Before 2020, the growth of the online world continued to boom exponentially. Almost anything you can do in-person, you can do over your phone or computer.
Fast forward to today as the world grapples with a pandemic, the shift to online is even higher. The appeal of online casinos is no different.
In 2018, Europe was controlling the gambling market, being worth almost $20 billion. Having easy access to online gambling through smartphones definitely contributes to the appeal and use of this style of gambling.
With the rise of online casinos, it’s still critical to ensure the safety of the user. Since you’ll need to input persona information, protecting all of it should be high-priority. So, consider the following five safety tips for when you enter the online gambling world.
Find a Licensed and Legitimate Casino
An online casino will still have rules and regulations to follow, just they would for an in-person one. Just because you move online, that doesn’t mean total freedom. For your safety, ensure that where you go online that you play online legally in the UK. Not doing so could cause you to end up in some hot water.
If the online casino you’re interested asks you to verify your identity, that’s an excellent sign. They’re more likely following with regulations and are legitimately run.
Have Virus Software or a VPN
If you spend a lot of time online, and not just with online casinos, it’s not a bad idea to invest in virus protection or a VPN (a virtual private network). Especially if you have to download anything, having that protection will keep your device and data safe. They’ll be able to help prevent you from installing a virus onto your computer.
Check Their Security Methods for Your Financial Information
There’s always that worry when entering your personal or banking information that it could end up in the wrong hands. A trustworthy online casino should have high-end encryption (Secure Sockets Layer or SSL is standard across websites) to keep all of your information safe.
Before signing up or joining anything that requires your banking information, check with the type of encryption they use. If you can’t find anything, then that could be a red flag to go somewhere else.
Stick With Legitimate Payment Options
Not only should you check the website’s security measures, but you should also ensure you are using legitimate payment methods. Going this route helps to keep your transactions safe and protected. If something did go wrong, you’d be thankful to use something like PayPal or a widely known credit card company.
Check Out Their Customer Service First
Because you’re doing everything online, customer service will be huge. If you run into an issue, especially any financially related problems, you’ll want to deal with customer service that knows what they’re doing and can actually help you.
Do what you can to protect yourself when you’re online, and especially when gambling. There are many ways to keep yourself safe that require little work and no money on your end.