The recent upward trend of unlicensed casinos poses a great risk to inexperienced players who might mistake them for the real deal.
Unlicensed casinos, also known as “rogue” or “black market” casinos, are online gambling sites that operate without proper licensing or regulation. These venues are famous for offering irresistible bonuses or games unavailable within licensed casinos.
Your wallet, your time and your mental integrity might be endangered by the illegal practices of unlicensed casinos. Since they activate within an unregulated environment, they are not subject to the same rules and regulations that licensed casinos must follow.
Here’s a selection of everything we know about them.
Unregulated Environment
Since licensing regulations do not apply to unlicensed casinos, they are also “free” to engage in questionable promotion campaigns. For example, unlicensed operators sponsored Twitch streamers to gamble on their platforms to encourage the viewers to do the same.
Many Twitch streamers have accepted such offers, and one streamer declared that they were offered more than $30,000 for streaming their gambling session for one hour.
Aside from unethical promotion, one of the biggest risks when playing at an unlicensed casino is its potential to be a scam. Their unregulated characteristic offers no guarantee that they will operate fairly or pay out winnings to players.
In fact, this environment prompted many operators to purposefully create platforms intended to scam people out of their money.
How Unlicensed Casinos May Cheat You
These casinos may use unfair games or practices that give them an unfair advantage over players. For example, they may not use random number generators to determine the outcomes of games, or they may not disclose the odds of winning certain games.
This means that players who gamble at unlicensed casinos may have greatly reduced chances of winning compared to legal casino players.
One of the biggest risks of playing at an unlicensed casino is the potential for fraudulent activity. Without the oversight of a regulatory body, unlicensed operators can engage in illegal activity such as money laundering or stealing player funds.
This can leave players vulnerable to financial fraud and potentially ruinous losses.
Younger people are Easier to Trick
A more difficult discussion comes from the realization that unlicensed casinos target young people. Take the example of Twitch streamers from above – gaming streamers, who use bonuses from unlicensed casinos, reach young people, and present a rose-coloured version of gambling at unregulated casinos.
This not only encourages people to gamble on the same platforms but it promotes trust between unlicensed casinos and young people.
The potential for developing troubling gambling addictions from an early age is high, especially on websites that don’t mention anything about safe gambling.
Because technically, all online gambling businesses must ask you to prove your age and identity before you gamble, people think it applies to unlicensed casinos. However, this requirement, although unnecessary for illegal casinos, is left in place to trick clients.
The Trend is Growing, Experts Say
The iGaming industry has been somewhat taken aback by the growth of unlicensed casinos. There have been many discussions on promoting intolerance of unlicensed casinos as they threaten consumers.
A report by KingCasinoBonus, a website dedicated to comparing casino services, seems to confirm the threat by explaining that “unlicensed casino”- related Google searches are growing. According to their experts’ analysis, the number of new users the illegal casinos attract is 1000 per month in the UK.
This number has doubled when compared to values recorded in 2019. In addition, KingCasinoBonus predictions say that the number of new users for unlicensed casinos will double again in three more years.
Guide for Recognizing Unlicensed Casinos
Identifying casinos can be difficult, as these types of establishments often try to hide their lack of licensing to continue their operations.
However, there are a few things you can look for when trying to identify an illegal casino:
- Check the casino’s website for information about its licensing. Legitimate casinos will prominently display their license online, often at the bottom of the homepage. This is a red flag if the information is missing or seems incomplete.
- Research the casino’s reputation online. Reviews or testimonials are important because they can warn you of the casino’s legitimacy. We recommend you also check your local gaming authority to see if the casino is registered.
- Pay attention to the casino’s software. Licensed casinos will use licensed and reputable providers. If the games look suspicious or poorly made, it may be a sign that the casino is unlicensed.
- Finally, the best advice one can receive is to stick with well-known casinos that have been proven fair.
Authorities like the UKGC are constantly fighting unlicensed casinos, trying to prevent scams from happening. If you encounter suspicious gambling activity, it’s best to report it to your local gambling authority.
