Online casinos are one of the most popular hobbies worldwide, combining the convenience of playing from anywhere at any time with popular games like blackjack, roulette, and pokies. To stay safe in the online casino world, players need to make the most of responsible gambling tools and choose a casino that offers high levels of security and fairness. In this article, we’ll cover some of the top tips on staying safe in the online casino world. Let’s get started!
The Importance of Responsible Gambling
Gambling responsibly is one of the keys to staying safe in the online casino world, ensuring it remains a fun hobby. Here are a few key tips bettors recommend using to gamble responsibly.
Knowing and Setting Limits
One of the best ways for players to control their spending at online casinos is by setting limits. Players can set a few different limits, including spend, loss, and time limits. Most providers will allow players to set limits over a specific amount of time, such as spending NZ$10 a week.
Loss limits prevent players from overspending by preventing play after a set loss – NZ$20 monthly, for example. Although they’re less common than other limits, they’re very helpful in monitoring spending as they provide a more accurate picture. Seasoned bettors recommend looking for online casinos that offer all these limits for monitoring gambling habits.
Self-Monitoring
Players emphasize the importance of monitoring their gambling behavior, including tracking spending and keeping in touch with emotions. A good way to keep up with spending is to identify gambling-related bank transactions found via banking apps, or players can order a statement from their bank. If a player is concerned about their spending, they can also block gambling-related charges through many banks, like Kiwibank. Players can also track their spending through a casino’s account section. When monitoring spending, it’s important to have a set limit in mind and not exceed it.
Self-monitoring isn’t just about finances, it’s crucial for players to analyse the emotional effect of gambling. Players should consider how they view gambling, making sure it always remains a fun activity rather than a way to gain income. Many bettors talk about the importance of reflecting on how they feel before gambling, as those who had problems often found it was linked to a certain emotional state, like stress. Remember, gambling shouldn’t have a negative effect on other areas of life—including relationships, mental health, and and routines.¹
Self-Exclusion
When players recognize they have a problem, self-exclusion is a helpful way to prevent it from continuing. In New Zealand, players can exclude themselves from most online casinos, either individually or using apps like Betblocker or Gamban.² Kiwi providers have varying minimum exclusion terms of three, six, or twelve months, and there is usually no maximum term. Players can pick how long they’d like to exclude themselves from a provider within these terms.³ For those seeking a more temporary exclusion, bettors recommend looking for casinos offering breaks. These are typically shorter-term exclusions from one to thirty days and can be a great way for players to control their spending and time spent gambling.
Choosing the Right Casino
When choosing an online casino, make sure to consider areas like fairness, security, and licensing, as well as responsible gambling tools. Let’s look at these factors in more detail.
Site Fairness
Obviously, all players want to use a casino where games are fair. There are a few ways players can ensure the fairness of the casino, including looking for eCOGRA certification. eCogra is an independent, globally recognised testing, inspection, and certification agency for online gambling. This agency examines the fairness of the software behind casino games and award certification like the Certified Software Seal and Certified Live Dealer Seal to those who meet their high standards.⁴ They make sure the games remain fair by reviewing them on a regular basis.
There are a few more key benefits that players can make the most of when they use a casino certified by eCOGRA. They have strict security measures that ensure all information shared is secure using multi-level verification procedures and encryption. eCOGRA also helps players if there’s a dispute between them and the casino, operating as a mediator to reach the fairest resolution. They make sure that all casinos they certify take responsible gambling seriously by offering tools like time-outs and self-exclusion. If a player feels there’s an issue with the fairness of a casino, they can contact the customer support services through eCOGRA using live chat, email, or phone.
There are a few other leading licensing bodies to look out for as alternatives to eCOGRA, including Gaming Labs International, Gaming Associates, iTechLabs, and BMM. At licensed casinos, players can usually find the body’s logo at the bottom of the page. These are great things to look out for when finding the right casino, as they guarantee high standards of fairness and safety.
Look Out for Security Measures
Bettors know how important staying secure online is, so when choosing a casino, they look for ones that implement essential security features. One thing to check is whether a casino offers secure banking methods that ensure all transactions are protected. Many players prefer using third-party payment methods over uploading their bank card details online. These players tend to look out for e-wallet methods like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller or cryptocurrency options like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Third-party providers have their own security systems, including higher levels of encryption to keep details secure and multi-factor verification to protect the player’s account.
There are a few other basic security measures that the best casinos make use of, such as firewalls. Firewalls help protect the traffic on a server by preventing unwanted and unauthorised visitors.⁵ They act just like doors, controlling which traffic can enter and what data can exit, providing a higher level of security for players. Another feature to look out for is a high level of encryption, which converts all data shared between the site and player into a complex code.⁶ It’s impossible for anyone who may want to access a player’s information to unscramble the complex code without an encryption key, meaning their details are well protected. Bettors can learn more about the security measures of a gambling site on their Terms and Conditions or Security Policy page.
Check Licensing
It’s essential that players only play at casinos that have licensing from a reputable body, like the UK Gambling Commission or the Malta Gaming Authority. To obtain a licence, casinos must adhere to strict rules on player safety, fairness, and responsible gambling. Unlicensed casinos can be dangerous as they don’t have to follow the same standards, so there’s no guarantee the player’s money and information will be safe when using them. If a player has a problem at a licensed casino, they can contact the provider, their bank, and the licensing body for help. At unlicensed casinos, there’s no guarantee a player will receive help from any of these bodies.
How Can You Stay Safe When Navigating Online Casinos?
One of the most important things bettors recommend to stay safe at online casinos is using responsible gambling tools, like spending limits and self-exclusion. These help keep players safe by maintaining a healthy relationship with gambling and preventing dangerous habits like overspending. Players must monitor their relationship with gambling by examining their emotions and tracking their spending. Bettors also recognise the importance of picking the right casino to stay safe online. Look out for casinos licensed by a reputable body, have high-level security measures, and highlight their fairness through features like eCOGRA.
References:
1:The Effects of Gambling Addiction, Written by Gambler’s Help, Published by Gambler’s Help.
2: What Is Gamban?, Written by Gamban, Published by Gamban.
4: BetKiwi’s Guide to eCOGRA, Written by Tessie Williamson, Published by BetKiwi.
5: What Does a Firewall Do?, Written by Fortinet, Published by Fortinet.
6: What Is Encryption?, Written by CloudFlare, Published by CloudFlare.
