(Newswire.net — June 22, 2020) — Millions of us enjoy gambling online with real money. What puts some people off, however, is that they feel casinos can’t be trusted. They don’t want to part with their money because they think there’s no chance they’ll ever get it back. While this is a reasonable concern to have, the fact of the matter is that there’s a lot of regulation in place to ensure people who gamble online are safe and protected. The vast majority of gambling sites are reliable and can be trusted. This article will discuss what to look for to make sure a site’s safe and how regulation works.
Gambling Licences
The main way you can tell that a casino or sports betting site, or any other type of gambling site, is safe is. By checking it has a licence. Several major regulatory authorities hand out licences to gambling sites. These include the Government of Gibraltar, the Government of Curacao, the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission. Each one of these is a reputable and trustworthy company that exists to regulate online gambling and make sure site operators are doing everything they should be doing to protect players and punters. Whenever you visit a gambling site, scroll down and you should see the name of at least one regulatory authority. Click on it and you’ll be taken to a page that shows the licence the site has from that particular organisation. If you can’t find evidence of a licence anywhere on the site, it’s best you not sign up and instead become a member of another site.
The reason unlicensed sites are best avoided is that there’s no telling they can be trusted. If you deposit money at an unlicensed site, your money might not be safe. Also, the games may not operate reasonably and things like customer support and banking may not be up to scratch. The role of the regulatory authority is to review a site and make sure it’s being honest and upfront about everything it does; sites should also be doing everything they can to ensure players/punters and their money and personal details are completely safe. To obtain a licence, a site has to prove it meets all the reviewer’s high standards. Once a site has received a licence, it’s then able to legally accept real-money bets.
Gambling At New Casinos
Fortunately, most new online casinos that launch are licensed and are therefore safe to sign up to. The same can be said for sportsbooks and other gambling sites. The vast majority of gambling sites are licensed because having a licence is a sign they can be trusted. If a site doesn’t have a licence, it’s not going to attract as many customers as it would if it did have one. It’s in a site’s best interests to be licensed; players and punters want to know their safety is guaranteed and if a site can’t promise them safety, there are lots of others they can sign up to instead.
What new reputable casino sites also do is they offer plenty of help and resources to tackle problem gambling. All forms of gambling can be addictive. Repeated studies have shown that online gambling, in particular, can be become addictive because of how easily accessible it is; from your home computer you can access and play at thousands of online casinos and other gambling sites. Casinos may be out to make money, but they also want to protect players. It’s not good to be associated with problem gambling. It’s better for casinos if they’re known for promoting responsible gambling and doing their best to protect their players.
Responsible Gambling
All new casino sites that are licensed have a page that summarises what they do to help promote responsible gambling. The things a casino does to promote this include things like offering links to gambling addiction charities, providing players with questionnaires they can fill out to see if they have a problem and letting them limit their access to the site and the amount of money they’re able to spend.
Doing enough to promote responsible gambling is one of the things an online casino has to do to obtain a licence. By offering help and resources, a casino is showing that it’s not just in it for the money; it’s prepared to help players out and prevent them from getting into serious problems such as debt, addiction and depression.
While casinos do you want you to spend real money, though also want you not to overdo it. They want you to be sensible about things and not spend money you can’t afford. They aim to offer online gambling experiences that are fun, enjoyable and entertaining – maybe even rewarding from time to time. The last thing they want is for people to have a negative experience or suffer negative consequences because they’ve taken their gambling too far. That’s why any decent casino will do its fair share in encouraging everyone to gamble responsibly.
Gambling Sensibly At New Sites
If you’re looking to sign up to an online casino, you have a huge range of choices. Most of them are fully licensed and do everything they can to ensure people who sign up have a great time and don’t end up getting into problems of any kind. Always make sure you sign up to a licensed casino only, as one that doesn’t have a licence isn’t guaranteed to be safe. Licensed casinos have been approved by a third-party organisation and can be trusted.
Online gambling can be addictive. It can be tempting to keep on playing, spending more and money hoping to land a huge win. To prevent yourself getting addicted, always limit your gambling; limit both the amount of time and the amount of money you spend. The good news is that if you do develop a gambling problem of any kind, help is readily available. Any worthy casino will be able to help you out or put you in touch with organisations that can help you sort things out.