How To Check If An Online Gambling Site Is Legal
Nowadays, a great number of gamers have moved to online casinos. They are more convenient than having to go all the way to land-based facilities, especially if you live so far from one. Location and time no longer limit players when it comes to enjoying casino gaming.
While online casinos have made gaming quite accessible, the high number of users has made it challenging to tell which ones are legal. If you are like the majority of gamers who have found themselves in this situation, below is a guide that can help you determine if a casino is legal.
Licensing Information
This is one of the things that you can easily use to tell if a casino is legal. Legit casinos hold licenses from respected authorities such as the UK Gambling Commission, Alderney Gambling Control Commission, and the Malta Gaming Authority.
Usually, they provide details regarding their licensing as well as regulation at the bottom of their official pages. Also, in case you ask them to provide additional details about the same, they do so. In addition to this, most of the legal casinos have the seal of eCOGRA.
Casinos approved by this regulator are expected to observe fair gaming, enhance player protection, and promote responsible gaming. If the licensing information of a casino is not readily available, then it means the site is not trustworthy.
Security Measures
Your security is vital when playing games and placing bets in online casinos. Before registering at a particular site, you need to ensure that it is secure. First, even before you join a particular site check if it has a padlock sign on the left-hand side of the URL.
The padlock acts as proof that the casino uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates to protect your information. With data encryption, it is hard for third parties to access sensitive data you transfer to the casino.
These technologies also enable the casino to securely store this information. Additionally, legal casinos use firewalls to hinder unauthorized access. As illustrated at oceanalaw.com, legal online gambling sites in the US have to provide security to players by law. So, you can be certain of online safety when you join safe websites.
Read Reviews
You can also check if a casino is safe by reading reviews from review sites. One search and you will find tons of reviews about the casino you want to join. From these reviews, you can easily find out whether it has safe games, valid licenses, secure payment options, and much more.
While going through reviews, take a moment to check how the casino you are interested in handles customers’ complaints. If no replies at all from the site, then that should act as a warning sign. Check if there are complaints about unprocessed deposits and withdrawals.
Majorly, a casino that fails to process players’ deposits or pay their winnings is not legit, and it is important to avoid such sites. Through reviews, you can easily tell whether you can rely on a casino in the long haul.
Test Customer Support
Another simple way that players can use to test legal casinos is by contacting customer support. By default, most casinos have an email address and chat bot. Others have additional contact channels like phone number and social media.
Use any of these contact methods to ask any question. You can choose to ask about serious things like licensing and security measures. Be keen on the response you get. If quick and helpful, there is a high chance that the casino is honest.
If you receive unhelpful or delayed responses even during the casino’s working hours, you are better off at a different website. Good casinos ensure their responses are fast and they ensure their customer service is professional and knowledgeable on casino matters.
Test the Payment Speed
Before depositing hundreds to an online casino, start with small amounts. If the casino promises instant deposits via particular deposit methods, check if it delivers precisely that. Also, test how fast and easy it is to cash out your wins.
Legal casinos process payments fast and don’t subject you to tedious processes. From your side, ensure you verify your account and use your correct information. If a casino suspects you are using false information, then it may fail to process your deposits or pay your wins.
Legal casinos are keen on such details as a measure to prevent fraudulent activities. These are the same casinos that use Two-Factor Authentication for additional safety. They allow you to add an extra layer of security to your account by enabling authentication.
Gaming Addiction Help
While online casinos are great, they have also increased gaming addiction. Their readily available nature means gamers can spend hours and hours playing the variety of games available on these sites. This increases the chances of one getting addicted.
Operators are aware of this, and as such, have put measures in place to offer gaming addiction assistance. Legal casinos will go the extra mile to ensure their customers practice responsible gaming and even help them make this possible.
Players can request help to test how a casino responds. For example, they can check if they can set spending limits as a way to test a casino. Most legal sites allow gamers to set limits on the amounts they wish to spend daily, weekly, monthly, and in some cases yearly.
Test the Bonuses and Promotions
Nearly all online casinos give their new, existing, and loyal customers different types of bonuses. The bonuses act as a sign that you can trust the casino and that they appreciate you for choosing them over other sites.
By claiming these bonuses, you can test whether the site is legit. Naturally, start with the bonus that is easy to claim, such as the welcome offer or free spins. Go through the terms and then play with the offer.
Ensure you fulfill the wagering requirements, and then try to withdraw your winnings. At a legal casino, claiming a bonus and withdrawing wins is easy. In contrast, an illegal casino will do its best to frustrate you. For example, by revealing terms and conditions not mentioned in the initial manual.
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