8 Tips for Choosing a Secure Online Casino

Online gambling is quickly becoming the nation's preferred way to gamble, but with hundreds of sites available to those who want to gamble from the comfort of their own home, how can you be sure that your information and money are safe?

1. Understand Your State Laws

The federal government of the United States has strict rules against online gambling. However, some state laws allow it. But it is either illegal or against the law in most states, which means that internet gambling is not regulated in those places. If you live in a state where online gambling is prohibited, we advise you to proceed with care.

In other places, like Pennsylvania, the laws about online gambling aren't very clear, so you probably won't get in trouble for doing it. But don't relax your vigilance just yet. If your state government doesn't regulate online gambling sites, that means it hasn't looked at the sites to make sure they are safe for their users. Because they haven't been thoroughly looked through, you're more likely to choose a site that will put your information at risk.

If you live in a place where online gambling is legal, you and your information will be most secure if you join a United States-approved gaming site. The operators of these sites are required by the government to follow a variety of rules, including frequent software checks, age verification, and legitimate licenses, to name a few.

2. Read the Customer Reviews

The online gambling community is tight-knit, and there are a number of forums and other resources that can help people find a safe site to spend their time and money on.

You should start with the negative reviews, since they will reveal the worst of the worst encounters and experiences that consumers have had on that specific site. Users discussing slippery sites that use loopholes in their agreements to avoid paying you, sites that are late to pay or have a history of not paying their clients, and sites whose offers appear too good to be true are just a few of the things to look out for in the negative reviews.

These are just a few things to keep an eye out for, among many others. Make sure the reviews you're reading are from unbiased sources; in other words, try to find user reviews rather than reviews written by a website. Some sites that review online gambling sites may take money from the site being reviewed in exchange for giving it a good review. This is obviously a problem for a user who is looking for an honest evaluation on a review site to help them determine where to put their faith.

3. Examine the Software

Because of the growth in the features of online gambling sites, it is possible that they are using more than one software vendor to meet their needs. Checking the software that a site utilizes isn't a foolproof means of determining the site's legitimacy, but it does help to build the overall image that can be built of the website.

Look for well-known software brands like Rival Gaming and Real Time Gaming, and keep an eye out on the forums for any other well-known software businesses that may be entering the market.

Independent research on reliable software companies will only help you choose an online gambling site, and a little background knowledge can go a long way.

4. Approval Seals

Don't be duped! Seals of approval that may be placed on a site are intended to reassure prospective players that the site has been "authorized," implying that it is safe. However, seals of approval can be easily faked and placed to a site without the genuine approval to back them up. Legitimate seals of approval DO exist, but it's best to leave them out of the equation because they're so easy to forge.

5. Customer Service

Customer service is a vital aspect of your search that should not be overlooked. Though a good customer service system isn't always a sign of site security, it is something to look into.

You can accomplish this by reading reviews written by past customers on forums and in comments. You can also take a more hands-on approach. Try out every help option available on the site, whether it's email, chat, or a phone number.

Prepare a few questions ahead of time, and gauge their response speed (if you're contacting them by email), the clarity of their response, and their willingness to assist you in resolving a potential problem.

Even a respectable website might have a poor customer care system, so it's critical to ensure that if a problem does happen, there will be a crew ready to assist you.

6. Deposits

Making a deposit is not synonymous with a more legitimate site. In reality, whether it's easy or hard to make a deposit has nothing to do with how safe the site is. A hazardous site wants your money just as much as a safe site does, and some sites go through additional procedures to assure their own safety and that the money you are depositing is yours and will not put them in legal trouble.

After you've chosen a site and started playing, there are a few more things to consider.

7. Keep an Eye Out for Law Changes

If you use an online gambling site, it is your personal obligation to stay up to date on important legal developments. This is especially true if you are utilizing a site that is not run by the country in which you live. Although legislation changes are rare, it is critical that you are aware of the gambling laws and rules in both your home nation or state and the country where the site is licensed.

Not only will this provide you with a more solid picture of your legal protection, but if a law changes dramatically in the country in which your site is licensed, you'll want to know so that you can take the necessary steps to collect your money and remove your information from the site in case it is shut down or otherwise legally compromised.

The research and information you gather before signing up does not end there; it is critical for your safety and security that you are always up-to-date.

8. In Case of Emergency...

You've thoroughly inspected the site, checked its licensing, read and reviewed user feedback, and made it a point to comply with all applicable regulations, so you should be good to go, right?

NO.

Even the most stable and safe sites could have problems that force them to close without warning. This is usually owing to financial concerns, but it is not always the case. There are a few warning indicators that may indicate a site closure.

Warning flag 1: Previously, your withdrawals took "x" amount of time, but now they are taking longer.

This isn't the end of the world, and it could just be a brief financial setback for the site, but it's in your best interest to maintain the track.

Keep a small book with the amount, the date you asked for it, and the date you got it. Having a good record that tracks the site over time can show you if the site is slowly deteriorating or if the site has taken an obvious and dramatic turn for the worse.

Warning flag 2: You wrote to customer support two weeks ago and have yet to receive a response, despite the fact that they have been responsive in the past.

Again, this could be due to a variety of factors unrelated to the site's reliability, but it's always a good idea to keep an account in the back of your mind. A slowing in responses from the site to its gamers is a red flag, especially if communication and responses have been regular and swift in the past.

If you believe this is happening, go to the forums. Other players in your circumstance are almost certainly asking the same thing, and hearing other perspectives on the problem might help you construct a more complete picture.

These are not the only two warning indicators, but they are easy to track if you keep good records.

Conclusion

It is impossible to go wrong with having more knowledge on your side. Begin with this list and expand on it based on the criteria you may have when making your decision.

From understanding the regulations to recognizing a few warning signals of a potentially failing site, we hope that these eight recommendations have enabled you to feel more confidence not only while browsing for a site, but also while playing!