Do you know how much cybercrime happens every day? Apparently, there are more than 40,000. But how many of them gamble?
No idea. But anyone with experience in this industry knows that shenanigans happen. For proof, look no further than Casinomeister’s Rogue Pit.
Players are ripped off left and right. That doesn’t exactly inspire much confidence in online casinos, does it?
Here is just a small sampling of the scams that casinos perform:
- Cancel all player winnings.
- Seizure of winnings from players.
- The casino ignores requests for support from players.
Don’t worry – there are plenty of legit casinos you can join. You can check out one of our top site lists to see that. But what if you want to find a casino yourself? An honest and safe casino that you can trust with your hard earned money.
What signals or signs would you look out for?
There are 5 safeguards that should point you to a legit casino.
Here are 5 different safeguards to look for that should point you towards a fair and safe online casino.
Casinos use 128 or 256 bit encryption.
Both convert any personal and financial information you send to the casino into strings of unbreakable code.
How safe are they? Well, it’s the same level of protection your bank uses.
You can tell that your casino is using some form of encryption by looking at your toolbar. If there is https before the name of the website, they have an SSL certificate, which means that your information is encrypted.
A random number generator is an algorithm that casinos use to divide the games.
Casino algorithms do not require any outside input to work. Instead, they use a seed number. Combined with the algorithm, you get results that are seemingly random.
Both the algorithm and the seed number are unknown. It is the only way to prevent the algorithm from becoming hackable.
The reason for this is that algorithms (combined with seed numbers) are essentially mathematical formulas. And 2+2 always equals 4. That’s why algorithms are hackable IF you know which algorithm and which seed is used.
But there’s another safeguard at work here: third-party companies that focus solely on testing casino RNGs and software for fairness. Probably the most well-known company is Technical Systems Testing (TST), now owned by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI).
They test all kinds of important things. For instance,
- Random Number Generator (RNG) evaluations
- Game and Math Evaluations
- Continuous verification and reporting of RNG or game payouts
- Evaluations of live dealers, sportsbooks, and betting exchanges
- Evaluations of lotteries and pari-mutuel systems
- Penetration testing and full security audits.
If the casino succeeds, they get a small badge that they can place on their website. Companies like TST also usually post the latest information about each company on their website. This includes whether they passed and what their payout percentage is.
A privacy policy is important because it tells you how the casino plans to use your information.
Do they plan to sell your information (name, email, phone number) to other companies? Rent out? None of the above?
The privacy policy will tell you this. But you have to read it.
This is important, because if you agree and sign up, and the casino decides that they are going to sell or rent your data, you may be able to take legal action. To be sure, you’ll want to talk to a lawyer.
By sticking to casinos that state that they will not sell or rent your information, you protect your information from less-than-great companies. Or just companies that want to harass you.
You can usually find a company’s privacy policy at the bottom of their website.
Offline casinos have to go through a rigorous process before they can open their doors to the public. Part of that process is getting their licence from the local or state gambling authority.
These gambling authorities or commissions make sure that the casino is legit and trustworthy before granting their license. After that, they keep checking them over the coming months and years to make sure they’re still earning it.
They look for all sorts of things: player complaints, bug-free software, random games, player exclusion options, and so on.
If they pass, they get to keep their license. But if they fail,
They lose their license, which means they can no longer do business.
This is a quick and easy way to determine if a casino is fair and safe. But there is one thing to keep in mind.
Online gambling authorities, commissions, and licensors are different from offline. Some of them are more lax than others, meaning the casinos they oversee have more margin for error. It is a good idea to know who those commissions are so that you can avoid or monitor the casinos that they are supposed to be watching.
Most online casinos list who has issued their licence at the bottom of their website. Some gaming authorities also post on their website who they have licenced or licensed.
Terms and Conditions are a type of privacy policy. The casino tells you how they operate their casino. The rules everyone should follow.
These pages make it very clear what the rules are for things like welcome bonuses, payout policies, and what happens when you win a huge jackpot.
You want to read this very carefully. I’d even go so far as to take a screenshot–and I’ll tell you why.
One of the annoying things that rogue casinos do is change their terms and conditions on the fly. Usually, it sided with the decision they take in a casino-player dispute.
For example, let’s say you take advantage of a deposit bonus and you solve the rollover requirements. Then you pay out and the casino tells you that you can’t.
What some of these casinos will do is modify the terms and conditions to take advantage of them. They will say you played the wrong games or didn’t play enough. Then they cancel your bonus money and winnings.
Often the problem here is that the casinos don’t have the money to pay you. Or they don’t want it. So they will change the term.
And in many cases, you’ll be lucky enough to get your original bankroll back, let alone the bonus money.
If you’ve read the terms and conditions and preferably saved a screenshot, you might not get your money or bonus money back (offshore sites are harder to fight due to current law), but you could hurt their reputation and favour other players by doing so.
The conditions can be found at the bottom of the website of each casino.
Conclusion: Precautions are nice, but this is more effective.
Let’s be clear about something: guarantees are nice. But they are in no way a guarantee that the room you play or plan to join is legit. Think of these safeties as minimum table bets instead.
If your casino doesn’t have these safeguards, skip them and play elsewhere. There are no shortage of better options online.
Okay…but if guarantees aren’t a guarantee that a room is legit, what else can you do or look for?
I think the more effective approach is to join a casino community forum or two. A place where others who play online come to talk about strategy – and more importantly – their experiences at different casinos.
This will help you in many ways, but the most important one is this:
You will be one of the first to hear about a casino that is no longer fair or safe. A complaining player usually means nothing. But when there is smoke, there is usually fire. And when one complaint turns into two and two into three, you know something’s up – and you’ll be one of the first to hear about it.
So use these safeguards as a barrier to entry to ensure that casinos do the bare minimum for fairness and security.
But if you really want to know if a casino is on the rise—if it really is a fair, safe, and legit casino—the best thing you can do is join an online community.
