Rogue Online Casinos: The Industry's Bane
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There are rotten apples in every basket and unfortunately the online casino industry is not immune from this malaise. Every now and then a rogue online casino pops up that tries to rip off players and other partners.
There are a few common ways in which rogue casinos function and as players it is essential to be aware of these. The first way is that rogue casinos take unduly long in remitting withdrawals requested. Players need to be warned that such delays are the first step to completely defaulting on payments. The most common arena for rogue casinos is reneging on bonuses. Bonuses are promised but not transferred to the cash accounts even after the wagering requirements are met. The most common ploy is to come up with new terms and conditions not mentioned in the contracts and not cited earlier or claiming that the bonus had been withdrawn retrospectively. The third common avenue adopted by rogue casinos is to rig the games. This implies that the actual payout ratios are lower than those promised or lower than industry standards.
Fortunately there are some checks that usually help in identifying rogue casinos. Rogue casinos avoid providing information up front. This makes it easier for them to offer excuses for failure to act in a just and fair manner. Players should look for certain key information and if that is not available they should avoid playing at that online casino.
The reputation of a person can be gauged by the company he keeps. The same applies to online casinos. Players should look for information regarding name and addresses of owners and operators, name of licensor, name of software provider and name of auditor. The name and address of the owner confirms that a valid physical entity exists. The names of the licensor, auditor and software provider establish the reputation of the online casino. The casino should publish the results of the audit in the public domain. All this information should be available either in the lobby or in the About Us section.
The second set of checks concerns the terms and conditions, in particular the bonus terms and conditions. Every thing set out in these must be clear and complete. For example if the conditions state that players from specified countries are not allowed then those countries have to be named. The bonus wagering requirements must not be open to double interpretations. One very important condition that players should look for is the existence of an independent dispute resolution mechanism.
There are several watchdog organizations that list rogue casinos. Players should also check these lists. It is important to keep in mind that if an online casino is listed as a rogue casino then it is a rogue casino but if it is not listed as a rogue casino even then it could be a rogue casino. Hence these lists are not substitutes for the players’ own due diligence. The following organizations provide a list of rogue casinos.
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| eCOGRA Certified Casinos 
