How to Find a Reliable and Secure Platform for Online Gambling
How to Find a Reliable and Secure Platform for Online Gambling
You love betting from the comfort of your surroundings? You enjoy playing for real money but are not picky when it comes to where you take your action? If so, here is a newsflash for you - not all online gambling platforms are created equal where reliability and safety are concerned.
With hundreds upon hundreds of virtual casinos to pick from, it becomes more and more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. We have simplified the vetting process, offering you a list of several steps to follow when choosing a safe and trustworthy gambling platform.
Let’s begin with the red flags you must watch out for in order to identify dodgy online casinos. If you know how to recognize fraudulent operators, it would be significantly easier for you to pick out who the good guys are. One of the biggest warning signs has to do with the general terms and conditions of gambling sites.
It is typical for unreliable betting operators to write their terms in an ambiguous fashion, which aims to confuse players so that they involuntarily violate the general policies of the casino. This makes it easier for a scam operator to deny them payments on the pretext players have breached the terms.
Some fraudsters go as far as changing their terms and conditions on the fly to accuse the customers of violations. Such scammers habitually force bonuses with vague terms onto their players. The wagering requirements attached to the offers are next to impossible to meet, making it hard for players to extract any value from their bonuses.
Another common practice is to postpone payments as long as possible. The purpose of this is simple - the player eventually tires out of waiting for their money, cancels the withdrawal, and loses everything they have previously won.
Make Sure the Casino Holds a Valid License
All worthwhile online casinos like Unibet UK, for example, hold valid licenses from reputable regulators that enable them to legally service players from specific jurisdictions. Moreover, such gambling operators are fully transparent about who regulates them, making it easier for customers to locate license-related information on their websites.
By contrast, scammers are often vague or altogether silent about their licenses, offering little to no regulatory information. Playing at a properly regulated online casino is beyond important since it ensures you have someone to turn to in the event of a dispute between you and your chosen gambling operator.
If you are based in Great Britain, you must find a listing of all licensed UK casino sites and compare them to make an informed choice about where to take your real-money action. This way you can have the confidence the casino will hold up its end of the bargain when it comes to paying you.
Check What Encryptions the Gambling Platform Uses
The second step in the vetting process involves making sure your gambling platform of choice uses adequate security mechanisms to protect the safety and privacy of your sensitive information. This is normally achieved through the use of strong SSL encryptions whose purpose is to convert all data players share with the platform into the so-called ciphertext.
This is a code that is impossible to decrypt unless a person has the correct key. It makes the information unreadable even if a data-thief manages to intercept it. The good news is an encrypted gambling platform is beyond easy to spot.
All you have to do is check your address bar when you load the casino’s site. If there is a padlock icon and the address starts with "https", this is a sure sign the website is SSL-encrypted and you have nothing to fear.
Ensure the Available Games Are Externally Audited
Step #3 has to do with figuring out whether or not the games your casino of interest offers undergo regular audits. Furthermore, said audits must be carried out externally by independent testing agencies to prevent conflict of interest. Reliable online casinos are in the habit of working with accredited audit companies such as iTech Labs, eCOGRA, and Gaming Laboratories International (GLI).
Since regulated gambling operators have nothing to fear, they are usually open about the results of these external audits and would publish the RTP (Return to Player) percentages of the games in their portfolios.
This is not the case with fraudsters, though. We have heard of scammers who even resort to plagiarizing the games of major software studios like NetEnt, offering rigged versions with higher house edges without the developers’ permission.
Not only is this practice beyond ugly and unethical but it causes you to lose more money over the long haul because of the reduced theoretical return percentages.
Payment Methods, Software, and Customer Support
Another thing to look up is what payment methods the operator works with. The rule of thumb is the more banking solutions, the better. Check how much time the withdrawals from players’ accounts normally take and whether or not manual flushing is supported. This would prevent you from being tempted to cancel your withdrawal and continue playing before the casino has released the funds from your balance.
Trusted gambling operators team up with licensed software studios of good standing in the industry. There are many examples of such suppliers, including Microgaming, Yggdrasil, Play’n GO, Evolution Gaming, NetEnt, Playtech, and Pragmatic Play.
The quality of the customer support provided also speaks volumes about the trustworthiness of an online casino. If the service is slow, unprofessional, and inefficient, it would be best for you to steer clear from playing at the website.
