Today, more and more gamblers are being warned about the importance of choosing legitimate online casinos if they want to have a good time. It must be said that the regulatory bodies of online betting activities are doing their utmost to fight hard against the rogue sites whose only goal is to rip off the peaceful players.
In America, or anywhere else in the world, online casino enthusiasts are constantly on the alert to avoid falling victim to rogue sites. However, it must be said that the legal aspect of casinos in some countries is still confusing, which is why it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish between casinos authorized in America and those that are not.
In this article, we would like to inform you about all you need to know about the legitimacy of the online casinos where you want to place your money. Beware! Playing at a legit casino is a necessity and not a choice if you do not want to be a victim of scams or any other form of disappointment. Therefore, we recommend that you really take into consideration all the information we provide in this article. Besides, checking casino reviews from Veritop.com is helpful in selecting the legit ones.
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Legislation and betting sites
Gambling legislation is quite particular. Indeed, before 1969, it was only possible to bet on horse racing and charity lotteries. All other entertainment options that we know today, such as slot machines, poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and others, were not available at that time. Under the Criminal Code, it would be illegal to open a gambling establishment. However, laws have been passed to allow some provinces to decide the fate of online gambling activities in their territory. This being said, the legality of gambling depends entirely on where you live.
Security is a key to avoiding scams at online casinos
That’s why the most important thing is to choose a reliable online casino site to play at without running huge risks of fraud. On the Internet, there are no defined borders, so a site can be illegal and located at the end of the world while being accessible in English! You should therefore check everything, including their license and their regulation before registering. Online casinos have a bad reputation because of the many risks of scams.
Of course, fake casinos are not limited to baiting players with fake bonuses, there are also a lot of dishonest things like fake payout rates, biased free games, favoritism according to players, winnings never paid out, etc. But the list is even longer if you count the related dangers! For example, malware, spam, harassment, theft of personal data and its resale, or even worse, hacking of bank transactions, especially at the time of the initial deposit of a bet by credit card.
How to recognize a legit online casino?
As we said, playing at a legit online casino is not a choice, but an obligation. Not considering the legitimacy of an online gambling platform would mean exposing yourself to huge risks. The best legit online casinos are those that guarantee reliability to their customers. At such establishments, you can enjoy yourself to the fullest without fearing for your money or the security of your personal data. Here are important things to consider when looking for a legit casino:
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Accreditation
A legal online casino for bettors is required to have a gaming license recognized in the country. There are several jurisdictions that issue accreditations to casinos. Among these, the best known are Loto-Québec and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. The latter is the most popular with legal foreign casino owners, as it is a guarantee of reliability around the world. It is advisable to check the postal address and telephone contacts of the casino next to the legal notice.
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Bettor Reviews
Bettor reviews always speak volumes about the legitimacy of a site. A legit casino should offer fair games, reliable bonuses, strong security, qualified customer service, and much more. If the reviews of bettors on a site are not favorable in this sense, it is not a legal and safe casino. You will need to consider all of these criteria to determine whether or not a casino is legal.
Going into more detail, here is a complete checklist:
- Checking that a casino is eCOGRA certified by the international agency eCOGRA is a way to ensure the authenticity and sincerity of a site.
- Verify that the operator is compliant with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
- Ensure that the casino games offered are stamped by a reputable software provider such as NetEnt, Microgaming.
- Checking the presence of the TST (technical systems testing) icon at the bottom of the home page is proof that the security of the software is guaranteed. Random is based on the RNG (for “random number generator”). The TST puts the algorithms through a whole battery of tests, which determine whether or not a quality RNG is present.
- Make sure that the casino in question is not blacklisted by the authorities.
- Check out the comments and opinions of other players, which will help you decide which platform to use.
Finally, the protection of personal and payment data is of utmost importance. This is a particularly sensitive point for online casinos because it is necessary to entrust them with a large amount of risky data as soon as you register. Identity, postal address, telephone number, and also your bank details for making deposits and withdrawals. The most effective way to ensure that a site is reliable in this respect is to check whether it offers secure connections via the SSL security protocol, which has recently been renamed TLS, i.e. “Transport Layer Security”. The acronym HTTPS and the padlock in the URL bar guarantee the authentication of the service as well as the confidentiality and integrity of the data exchanged.
Don’t hesitate to use a secondary banking system to play online instead of giving your usual banking information directly to the casino. An e-wallet or secondary online banking system with a dedicated account and bank card is ingenious yet very inexpensive. This allows you to avoid entering data considered as sensitive while being able to deposit and withdraw money easily.
It is also possible to use a VPN to not only remain anonymous online but also add a full layer of end-to-end encryption when connecting to the casino site.
Let’s finish with some basic information: always opt for a unique and strong password to guarantee the protection of your account, if necessary stored in a secure password manager.
Other criteria for finding a good gambling site
Apart from accreditation and reviews from bettors, there are other factors you can consider and additional actions you can take in your search for the best legit online casino. Here are some of them:
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Consult review sites
The betting world has a multitude of review sites like ours that are willing to guide you in your choice of a legal casino. Most of them offer rankings of the best legit online casinos based on their own criteria. However, not all of them are reliable. That’s why you should trust the websites that do extensive research to find the best legit casinos with a variety of games and lucrative casino bonuses for you.
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Consider your preferences
Better to tell you, some legal casinos specialize in offering one type of game. It’s not uncommon to see platforms dedicated solely to roulette or poker. Similarly, some legit online casinos use software that is available in the instant format, while others opt for downloadable versions. Based on your preferences, you can make a shortlist of the prototype legit casino you want to research.
What are the service offers of the best online casinos?
The difference between a good legal casino and a bad one is largely in the quality of the offerings. And among these, there are particularly :
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The range of games available
When players experience a legit online casino for the first time, they are primarily interested in the games that are offered. The best legit casinos are those that focus on diversity and the quality of entertainment options. They also take advantage of technological advancements to provide their members with games that have excellent playability.
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Payment Options
One of the great things about the best legal casinos is that they provide bettors with a rich selection of payment processors, ranging from credit cards to e-wallets to prepaid cards to Bank Transfer. They also process withdrawal requests quickly.
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Bonuses offered
A good legit casino offers several kinds of promotions (welcome bonus, loyalty bonus, payment method bonus, etc.). They also take the trouble to offer no deposit offers to help their players try their luck without spending their own money.