Honest and safe gambling – one of the current challenges for the organizers of online gambling projects. Unfortunately, practice shows that the network presents more casinos that do not meet the established standards and requirements than those that do. In addition, there are many online portals that carry out fraudulent activities.
How can I protect myself when choosing an online casino?
What should I look for when choosing a gambling project?
Are there any organizations that check casinos?
In this article you will find answers to each of these questions. Here we will talk about independent organizations that specialize in auditing casinos for real money. The article also indicates the features that should be considered when choosing a gambling project on this criterion.
What Is the Audit of Online Casinos?
For most users, the main indicator of the reliability of the gambling project is the presence of a license. It is difficult to disagree with this, and such legit casinos are easy to find on the site with reviews https://onlinekasyno-polis.pl/. However, practice shows that such a criterion is not always sufficient. In most cases, additional verification is required, and there are two reasons for this.
First, there are many resources on the network with fake or expired licenses. At the same time, the companies that issue licenses are not required to monitor such violations.
Second, there are situations when the licensing commissions themselves violate generally accepted rules (we are talking about small and fake commissions created through “front” structures).
What Is the Purpose of An Independent Audit of Casinos?
In connection with the situation described above, there are independent auditing organizations. They do not represent the interests of specific online casinos and software providers and conduct independent audits of gaming projects. The main goals of the audit:
- Security of players’ personal data.
- Reliability of payment transactions.
- Conformity of casino games with established requirements (RNG, RTP, etc.).
- Protection of customers susceptible to gambling addiction.
- Prevent underage users from participating in games.
- Detect fraud and irregularities.
In addition, if necessary, these companies can perform additional checks. For example, at the request of casino representatives, they can assess the effectiveness of the marketing department. Based on the audit, specialists can make recommendations to improve this indicator.
eCOGRA Audit: Benefits & Pitfalls
The idea of creating an auditing company for casino inspection was born in the early 2000s by the representatives of the famous provider Microgaming. Together with the specialists of Casino 888 they realized this idea in 2002. This company was called e-Commerce Online Gambling Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA). Its popularity grew very fast. Other well-known providers began to use the services of the company. Therefore, in a few years, it left the closed Microgaming ecosystem and received the status of an independent non-profit organization.
Today, eCOGRA is one of the most influential regulators in the gaming industry. The Safe and Fair Seal, awarded by the organization’s specialists after inspection, is a very strong indicator of the casino’s reliability and honesty. In recent years, eCOGRA’s activities have expanded. Its employees began to participate as mediators in the resolution of disputes and conflicts in the formats:
- Client / Client,
- Client / Casino,
- Casino / Casino.
Pros of eCOGRA Independent Audit
The result of a professional audit of a casino or provider is the issuance of a certificate. The presence of such a document has the following advantages:
- Confirms the reliability and integrity of the software.
- Avoids periodic inspections by other regulatory authorities.
- Allows you to offer services or distribute slots in most countries.
In addition, if the operator or casino uses its own proprietary software, and this software has passed eCOGRA certification, it can not only be used, but also offered for use by others. This means that operators and casinos can not only use their software on their own platforms, but also make money by selling or renting it out.
Fraud Prevention and Detection
In the last part of our article we will once again talk about scammers. Unfortunately, the number of those who try to get money from players using dishonest methods is very large.
Therefore, even the emergence of official regulators with powerful support in the face of independent audit organizations does not give a hundred percent protection from fraud. Fraudsters simply place icons from eCOGRA and other regulators on their sites without doing any verification.
How can you be sure that you are dealing with a genuine certificate? Verification is done in the same way as a license check. The Verification Company label should be clickable. After clicking it, information about the certificate should appear.
And even if such information is opened, you should carefully familiarize yourself with it. This certificate should contain the date of its issuance and expiration. If you wish, you can verify the authenticity of the certificate on the certificate authority’s website.
The authors of this article and the counseling expert of the OnlineKasynoPolis portal Karolina Mościcka hope that the information provided will help you choose a casino. Be sure to spend a few minutes to check, which will allow you to protect your money and personal information. You can also use the aforementioned aggregator of reliable casinos.