If you are a regular reader of websites that analyze the best legal casinos on the internet, then you may already know many of the things that we will mention below. We often get questions about what can make an online casino safe for players. And how can one know if the page they have chosen to play is a scam? For the most experienced in the field, there is a way to see it for themselves, as long as they carefully examine its structure and content. They can quickly figure out if the casino they are targeting is fair, and gambling can be done without fear. We present below an extensive and comprehensive list that will help you distinguish between a legal casino like casino NetBet, and a fraudulent one.
1. The legal license in an EU country
We start with the basics and the obvious. This is usually a detail that is clearly written on some part of every online casino page. Most of the time, we will find it on the footer, relatively low, along with various logos from financial institutions and security organizations. If the licensing country is a member of the European Union, then you are usually sailing in safe waters. With the status quo in the European Union, the governments of the countries that allow online gambling have somehow agreed that if a casino is licensed by the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Malta, or the Isle of Man, then you are probably on the right track.
On the other hand, there is a Caribbean site, Curacao, which also issues licenses for online betting and casinos. While until two years ago, casinos with a Curacao license could theoretically claim a license to operate legally within the EU for some time now, the terms have changed. Currently, licensed casinos from this country can be legally considered almost nowhere within the EU that there is normal legal status. And it makes sense as Curacao had several “holes” in the licensing process, especially in terms of player compensation. As generous as it is to get acquainted with it, as many nice games as it offers, as aggressive as the marketing messages. Curacao’s state will hardly help you with any problem you have with the casino. Unlike the gaming committees of the states of the previous paragraph, it will avoid getting involved in any arbitration between a player and a casino.
2. SSL security certificate
You may never have expected that a single letter (and a small symbol) could make such a difference in your money. The SSL certificate is issued by companies that are legal and strictly audited worldwide. It makes a massive difference for the security of your personal data but mainly of the data you exchange online for your account details in financial institutions. It ensures that there is encryption capable for stopping a malicious intrusion into your personal information and, in short, is the guardian angel of every player who shares information with a website.
If you want to find out if a casino has the necessary SSL certificate, look for the letter “S” after http in the page’s email (URL). Or look for the small padlock that appears in the URL bar as soon as you enter the casino page you want. By clicking on this padlock, you will find information about the data encryption platform and some more exciting elements that will reassure you.
Most casinos that have an SSL certificate have the company logo at the bottom of the page. South Africa Thawte is currently the number one provider globally in this field, but this does not mean that there are no other reliable organizations in the area. So, you should always be careful of the little symbol to make sure that all of your information is safe.
3. Do not blacklist the casino in your state of residence
Almost all European Union countries with licensed online games have compiled their own blacklists and are updating some more often and some less often. The bottom line is that you will find an extensive list of casinos that do not operate legally on the pages of every country’s authority. Besides, many countries have blocked most URLs in these casinos, making them inaccessible.
4. Payment methods from reputable financial institutions
The vast majority of casinos operating legally in a country tend to work with the best online payment service providers. In the case of our country, these are, of course, the Visa and Mastercard credit cards, the electronic wallets Paysafe, Skrill and Neteller, the local player in online transactions Viva Wallet, and of course the interbank transactions with financial institutions of the country. If you fall into a casino where it is not possible, you will deposit in the above ways, but instead you can only move with a credit card or cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin), then it would be good to avoid staying. The reliability, especially of cryptocurrencies, and changes in value, will rarely be in your favor.
5. Games from well-known and trusted providers
By the same token, who would trust a casino when it lacks significant gaming platforms and jackpots such as NetEnt, Microgaming, Novomatic, and Playtech? Of course, some casinos rely on smaller platforms for their games (mainly due to lack of money to invest), but since we are talking about players’ money, it would be good to play it safe and look for titles like Book of Ra, Age of the Gods, Mega Moolah, and Starburst who affirm that the big providers feel comfortable working with a casino.
In conclusion
There are many ways to check if an online casino is a fraud or not. All you have to do is is take our advice: check their licenses, their SSL certificates, if they are blacklisted, if they use trustworthy payment options, and finally, if they cooperate with trusted gaming providers. After you check all these, then you can enjoy all the benefits and the fun of an online casino.
