Online gambling is on the rise. With the advancement of technology, it is now possible to start your own gambling website. You don’t need to invest in a brick and mortar casino. While this is great news for budding entrepreneurs out there, regular online gamblers are at the risk of getting duped.
Along with the rising popularity of online casinos, the number of bogus casino websites and mobile apps has also risen. It is difficult to verify the legitimacy of such platforms. You cannot view the website traffic as a metric of authenticity. Most of the site owners have bots crawl their website, thousands of times. It is always the beginner online gamblers who become victims.
What Can Go Wrong While Gambling Online?
Now since you are aware of the threat attached to online gambling, let’s dig even deeper into this matter. Below, I have listed a few things that you must consider before signing up or playing your first online casino game.
1. Free Bonus Trap
Like every other online business, online casinos want to attract new customers. To lure them into the world of gambling, they offer treats like a no-deposit free bonus, sign-up bonus, and post-deposit bonuses.
Generally, there is no risk in accepting no-deposit free bonuses, but you may have to wait for a long time before you get your post-deposit free bonus.
2. Gnoming
Gnoming is a process of opening multiple accounts with the same bookmaker. It is illegal and deemed a fraudulent practice. For a regular gambler, this may not seem like a big deal as the casino website is one under attack. But gnoming also affects a punter.
In online poker, you can easily get swayed into making the moves the opponent wants you to make. You never want to play a multiplayer game with more than one account belonging to the same person.
3. Identity Theft
Identity theft is one of the most common cybercrimes online gamblers must be aware of. Most often, a fraudster (located in easy-going countries for gambling like Nigeria, Mexico, or Ukraine) creates a bogus online casino website and lures newbie gamblers by offering no deposit free bonuses.
You will never find such sites on the first page of Google. It’s always a pop-up ad that leads you to it. Upon signing up, the site will ask you for credit card information. Next, the fraudster can sell your information to a hacker.
Here are the Safety Tips for Gambling Online
1. Always Pay With CryptoCurrency
In 2020, there are several nations where cryptocurrency has been decentralized. Meaning, instead of risking your personal information by handing out your credit card or bank details to a gambling website, you can now feel free to link your crypto account with them.
Recently, Canada added crypto companies to the list of Money Service Businesses. For the ones who have signed-up with safe, trustworthy, and reliable gambling sites, I would suggest using Bitcoin Gold as a payment method.
2. Do Not Install Unverified Applications on Your System
Some casino websites ask you to download a third-party software on your computer or smartphone. Downloading a verified app from a trusted app store such as Play Store, Microsoft Store, or Apple App Store is generally safe. But stay away from standalone software and APKs.
Installing an unverified gambling app on your device can result in data theft. The unverified app can easily install malware on your computer. Malware (both alive and deceased) are capable of capturing sensitive information form your web browser. They can also infect existing programs on your device.
In conclusion, it is always good to sign-up with online casinos that offer streamable games.
3. Learn the Rules
Knowing the rules of popular casino games like Poker, Blackjack, or Baccarat is good, but that does not mean you are ready to play online. There is a massive difference in playing live poker and online poker.
When playing online poker for the first time, you will realize that the gameplay is way faster than the live version of it. Some players fail to adapt and, as a result, lose a lot of money.
In addition to this, there is also a big difference in bet sizing. Sometimes the opening stakes can be surprisingly high.
Summary
The rules of playground safety differ from website to website. When signing up with an online casino or a sports betting website, make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully. There are only select ways in which things can go wrong. Once you address these points, you can feel free to bet online.
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