Online gambling is one of the favorite hobbies for many people around the globe. It is an entertaining, exciting, and engaging activity that doesn’t just offer an opportunity to win some money (provided you get lucky) but also helps relieve the stress and relax after a long day at the work.
However, as fun as it can be,
gambling online doesn’t come without its risks and dangers. With a right casino, you’ll have a great experience and there’ll be nothing to worry about outside of getting lucky. But, sadly, not everyone in this industry is running an honest shop. Most online casinos do things by the book, protect their players, and pay them their winnings, but some of them are in it just for the quick money.
Everyone who enjoys an occasional gamble on the internet should be aware of this fact and know who to protect themselves against rogue operators and their shady practices. Knowing how to recognize these rogue casinos and protect yourself won’t just save you money; it will help save you a lot of headache and frustration. Picking a wrong casino to play with can turn a fun activity into a proper nightmare that could have been avoided with just a bit of caution.
Why Are Rogue Casinos Allowed to Exist?
The very first thing that comes to mind when thinking about rouge casinos is: why are they allowed to exists? When you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense. First of all, they give a bad name to the industry as a whole. Secondly, what they’re doing is often borderline illegal if not straight-up criminal. So, how come they are out there?
The internet is, as we all know, a huge space that is virtually impossible to control. Although things have improved a lot over the past decade or so when it comes to online gambling, it is still very hard to prevent those looking to scam the players from setting up a shop and running their operation for a while.
Oftentimes, rogue casinos take advantage of unclear or weak laws in certain countries and set up their businesses there. This gives them enough protection to run a seemingly honest operation until the truth comes out. When it does, there is very little players can do about it, because these operators are virtually impossible to touch. You can hardly get the information about who owns and operates the casino, let alone anything else.
Obviously, for honest and fair online casinos who run their businesses in a transparent manner, these rogue operators are bad news but there is very little they can do to stop them. The moment one such casino closes down another one opens up and the vicious circle continues.
Recognizing Rogue Casinos
If there isn’t much anyone can do to stop rogue casinos from popping up, how can we, as players, protect ourselves from being taken advantage of? Well, you’re your own best friend when it comes to these things. Learning how to recognize rogue casinos and staying away from them is the single best thing you can do.
In the next few paragraphs, I’ll talk about some things you should pay attention to when signing up with a new casino to make sure they are legit. Of course, there is no a foolproof way to know if an online casino is rogue or not but some of these things are usually very good indicators and should serve as red flags.
Licensing
Online casinos are licensed by several licensing bodies such as the UK Gambling Commissions (UKGC), Malta Gambling Authority (MGA), the Government of Curacao, Alderney Gambling Commissioner, etc. The first thing to check is the casino license – do they have one, who issued it, and is it actually legitimate.
It isn’t that uncommon for rogue casinos to display a license on their site without actually having it. If you have any doubts, you can easily check this on the site of the respective licensing authority. If it turns out the casino is lying about the license, you shouldn’t play with them under no circumstances.
Promises Too Good to Be True
It is an old adage that if something sounds too good to be true than it probably isn’t. This really applies to online gambling industry. Rogue casinos don’t care about anything other than attracting new players and having them deposit money. To achieve this goal, they’ll often offer bonuses and promotions that seem too good to pass on.
We’re talking about 500% or 1000% deposit bonuses or similar perks that you just don’t get these days. Of course, this isn’t to say there aren’t legit casinos with these offers as well, but more often than not, big, unrealistic promises are trademarks of rogue operators.
Convoluted Terms & Conditions
Another thing that actually ties in with promotional offers has to do with terms and conditions. Legit casinos make sure players are perfectly aware of all the rules they need to know before they start playing – especially when it comes to bonuses. For example, things you should have no problems finding and understanding include:
- Wagering requirements for the bonus
- Maximum bet
- Restricted games
- Maximum cashout (if applicable)
Honest casinos aren’t in business of confusing their players. They know confusion leads to frustration and frustration isn’t good for repeat business. Rogue casinos, on the other hand, don’t care about the long run – they want as many players to deposit in the shortest time possible.
So, oftentimes, their terms and conditions will be poorly defined and important stipulations will be buried somewhere impossible to find. Once it is time to withdraw your winnings, they’ll refer you to this hidden item listed somewhere where you’d never think to look, maintaining the illusion of legitimacy.
Unhelpful and Rude Customer Support
Fore legitimate online casinos, their players are their most valuable asset so they’ll do whatever they can to keep them happy. Rogue operators don’t care about this aspect and this will show when you reach out to their customer support.
Often, their support agents won’t care about your current issue but will try to get you to deposit more money by offering more bonuses or free spins. For example, if you have a problem with verifying your documents, the agent will quickly turn the conversation away from the actual issue and make you this “great offer” to compensate for your troubles. If you keep insisting on asking the same question, they might even disappear on you.
This is actually one of the biggest red flags of rogue casinos. Their customer support has been trained to push players to deposit more money and usually has no clue about anything else. So, a good way to protect yourself is getting in touch with the support before you deposit any money and asking them some questions about the casino to see how they react.
Protect Your Information & Stay Informed
Rogue casinos can make your life complicated in more ways than one. These operators care only about making money for themselves and they’ll usually stop at nothing to achieve this goal. So, beyond avoiding to pay their players, they might be open to selling or trading your information to the highest bidder.
If you’re about to sign up with an online casino you aren’t sure about, it is best to exercise caution. Use a separate email address so that if it ever gets in the wrong hands, any spam email won’t be delivered to your main inbox. Also, try to avoid depositing with credit or debit cards. Use an e-wallet to protect your banking info and prevent any shady activities.
It isn’t unheard of for some casinos to charge their players’ cards without their permissions. Sometimes, you’ll be able to reverse these charges but it can be a lot of trouble to do so. To avoid all of it, simply don’t give up your card info unless you’re 100% certain the casino is legit and honest.
Do Some Research
Although rogue operators can’t be stopped they also can’t stop players from spreading the word about their practices. More often than not, shady casinos will get dozens of bad reviews on different sites from unhappy customers. So, they’re basically banking on new players not doing their homework and signing up without any checks.
Doing some basic
research about a new casino, especially if it is a name you don’t recognize, takes only a few minutes and it is time well spent. Googling the name of the casino and looking for players’ complaints and comments will usually give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.
If a site has many bad reviews and there are many players complaining about not receiving their withdrawals or having their accounts shut down without a good reason, the odds are you’re looking at a rogue casino. For your safety and peace of mind, you should just stay away from this casino and look for another one. Don’t get lured in with their big promises (as already discussed) – these are all just smoke and mirrors.
Conclusion: Rogue Casinos Bank on You Being Lazy
As you could see, there are many ways to recognize a rogue casino. While a single red flag may not be enough to deem a casino rogue, two or three of them are certainly more than enough to stay away. However, these rogue operators bank on their new potential players (victims) being lazy and not checking things out.
The thing is, once you deposit money with a rogue casino, it is as good as gone. Some lucky players may get small cashouts here and there (as the casino tries to make it appear they pay their winners) but, for the most part, you’ll never see any of your own money or the winnings.
The solution to this problem is quite simple. Don’t be lazy and spend some time doing a bit of research before you sign up with a new casino. Check their terms and conditions, talk to their customer support, and look for the information on sites such as this. All of this will take you no more than half an hour and can potentially save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars – not to mention time and frustration.
And, one final piece of advice. Never give your business to rogue casinos. Don’t think about it as a “calculated risk,” because some players do get paid. If you notice these red flags just stay away – it is never really worth it!
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