How To Avoid Rogue Casinos

Online gambling has become exceedingly popular throughout the world, and continues to gain momentum daily as the online gambling community grows in number and enthusiasm. As gambling enthusiasts at large continue to become excited about online gambling, everyone is watching, including cyber predators, who will bypass no golden opportunity to set up circumstances in which provide just the right environment for them to take advantage of players. Of the thousands and thousands of online casinos out there, (some estimate that there are as many as one million at this point), only a handful of them are reputable, licensed, and legitimately trustworthy operations. Due to the sheer number of rogue, predatory online casinos on the Web, players who jump into the online gambling arena blindly have a great chance of landing at one of these rogue casinos, and getting taken for every penny they've got.

These rogue casinos do not just steal funds that you deposit into the casino, they make sure they capture enough of your personal financial information to also steal your identity, and take you for everything you've got, and then some. It is simply not worth the risk. Lets leave the gambling and risk taking on the blackjack table shall we? So how to you keep from becoming one of their unwilling victims? Learn to question everything and everyone involved in the online gambling industry, and find a trusted online gambling guide that can provide you with valuable insight into these casinos.

When it comes to selecting an online casino at which to play, either you or the online gambling guide that you are using should have asked these questions to determine whether or not a particular online casino is worthy of your consideration.

Is the online casino licensed? Whether or not an online casinos is licensed should be clearly indicated on their website. If it is not addressed anywhere on the site, then that is a bad sign. Most high quality online gambling guides, such as Bonusgeek.com, will not recommend or feature any online casinos that are not licensed. Along with being licensed, online casinos should also display the various regulating agencies which have audited them for fair gaming practices. This is another aspect that the Bonusgeek.com team checks when recommending online casinos to their visitors.

Which online gambling software platform is being employed at the online casino? There are five primary, mainstream casino software solutions that are known for their high quality gaming experience, including RTG (RealTime Gaming), Microgaming, PlayTech, NuWorks, NetEnt While these software platforms do ensure that you will be treated to a superior gaming interface and high quality graphics, features and functionality in your gambling experience, the use of these industry leading software solutions alone do not vouch for the integrity or ethical standards of any online casino, hence you should not automatically assume that any casino using one of these software platforms is automatically a safe option without considering the other criteria mentioned here.

Is customer service available via a variety of contact methods? Being able to contact an online casino is very telling. Many rogue casinos will make it virtually impossible to contact them, and they will not list a phone number or offer a live chat option. Rogue casinos that do offer phone contact rarely answer your call and you'll get a busy signal all hours of the day and night. A comprehensive online gambling guide will have actually been in contact with each of the casinos they feature in their guide as a player. For example, the Bonusgeek.com team has made multiple and varied inquiries with customer support at each of the online casinos which they feature in their trusted gambling guide. Any online gambling guide that has not done so has not thoroughly investigated the casinos which they are promoting. If you intend to try out an online casino 'blindly', without using a gambling guide, then we recommend that you make the smallest possible deposit just in case you have landed at a rogue casino to avoid loosing a large sum to any predators.

How efficient is the cashier or banking suite at the casino? Do they offer a good variety of deposit method options? Are there hidden or excessive fees for deposits or withdrawals? Banking related questions concerning each online casino you consider playing at are critical to your financial well being. If you have the slightest hesitancy or 'bad feeling' about a specific casino, do NOT share your personal financial information. If you consider braving it at an online casino not recommended by a trusted source such as Bonusgeek.com, consider using an e-wallet account that does not share your credit card or bank account information directly with the casino. A prepaid debit or gift card would also protect you somewhat. Before you deposit into any online casino, review their withdrawal policies and options. You don't want to be in a situation where its easy to deposit, but extremely difficult to withdraw your winnings. This is a strategy of many rogue casinos. It is the "you can check in but you can't check out" approach. Also read the fine print carefully and closely in regards to fees, both those listed as well as hidden fees. This is another area in which rogue casinos take advantage of players. We cannot stress enough how critical it is that you are very conscientious regarding the banking practices of any online casino. We highly recommend relying on a trusted online gambling guide for their expertise in this regards. We encourage all players to read our casino deposit guide which reviews trusted and reliable payment methods available to players.

What does my gut instinct say? Players often ignore their gutt instincts in lieu of strong emotional responses instead, like getting caught up in the moment and taking big risks. Often our gutt is trying to tell us something, and it is on the right track far more often than we give it credit for. If you are browsing through an online casino, and something just doesn't look or feel right, get out!!

Is this online casino safe enough to download their software? Online casino software that is from reputable casinos does not typically pose any type of threat to you or your computer. However, if you download the gaming software from a rogue casino, is it entirely likely that you may end up with malware, spyware, or worse on your computer. These types of attacks are designed to seek out and find your personal financial information from files on your computer, your Internet history, and in other devious ways. Often you won't even know the attack has taken place until the day they clean out your bank account or max out your credit cards. To avoid this type of situation, you should only play at online casinos that have been extensively analyzed and investigated by experts in the field who know what to look for in a rogue casino software threat. This is one potential mistake that can end very badly.

As you can see, there are multiple threats associated with rogue casinos, and none of them are easy to clean up, particularly when these are anonymous entities that are virtually impossible to track down even if you contact the authorities. In all likelihood, if you are victimized by a rogue casino, there is not much that can be done about it after the fact. The best approach is to not become a victim in the first place. Rogue casinos do not advertise their deviousness for players, but rather put on a charming and enticing front that appeals to players. It is easy to see how valuable an informative, up to date, and reliable online gambling guide can be. Do keep in mind though that there is a difference between a rogue, predatory casino and simply poor or incompetent customer service. A rogue casino is out to steal from you and hurt you, bad customer service simply reflects an online casino's misguided priorities in serving their players, and neither scenario is preferred. The online gambling guide that you choose to use should provide comprehensive casino reviews to give you a detailed window into the inner workings of the online casino you are interested in playing at. This can protect you, as well as give you an idea of whether a specific casino is in line with your style and gaming preferences. We've said all this to say this: BE SAFE!!