We are absolutely aware that online gambling is one of the most popular concepts in this day and age. However, it should be said that this field can be pretty dangerous if you are not careful. We could see that a couple of European countries have managed to regulate their online gambling, in order to both protect their citizens from scams and frauds and to make sure that these sites follow tax regulations.
Before that, it was pretty hard to follow all these elements. The reason this was so hard is that many online casinos were registered in countries like Malta, San Marino, and Luxembourg. These countries don’t have any regulations in this field. However, that doesn’t prevent them to reach players from other European countries. Even though this was a source of many controversies, players gladly participated in games on these sites.
Before these regulations, players had the luck of stumbling across a wide array of different websites who’ve warned them about the dangers of playing on similar websites. For example, when you see casinos not on GameStop and all the lists on this website, you will receive recommendations about sites where you are safe to play and which ones you should completely avoid. However, you cannot be sure that all the sites who are out there to scam players are inside these lists.
With that in mind, you should be very careful before you make a decision where you are going to play casino games. The reason for these scams is pretty simple to understand. With all the revenue these sites make every year, it is impossible for someone not to try and take advantage of it. Now, let us take a look at the commonest types of scams you should avoid while playing at online casinos in this day and age.
Bonus Scams
Even though it is pretty hard to determine the exact number, it should be said that an estimated number of online casinos is around two thousand. So, you can imagine how tense this world can be due to all the competition. So, this is the reason many online casinos are trying their best to attract new players by offering a couple of types of bonuses. We are talking about referral bonuses, sign-up bonuses, etc. The commonest type of bonuses is the sign-up bonus.
So, many players have taken advantage of this concept and they used a couple of different accounts to participate in games on one online casino. However, what many don’t know is that online casinos can take advantage of this too. Surely, when you are signing up, as a player, you need to read some terms and agree to them. Many people don’t read these at all, so they don’t see a small letter that explains you will be obligated to give a percentage to the casino when you won some money while playing with bonuses you were provided with.
Not Able to Cash Out
When talking about the commonest ways you can get scammed while playing in online casinos, our lists wouldn’t be completed if we didn’t mention a player not being able to cash out. Let’s say that you’ve paid all the chips you got, you participated in one of the games, and you won. When you decided to withdraw the money, you won in these games, you’ve seen that you are not able to do that. Surely, the website will present you with a wide array of different reasons why you can’t do that.
To be completely honest, there is nothing that can prepare you for this happening. The reason is, this is a scam that doesn’t offer any kind of red flags before it happens. It doesn’t matter what terms have you seen before you sign-up on the website. This is something that simply happens and you have a problem with your hands. It goes without saying that the same thing can happen when you lost your money and you are trying to withdraw some money that you have left. You will be presented with the same reasons why you can do that at the moment. Or at all, depends on the casino.
Illegal That Looks Legal
Now, we would like to talk about one of the most dangerous scams you can stumble across while you are playing on online casinos. We are talking about sites that appear to be legal, but in fact, they are everything but legal. Even though this is one of the most dangerous things you can see in this world, thankfully, it is not as common as many people think. This is a site that will draw all of your finances when you sign-in and when you start playing games, they have available.
Besides people who are just basic players, this type of online casinos has the task of scamming people who are trying to verify online casinos. So, their first appearance is a model of how a legal website should look. This is done by taking all the essential elements from websites that are completely legal and posted on the site in question. This makes these sites so dangerous. With all the personal and financial data, you provide them with, you can risk losing much more than your money. Also, these sites don’t wait for too long before they scam you and leave you with nothing.
The Wrap-up
Now that we’ve provided you with the most common scams you can stumble across while you are playing at online casinos, we should say that this is not going away soon. Even though it looks like security is on the rise, you can see that these scammers are becoming better by the day. At the same time, it should be said that the number of online casino players is now bigger than it has ever been.
Plus, all the trends point towards the future rise. So, we cannot expect it ending anytime soon. This is why all players need to be pretty careful when choosing an online casino where they will play some of their favorite games.
There are thousands of online casinos in the digital platform (see more here); everyone is eager to have a niche, have a part of the apple pie. But unfortunately, everyone is not that keen to return the customer money. These dubious sites do not adhere to the guidelines, terms and conditions, and fair play algorithms. You must avoid these rogue casinos, even if they offer most liberal bonuses. To identify these doubtful sites, refer to the blacklist, which furnishes names of deceitful casinos. These casinos have misbehaved, mistreated and stolen the amount from customers, and there are evidence of these misdeeds.
Each website crafts their blacklist, which differs from the other some common factors.
Unfair Games
The basis of operands of casino games is RNG (Random Generation Number) which ensures fairness of the game. Scam casinos tweak the mechanism to increase the house edge, to have more advantage over the players. Non-payment is another critical issue; they will erect any reason to forbid payouts. The reasons are not legitimate and do not hold valid evidence for justifying the denial of payments. Instead of a quick, easy payout, they may peruse you to take another bonus, so they will be able to milk you more. They hold on to your deposit, makes you run from corner to corner to get the legitimate payment. The affiliates also do not get their due commission.
Ever-changing terms
Another strategy deployed by these fraudulent casinos is slow payment. They take days, weeks and even months to pay the customer, reasons could be numerous; insufficient fund, trickling cash flow. Or to push players to continue playing in the hope of getting payment next time. Most wagers do not read the fine prints of the terms and conditions. These deceitful casinos take advantage of it and include extreme terms like 50x, or 100x. These clauses prohibit players from participating in progressive jackpots, limiting the betting and withdrawal amount and other conditions. They try to retain players by not giving their rightful dues and encourage them to play more, so they lose their winning amount.
They change the terms randomly to suit their needs. They change terms during a dispute with the customer to tilt the advantage towards them. These dubious acts become evident if you look at their archives and notice the date of alterations of the terms. Through various promotions, they want to allure customers; top grab the hard-earned money. Be cautious; do not fall into the trap of bonuses and free spins which are outsized.
Licensed
Deposit the money to casinos like Mega888, which are legitimate and regulated by competitive authorities. Deceptive casinos are not licensed, but appear to be fair; they do not adhere to rules and laws prescribed by regulatory bodies.
Be vigilant, even if the casino has no previous record of scams. Slow payment is the first red flag, which should not get unnoticed. Even the casino sometimes faces glitch in the payout process, but the frequency is the deciding factor. If the process of payout gets delayed frequently, and rumors start spreading, then there is a fire behind the smoke.