When gambling with real money online, you would like to make sure it is safe and legal. Here, we put together this page to provide you with recommendations for safe online gambling sites along with plenty of information about what makes them safer than your other options.
Attributes that make a safe site?
Safe online gambling sites all have high-security standards and a long history of fairness. They’re known for being reputable and transparent in their business dealings.
1. Gambling Licenses
Online casinos should have gambling licenses before they can even offer real money games. This is How To Gamble Safely Online.
Licenses are granted by the government in which the casino operates. Many offshore casinos seek licenses from governing bodies like the Curacao or Panama Gaming Control boards.
These licenses help protect players across the board, as all license-holders must follow the regulations laid out by their countries’ legal and gaming commissions.
Real-money online casinos that hold licenses usually advertise them within the footer section of their websites, usually on the legal page. These casinos are open about their responsibilities to players, and you can feel confident knowing they are working to keep your interests first.
Licensed casinos are held accountable by the government to which they’re beholden. They must follow strict regulations that ensure fairness in all rounds of play, and undergo frequent audits to ensure they still comply with licensing standards.
Some of the most common licensing bodies include:
- Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)
- Curacao Gaming Commission
- Panama Gaming Control Board
- Kahnawake Gaming Commission
- Security History and Reputation
If a casino has been in business for many years and no one with a half-decent internet connection has successfully stolen player information, it’s safe to assume their encryption and security measures are airtight.
Safe online gambling sites with long histories of player safety can show they are committed to making sure you enjoy your time on the site when they pay for yearly reports by third-party security firms too. These companies can analyze how the casino is protecting customer data and report back to the parent company.
The other half of this criteria is about reputation. Now, if an online casino undergoes all the licensing requirements and is committed to employing security experts, they are on the right path.
Before signing up at an online casino, it is suggested to read reviews about them online. Reddit, Yelp, online forums, and the reviews in the Google Play and App Stores can help illuminate possible issues with the casino.
Even if a real money online casino has all the necessary legal documents to back up their site, if players find that it is not a good place to gamble, they will avoid it.
2. Advanced Encryptions
Without the protection of advanced encryption, anyone could steal sensitive data or swipe all of the player’s winnings if they knew how. This is How To Gamble Safely Online.
After you find out whether an online casino holds valid licensing credentials, you should check out their encryption standards.
Casinos that use 256-bit SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption and 4096-bit RSA keys are ensuring player safety across their site, including in chat and email communication. These are the most common encryptions for payment processing, and they are highly reliable. Make sure you know what type of encryption is in place before spending your money there.
Casinos that use these sorts of encryptions will also explain how it works on their website, so make sure to look around if you need more information about this topic.
Just like the license and third-party testing certificates, safe online casinos that use SSL will also display it in their footer.
3. Regulatory Requirements of Gambling Site
Even though a safe online gambling site might be licensed, there isn’t a hard-and-fast set of regulating rules. For example, a casino licensed by the MGA might not comply with Curacao standards. Each licensing entity has its own set of rules. This is How To Gamble Safely Online.
In places like the US, Australia, and Canada, it’s a little more complicated since these are regions where online casinos need to be registered under certain laws. In the US, state regulators can issue gambling licenses to online gambling sites that use their own standards for security measures and encryption.
Below we are going to detail some of the regulatory requirements that safe online gambling sites should follow:
- Auditing
- Dispute management process
- Software testing
- Fit and proper person test
- Segregation of customer funds
1. Auditing
Safe online gambling sites need to be audited by a third party once a year in order to comply with MGA standards. The audits are designed to check if the casino is operating under proper company procedures. In addition to this, they make sure that all transactions are properly logged and documented for accurate reporting purposes. This is How To Gamble Safely Online.
Audits are usually random, which helps keep online gambling sites in check. Throughout history, gambling dens and flashy casinos have been stomping grounds for money launderers, so random audits are supposed to catch online gambling sites by surprise.
2. Dispute Management System
To comply with Curacao standards, online gambling sites need a well-defined dispute management process. This helps ensure that players and operators can resolve disputes as quickly and efficiently as possible.
This system needs to be transparent, so everyone knows what’s going on at all times. This also allows the gambling site to follow its own dispute management policy. Dispute management must be a part of the terms and conditions that players accept when they sign up. This shows that the safe online gambling site is following its own policies.
3. Software Testing
All gambling sites that use random number generators (RNGs) need to test their software regularly. This helps ensure that the online gambling site is fully functional and that random numbers are functioning correctly. This is How To Gamble Safely Online.
Similar to audits, this process needs to be random as well. If it’s not random, someone could rig the results and get away with it. Some of these tests require players who win big to be tested and verified as well.
All safe online gambling sites need to comply with technical standards, both local and national. For example, Italian casino players can’t gamble at a site that doesn’t comply with Italian technical standards. This is because the technology used by the casino could interfere with land-based gambling operations.
When looking for a licensed gambling site, use Google or find out what the licensing authority is in your region so that you know what to expect when it comes to technical standards.
4. Fit and Proper Person Test
This test is designed to make sure that anyone applying for an online gambling license is of good character. These tests are performed by the licensing authority.
The purpose of this test is to weed out criminals and people with bad reputations, making it harder for them to open an online casino in that region. This is How To Gamble Safely Online.
The goal is to make sure that anyone involved with the running of the casino is honest and upstanding. The licensing authority can deny a license to applicants that don’t comply with their own set of rules. Since the whole point is to prevent criminals from opening online gambling sites, this test should be done before an application is approved, not after.
Of course, only governments are allowed to issue licenses for gambling purposes. This applies even when other companies are offering their services, like payment processors or auditors.
5. Segregation of Customer Funds
All financial records should be held in a separate, distinct location from the casino’s main headquarters.
Customer funds need to be kept in an account that’s distinct from the casino’s primary operating budget and isn’t touched by any of its employees. This money is used to pay player winnings and cover the site’s expenses.
If you see an online gambling site that says it is trust funding or escrow banking your money, stay away from those casinos. If any of those funds are stolen by employees, there’s no way for players to recover them. This can cause major problems if the customer doesn’t get their winnings. This is How To Gamble Safely Online.
In addition, the casino should have a proper system in place to minimize any financial risks. This includes making sure that currencies are properly converted, and money is kept safe from bank failures and other external forces.
