Online Casino Scams

How to Choose an Online Casino

Online casino scams is a real problem. Online gambling is a huge industry with the majority of online gambling providers being honest and legitimate service providers. Unfortunately there are enough unscrupulous individuals and organizations out to scam online gamblers to cause concern for anyone wishing to participate in online gambling. The problem is that it is so easy to create what looks like a legitimate operation with the scammers becoming more sophisticated all the time which is making it increasingly difficult to spot a scam.

To protect against such scams we recommend a multi-criteria approach when evaluating an online gambling provider. Scammers may be dishonest but they aren’t stupid, they know what people look for when deciding whether or not to gamble at a site and will do all they can to appear legitimate. Using multiple criteria lessens the chance of the scammer being successful.

The system we recommend is a simple “tick and flick” approach where each criterion either gets a tick or a cross with the final decision to approve the site coming down to whether you have more ticks than crosses. The criteria we use are outlined below.

Referred by a trusted friend or associate:

It is obviously a good sign if you know someone personally who has had good experiences with an online gambling provider though you should consider that your friend may not be in any better position than you are to judge the legitimacy of the provider.

Referred by a trusted web site:

Web sites referring you to online gambling providers earn referral commissions and bonuses for players who signup and play for real money so it is in their best interest to only recommend the legitimate providers. Having said that, it is just as easy for scammers to provide a referral web site as it is to provide a bogus gambling site and utilizing links to legitimate sites as well as links to their bogus sites helps hide the deception.

Site Professionalism:

If you find a gambling site that appears to have errors when loading pages, contains spelling and grammatical errors and is generally a poor design the warning bells should start ringing. The gambling sites are making enough money to ensure things are correct and well done. Achieving a professional looking web site is easy for the scammers so it does not mean that the site is legitimate, but an unprofessional site should be avoided.

Deposit and Withdrawal options:

A legitimate gambling site should offer at least 6 deposit and at least 6 withdrawal options. They are in the business of making money and the more potential gamblers they can accommodate the better their chances are of making money. The transaction processing companies also have a vested interest and will disassociate themselves from the shady providers. It is possible for a scam site to claim deposit and withdrawal options that aren’t really available but then not only are individuals who have been scammed, out to shut them down, the bigger, better financed, transaction processing companies will be out to do the same.

Age of the site:

A new gambling site does not mean that it isn’t legitimate, as you can imagine, new legitimate sites are being established all the time. But it is unlikely that a scam site will last very long so the fact that a site has been around for a number of years increases the likelihood of it being a legitimate provider. There are two checks that should be done when establishing the age of the site. The first is to find the date the site was established on the web site itself, usually on the “About Us” page. The second is to find the date the domain name was first created. You can do this by typing in the domain name at http://www.internic.net/whois.html. Then compare the two dates. The date from InterNIC should be the same or earlier than the date claimed on the web site, if it isn’t the chances are that the claim on the web site is false and intentionally misleading.

Licensed by a sovereign government:

Licensing by a government body is usually accompanied by independent audits, regular reporting and other safeguards that ensure the government involved gets their fair share of taxes and fees and the rights of the online gambler are protected. The problem is that it isn’t always easy to verify the claims of being licensed by a particular government. So be extremely cautious if there are no claims of being licensed, still be cautious if claims are made but aren’t verified and you should be able to breathe a little easier if it has been verified that they are licensed with a particular government.

Support:

The online gambling sites are making a lot of money and can afford to provide the support. In fact, like any business, customer satisfaction is paramount to their success. You should expect a legitimate site to provide 24/7 support with a variety of contact options such as telephone, live chat and email. Like most things, claims of providing such services are easy; living up to the claims is another thing all together. Verify the support by trying a live chat sessions, sending an email or making a telephone call. It is less likely that a bogus site will respond as quickly or as professionally as a legitimate site if they even bother to respond at all.

Part of a recognized group or affiliate program:

Being an independent gambling site with their own affiliate program does not make the site a scam site but a site that is part of a recognized group or part of a recognized affiliate program is less likely to be bogus. Affiliate programs that manage multiple sites do not want to be associated with the less professional operators as it gives them and their other sites a bad name, resulting in less revenue for all involved. Bogus sites tend not to be part of a group because if one is exposed all suffer. So look at the affiliate programs and the claims of being a part of a group, this can help establish the credentials of an operator as well as point out other legitimate gambling sites.

Uses recognized software:

You will find that most of the online gambling sites use software from one of the top gaming software providers such as MicroGaming or PlayTech. Not using software provided by one these companies doesn’t mean that a site isn’t legitimate but having more confidence in a site that uses a major provider is reasonable.

Promotes responsible gaming:

The better gambling operators actively promote responsible gambling. This can be in the form of identity verification, tips for parents, player self exclusion and the linking to such sites as The Responsible Gaming Council or Gamblers Anonymous. The gambling sites are in business to make money but doing this ethically by providing entertainment ensures their long term viability. The less scrupulous operator is more intent on making a quick dollar and moving on.

Use the table provided to evaluate an online gambling site before parting with your money. If you end up with more No’s than Yes’s give the site a miss as you are probably looking at one of the many online casino scams out there.

Zen Gambling Recommended Casinos

The following online casinos been thoroughly checked out by the Zen Gambling team and are highly reputable. We recommend them for trying out our game strategies, whether you want to play for free/fun, or if you want to play for real money. Good luck!

We do not promote or condone illegal or underage gambling, or gambling to those who live in a jurisdiction where gambling is considered unlawful. The information within our website and newsletter is being presented solely for entertainment purposes. We will not be held responsible for any personal loss of wagers or damages you may incur. Use the information on this website at your own risk.