Scam and Rogue Online Casinos
In over two decades of playing online, I have seen my fair share of rogue online casinos and worse, downright scams that will make unwitting players part with their money with no chance whatsoever to withdraw any winnings or even just win in the first place. While the majority of online casinos are legit and trustworthy, there are the proverbial “bad apples” that spoil the fun of sitting at home on the couch and having a few spins on our favourite games. All the more reason for me to write this guide to help my fellow players how to not only spot rogue casinos but to avoid them altogether.
Scam casinos come in different ways and have all but perfected their devious tactics that make them look like the best gaming sites on the world wide web. Designing and coding a casino site is so easy and inexpensive today that scam operators can afford to quickly close a site down when they are caught and to reopen a new skin within hours, ready to continue scamming players.
Following my guide will help you to find out in a few clicks whether a site is legit and more importantly, stay away from these crooks. My advice might not be 100% correct at all times, but it is a recollection of my own experience over some 20 years playing at dozens if not hundreds of casino sites. I will start with the most common online casino scams rogue operators are running to take your hard-earned cash.
1. Deposit Theft Scams
You just surfed the web for a new gaming hangout and found casino that looks fabulous, has all your favourite games, promises the fastest payments and the most enticing part, offers a juicy welcome bonus. Lured by all the sweeteners, you sign up and deposit, you even make the effort to read all bonus terms and start playing. All looks like a stellar gaming experience up to the moment you finished wagering your welcome bonus and decided to withdraw your winnings after some lucky hits.
This is the moment the trouble will start. There are multiple tactics rogue casinos will employ to avoid paying your cashout by making you go through endless hoops with the aim to wear you out. At some point, you will then either play off your winnings or just give up chasing the payment, especially if your initial deposit was rather small.
Very common is the verification scam. An email arrives within minutes after you submitted your withdrawal asking for verification documents. All normal, right? Well, not with scammers as they will say they never received your email, or if then they will ask for better copies or that not all four corners are visible, etc. Rogue casinos have a whole catalogue of instructions for their employees that they will use as your case progresses, and all have the same end goal: wear you out.
Should they somehow accept the documents, they will advance to the next part of the scam. Your payment is in a queue, we have many winners, we have forwarded it to the finance department etc. Once that has run its course, they will often accuse you of bonus abuse, multi-accounting, breaking the bonus terms and other invented reasons to stall payment.
Should you still insist, then chances are high that they will simply lock you out of your account. You can then run around to try and get help but that usually will not see you receiving your winnings either. Scam casino operators usually wait until there are too many negative reports on the internet before closing down the current casino and then simply open up under a new name, and very often setting up a new operating company too, to cover their tracks.
2. The Trust Builder Scam
This is a more heinous way to make you part with your money. The casino will built up trust with you by paying first withdrawals promptly, especially if they are smaller amounts. Encouraged by their apparent stellar performance, you start depositing more often and larger amounts. Once you hit now a good win that you want to cash out, then a similar process as explained above starts. They will do everything possible, not to pay you.
3. The Hidden Bonus Scam
A common tactic used by rogue casinos is to add very small amounts of bonus chips to your balance. This tends to happen most often when players managed to built up a significant balance with their deposit and the casino is foreseeing a withdrawal being submitted soon. Now, if a player bets 6 or more credits, how is he or she going to see if a bonus of 3 or 5 credits is added stealthily to his/her account. Once a withdrawal is then submitted, it will be declined due to unfinished wagering or for breaking the bonus terms. Needless to say, they will give players the full runaround with no intention whatsoever to pay at some point.
4. The Fake Games Scam
Did you know that it costs only a few thousand dollars to get a full API set for fake games from some of the most prominent developers such as NetEnt or Novomatic? APIs are the software interface that connects a game to a provider server. Rogue casinos will display game icons in their lobbies that look strikingly similar to the original and the fake games themselves are often so well designed that it is difficult for the layman’s eyes to recognize it. There is no way of telling at what RTP fake games are running but it is usually vastly lower than the original, making you lose your money faster and thus maybe in a fit of chasing losses depositing even more. As usual, these scam casinos have no plans to pay out any withdrawals, not that there is a real chance of hitting a sizeable win.
AVOID BEING SCAMMED: RESEARCH BEFORE SIGNING UP. MY GUIDE BELOW WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO LOOK FOR!
How to avoid signing up at a rogue casino?
There are a few simple and quick steps you can go through before signing up at a new casino that will ensure you are not falling victim to a scam operator. When looking for a new gaming destination, think of yourselves buying a new car or smartphone. In such cases, you will do some research, a test drive or similar before committing to the purchase. Signing up at a casino should not be any different.
a. Casino Licence
The first-ever check to do when loading a casino site is to look for the licence logo, which can be found usually at the bottom of the page. The most common are the UK Gambling Commission, the MGA Malta, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, the Gibraltar Gaming Commissioner and the Swedish Spelinspektionen. Smaller regulators exist for Alderney, Isle of Man, Denmark, Spain, Romania or Italy, to name a few. Clicking on the logo will take you to the regulator site and display the licence seal. Every legit casino will have a live link, so rather easy to find out whether the casino has the required licence. Any from the major regulators will be good. If there is no live link on the site, then you can contact live chat for the link. Should they refuse, run for the hills.
b. Curacao Licence
Outside of the regulated markets, there is a so-called “grey area” with casinos offering their games under weaker licenses from Curacao, Costa Rica, Panama and other dubious places. Especially Curacao is widespread and there are indeed some legit and trustworthy casinos operating under their licence, especially Bitcoin casinos that take players from e.g. Australia or the USA. However, the majority is to be approached with some caution.
We list a few casinos with a Curacao licence but only those where we personally know the owners e.g Lucky Days Casino, or if they have proven to operate properly over a few years. We strongly recommend doing in-depth research before signing up at such casinos as there is little to no player protection should things turn sour.
c. Unbelievable Bonus Offers
The saying goes: “If something is too good to be true, it probably is”. And that applies also to welcome bonuses. Any casino operating in a regulated market will make you an attractive offer but they rarely go past 100% match bonuses. On the other hand, scam casinos who do not care about acquiring a licence or to actually pay players will offer you huge welcome bonuses, often 300%, 400%, 500% or more for your first deposits and for unusually large maximum amounts. We strongly recommend doing extra research when you come across such offers.
d. Read the Casino Terms
As with any contract, signing up at casino will require you to accept their terms and conditions. Make sure to read the general and the bonus terms carefully to find out if there are hidden traps that will give them a reason to confiscate any potential winnings. Any dubious term is a clear sign that not all is kosher. Do more research before committing to register and deposit.
I do hope the information on this page will have helped you in avoiding scam casinos. Remember to always do your research and if in doubt, ask us. We are happy to give you our best advice.
Team GMBLRS
List coming soon or not 🙂