Gambling Safely Online
Online gambling has become hugely popular in recent years and today gamblers from the UK have a massive choice of sites available. However, online gambling – as with most other online activities – does have a certain risk of exposure to fraud and other criminal activities. in addition, punters have to face other specific associated risks with online gambling, such not getting your winnings paid out on time (if at all). The best way to avoid or at least minimise any risks, are to simply choose reputable gambling or betting sites and gamble responsibly.
The main potential risks with online gambling include others gaining access to your online account (often via Phishing), identity theft caused by viruses or spyware which can give criminals access to your account and other personal information on your computer, and becoming addicted to gambling. To stay safe with online gambling research any gambling site which is unfamiliar to you, use only UK-based sites, read the site’s terms and conditions carefully before opening an account and making a deposit, use strong passwords, make sure you have effective antivirus/antispyware software running, do not reply to unsolicited emails from companies you don’t recognise, and finally before entering your credit or debit card details ensure that the payment page is secure by checking for the padlock symbol in the browser window frame. In addition, if you ever feel that your gambling is getting out of control, seek professional help sooner rather than later (reputable gambling websites will always have a link for further information and help with gambling addiction).
It is important to realise that, although online gambling does carry some risks, it is in most cases just as safe as online banking, as long as you choose a reputable company. Avoid disreputable casinos that only accept checks, cash or wire transfers, all the most reputable and best casinos will also take debit/credit cards plus third party e-wallet services including FirePay and NETteller. Reputable online betting sites will offer 128-bit encryption software which is the same technology used by the military to encrypt their data. Look for software encryption from companies such as Cryptologic, MicroGaming or Playtech for extra peace of mind. Online gambling, just like online shopping and banking will never be 100% risk free, but risks can be substantially reduced by doing research and only using websites with the most in-depth security and choice of payment methods hat includes third party payment wallets which restrict the information shared with the gambling company.
It is important to keep things in perspective of course, as even with real “offline” casinos there are risks involved. For example, with real casinos you are responsible for you carrying your money on your person which means that you could be a target for thieves entering or leaving the casino, whereas online casinos have highly sophisticated security systems which keep your financial transactions safe and secure, with winnings transferred directly to your bank account or payment wallet, so you never have to carry cash. In addition although both land based and online casinos/betting sites are subject to “responsible gambling” regulations. This is difficult to monitor in land based casinos, whereas online gambling sites can monitor player activity and identify possible problem gambling patterns automatically, then take appropriate measures to assist the player – even locking the player out should the problems persist. Other options to ensure responsible gambling online include offering players fixed deposit limits per day, week or month; offering a self-exclusion option of 6 months or more. Some casinos even have pop up screens to show how long you have been playing with win and loss totals, this of course is not possible in land based casinos.