Online Gambling Scams
Read this special article before you consider gambling online.
From the desk of Amy Hampton, senior reviewer:
Wouldn't it be nice if every online gambling site was honest and forthright? There out there, they're just hard to find among all the multitude of scam artists. As I detailed in our online gambling strategies section, I've run into a lot of unscrupulous online gambling sites over the years, but along the way I found a small handful that took their business seriously and actually provided the services they claimed. You too can avoid the many scam artists out there by educating yourself first.
Have you ever walked out of an electronics store, the proud owner of the latest and greatest Sony Playstation wondering if your new pride-and-joy was really nothing more than a cheap imitation - a Sony Playstation shell with the guts of a lesser brand?
Of course not. You know that these stores run a legitimate business and would never risk their reputation to make a few quick dollars.
The same assurance should never be associated with online gambling sites. It's too easy to open up a store online, defraud your customers, disappear, get a new domain name and start the whole cycle all over again. While this may sound ridiculous, this sort of thing happens every year leaving thousands of players out in the cold. I know, because it happened to me last year! However, there are a few very honest, safe and time tested casinos online that I've never had any problems with and feel secure recommending them to you: Online gambling sites we recommend.
Believe it or not, but one of the most common fraudulent practices mastered by unscrupulous online gambling sites involves simple deception via the theft of materials from legitimate, proven sites. Graphics, general design, HTML, even banners can all easily be copied and used to create a professional-looking shell for a rogue site. These rogues know that a typical player makes their decision to gamble online before ever even visiting their site. They also know that if they get them through their virtual doors, they have to overcome the player's instinctive mistrust of both the Internet and gambling. To do this, they have to look very safe.
To achieve this without having to spend thousands of dollars in design (after all, if exposed they may have to morph within only a few weeks) they simply copy what they like from other sites and put out their virtual shingle. Some sites even go as far as making exact copies of the winners pages and testimonial pages of legitimate sites, thus making themselves appear to be great sites loaded with thousands of happy players. Only a player who is intimately familiar with the original site, would notice the scam.
One example of how brazen these site pirates can be involves the Interactive Gaming Council. The Interactive Gaming Council, or the IGC, is a non-profit corporation whose primary purpose is "to provide information and education regarding the interactive gaming industry." Although legally impotent to intervene in matters of casino operations, this group and their members are beyond reproach and are recognized as a very influential organization - whose membership costs $10,000 per year in dues. Thus, only websites that are legitimate can afford their logo. Or at least that's how it's supposed to be. More than one site has simply made themselves members by either copying and pasting their IGC's logo on their site, or stating that there software has been endorsed by the Council, a function that is not even performed by the IGC!
Considering the ease with which rogue casinos can steal the appearance of a legitimate site, to protect themselves, players must always take a cynical approach to any new website. Assume that this wonderful looking site is out to scam you, and do some basic checking before you play. Visit online discussion groups that involve gambling and find out if anyone has ever heard of them. Ask the important question: Did you have any problems with their software? Was there an active support team employed? Did you get paid what you won? If you have trouble finding your site in a forum, a quick method to see what, if anything, is being said about an online gambling casino is to enter its name into a search engine, joined with the word "review." This will at least pull up any sites that offer at review of the casino. Beware, however, that site reviews are NOT the final step in determining if a site is any good. Many portals simply write good reviews for their advertising sites, or, even more incredulous, many casinos establish their own portals to promote their own websites!
As you may know, there are many player incentives offered by online gambling sites, such as VIP memberships, referral programs, and various types of deposit bonuses. One of the problems I've run into is that some online gambling sites require an excessive amount of play before they will award you the bonus they claim. No matter what you do, make sure you only sign up with online gambling sites that have an immediate signup bonus upon initial deposit. That way you know you're getting your bonus right away.
Another level to this are the sites that "claim" to offer a signup bonus, but once they have your initial deposit, you never hear from them again! These outright scam artists target players that have either been banned (either justly or unjustly) from a casino, or who have already used up their initial deposit bonus money. Since online casinos are always in need of a continuous stream of deposits from proven gamblers, this gem of a scam works to draw in players who have played and since moved on to other sites. These players receive an e-mail offering them a bonus if they deposit money into their existing account. However, after the player has deposited the money, no bonus is forthcoming. Casinos simply state that the player is not eligible to receive a bonus. Gamblers, being who they are, tend to play their deposit anyway - which is exactly what the online casinos want to happen.
Some casinos have even been known to offer bonuses to get a player to deposit, give them a bonus, and then refuse to pay anything, even their initial deposit, if the player wins. Many casinos then cite "Bonus Abuse" as the reason for denying the cash out, and simply refuse to respond to any requests for explanations by the player, knowing full well that there is no governing body who can act against them.
I'm sure you've all heard the saying, "Fool me once, shame of you, fool me twice, shame on me." This next little ditty of a scam works on just such a principle, and more than a few players can say, "shame on me." Let's say you've fallen victim to a casino scam like I have. You found a site, something along the lines of "You're-finally-gonna-get-rich-quick-at-this-site.com", got so excited that you couldn't wait and plunged right in without even researching the site. After depositing $250, playing for an hour or two, you cash out what's left of your bankroll (about $50) and you go about your life. A few days later, when you still haven't received your cash, you email the "support" staff that promised to "stand ready to assist you 24/7/365" only to be treated to a crash course in Russian and broken English and eventually, completely ignored.
So much for the fifty bucks.
But it doesn't end there, because a few months later, you start getting emails from a new compelling site, "Win-back-the-money-you-lost-the-first-time.com" another scam site, possibly even the sister site of the one that ripped you off in the first place. How do they know where to reach you? The registration form you filled out.
Remember that simple, 3 page form you filled out when you signed up with the first online casino? It's going to come back to haunt you. If you've been scammed by a site, you can bet they will use your own personal information against you. They'll e-mail you compelling offers, send you snail mail rewards packages, CDs with their special FREE software, anything to get you in their clutches again. Only this time, it's a "new site" that you don't recognize and usually don't associate with the one that ripped you off in the first place! Trouble's brewing in this instance, and unless you learned your lesson the first time, you're set to get taken again. What can you do?
While it may not always be possible to avoid the first scam (other than sticking to honest, time tested online casinos like the ones we recommend), there is a very easy way to get around the second: separate email accounts. Each time you register at a site, be sure to set up a free email account (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) that you use only with that website. By doing this first, if you do become one of the "initiated" you'll know that any future correspondence to that email address is probably coming from a scammer, and should be immediately deleted.
I hope you enjoyed our article, feel free to visit any of the scam free casinos below!
Well, I hope you have found this article of benefit in your quest for knowledge on how to avoid the scam artists. As one who has been taken by deceitful casinos before, I strongly advise that you thoroughly evaluate any casinos you consider joining and feel free to visit any of the scam free online gambling casinos we recommend.
Whatever you do, I wish you a healthy, prosperous year for you & yours.
All the best.
Signed,
Amy Hampton
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