It appears that all over the internet and in real life also, there is someone trying to sell you something that is too good to be true.
Most of the time, it is a product that looks or acts nothing like it was advertised, but once you make the purchase, you are disappointed with the result.
Fraud is everywhere, but when it happens online, it becomes even harder to not only determine if you are being scammed but who is behind the activity.
Must read also – How to Avoid Online Casino Scams
Table of Contents
Introduction
How to identify rogue online casinos is no exception. It is also full of scammers, but that truly isn’t fair. There are plenty of online casinos to choose from, and the majority of those are reputable.
However, the industry is not free from scandal, so we want to help you feel more confident in the online casino choices you make so you can avoid these rogue operators.
The Safest Websites to Play Casino Games Online
To help you get the right sites to play games here we have crafted a list that not only covers which sites we think are the safest but goes a step further to filter the safe sites by those that offer the best quality of software content, the most payment options and the most attractive promotions and bonuses.
What Makes a Casino Rogue?
Prior to offering some great tips on how to avoid rogue online casinos, we would help you understand what makes a rogue casino in the first place. There are many players who feel a casino is cheating them because they never seem to win, but again that is more of a fallacy than fact.
Casino games are all built with a house edge of some sort – why would a casino operator start a business if they were set to lose money all the time? When people play casino games online, they are playing at a much faster rate, which means that they may feel that they are losing more than normal.
Now, this doesn’t mean that many casinos aren’t scamming players in some way. Let’s look at some of the ways a casino can be considered rogue online casinos:
- False advertising in offers and promotions
- Software that doesn’t play to the correct math
- Slow payouts
- No payouts at all
- Removing money from player accounts
1. Lousy Software
This is less of a concern these days, but in the early days of the online casino industry, there was far less oversight when it came to the games themselves. Some operators were able to “tweak” the payout odds of games, giving them a much higher hold percentage.
2. Fake Advertising
You are likely going to have your antennae up when you see an offer that seems too good to be true. These massive bonuses and promotions usually are, especially when they come from a site you haven’t heard of before.
Rogue sites use these offers to draw you in even though there is no chance of actually winning what is being offered.
3. Slow Payouts
While there is some lag time in getting your withdrawals processed, some sites use this to hide the fact that they are slow paying you. The site could be slow paying simply to make you reverse your request and play some more, while others are simply not interested in paying players in a timely manner.
4. No Payment
This is a worst-case scenario for players – make a deposit, play some games, then try to get your money only to find out you can’t track down the casino at all.
While this is an extreme case, it still exists, so it is something to be wary of when managing your casino balance.
5. Withdrawal of Funds
Some sites will have in their Terms and Conditions a line that outlines their right to remove money from a player’s account if they feel the player has broken any rules. However, this is another way rogue casinos can hide the fact that they are scamming players.
We have heard many stories of players who have logged into their accounts to find their balances gone as a result of some technicality.
What Could Make a Casino Rogue?
A casino operator could simply be a criminal who has set up their business to rip off players. However, these days that number is smaller than ever as the software vendors try to do enough due diligence on a possible customer before granting them a license for their products.
Yet another reason a casino could go rogue online casino is due to the mismanagement of the money that has been deposited at the site.
The industry is highly competitive, and it costs a lot for many to stay relevant. Even though it is a terrible business idea, some companies leverage the player funds to help operate the business assuming that some of the money will be lost by players regardless.
The worst case of this leveraging being discovered happened in 2011, when the Department of Justice in the U.S. shut down Full Tilt Poker, only to discover the majority of the $300 million in player funds was not there.
How to Identify Rogue Online Casinos
Whatever the reason, rogue online casinos are a fact of life, and all we can do is put you in the best possible way to not get scammed and know how to identify Rogue online casinos, when you make your deposits online.
We have a team dedicated to reviewing every online casino we can find, and from these reviews, we compiled the list you saw earlier on this page.
Still, here we have rounded up some of the items you should look for when trying as how to identify rogue online casinos and determine the reliability of a site, and what you can do to avoid finding a rogue operator.
1. Gaming Licenses
The easiest way as how to identify rogue online casinos is to confirm that you are playing with a reputable site is to see if they have a valid gaming license.
There are many different jurisdictions that offer online casino licenses, and each offers a varying degree of player protection. You should prefer sites that have licenses from the United Kingdom or Malta, as these two jurisdictions require that all player funds be stored in a segregated bank account which is audited on a regular basis.
There are other jurisdictions like Curacao and Kahnawake, which aren’t as strict as the European regulators also, but, at the very least, a casino featuring one of these licenses has had to endure some form of due diligence process.
2. Software Audits
There are some rogue online casinos that do not have gaming licenses based on where they are trying to attract clients.
For example, Malta and the UK will not issue a license to operators planning to accept bets from the United States.
In this case, as how to identify rogue online casinos the next thing you should look for is a software provider that has had its games audited by a third party.
This is something that vendors are proud to display, so if you are having a hard time finding a logo from an auditing firm, this should raise a red flag.
3. Casino Reviews
Independent sites like pokiemobile SA are designed to give players the most comprehensive, honest reviews of all the online casino sites we find.
We have a reviews section that covers hundreds of the online casinos you will find, and this includes a blacklist of casinos we simply cannot recommend to players.
4. Read Casino Forum Sites
Another example as how to identify rogue online casinos is to read casino forum sites. There are many player-based sites that give a voice to players who feel they have been wronged by an online casino.
Now, some of these posts on forums are players venting because they lost their money playing games, so when you are reading a forum post about a site, you want to look for responses from casino representatives.
Forums can be a way for sites to perform customer service in the public eye, so if you aren’t seeing a response from the casino itself, then you should have some cause for concern.
5. Trust Your Friends
The odds are that you know someone who has played with an online casino site, so it is worth asking around for recommendations.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you will find the best sites or sites that aren’t rogue, but in combination with our reviews and the forums sites, getting a seal of approval from someone you trust may be exactly what you need to make a final decision.
6. Make Small Deposits
Even after all of this research as how to identify rogue online casinos, you still depend on the casino after you send them your money.
We always recommend that you play within your means, but if you are even a bit concerned about the reliability of a site, then you should test it with the absolute minimum deposit amount.
Then, you want to manage your balance well, making withdrawals whenever possible and leaving only a minimum amount in your balance.
This could cost you a little bit more in transaction fees, but that is still better than having your entire balance wiped out by a rogue operator.
Synopsis
However, you may still find issues with your casino of choice. If that does indeed happen and you can’t get any resolution from the casino directly, you can take your case to the forums, regulators, etc.
The online casino industry has always done a great job of self-policing, and you as a player are part of that ecosystem.
Anything you see that doesn’t seem right should be reported so we can all keep these operators in check and continue to provide a safe, secure environment for players to enjoy their favourite casino games.
