If you’re thinking about playing at an online casino, you must be one hundred percent sure a platform you’re going to gamble on is reputable. It means a casino is legitimately operating on the web: it has a valid license and meets all the industry standards. Simply put, a gambling platform must offer an extensive collection of pokies, card and table games, and lotteries. Besides, a web casino must provide various bonuses from welcome to no-wagering, have 24/7 customer support, and be mobile-optimised like https://pokiesurf-casino.online/mobile-casino — a good mobile online casino both for playing free and real money games.
In this article, we will mainly focus on non-obvious ways that will help you identify a legitimate online casino. If you want to know more, stay tuned!
Read Reviews
One of the best ways to check if an online casino is legitimate is to read the reviews written by gamblers themselves. Many sites provide honest and impartial reviews of online casinos (like askgamblers.com). It is a great way to get an idea of what other players have experienced and decide for yourself if you want to try games on one or the other platform. Sometimes the casino you wanted to play at may be blacklisted. So it is too risky to sign up and make a deposit.
Check Payment Methods
Legitimate online casinos will offer a variety of safe and secure payment methods: credit cards, prepaid cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrency. If an online casino only offers a limited number of payment methods, or if they’re not well-known, this is a red flag.
Check the Payment Processing Time
Legitimate online casinos will process withdrawals quickly and efficiently. If you find an online casino that is taking weeks or even months to process withdrawals, it’s a good indication that the casino is not legitimate.
To check an online casino’s payment processing time, you can search for the casino’s name + “withdrawal” in a search engine. Alternatively, you can check out casino review websites such as Casinomeister or AskGamblers.
Check the Terms and Conditions
All legitimate online casinos will have detailed terms and conditions. This includes information on bonuses, gameplay, and withdrawals. If a casino is legitimate, it will give information on wagering requirements attached to each bonus a platform offers, even if they are high. It is called “transparency” — a trait not common to all online casinos.
If an online casino doesn’t have any terms and conditions, or if they’re not clear, it’s better to avoid it.
Check Casino Software
Reliable online casinos house the games developed by well-known software providers only. It can be Real Time Gaming, Playtech, Microgaming, NetEnt, IGT, Evolution Gaming, and numerous others. When a casino offers only tested games from reputable software developers, there is a guarantee that a casino is legitimate, and it cares about its reputation.
If you can’t find famous software providers among no-names, go away. The casino is most likely unlicensed.
Contact Customer Support
Finally, one of the best ways to gauge an online casino’s legitimacy is to contact its customer support team. A good customer service team should be available 24/7 and be able to answer any questions you have via phone call, live chat, or email.
If you can’t get in touch with customer support, or if they’re unresponsive when you do, that’s a sign that the casino might not be legitimate.
Check the Licensing Information
We can’t call this way a non-obvious one, but most gamblers don’t do that when they come to an online casino. So this is a rather prerequisite.
Only reputable platforms obtain a license. Plus, they can provide a document confirming this.
A valid license ensures that the casino has undergone strict testing and meets standards for fairness and security.
To check an online casino’s licensing information, scroll to the bottom of the homepage and look for the licensing logo. If you don’t see any licensing information, this is a red flag. Avoid playing at that casino.
Look for Independent Audits
Independent audits are conducted by third-party organisations. They ensure that a particular casino is operating fairly and transparently. These audits are conducted regularly, and the results are usually made public.
To find out if an online casino has been audited, look for a link to the audit report on the casino’s homepage. Alternatively, you can search for the casino’s name + “audit” in a search engine.
Look for Security Features
A legitimate online casino will use industry-standard security measures to protect your personal and financial information. The most common ones are SSL and TLS cryptographic protocols. They provide secure connections between two parties (a player and a casino) to allow them to communicate with privacy and data integrity.
Check for Fair Gaming Practices
A legitimate online casino uses random number generators (aka RNG) to ensure that the games are not rigged, and the outcome is random.
Essentially, an RNG is a piece of software used to generate random numbers. These numbers are used to determine the outcome of casino games. Every time you play a game at a casino, whether it’s online or in person, the RNG will be used to generate a random number. That number will then be used to determine whether you win or lose.
The RNG makes sure that all casino games are fair and random. If a casino didn’t use an RNG, it could simply rig the games in their favour, and no one would ever know.