Safety when playing online pokies is key. It’s one thing to lose some money playing a game, and totally different to have your credit card data hijacked. There are many ways you can lose money or have your privacy invaded if you aren’t cautious.
Down below, let’s discuss ways to make sure your account is secure and your money is safe.
Is online gambling safe?
Online gambling is not safe by definition. With the data being constantly passed back and forth, the vulnerabilities are numerous. But all it takes to keep you safe is a system encrypts your data while being exchanged between servers. The best example of that is making a payment.
Your credit card information is entered on a secure page and confirmation is often required by the bank. This is known as the 3D secure authorization protocol that minimizes the chances of your card ever being misused.
What you can do to stay safe
By sharing personal information you are making yourself potentially vulnerable. The same is true about making online payments.
Would you buy something from a shady online shop and enter your credit card info without giving it a second thought? Most likely you’d prefer to cool off your jets and look elsewhere. The same should apply to online gambling.
Steps to make sure your venue is solid
Choosing an online casino is not as easy as it may seem. An important decision is to be made, and it might take some time. The basic steps required for getting a solid place to gamble at include:
- 1. Deciding what you are looking for in terms of game choice, payment options, promotions, etc.
While security is paramount, you don’t want a secure boring casino that won’t make your heart sing. What you need are excellent offers and generous bonuses, sparing wagering terms, and stellar reviews. You can check slotssimulator.com and find out more about this.
Gambling is supposed to be fun. So it makes sense to start by choosing out of the best possible options that will be good for you. After all, you do want to enjoy safe online slots every single time.
- 2. Reading reviews of top casinos to see what’s out there.
You’d commonly find the same names across different websites, which is a good sign. It’s not uncommon to have a handful of casinos open to Aussie customers popping up here and there in the reviews you study.
Just as an example – Televegaslots seem to impress numerous players from Australia. So much so, they consider it their obligation to leave stellar reviews.
With hundreds of online casinos out there, only a handful is really worth a visit. Even fewer if you throw in the Aussie-friendly ask and a preference for a certain kind of payment option.
- 3. Narrowing down the list of candidates and getting up close to check them out.
Once you got your candidates, time to get down to checking them out for yourself. Even if you aren’t that experienced with that sort of “detective work”, that’s the only way to truly stay safe when gambling online.
Things that matter
The aspects that truly matter when you are checking the background and history of your casino include:
- license (must be current and valid);
- type of encryption used;
- privacy policy;
- payment methods available.
Let’s have a closer look at each one of those below.
License
The casino you are choosing must be licensed. A license with any gambling authority means the casino undergoes regular checks. It also means it will comply with international gambling provisions and standards.
As a result, you as a customer are protected and won’t be dealing with any shadiness on the casino’s part. If you are wondering whether you should be chasing after a more prestigious license, you really should not.
No matter if it’s a Malta license or a Curacao one, both come with pretty strict requirements. Starting a casino is not easy, and it takes even more effort to keep it going. So if there is a license from a well-known authority – it’s a great sign.
How to make sure the license is legit
Posting things is easy. But how to verify the license number? While there aren’t any public registers to run the number against the database, there is an easy way to know.
If you visit the payments section, you’ll see all the payment ways offered. Large payment providers like Visa or MasterCard won’t cooperate with a casino that’s not legitimate. Also, they do have the channels to check and verify.
Encryption
Encryption of your data by the online casino is paramount to staying safe. It’s best to go for the ones using SSL or TLS.
In both cases, the connection is encrypted and authenticated using a reliable protocol. The sheer number of combinations any hacker would have to go through just to crack the code is dizzying.
Privacy Policy and Terms
Privacy policies tend to be quite generic as if following the same template. Even though you may be inclined to skip that part altogether, don’t. Keep in mind that sometimes things that matter come in the fine print.
You want to make sure no fine print escapes your attention.
If there is something off about the Privacy Policy – feel free to ask a question. Both privacy policy and the Terms outline the rules you will be expected to play by. Make sure everything is acceptable to you.
Payment methods
Payment methods can tell you a lot about the company you are going to sign up with. Are you familiar with the industry giants like Visa and MasterCard and the like? Make sure those are always present among the payment methods.
Their very presence indicates the casino was put through hell and has the security aspect covered.
It’s not a good sign when you can see just cryptocurrencies and some shady methods you never heard of before. That points to the casino trying to be coy. No one needs that.
Why verification is not a bad thing
A few years back getting your identity verified was seen as an inconvenience. Players were seeking out casinos that did conduct verification to avoid the trouble of sending in all the documents.
Today no need to get verified should be seen as a warning sign. Every license-issuing body requires verification of the users, primarily to avoid underage gambling.
And if the casino does not want to do that, they may be hiding something.
Conclusion
Picking an online casino is a time-consuming job, but totally worth it, in the long run, ensuring safe and enjoyable gambling.
