Nowadays, scams are anywhere you look, and the internet can be a bit of a wild west in this regard. At any rate, the last thing anyone would want is to find themselves on the receiving end of their schemes, so a fair share of caution is in order.
To make your gambling experience safer and avoid fraud, it pays to keep your eyes peeled for the following signs that will help you distinguish between legitimate and dubious casinos:
1. Licensing
Prior to depositing your hard-earned money, always check that the casino is operating legally. In fact, most of them will be proud to showcase any licensing they’ve obtained in the footer of the website (unless, of course, they’re not a legitimate casino). Another way to double-check the casino’s licensing status is to read online review websites.
For instance, as is evident from this Supercat Casino Review, their casino is licensed in Curacao. Having obtained a license like this is an indicator that the casino in question has undergone a certain degree of regulatory scrutiny. As such, it’s another qualifier to take into consideration when deciding whether it’s worthy of your trust.
2. Contact points
As is often the case with fraudulent gambling establishments, they will make it very hard or impossible to find out who is behind them. Since you can expect them to delay payouts or flat out run away with your money, this hardly comes as a shock.
At the same time, you will often find their customer services to be lackluster, unprofessional, and slow to respond. While legitimate casino operators will go out of their way to make it easy for you to get in touch through live chat, email, or phone, their dubious counterparts will typically only provide a contact form (if anything at all).
3. Fairness
Sometimes, a streak of bad luck is the nature of any game that’s based on the results of a random number generator, the technology that runs in the background. But if you can’t shake off the feeling the games are rigged against you, you might be right. Whenever in doubt, check whether the casino you’re playing at has been audited by an independent third-party company such as iGaming Lab, Technical System Testing, eCogra and similar.
This way, not only will you uncover whether something is off with the RNG, you’ll also double-check that the Return to Player percentages are within the scope of what’s normal. Successfully passing these checks yields a badge that legitimate casino operators will happily display on their respective websites.
4. Brand name
As a general rule of thumb, established casino brands are much less likely to scam you out of your hard-earned money than a newcomer to the market. Remember that trust is hard to earn and easy to break, so once a provider establishes a recognizable brand name, they would not be willing to risk putting a stain on it by offering anything less than stellar services.
Fraudulent casinos, on the other hand, rarely last longer than 6-12 months, and tend to completely disappear at some point without leaving a trace behind. So if you’re looking for an additional safety net, it’s as easy as checking how long the casino of your choosing has been around. Once again, it cannot be overstated how important it is to read online reviews. This will tell you everything you need to know in an instant.
5. Bonuses that look too good to be true
Don’t be mistaken: offering lucrative bonuses is a standard industry practice that helps casino platforms attract more customers. But if the games are few and far between and the bonuses promise huge rewards for very little effort, this is a red flag that something is off.
Also, be on the lookout for games made by recognizable developers such as NetEnt, BetSoft, Yggdrasil, Microgaming, and similar (a legitimate casino will be proud to showcase them).
Conclusion
In general, online gambling is safe, given that you’ve done your research and picked a reputable establishment. But just like in any other industry, there are a few bad apples here and there, so tread carefully.
