Casino Facts

Online Casino Scams: 3+ Ways to Be Safe and Secure

Playing at the best online casinos is a great way to enjoy online gambling. But not all gambling sites are created equal.

Author: Manyspins Published: September 9, 2021 Last update: July 15, 2022

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Some of the worst online casino scams have been known to scam players out of their money by stealing their personal information, or by taking the player’s money and never paying them back. This article will teach you how to avoid common online casino scams so that you can be safe and secure when playing online.

How do I know if an online casino is legitimate?

Although online casinos are legal in many countries, online casinos are not regulated by any government agency. This means that when you sign up for an online casino account, there is no guarantee that they will pay off if you win money or even give you your original deposit back in case of a dispute. To avoid being scammed, it’s important to find out which online casinos have been proven to be legitimate and trustworthy over time.

Step 1: Casino licenses ensures legitimacy

Scam sites will typically use words like “the fastest payout!” or “the biggest bonuses!” on their websites as a way to attract gamblers. However, scam casinos that offer extremely large bonuses and free spins are typically sites with a poor reputation or not licensed to operate.

The first step and easy step to avoid online casino scams is to check for their legitimacy. You should look for the seal of approval from eCOGRA (e-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance). If they don’t have this seal then it might be best to stay away from that site altogether because there could still be some type of scam going on.

However, other licenses ensure legitimacy. You can find the best online casinos licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, UK Gambling Commission, or Curacao for example. A license from any of these online governing bodies is a sure sign that you are gambling at legitimate casinos with integrity. Every casino we recommend here on ManySpins is licensed and verified.

Lastly, you should make sure to check online forums and reviews before signing up with them which will help you weed out potential scams even more.

Step 2: Check for website security

Most casino gaming operators today will require your personal information to register for the site, and some might even require credit cards as well. You should never enter any type of sensitive or financial information until you know that they have implemented proper security measures on their website through SSL certificates and encryption technology.

If they don’t offer this then it’s best to take it as a warning sign because this could be a potential identity theft going on behind closed doors.

Step 3: Choose multiple deposit and withdrawals methods

You don’t want to go through the hassle of finding a star casino that you can trust, only for them to steal your money or not payout if you win. This is why it’s so important to find the best online casinos with a great reputation when making deposits and withdrawals.

The best way to avoid real money scams is by using well-known payment methods like PayPal, Neteller, Skrill (Moneybookers), and bank wire transfers as these options typically offer more protections than credit cards and other less secure forms of payments.

Also, look for sites that allow multiple ways of depositing funds because this will give you peace of mind knowing that there are different options available in case one payment method doesn’t work or is offline for some reason.

Is online casino gaming safe?

The quick answer is yes: playing at an online casino is actually very safe. Many people argue that it’s better to play online than in a real casino because you don’t have to worry about thieves and robbers trying to steal your money when playing online. Licensed and legit casino operators are very safe and known to be secure places for gambling online.

There are additional precautions we recommend you take to further protect yourself from common online casino scams:

If the offer is too good to be true, then it probably is

Look out for people or promoters who claim that they’ve won thousands of dollars because if this was true there would be no need for them to put up ads on free classifieds websites looking for others willing to gamble with their winnings.

Also, rogue casinos are known for offering high bonus deals so if you see one who is advertising bonuses that are too good to be true then it probably is.

Are bonuses and promotions fair and above board?

It is normal for a casino to offer bonuses to its players. When you join a casino, you’ll likely be given one or more free spins to use on games of your choice – this is called a “no deposit” or “sign up” bonus.

What you need to remember here is that they are legally bound by the jurisdiction in which they operate – so if a casino is licensed in Curacao but operates out of India (where online gambling isn’t regulated) then it’s not likely to be above board and legitimate because it would be operating illegally. Check thoroughly in these situations.

You’ll also want to watch out for bonus codes that may seem too good to be true: these usually require a deposit before cashing them in (in other words, make sure you use any signup bonus after your initial deposit).

Rogue casinos who aren’t properly registered will often advertise their services as “online gaming” when really they’re really a casino – online gaming sites are for betting on sports, online poker, and online bingo.

Follow trusted resources

If you’ve done your research, check out the online forums and reviews of a casino then it’s safe to say that online casinos can be trusted. You should always do your research before making online casino deposits and withdrawals because you never know who is behind the scenes of any given online site.

Are casinos ‘rigged’ against players?

Casinos are not rigged against players as some people may think. This is because a lot of effort was made into fair gaming. Licensed online casino games have been demonstrated to be fair and honest so there is no evidence that online casinos have had any type of cheating going on.

Many online casinos offer a lot of benefits for players including bonuses, loyalty rewards, cashback offers, and more. These offers are all designed to make playing online casino games even more fun.

This covers licensed casinos only, of course, rigged games that are not regulated by any authority will most likely run rigged games, which is why it’s important to look for online casinos that have clear licensing. Always remember to do your research before depositing money into online sites and play only with trusted online casinos like the ones featured on this site.

Spoiled for choice

This will give you peace of mind knowing that there are different options available in case one doesn’t work out. That doesn’t mean that the perfect casino doesn’t exist, but at least it will give you peace of mind knowing that there is more than one reputable online casino to choose from for your online gaming needs.

Another thing we recommend doing when choosing a casino is reading reviews written by consumers who have actually played with them before because this way you’ll know what real people think about their experience with specific online casinos.

How do I stay safe with online gambling?

Now that you know how to avoid the worst online casinos scams, it’s important to take additional precautions when making deposits and withdrawals in order to make sure your identity remains anonymous online. If a casino does not offer any type of security options, then it might be best just to find another one! However, here are additional ways you can play at legitimate online casino sites while keeping yourself safe:

Spyware and Ransomware

One way many casinos are trying to scam players is by installing spyware or ransomware. Spyware is one of the worst online casino scams. A rogue casino could spy on everything you do online to then send spam, advertisements, and phishing emails that link to other shady casinos. Ransomware is a type of malware that locks your data and threatens to delete it if you don’t pay up – usually in the form of Bitcoins.

If you see any casinos simply trying to install software on your computer or mobile, just close the window and delete it. That is why we recommend playing at online gambling sites via the browser rather than a casino app – this makes it much easier to gamble responsibly.

A way you can be safe from spyware and ransomware is by only playing at a casino that doesn’t require any downloads or installations of third-party software. Most licensed online casinos should not install anything on your computer, but if they do just exit the window immediately.

Try different payment methods

Using multiple payment methods for depositing funds into your account is always smart because if one method isn’t working, there are other alternatives available so that you don’t have to give up on gambling altogether. Using credit cards should only be done as a last resort since the software company can easily track your identity and purchases.

Never play games at casinos that only accept credit card deposits or withdrawals because these sites can easily track your identity and purchase history. This is why it’s best to stick with a casino that offers additional payment methods like PayPal, Neteller Skrill (Moneybookers), bank wire transfers, etc. which allow you to make casino payments more securely.

Use VPNs when making purchases online

You can also consider using virtual private networks (VPN) when connecting to the internet so that your online activity remains anonymous at all times while playing casino games. Not every online gambling site will offer this option but if they do then give it serious consideration! It’s super easy to set up and even novice users won’t have any problems

Using a VPN service is highly recommended because it will anonymize the casino websites that you visit, as well as online poker sites, online sportsbooks, or any other type of online gambling site that requires some sort of registration from you before playing games with real money.

The main reason why people make casino deposits through cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is that transactions are anonymous and irreversible once sent out onto the blockchain network – there’s no for an online casino to know who you are or to take your money once it’s sent.

Types of scams found at online casinos

It’s important to be aware of the possible risks and what you can do to keep yourself safe. Here are some examples of online casino scams:

Theft Of Your deposit

This is the first of many casino scams: the online casino company may have a clear agenda of stealing your deposit. The online casino company would be stingy with their games and does not honor any of the player’s requests for withdrawals. This kind of online casino scam has been reported to happen on online casinos hosted in countries like Russia, China, and Armenia.

Stealing Your ID And Personal Info

Another common online casino scam that seems to be happening often is your personal information which can lead to identity theft. This identity theft scam is more noticeable in online casino sites found on the internet that do not have a good reputation of being fair and honest to players where they host their online casino site at. They probably possess other common scams such as deposit theft and fake games.

Rigged Games at a casino

This common casino scam involves you playing against the house when gambling with an online provider who has no intention but to rip you off your cash winnings after putting up some money for a deposit, this happens oftentimes in small countries with cheap labor costs that do not have proper regulation or licensing for online casinos making it hard to trace what’s going on behind closed doors which could be taking place within these smaller country-based companies without legitimate licenses nor background checks done by authorities.

Non-Payment of Legitimate Winnings

One of the later casino scams to hit, this one is probably the most common online scam that happens to online gambling players these days, where you do not receive your payouts even though it’s been proven that you have won player winnings when playing at their website; this can be anything from small amounts like $50 up until thousands of dollars which makes them a bigger problem for people wanting to get paid legitimately after winning on online games.

Malware

A more obvious online casino scam, having malware installed can result in a computer virus being installed on your computer. This would allow the online casino company access illegally to all of your personal information stored in your PC or laptop without you knowing it.

This is one of many common scams happening nowadays and has been reported by online players who have noticed changes within their computers after visiting an online gambling site, especially those hosted by rogue operators without any licensing.

Summary

To summarize online casinos are one of the safest gambling venues you can find online today, especially when playing at a licensed casino site that is known to have passed tests and be approved by eCOGRA or other governing bodies. If an online casino looks fishy then it’s best to stay away from them all together to avoid online casino scams and potential losses due to fraudsters trying their luck online.

Check out our list of trusted casinos here.