The Dark Side of Online Casinos: How to Recognise and Avoid Scams

There has been a very sharp increase in the number of online casinos that have opened their virtual doors in New Zealand. This is a trend KiwiGambler definitely encourages, although it also means extra caution to our readers and even our own casino reviewers. New casinos jumping up every day is a result of the demand from new players entering the market and swapping land-based alternatives for their digital counterparts.

Interestingly, where real money casino bets happen, scam casinos find their way as well. Dodgy casinos are difficult to be fully eradicated, but close attention will help players from New Zealand to recognize what is a trustworthy website and what is not. In this guide, we will dive into the dark side of online casinos and how to recognize and avoid scams.

What Is Online Casino Fraud?

Online casino fraud sees cybercriminals look to make use of the website of a gambling operator to run an illicit business. Online casino fraud takes a wide variety of forms, from multi-accounting bonus abuse to affiliate fraud, and from money laundering to even manipulated return-to-player rates. When fraud analysts talk about gambling fraud, they refer to any and any unlawful or detrimental practice or scheme carried out by either professional or semi-professional fraudsters in order to extract real money, bonuses, data, or other benefits from users. This can be performed by online casino websites or third parties that get illegitimate access to these platforms. Initially, online gambling attracted a lot of fraud, which was due to its questionable reputation. With the introduction of gambling authorities that are commonly part of governing bodies, external auditing organizations, and web security, the number of scam casinos has significantly decreased in recent years.

Possible Experiences at Dodgy Casinos

With the launch of online gambling websites, fraud specialists were quick to find their way to the digital marketplace as well. As a result of this, players have been either losing money, personal data, or information loss with many regrettable experiences. The following examples are what could happen when you sign up at a scam online casino:

• Unfair Games: dodgy, often unlicensed online casinos work with unfair casino games to increase players’ chances of losing. Such online casino websites are known to work with skinned games that lower returns to players. This means they have lower chances of winning if they would have played the original, legal title.
• Low Withdrawal Limit: in an attempt to prevent players from withdrawing large winnings, scam casinos tend to implement outrageously low withdrawal limits whilst they increase the wagering requirements too. The low withdrawal limits mean that it would take a much longer time to payout all of the winnings, also greatly increases the chance that the player will use the money instead to make new wagers.
• Bonus Abuse: speaking of the previously mentioned wagering requirements, unsafe online casinos offer unreliable bonuses that are mostly recognized by their bonus terms. This is why the bonus terms and conditions are as important as the numbers mentioned in the bonus itself. The terms should be easy to find and comprehend. Wagering requirements probably have the most impact on the terms.
• Lacking Payments: slow payments are another way to avoid paying out what the player deserves whilst the same is true for working with fees such as transaction costs. Slowing down payments can be seen as a deliberate attempt to frustrate the user into forfeiting the money.
• Lack of a Responsible Play Policy: by law, licensed online casinos need to set up an effective responsible gaming policy that is meant to protect players. Scam casinos are known for their lacking responsible play measures, allowing everybody to play with real money without setting limits or getting the protection they need.
• Underage Gaming: as a result of the above, virtually anyone can sign up at a website without the required minimum age checks. Underage gambling is therefore a lot more common on scam online casino websites than on regulated platforms.

Licensed casinos are therefore considered a much safer place to play as these take both internal measures to combat fraud whilst gambling authorities will also make sure their licensees keep up with local laws and best practices.

How To Avoid Fraudulent Online Casinos

All in all, it takes a combination of luck, experience, and some level of research to be able to effectively identify a fake online casino. However, there are simple steps and info you should check to spot a fake online casino. The following are some important tips for identifying unsafe casinos. All top online casinos recommended by KiwiGambler take into a large number of performance metrics including the tips and tricks mentioned below:

1.   Check Out Our In-depth Casino Reviews

Checking out casino reviews is probably the easiest way to find safe online casinos as we only work with licensed casino operators. Performing an in-depth review is the result of years of experience in the industry making it an easy task for our reviewers to recognize a strong online casino or casino operator. Casino reviews in general, and our online casino reviews for NZ, will help you determine if your choice of casino brand is a good one or not.

2.   Do The Same For The Terms and Conditions

Although not easy, going through the terms and conditions is one important way to separate the wheat from the chaff. Often, people find it difficult to read and digest terms and conditions. The challenge here is that there are both general terms and conditions and bonus-specific terms which make it quite a difficult task to perform. Still, this is one of the keys to identifying what lies ahead of you when you join an online casino platform. You should therefore critically study the terms and conditions before playing for real money. All of our casino reviews have taken these terms into account, but if you decide to do this on your own make sure to do this every time you claim a bonus and make a deposit.

3.   Go Through The Banking Page

The payment options available on an online casino banking page are a strong indicator of its legitimacy as trustworthy banking solutions do not want to risk their brand reputation.

A legitimate online casino will make use of reliable deposit options like credit and debit cards. It may also include other popular deposit options such as e-wallets. A legitimate online casino must have different payment options to choose from and offer banking solutions that are common in New Zealand without charging any fees for its usage. Make sure to check with your preferred banking method if it is free of use on their end as well. Selecting fast-payout casinos is one of our most important daily tasks at KiwiGambler.

4.   Check Out the List of Software Developers

The list of software providers can also help determine how reliable a casino brand is for the exact same reason as with the banking methods: reputation. Game developers do everything to keep up their brand reputation avoiding that their games are offered on websites that are known to break the law. When a casino works with some of the leading game developers you may rest assured that this casino is doing something right.

5.   Licencing, licencing, licencing

Doody casinos are known to lack casino licenses as these are normally issued by governing bodies. As unsafe online casinos are not following the gambling laws of a country it is highly unlikely they will hold an official license. Legal casino brands, on the contrary, are licensed by one or sometimes multiple gambling or gaming commissions. The license number of an online casino should be traceable to any regulatory body with most gambling institutions having a register where the validity of the license can be checked. The strongest licenses are offered by governing bodies located in Europe.

Conclusion

We fully understand people’s concerns about the legitimacy of casinos on the internet and the risks associated with online scams. We believe it is always wise to be wary of anything that might have an effect on your personal data or finances. Luckily, with licenses and regulatory bodies, New Zealanders have a lot less reason to be affected by casino scams.

The dark side of online casinos largely lies behind us as governments around the world have been legalizing and therefore regulating online casinos and their pokies offered.

We nonetheless encourage gambling enthusiasts to take a proactive approach to protect themselves against any business tactics you might find strange. By educating yourself and taking some steps to learn about the casinos we work with for the NZ market, you can protect yourself. This way, you will be able to enjoy your online casino spins and get the most out of the casino bonuses. Of course, you can always go ahead and check our recommendations for legitimate online gambling sites available in New Zealand.

References

• https://www.unlv.edu/news/release/new-study-shows-online-gambling-more-addictive-casino-gambling
• https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/knowing-risks-online-gambling-essential-during-pandemic-shutdown/