Is Live Roulette at Online Casinos Safe?

If you don’t like the busy atmosphere at real casinos, you might prefer online casinos. There are still various reasons where you might prefer a real casino, but online casinos may be your only option. Before you deposit your hard-earned money with an online casino, here are some points to protect you from fraud.

Are Online Casinos Safe?

Not all regulated casinos are the same. A casino in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is generally not regulated to the same standards of perhaps a European casino.

But there are particular regions, which are often island nations, that have fair and justified regulatory authorities for casinos. One example is Malta.

Many online casinos are formed in such jurisdictions, because it’s easier to obtain a gambling license. The jurisdiction of the casino is important, because it determines what the casino can legally do. It also determines legal guidelines, to ensure players are treated fairly. If the casino does not abide by the guidelines, they risk losing their license.

Many online casinos which don’t get licenses often accept only cryptocurrencies. While cryptocurrencies may become a fairer financial system, the downside is they are easier to use by criminals.

But jurisdiction alone does not guarantee the casino is honest. In fact, the casino I’ve received the most complaints about is one of the largest online casinos in the world. And they are based in the UK. You can probably guess who they are, although I’m not naming names here. What are the complaints about? Well, when a player wins too much, their account is restricted, so they aren’t permitted to play roulette any more. While this isn’t illegal, it’s unethical because it means if you beat the casino at their own game, they make it impossible for you to continue.

But it’s important to understand that no casino tolerates consistent winner, regardless of how you win. You could theoretically win $1 million using advantage play techniques. But the reality is the casino will likely detect you, before you reach such winnings. What separates the casino I’ve mentioned, and other casinos, is that they jump on consistent winners in much less time. This sends a bad message to players, which is “lose, or leave”.

Do Online Casinos Have Fair Games?

The casino’s jurisdiction largely determines how fair their games are. If the casino doesn’t have a license, then and isn’t bound to any strict requirements to ensure fair games. By law, the casino would then not be able to accept players from particular jurisdictions. Although, whether or not those laws apply to non-residents of the country is another matter. Laws involving cross jurisdictions are complicated.

Beware of Payout Refusals

The most common complaint I receive about payout refusals is after a player accepts roulette bonuses at live casinos. There is nothing wrong with bonuses, provided you agree to and understand the terms and conditions. In fact they are a great way to boost the amount you can play with. But generally professional players don’t accept them, because they don’t want restrictions on when they can withdraw winnings. But if you’re recreational player, you probably prefer a bonus. Keep in mind our article about the fine print of casino bonuses.

The common complaints about payout refusal occur when the player hasn’t read the fine print. Every casino bonus has various requirements, such as the wagering requirements. These are when you must wager a certain amount, before you can withdraw funds from your account. They are designed to prevent people from claiming a bonus, and not continuing to play.

But what happens if you win big early? Your account balance may have a large sum, but you can’t withdraw it. And naturally the casino will refuse a request for withdrawal. This isn’t payout refusal. This is simply the player not sticking to the agreement.

Real payout refusal is where the casino find any excuse possible to avoid paying your winnings. This can happen even with properly licensed casinos. The best way to avoid such dishonest casinos is to thoroughly research reputations online. But don’t trust the first thing you read. Many casinos have both fake positive, and fake negative reviews. An example of a fake negative review is when a player had a negative experience with a casino. Perhaps they just didn’t like a particular staff member. All the player then needs to do is publish harmful nonsense on a public forum. So don’t believe everything you read, and consider a wide range of sources.

Evaluating Casinos For Dishonesty

The following key areas should be considered, before sending any casino funds:

Reputation: As explained above, consider a wide range of sources, and don’t believe everything you read. Many dishonest casinos maintain websites, with reviews of their own casino. There’s also nothing stopping a dishonest casino operator from publishing fake negative reviews of competing casinos.

Licensing: Many online casinos are licensed in the same jurisdictions, like Malta. Consider these jurisdictions to be experienced with online casinos. Their laws regarding the conduct of online casinos are not new, and do help sure players are treated fairly. But again, a valid license doesn’t prove the casino will treat you fairly. That’s why researching the casino’s reputation is important.

Frequently-cut live video, and no live dealer chat: With lower stakes casinos, it’s simply not worth it for the casino to cheat. A few hundred dollars might be a lot for you, but is nothing for a casino. So they aren’t interested in cheating you out of money. Besides, they have the house edge, which gives them an in-built advantage.

Give preference to live online casinos that allow you to chat the dealer. This ensures the video is live. And if you bet large stakes, avoid casinos that have unpredictable dropouts for the streaming video. Because if you are betting large, it’s even more important to ensure that winnings are paid.