In the past decade-or-so, the online casino industry has achieved incredible success. What originally begun as a subsidiary of the greater gambling industry, has become a multi-billion-dollar business in its own right. What is more impressive, it has done so in a comparatively short amount of time.
The first online casinos opened their proverbial doors in the mid-1990s. Meaning that it has only taken the iGaming industry less than three decades to attain the status that it enjoys today. Throughout those three decades it has gathered fans, detractors, and people curious to give it a try. More importantly, it has continuously improved in terms of safety and security.
How Online Casinos Ensure Safety?
For a long time, in the early years of online gambling, the main concern people had, had to do with safety and security. And, in fairness, the concern was somewhat justified. In the 90s, online gambling was not as thoroughly developed as it is today. Which meant, there were a lot of scams relating to online casinos. However, there is no denying that the issue with online gambling safety has largely been fixed.
Today, you will find that almost every casino online has an airtight safety and security policy. Most of them do a fantastic job at ensuring that customers have a fantastic experience. But, the question some might have is “just how do online casinos ensure safety for their users?” Well, in this article, we set out to answer that exact question.
Random Number Generator Software
One of the main ways in which online casinos ensure safe gambling is by incorporating random number generator software. For those who don’t know, a random number generator, henceforth RNG, is a computer program that does exactly what you’d expect; generate random numbers. But, how do online casinos use this program to ensure game fairness?
It is simple, each time a player spins a slot (or a roulette wheel), the RNG generates new numbers, each of which has a meaning tied to it. In doing so, the casinos ensure that each spin is completely random. RNGs are an incredibly important aspect of online gambling safety and fairness. In fact, they are the main reason why many people prefer online entertainment over visiting land-based gambling establishments.
Licensing and Auditing
Another big part of online gambling safety has to do with using reliable websites. But, with so many online casinos around, how can one decide which are reliable and which aren’t? Well, this is where licensing comes in. For those that don’t know, a license is a sort of seal of approval. Casinos get licenses from national gambling commissions and associations. If a casino is licensed, that means it is safe to use. The countries that offer the most secure and trustworthy licenses are the following:
- Curacao (and other Caribbean nations)
- The United Kingdom
- Malta
- Cyprus
- Panama
It doesn’t just end with licensing though. We discussed the RNG before. But, how can you know that the RNG is not rigged? Well, this is where auditors come in. It is their job to test out each individual casino game, and determine whether it is up to par. Once they’ve done their due diligence, they approve the game, as well as the casino. Today, the most notable, reliable, and reputable gambling auditors are eCOGRA. They’ve been operating since 2003, and have proved invaluable in furthering the iGaming industry.
Adherence to Responsible Gambling
One of the major concerns when it comes to iGaming has to do with problem gambling. We are happy to report that there is no direct link between increase in problem gambling and online casinos. In fact, it would seem that online casinos take problem gambling a lot more seriously than their land-based predecessors. In this section, we would like to discuss some ways in which online casinos promote responsible gambling.
- Partnerships
One of the most prominent ways in which online casinos help to promote responsible gambling is by partnering up with foundations whose goal it is to prevent gambling addiction. Often, you can find a link to various responsible gambling websites, hotlines, or charities on the homepage of popular online sports betting sites and casinos.
- Activity Monitoring
Another pretty common way to ensure their customers’ safety is by monitoring their activity. Online casinos keep track of every user’s bets. Which helps them to identify potential problems that may develop later on. To prevent this, they can either contact the player, or even temporarily lock down their account.
- Gambling Limits
Of course, each and every online casino has set gambling limits. Whether amount limits, number of bets, or both, customers of online casinos are all under some sort of restriction. Naturally, this means they can’t bet as much as they could if they were at a land-based casino, where everything is set up in a way to encourage more gambling.
Various Security Measures
Finally, online casinos employ various security measures, in order to keep your data safe and sound. One of the most popular ways they do so is by incorporating SSL encryption into their website.For the unaware, SSL helps to encrypt your data. That way, even if a cybercriminal were to get their hands on it, it would be completely useless.
But, it doesn’t end there. Multi-factor authentication is another popular method of keeping you safe. Basically, the casino requires players to provide multiple ways of identification. For example, one must provide a username, email address, password, proof of identity, and proof of age. Anyone who would attempt to hijack an account must also be aware of all of these factors, otherwise, they will instantly be recognized as a fraud.
A lot of online casinos have also begun incorporating AI to track activity and find any deviations in the pattern. From there, it is a simple matter of identifying suspicious behavior and contacting a human employee. The rest can easily be resolved between the customer and the online casino employee.
Conclusions
iGaming is a growing industry. Yet, some people still have trouble trusting online casinos. However, if you are interested, you have nothing to fear. The online casino industry is safer than ever. In many ways, it might be even safer than land-based gambling.
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