According to polls, around 26% of people gamble with some degree of regularity. While this may seem like a high number to many, it factors in those who participate in lottery draws, an activity that some do not classify as gambling, viewing it as the least dangerous and taboo form of betting.
Men are almost twice as likely to test their luck on games of chance as women. Per statistics from the UK Gambling Commission, 64% of players increased their internet online gaming activity following the pandemic’s start. That has caused the global internet betting market to hit $61.5 billion in 2021. Per a Zion Market Research study, this sphere is on track to pull in annual revenues of $114 million in the next six years, expanding at a rate of 10.9% in the forecasted period.
Hence, the number of people visiting and using legit online casinos is more dramatic now than ever, and it keeps growing by the day. In 2018, the American Gaming Association estimated that around 2,800 internet platforms offer gaming services to players worldwide. Now, four years later, that figure is likely far more impressive, with trustworthy online casinos that accept cryptocurrencies substantially boosting the platform count post-2020.
Thus, many newbies to this sphere are now wondering – which online casino can I trust? What are the best and safest online gambling sites? Below, five evaluation criteria get listed that all reputable online casinos must fulfill to get deemed secure gaming hubs.
Table of Contents
1. Adequate Gaming License
While many lay people believe that the interactive gaming sector is a Wild West landscape where legit online gambling sites coast on their reputation alone, that is inaccurate. The most trusted online casinos for USA players have received approval to offer their services globally from international regulators based in countries that legalized internet betting in the mid-1990s. Famous such territories include Panama, Costa Rica, and Curacao. The latter is home to four master license holders, bodies that issue sub-licenses to operators they deem fit to carry the seal of validity. Antillephone N.V. is one of these, known as the first regulator of crypto casinos, still overseeing most of these sites. A platform boasting proper regulatory approval tells gamblers that it has gotten vetted for financial stability and that none of its management team has a criminal past.
2. High-End Encryption
Naturally, everyone is wary about sharing personal data over the internet, especially involving information such as debit/credit card numbers or any data relating to someone’s bank account. The list of safe online casinos that premium sector review hubs feature all have advanced data encryption that puts these worries to rest. That is a form of cryptographic technology that ensures privacy through an application layer composed of the TLS handshake and TLS record protocols. Note that TLS is the more modern version of ciphering data tech. Some sites still use the now-deprecated Secure Sockets Layer encryption, which still does its security tasks more than decently.
3. Transparent Payment Processing
Since gambling requires the staking of money, operators facilitating the funding of gambling accounts through renowned payment methods is a must. Most high-end platforms feature cashier tabs that let users fuel their gaming adventures with debit/credit cards, e-wallets, pre-paid vouchers, and cryptos. Furthermore, they make players complete identity verification procedures known as Know Your Customer standards, which aim to stop the laundering of monetary funds and the financing of terrorism. These are mandatory and are staples in many other spheres where companies frequently transact with their client base.
4. Third-Party Auditors
Of course, game fairness is another concern of those who wish to dive into this pastime over the internet. They are often curious about what ensures randomness? Well, all software-based games hosted on safe online casino sites implement algorithms called pseudo-random number generators. That is software that takes one number (seed) and morphs it into a new, unpredictable one through a set of complex mathematical equations. Many gambling sites team up with independent software testing agencies. Freely, or they get obligated by their licensors, who run regular audits of these random number generators, guaranteeing that they do indeed produce game outcomes indiscriminately. ECOGRA, iTech Labs, and Australia’s TST. Their logos get listed in the footers of the sites they monitor.
5. Positive Customer Reviews
The best way to tell if a service is any good is to check online reviews and read about other people’s experiences with it. Trustpilot is a Danish consumer site where over a million new reviews get posted monthly. People also use it to give their opinions of online casinos, and the platform does its best to detect fake and suspicious evaluations.
This article was written in collaboration with online gambling analysts.