Online Casino Scams

To most of us, avoiding scams have become a part of everyday life, with shady telemarketers and those that simply try to scam us via emails with phishing links. When it comes to online gaming, one of the first things that you’ll need to establish about an online casino is whether it’s legitimate. This can be done by finding out if it’s licensed by a reputable authority. However, this might not be 100% accurate as some online casinos may possess the appropriate license, yet they would choose to do things that go against the standards of that particular authority.

There are different things that you can look at to determine whether an online casino is legit or if it’s a scam. Unfortunately, this is necessary and unless you’re a sucker for disappointment, you’ll follow the advice that we’ll be providing in this segment. Here you’ll learn how to identify different scams and certain things that you’ll need to look out for at an online casino.

Scam-Free Online Casinos in NZ

RankCasino Bonus Preview Info Visit
1
Gaming Club Logo of Gaming Club casino $350
Gaming Club has many years of experience in the NZ online casino industry which makes it a scam-free casino to play.Gaming Club
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2
LeoVegas Logo of LeoVegas casino $2000
Leo Vegas is one of the most advanced and modern NZ online casino platforms when it comes to safety and reliability LeoVegas
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3
Royal Panda Logo of Royal Panda casino $1000
When it comes to licensing, Royal Panda Casino has ensured that all bases are covered as it operates under the authority of the Malta Gaming AuthorityRoyal Panda
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online casino scam alert red warning sign

Stealing Your Deposit

This is likely one of the most common online casino scams and it can be one that could permanently put you off of online gaming. Players that fail to do their research will often fall victim to this scam as they’ll sign up for what they believe is a legit online casino. This is a very simple form of fraud and the casino itself might not even be one that exists despite the website looking like one that exists.

The goal of the scammer is for you to provide your banking details and register your bank card, and once you deposit cash into your casino account, you’ll quickly find that you’ve been booted from the casino with your account being frozen and your money has gone. You’ll then be handed every possible hurdle to prevent you from getting back to the casino and reactivating your account.

There are cases where the scammer will target a player that has made many small deposits and then convince them to make a larger deposit to claim an even larger cash amount. If the player does this, they’ll then be locked out of their account. While this sounds scary, many steps can be taken to prevent this from happening.

Theft of Your Personal Data and Identity

Around NZ$107 billion has been stolen from people due to online scams. However, the good news is that this number has significantly decreased from 2017 onwards. A small portion of online fraud still exists and this comes from scams of online casinos operated by fraudsters that are still around today. These online casinos exist only to siphon as much data as possible from unsuspecting users.

The data that’s been stolen will either be used to help themselves or it will be sold on the black market to other criminals that will use it to possibly steal your identity. The worst part about this scam is that it can be very difficult to pick up on as the casinos that are used seem very legitimate. The casino will operate as normal and you’ll even be able to play games, win cash, and use the promotions that are offered.

Some scammers will choose to freeze your account and request various documentation and proof of ID before they reactivate your account. This might not have you question if the casino is a scam as this is something that some legitimate online casinos would do as well.

Rigged Games

Some scammers will attempt to take as much from you as possible and one of their favorite ways to do this is to ensure that any money that you put into the casino will go into their pockets. This includes deposits, withdrawals, and bonuses scams, and this poses no risk to them. One of the ways to do this is to provide clients with games that have been rigged.

A reputable online casino with genuine slot games will have an RTP rate which provides you with a rough estimate as to how much you can expect to get back over a set period. The RTP rate of a slot is generally between 87% and 97%. If a slot has been rigged, the player will either lose all the time, or the losses will be frequent enough to ensure that they keep playing until they have no more money left.

Failing to Pay Winnings

When online gaming was in its early days, online casinos often had massive prizes up for grabs; however, they usually didn’t have the money to pay out the amount that they advertised or they simply had no intention of providing the winner with the cash that they owe. While small wins were provided, larger ones weren’t. If a large amount was won the casino would generally provide complex reasons why the money can’t or won’t be paid.

These casino scams aren’t as widespread as they were before due to strict licensing standards that are being enforced by casino authorities.

Malware Scams

This is likely one of the most concerning types of scams as it doesn’t only relate to online casinos. Malware can affect anyone that downloads a file that comes from a questionable source. Malware has the potential to affect the speed of your device while also being extremely annoying; however, there are cases where this can put you at risk of ransomware. Ransomware can look you out of your device and it can result in the attackers expecting an absorbent fee to get rid of the malicious software.

Avoiding Scams

By sticking to the following steps, you’ll never need to ask the question “is online gambling a scam?”, ever again. Scams might be concerning; however, there are easy ways to avoid them. The key is to stick to online casinos that are licensed and regulated by legitimate authorities. To avoid all forms of scams, the following steps should be taken:

Red Flags of Online Casinos

Is online casino a scam? In most cases – no. However, there are online casinos out there that have bad intentions, but fortunately, there is a list of red flags that you can look out for. If an online casino has any of the following, avoid it. Red flags include:

Forums Don’t Lie

If you’re researching an online casino, the best thing you can do is check out a forum dedicated to online casinos. While there might be a few people that might purposely leave negative comments and reviews of a particular casino, look at what the majority of them are saying and go with that opinion.

If players are complaining about a specific casino, look at the complaint and how many players are saying the same thing. This will be a good indication of what’s expected and whether or not this specific platform should be avoided.

Licensing

It’s the law for an online casino to be licensed and if an online casino doesn’t have a license then it should be avoided altogether. There are different types of licensing authorities depending on the location of the casino. These licensing authorities include:

These are the most common licensing bodies and some of them are significantly stricter than others.

Conclusion

Scams can be avoided in many ways and as much as it is the responsibility of the region that regulates gambling to clamp down on these entities, you need to be responsible and educate yourself when it comes down to scams. Ultimately, there are many ways for these to be avoided and there’s no reason why you should be a victim of something that’s meant to be enjoyed.

Last Updated: December 30, 2022