Online casinos are quickly growing in popularity along with the gaming industry. There are more online casinos to choose from now than ever before.
These online venues offer fun games and features for casino players. However, just as with any other gaming platform, it is important for users to look out for scams.
This article will provide some essential safety tips to follow to make sure that your gaming experience is safe and secure.
By following these tips, players will have a more enjoyable gaming experience and will avoid any distressing and frustrating issues.
Ten safety tips for online casino users
Without further ado, here are the top ten safety tips for online casino users.
1. Check the name of the casino provider
Is the online casino platform well-known and does it have a license to operate in your country or region? Have you heard of this online casino before?
Checking the name of the online casino provider you have found is one of the best ways to avoid being scammed. If the online casino is well-known or has a license to operate, chances are it is safe to use.
That being said, some scammers use the names of famous online casinos and create false websites with these names. This is why it is particularly important to follow the following tips to check whether a website is owned by an official casino provider and whether it is safe to use.
2. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes
Checking for grammar and spelling mistakes on an online casino’s website or app is one of the best ways to check the authenticity of the provider. Most scammers and false casino providers tend to write poorly and put little to no effort in their introductory paragraphs.
On the other hand, official casino providers and platforms will usually pay professional content writers to write clear and well-written paragraphs.
3. Look at the quality of the website and/or the interface’s design
Similarly, official casino platforms will pay a web designer to develop a nice, visually pleasing and comfortable gaming platform. Their websites will be well designed and will look professional.
If a gaming platform or website does not look well designed or professional, it might be a scam.
4. Check the security of the page
Another indicator that a platform is unsafe and might be a scam is if it lacks encryption.
Encryption means that the connection between the website server and a user’s web browser is encrypted. When the connection is encrypted, external individuals or organizations cannot eavesdrop or intercept the communication between the website’s server and the user’s browser.
There are two ways to check whether a page is encrypted or not:
- Look at the website’s URL. It should start with ‘https’ (with an ‘s’) and not with ‘http’ (without an ‘s’).
- Look for a lock icon next to the URL. If a website is secure, you will find a little black lock icon, properly locked in the search bar where the website’s URL is located.
In other words, if the lock icon is red and open, then the website is not secure. Or, if you see ‘http’ without an ‘s’, then the platform is not secure.
5. Check the reviews and ratings
Once you have found an online casino that seems authentic and safe, check the reviews and ratings left by other users on third-party websites. Do not check reviews and ratings left on the website itself but on other recognizable and trustworthy third-party websites where individuals can leave honest reviews.
Affiliate sites are the most useful sites for players to find out honest reviews and ratings. For example, for those who are wishing to play casino games via an app on their mobile device, they can head to Gambling.com who have ranked the top reputable providers who are available via a mobile app.
Looking at an online casino’s overall ratings and reviews will give you an idea of its trustworthiness and authenticity.
6. Read the terms and agreements or any other contract that you are asked to sign
The terms and agreements contracts can be very long and tedious to read, but we recommend that users read them before signing any type of contract or joining an online casino. This is particularly important if you are sharing sensitive data such as credit card details.
By reading these terms and agreements, you will know exactly what you are signing up for and how the company will use your data and personal information.
7. Safe and secure payment page
It is very, very important for an online casino’s payment page to be secure and this is where cybersecurity comes into play.
For example, a trustworthy platform will offer safe payment options that are usually regulated by an external third-party company. This company will specialize in online payment security and ensure that your information is safely stored and correctly used.
We recommend enabling a two-step verification process on your debit/credit card. This will help you check and approve each payment and prevent scammers from making unauthorized payments.
8. Using an e-wallet to pay
For extra safety, you can use an e-wallet like PayPal for your online transactions.
With companies like PayPal, you pay without sharing your personal card details and bank account information with the receiver. This will prevent scammers from accessing your personal information.
9. Do not share your credit card details over the phone
If an online casino asks you to pay over the phone by sharing your credit or debit card details, do not accept. Similarly, if a provider asks you to send a picture of your credit card, do not do so.
10. Other safe and secure payment options
Other common payment options that you could be interested in to make sure you protect your credit card information include:
- Paying with your mobile phone bill
- Using cryptocurrencies
Final thoughts
By following these ten safety tips, gamers will protect their sensitive data from scammers and find a trustworthy and safe online casino to play on.
