companies in this space is TST (Technical Systems Testing). If a Random Number Generator (RNG) passes the fair tests then the casino will get a badge that they can put on their websites. Companies like TST also usually post the latest info on the casinos they have audited on their website.
3. Privacy Policies
Privacy policies are significant because they outline how the casino will make use of the information they gather. Are they going to sell your private info to other companies? You will find the answer in the privacy policy. Reading the privacy policy is very important because once you have signed up and accepted the casino terms you have little to dispute. If, on the other hand, the casino sell or rent out your information even though in the privacy policy they say differently, you can potentially take legal action against the casino or raise it with the license provider (if they have a license). The link to the privacy policy is usually at the bottom of the homepage.
4. Gaming Licenses
To obtain a gaming license casinos need to go through a rigorous process with local authorities. Even after an operator has acquired the license, the commissions will continue to check that they are operating in a fair way and that are following the authorities rules. The gambling commissions will check for things like player complaints, random games, player exclusion options and similar. If they fail on those matters, they might get a penalty and even lose their license if they continue to fail. A casino that has a regular license is trustable especially if they have a license in countries like the UK where the terms are very stringent.
Online gaming authorities can change from country to country: some are more relaxed than others so it is essential to have a good idea of the authorities that are regulating the online casino you are playing with. All the online casinos will have their license at the bottom of their homepage. You can also verify that they have a valid license by visiting the gambling commission site directly.
5. Casino Terms
Terms and conditions are similar to the privacy policy. The casino will tell you how they operate their business and what are the rules surrounding their offers, bonuses, etc. It is very important to read those carefully and actually, you should take a screenshot. The reason is that there are some rogue casino out there that will change their terms and conditions as they wish. They do so to resolve potential players disputes favourably. For instance, if you are taking advantage of a casino bonus they might change the wagering requirements so that you cannot make the withdrawals of your winnings.
They might be saying that you have played the wrong game or that you didn’t play enough and cancel not only your bonuses but also your winnings. With those types of operators, you will be lucky to get your money back too let alone any bonus: for this reasons you should only stick with casinos that have a license or you are risking all your money.
If you have taken a screenshot of the terms and you are seeing that they are changing those, you might not get your money back in case a casino is sitting offshore and have no license, but you can at least harm their reputation so that other players will not be affected by similar problems in the future. You will be able to find the terms and conditions at the bottom of an online casino website.
Conclusion
If a casino doesn’t have a license and does not meet some of the requirements we have listed above, don’t bother. There are lots of trustable operators out there and it is not worth risking your money and personal details with a rogue one. Online casinos independent comparison sites can help you decide what the best casinos to go for are: those sites are usually managed by some expert players that are testing the different casino brands. Use the suggestions above as a barrier to entry: those are the bare minimum requirements for fairness and security. You should then verify your assumptions by visiting a leading online casino comparison site before signing up and depositing money in an online casino company.
