So, do you feel inspired to play online casino games? Maybe you watched an online movie about blackjack and loved it. Perhaps you saw a photo of your favorite celebrity playing roulette in Las Vegas.
Regardless, you want to give casino games a shot. And you want to play online. However, you know you can’t trust everything on the Internet. As such, you’re looking for tips on how to gamble online safely. You’ve come to the right place. Follow our tips below.
Understand Basic Internet Security Tips
You probably know you shouldn’t share your sensitive personal information with strangers online. However, hackers can compromise your data in many ways. They can social-engineer your passwords. Or they can use malware.
To stay safe while playing casino games online, do the following:
- Install an Antivirus Program
- Use a VPN
- Create a Unique password for every account
- Update Software and Apps
- Avoid suspicious sites
An anti-malware program protects your computer or smartphone from viruses, worms, adware, ransomware, and other threats. A VPN shields your IP address to keep you secure.
Using a unique password for every online account seems difficult on the surface. But don’t worry. Find a password manager and you’ll never need to worry about forgetting your passwords.
When it comes to keeping software apps on your devices updated, let the machine do the work for you. Activate automatic updates.
Find a Safe Online Casino
If you want to gamble online safely, choose a secure online casino. It’s that simple. Look for licensed websites. A license shows that a casino is genuine. It also gives you a clue about whether the casino accepts players in your country.
For clarity, most casinos have a list of accepted and banned countries. Check this list to verify whether you can register an account on the website. But before you do, check the site’s security features.
A safe casino betting site uses SSL encryption to keep your data safe. Look for a locked padlock sign on the casino’s URL address to confirm its security. Also, check for a certificate of audit from eCOGRA, GLI, or iTechLab.
Independent auditors like eCOGRA add more proof that a gambling site is genuine. With that said, check the site’s account protection tools. Beyond using a password, find out if Two-Factor Authentication is allowed.
Select a Safe and Reliable Payment Method
You can use at least five different ways to send money to real money casino sites. There’s a wire transfer. Then there are credit/debit cards. You can also use e-wallets like PayPal, e-Checks, or cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Bank transfers are genuine and safe. But they take too long to process payments. No one really wants to wait for five days before their winnings reflect in their bank accounts.
Digital wallets like GPay and PayPal are fast and reliable. That’s why so many casino players love them. However, they’re not ideal for high-stakes players. If you plan to deposit more than $10,000 at casino sites, choose Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is secure. It’s fast and handles millions of dollars in payments. To be clear, crypto also accepts small transactions. You can use it to send $100 or less—ideally not below $10.
Choose Safe Casino Games
In the early days of online casino gaming, you had to be extremely careful when choosing slots and table games. Not all games could be trusted. Luckily, the iGaming sector has improved tremendously security-wise.
These days, it’s nearly impossible to find a genuine casino with unsafe games. Regulators vet every software provider the same way they grill online casinos. If a developer has unfair games, it’s fined or suspended from operating in a specific region.
With that said, there’s more to casino games than fairness. A slot machine might be fair. But it’s also important to have exciting rewards like wilds, scatters, multipliers, and jackpots.
Select high-paying games. They give you the best chance of winning. With slots, look for RTP. It’s short for Return to Player and shows you a game’s payout rate in the long term. Choose slots with 95% to 99% RTPs.
If you prefer to play table games, focus on the house edge. It’s the opposite of RTP and shows a casino’s long-term advantage over players. Logically, you want a game with a low casino edge. Blackjack, for example, has a 1% house edge.
Create a Casino Budget
Securing your data while gambling online is great. But it’s equally important to keep your finances secure. The way you stay in control of your money is by budgeting for every expense you make.
For casino betting, create a budget using the money you can afford to lose. Think of the money you spend on drinks on an evening with friends. If you spend $100 having fun every weekend, then this is a good amount to spend on slots and poker.
If you can turn your bankroll into a profit, good for you. But if you lose on an unlucky day, you’ll still move on with your life. Create a casino budget that can last until your next paycheck.
Also, learn strategies you could use to grow your money. Learn blackjack strategies. Read poker tutorials or watch Twitch streams to discover ways you can increase your profitability in slots.
Beware of Casino Scams
Like every other online industry, iGaming is a common target for cybercriminals. They’re constantly creating new ways to rob unsuspecting players. You can be a victim by using the standard security measures we mentioned earlier.
Choose a safe and secure online casino. Don’t open emails from suspicious accounts. And keep your OS and apps updated. Additionally, secure your traffic with a VPN and use an antivirus to thwart any attacks.
Beyond hackers, look out for bonuses and jackpot scams. Some fraudsters target casino players with generous promotions. But beneath these offers are scams designed to steal your money.
Likewise, you may receive an email address promising you a lot of money from a casino you’ve never used. Remember—if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
