Because of the ease of access that an online casino offers, a growing number of casino players find it more appealing to play casinos in the comfort of their homes. While the majority of online casinos are safe, there are still those that are unreliable. You should avoid these unreliable online casinos at all costs.
How Can You Tell If An Online Casino Is Unreliable?
Before you even register at any casinos online, you must check first if it is a trustworthy site or not. You wouldn’t want to input confidential information like your credit card details in a platform you can’t trust, would you?
This is just the first of many things you should consider when choosing an online casino. Do a bit of research and scrutinize the site. There will be tell-tale signs that will warn you of an online casino’s unreliability.
Let’s do a round-up of the things you should look out for to find out whether an online casino can be trusted or not.
Does It Have An SSL Certificate?
SSL or Secure Sockets Layer is a security technology that allows the protected transfer of data from a browser to a server. It creates a private channel between two parties having a digital exchange of data.
An SSL certificate encrypts data being transmitted online. This prevents hackers and identity thieves from getting a hold of your emails, passwords, usernames, and credit card number. An SSL certificate ensures a website’s authenticity and reliability in handling sensitive information.
Finding out if a site has an SSL certificate is easy. Simply type the website’s address on your browser. If you see a closed green lock at the left corner of the website’s URL, it has an SSL certificate. If a site is not secured, your browser will display a warning symbol instead of the green lock.
Another way to check it is by looking at the website’s URL itself. You will know it is a secured site when it has an HTTPS at the beginning of its URL. The S stands for secure. An unsecured site will only have an HTTP.
At an online casino website, having an SSL certificate is of utmost importance. This will guarantee players that sensitive information they input on the site is safe and secured. If you see an online casino site without an SSL certificate, do not even think about registering.
What Other People Are Saying About It?
One of the fastest ways to check for an online casino’s reliability is by looking for reviews about it on the web. A simple Google search will give you this result. You might even find a review from other casino experts. If you see a lot of negative reviews and star ratings that are low, do not bother trying to play on that online casino. There is a fat chance that they cannot be trusted.
When you read reviews, find out if previous players complain about the following:
Unsatisfactory Gaming Experience
If they complain that games on the site freeze unexpectedly, this is a red flag. Because money (usually large amounts) is at stake, trusted online casinos use cutting-edge technology to provide the best gaming experience to their players. Who would want to risk their money getting stuck when a game freezes?
Poor Customer Care
Because even the best casinos online are not perfect, there might be times that online players encounter problems. That’s why there should be a team dedicated to answering players’ queries and complaints. An online casino that lacks such a team or has an unresponsive support team is not worthy of your hard-earned money at all.
Spamming
Look for reviews from previous players of an online casino that states they receive spam emails after registering to the platform. These emails do not necessarily come from the site where the players registered.
Some online casinos sell information of those who registered on their platforms to third-party sites. These third-party sites will then bombard your email box with marketing emails. Such online casinos do not give the slightest importance to its players’ privacy. Don’t give them the chance to sell your sensitive information.
Does It Have Valid Licenses or Certifications?
Once you validate that an online casino has an SSL certificate and good reviews, the next thing you should check is its license to operate. Online casinos that are reliable and legal must secure one valid license at the very least. If an online casino does not have a license, the legality of its online operation is questionable.
A valid license ensures that a casino is operating in compliance with the gambling commissions’ rules. The gambling commissions can revoke the license of an online casino that breaks their rules. When a casino loses its license, it must stop its operation.
A trusted casino’s license must be displayed on its website. You should have no trouble finding the license information at the footer (the very bottom) of the online casino’s website. The company that gives the license and the casino’s license number should also be there. You can do a validity check of the license number on the gambling commission’s website.
Is It Affiliated With a Regulated Gaming Company?
Because games in an online casino are digital, they must partner with online gaming developers. The gaming authorities also regulate the games developed by these online gaming companies. These regulated games are what an online casino offers to online players.
An online casino can only offer these games when it teams up with the gaming company that develops the games. Furthermore, a casino can only be affiliated with the gaming developer if it has a valid license.
It is the gaming company that provides the software for the games that an online casino offers on its website. The online casino does not have the game on its server. When a player opens up the game on its browser, the game runs on the server of the game provider.
If you find out that an online casino is running a game on its server, you should be alarmed. This means that the game is a copy of what the gaming company develops. Some casinos do this to avoid paying a fee to the gaming company. This is illegal. When an online casino runs the game on its server, the game can be manipulated and is, therefore, not safe to play.
How Long Has It Been Around?
An online casino’s long history will tell you a lot of stories about it, be it good or bad. That’s why it won’t hurt to check out how long it has been around. The fact that it is able to survive the ever-changing technological advancement says a lot about its ability to evolve.
Finding an online casino’s age should not obsess you, though. This alone will not be a guarantee of its reliability. In the same way, a newly-founded online casino site doesn’t equate to it being unreliable.
Does It Have Clearly-Laid-Out Terms and Conditions?
Are you one of those who always claim to have read and understood a website’s terms and conditions? You just ticked the box and agreed to it so you can proceed to the next step of registration? Well, you should not skip that part when registering on an online casino platform. You might end up agreeing to something that will compromise your identity, your privacy, or your money.
Bonus Terms and Conditions
One thing you should look out for when perusing an online casino’s terms and conditions is their rules about bonuses. A licensed online casino that has a secure website and regulated games can still be untrustworthy because of preposterous bonus terms and conditions. This is one way an unreliable online casino tricks players for their money.
It is common for online casinos to offer welcome bonuses to attract new players. Reliable online casinos offer reasonable bonuses. On the other hand, some offers are too good to be true that it should send warning bells on new players. Despite that, some players fall for these kinds of offers still because they did not read the fine prints that are in the site’s terms and conditions.
When you claim a welcome bonus, the online casino will require you to accept the terms and conditions for bonuses. Usually, you must play through the bonus money that you receive on sign-up before you can withdraw any winnings. This is a fair procedure.
Playthrough terms are unreasonable when it’s clearly impossible to play through the welcome bonus. You will find such ridiculous playthrough requirements on the unreliable online casino’s bonus terms and conditions.
Does It Have The Usual Online Casino Payment Methods?
Reliable online casinos will offer you a quick, easy, and secure way of depositing your money. You will also have a lot of payment options. You can use debit or credit cards, e-wallet, or bank transactions.
Online casinos accept debit and credit cards from Visa, American Express, and Mastercard. If you opt to use an e-wallet, Skrill is one of the most accepted e-wallets by the online casino community. You can also use PayPal or Neteller. In the unlikely event that you have no debit card, credit card, or e-wallet, your next best option is bank transfer.
You will have no problem using any of the above-mentioned payment methods when dealing with trustworthy online casinos. Proceed with caution if your chosen online casino’s payment method is questionable. It might be best to not proceed at all.
Does It Have a Simple Payout Withdrawal Procedure?
One of the most important things to check at an online casino is its payout withdrawal process. You will not have a problem withdrawing your winnings with reliable online casinos. You should see it immediately on your e-wallet or bank account after you request a withdrawal. This might not be the case for the rogue online casinos.
A trustworthy online casino will also offer you different withdrawal options to make the collection of your winnings easy. It is best to look into a casino’s withdrawal methods before you proceed with a deposit or playing a game. If it offers withdrawal methods that are not supported by the online gaming community, you better find another online casino.
What Do Independent Review Websites Say About It?
If you don’t have the time to check an online casino’s untainted reputation yourself, you can always rely on independent review websites. Review sites like us, CompareCasino, are not connected in any way with online casinos. So, you are sure to get detailed, unbiased reviews about online casinos from us.
A team of casino experts comprises independent review sites like us. We exist to ensure that you have the best online casino gaming experience possible. You will find a thorough analysis of the best online casinos on review websites like ours.
Unreliable Online Casinos FAQ
What does it mean if the casino’s license number is invalid?
If you find that the license number is not valid or if you do not find a license at all on an online casino’s website, stay as far away from it as possible. It’s either the license was revoked or there never was one, to begin with.
How do I find out the age of an online casino?
If you wish to know the age of an online casino, you might find them at the About section of their website. If there is nothing shady going on in an online casino, the information about its owner and its founding date should not be hidden.
Where can I find safe and reliable online casinos?
Check out the online casinos we cover here at CompareCasino and you will find many that are safe and reliable. You can start playing immediately without worrying about security.
Learn more about safe online casinos :
