BySARAH GOLDMAN

Online gambling has been out there for a while, and millions of people enjoy their everyday-dose of play a bit of Texas Hold’em poker, some blackjack hands, and some roulette rounds. Nonetheless, securing our bets and our money is not a minor deal, and every gambler should check the background of every site or app they plan to use.

But, for your convenience, we are going to talk about things to check up for yourself, and some others that happen behind the curtain, so you can be aware of how to choose a safe online casino.

First, a regional idea about regulations 

When we talk about regulations or entities that monitor online gambling to ensure a trusted online casino for any player, you need to keep in mind that there is not a unique organization or law that regulates online gambling around the world.

Even many US states vary about how they admit or dismiss some actions of online casinos, or even some of them have banned online gambling.

So, instead of naming every state, every country or region of the planet that has its own bylaw, we strongly recommend to check your local regulation system, or the one related to the place you want to play at, so you don’t find any surprises betting at legit online casinos.

However, you’ll have to consider that US legal regulation mostly states that players can gamble online, but online gambling providers can’t, so most of accessible online casinos operate abroad.

Licenses and certifications

Apart from how every local, state, and federal government check on legitimate online gambling sites so that they are available to function, there are other entities and companies responsible for analyzing and reviewing finances, games, and payment procedures.

Consequently, you should look for security tested licenses, or certifications that show that site or app was proven to be safe, but no only for how does the roulette spins or how the slots roll, but also about different aspects of any online casino:

  • Financial sustainability of the people who manage and own the casino
  • Secure payments and deposits
  • Working with most of credit and debit cards
  • Quality testing: games functioning properly, randomly, and also in a transparent way.
  • Not allowing entrance or usage to underage players.
  • Working under the law of the region and jurisdiction where those online casinos operate.

A very common practice is that some third party entities test and evaluate if an online casino works by a random number generator system, and if its software is not rigged, so that every user face the same line of action and fairness.

Other important aspects

We know all this legal field can be a bit tricky, and requires to read a lot, but there are some steps any user can do and be informed of how every online casino works and pays.

The best way to know if a casino is legit, if it respects its users and if it pays attention to how people see and feel about what they are offering, is:

  • Look for reviews: obviously, there isn’t an online casino that is unanimously approved by users, but if you take your time to read how do players feel about the games, about payout methods or about any good or shady thing, you are likely to avoid or confirm your selection.
“A billion flies can’t be wrong”, so if the majority of the reviews are good, but also made by real people and not a bot-like comment (it’s easy to know if something was written by an actual person or by a bot or a copy-paste technique), you know you are good to go.
  • Authentication processes: if a site doesn’t ask you information about your age, or doesn’t requires you to go through a serious procedure to check your data, and if it doesn’t verify your email account or if it avoids giving clear information about payment methods (like giving a bill under your name, or a government ID, for example), you must suspect something fishy could be going on.