How Online Casinos Cheat: Unregulated Casinos and Bad Practices
Exchanging money online always comes with some level of risk and the same goes for online gambling. However, you donāt need to increase this risk level by playing at unregulated or dodgy online casinos. If you keep in mind some basic rules, itās very easy to protect yourself.
Firstly, we need to distinguish between scams where people trick the casino by pulling off infamous cons and situations where casinos may cheat players. This post will focus on the latter, how online casinos cheat, and by this we mean unregulated or dodgy casino sites that take advantage of customers.
Staying Safe and Avoiding Unregulated Online Casinos
You may be thinking, do online casinos cheat players? The answer is – sometimes, but this doesnāt mean you should avoid all casino sites. We will explain how some dodgy online casinos are scamming their customers, and the bad casino practices to keep an eye out for and how they can be avoided.
Thereās also a difference between unregulated online casinos that defraud people out of their cash and licensed casinos with bad or unsavoury practices. We will cover both here. We will also tell you how you can avoid falling victim to these and what to do if you come across fraudulent online casinos.
The Legal Grey Area: Unregulated Online Casinos
Unregulated casino sites exist in a grey area because they are not necessarily illegal. They are just not regulated, meaning they are not answerable to any authority. Their unregulated nature means they donāt have to adhere to any legal regulation, so there are no steps in place to deal with customer complaints against them.
The good news is that unregulated sites are relatively easy to avoid. For UK players itās best to always look for a licence on the UK Gambling Commission’s Public Register. This is the body that regulates online casinos in the UK, and we will discuss how they keep players safe down below.
An unregulated online casino will often look like a licenced one. It may have similar games on offer and even look aesthetically alike. You might even see a licence; however, it won’t be from the UKGC. Instead the licence might be from somewhere like Curacao, and this type of licence isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
Another negative thing about unregulated online casino sites is that they donāt follow the legal requirements of the countries they operate in. For example, regulated operators can only offer their services in the countries they hold licences. Unregulated casinos can be tempting for players in countries where online gambling is illegal, as they donāt care where you are located.
Unregulated online casinos likely wonāt use RNG (random number generators) for their games, so you have no way of verifying that the games you’re playing are fair and the outcomes truly random. This means the operator could manipulate the outcomes to work in their favour. This is common among unregulated casinos that cheat their players.
The main danger with these types of casinos is the absence of any process to rectify wrongdoings. If you are playing at a casino licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, the casino must answer to them if anything goes wrong. Unregulated ones do not. Our advice is always avoid unregulated casinos; it just isn’t worth it.
What the UK Gambling Commission Does for Players
As discussed above, online casinos with a licence from the UKGC must follow set requirements, which are there to protect UK players, and if they donāt follow these there are consequences. Operators must prove their trustworthiness to the commission to obtain this licence in the first place. Some of these requirements include:
- The casino must promote responsible gambling. This includes making information clearly available to their users on how to gamble responsibly and having resources readily available for those who need help regarding problem gambling. Including giving every player the option of self-exclusion.
- Games must be checked for fairness. This means the outcomes of games will be truly random and this is checked through third-party companies such as eCOGRA and iTechLabs.
- They must be compliant with anti-money laundering requirements. This includes checking funds and where they have come from.
These are just some of the requirements online casinos licensed by the UKGC must meet in order to keep operating under this licence. Online casinos without this do not have to follow any of these requirements and this is how online casinos cheat, as these unlicensed casinos do not have player protection features in place.
How to Avoid Falling Victim to an Unregulated Casino
So, how do you avoid unregulated casinos? Always do your research, espcially before signing up at the top high stakes casinos for online gamblers. Read reviews from reputable sources and check out the online casino for yourself before committing any funds to them. Look for that UKGC licence information. It will usually be on the bottom of the homepage of the operator, together with the account number they are licensed under.
Another important thing to look for when assessing the legitimacy of a new online casino is big-name software companies like NetEnt and trusted payment providers like PayPal. Legit casinos will also partner with familiar names for example, LeoVegas partners with Manchester City FC. Looking for these reputable names is a guaranteed way to avoid casinos that cheat. You’ll find more information on this topic in our article on avoiding online casino scams.
Bad Casino Practices
Next, we will talk about bad practices. These may be casinos that seem legit and are licensed but have some dodgy practices in place. We will list below some bad practices to look out for. If you experience any of these or other types of online casino fraud with an operator, itās best to avoid and play elsewhere.
Unfair Bonus Terms
Welcome bonuses are a major way that online casinos try to draw in new customers. But does the amount theyāre offering seem too much? If so, there’s likely to be some dodgy terms and conditions associated with the bonus. Even at a legit casino itās important to read through the terms and conditions of an offer so youāre not caught out.
Itās normal to be required to playthrough a certain amount to get this bonus, but most casinos have wagering requirements of somewhere between 35 – 50 times, which means you need to wager 35 – 50 times the value of the bonus offer. Anything higher than this and there will be little chance you can ever achieve it and unlock the bonus.
Any casino worth its salt will offer enticing welcome bonuses to attempt to (figuratively) get you in the door. So how do you tell a dodgy offer from a legit one? The main way is, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is, so best to walk away.
Not Paying Out Legitimate Winnings
Another bad casino practice is the non-payment of legitimate winnings. We know this is many players’ biggest fear, an online casino not paying out. You may complete all the necessary steps, but the casino will claim that it canāt process your withdrawal request. Or they may keep finding excuses to delay processing it.
Now donāt get us wrong, there can sometimes be legitimate reasons for a delay. If the operator is completing anti-money laundering checks for example, but if something feels off it might be. To avoid this, read reviews from legit sources! If a casino is getting a reputation for not paying out winnings, you will definitely read about it.
Non-existent Customer Service
A big red flag is if an online casino has no customer service. A great customer support team is a huge advantage to an online casino, most will have a team available around the clock to help with any issues or simple questions you have. The absence should be cause for concern and gives the impression that the casino is not interested in helping its players.
What to Do if you Come Across a Fraudulent Online Casino
If you come across fraudulent online casinos there are steps you can take. If the casino is licensed, reach out to the relevant authority straightaway, for UK players thatās the UK Gambling Commission. The operator will be answerable to them, and they have a straightforward complaints process you can follow on their site.
If the casino is not licensed this is where it gets trickier. Sadly, it will be harder to report or do anything, but you can still try to make a complaint to the UKGC. One actionable thing you can do is spread the word and leave reviews online to let others know to avoid the operator so they donāt fall victim.
Only Play at Licensed Online Casinos
We hope to have shown the distinction between scams by unregulated online casinos and simple bad practices from regulated casinos. Both should be avoided if possible. There are so many legitimate online casinos out there that are following proper practice, so thereās no reason to play at a dodgy site.