As demand for online casinos has risen in recent years, so too has the supply, with thousands now in operation around the world.
However, like with any popular industry, the casino world has also seen an increase in unregistered and illegitimate online casinos, whose primary purpose is to take your money. That’s why it’s important to browse websites like this one, which help you distinguish legitimate ones from scams: smartcasinoguide.com/best-online-casino-rating-list/
Unsurprisingly, the casino industry is heavily regulated and there are easy ways to check if an online casino is legit like https://casinozonderidin.net/casino-zonder-vergunning/ Here are a few:
Certification
All legitimate online casinos are regulated by an official third-party regulator, including bodies such as the Malta Gaming Authority, UK Gambling Commission, and eCOGRA.
Scroll to the bottom of any online casino’s home page and it will detail which body they are licensed and regulated by. They should also provide the account number, which should be clickable and will send you through to the casino’s profile on the regulator’s database.
Of course, sophisticated scam casinos could create fake profiles on fake databases, so if you have any concerns, contact the regulator the casino claims to be associated with and enquire.
Reviews
There are now hundreds of casino review websites with the sole purpose of assessing online casinos and casino games. The bigger sites literally have thousands of reviews of online casinos, from the big giants all the way down to smaller, more obscure platforms.
If you encounter an online casino that you’ve not heard of and are not sure if it’s legit, type its name into Google with the word “review” and see what results are produced. Using review sites is a good practice regardless, even if it is a well-known casino.
Registration process
As already mentioned, the online casino industry is heavily regulated and as such, new players need to go through a rigorous registration process before they can play games. While each online casino’s process will likely differ slightly, it should require players to provide basic personal information (name, age, address, etc.), and upload official proof in the form of a driving license and utility bill.
New players will also need to verify their phone numbers and email addresses. All of this process will be done over an encrypted platform to protect your information and data.
Online casinos that are not legit could be at either extremes of the registration process: either it will not ask for enough information and has no verification steps (to get players on their platforms quickly and spending money), or it requests multiple documents numerous times to obtain sensitive information. These casinos may even request these documents on unsecured and unencrypted platforms. If either of these happen to you while registering, go no further.
Efficient customer service
All legitimate online casinos have excellent customer service, most of which offer 24/7 live chat support, direct phone contacts (or immediate callbacks), and prompt reply over email.
The efficiency of the casino’s customer service should provide a good indication of the casino’s legitimacy, although scam operators could set up similar lines of communication to make them seem legitimate. Not only should customer service be easily accessible but ask a series of questions and share any concerns and see how the agents respond. If any of their solutions or suggestions don’t seem right, it might be best to investigate further through review sites and checking its claimed regulator database.
Payout speeds and methods
Legitimate online casinos will offer a variety of payment methods to allow players to deposit and withdraw money into and from their casino account. From debit cards and e-wallets to PayPal, and crypto wallets, these casinos have safe and secure transfer methods to safeguard your money. The withdrawal transfers should then take a reasonable amount of time to complete, anything from 1-7 days.
Illegitimate online casinos, meanwhile, will not have secure deposit and withdrawal methods and money transfers out of your casino account could have hugely long payout times, sometimes weeks or even months.