Online casinos and sports betting now make up one of the most important sectors of the gambling market. They are hugely popular all around the world. They have benefited from the changing laws and regulations that have made it easier to access gambling options online. With such a huge and accessible market, new brands are constantly appearing to take advantage of it.
While the variety of new betting sites available means that customers have a ton to choose from, it does also mean that some bad apples are able to sneak in. Any lucrative industry has the tendency to attract companies who just want to make money and don’t care about exploiting customers.
Using our guide, you can identify which betting sites and online casinos are reputable. This can keep you safe and let you have fun without any added risk.
Licenses
In order to operate legally, betting sites need to be fully licensed. There are many different licensing bodies, and they all work to make sure that betting sites are operating in a fair way and not taking advantage of their customers.
You should always be able to find the licensing information for a reputable betting site. One example we can look at is Betsafe, an online casino and betting site operating in Estonia. It is easy to locate their licensing information and learn that they are licensed by Malta, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the state of Colorado.
One of the big reasons why it’s important to find out if a betting site is fully licensed where you are is the legal protections that this provides. If something does go wrong, your consumer complaint won’t go anywhere if you are playing at an illegal site. The right licenses protect you if there is ever a problem that the betting site can’t solve.
Payment Methods
Being able to make deposits and receive withdrawals is essential for playing at a betting site⎯you certainly can’t make a bet without any funds and why bother if you can’t access your winnings? Reputable betting sites and online casinos will offer a variety of payment methods that have in-built protections.
The most popular of these methods are debit/credit cards, payment apps like PayPal or Skrill, bank transfers, and e-wallets. These methods are popular because they are widespread and accessible and have good reputations. You should always choose a payment method that has its own protections. PayPal, for example, has a long history of protecting their users from fraud, and extensive guidelines for handling any problems.
Scam betting sites don’t want customers to be able to access support and reclaim back any funds. They won’t accept any of the major payment methods or, if they do, they will have lots of fine print that make it impossible for customers to get help.
Customer Support
Having an easy-to-contact, efficient, and effective customer support team is a key indicator that a betting site is reputable. The best betting sites will have more than one way to contact customer support. The most common ways are a live chat feature, a telephone helpline, and an email address.
Customer support doesn’t have to be available 24/7⎯though it’s an added bonus when it is⎯but the customer support team should be responsive within a short time frame. The best way to find out about a betting site’s customer support without testing it yourself is to look for independent reviews online.
Security
A reputable betting site knows that one of its most important jobs is keeping customer data and financial information safe. That’s why the leading betting sites all have very strong security measures in place. You should always look for a betting site that uses 128-bit SSL encryption software. This software is the leading form of online security because of how difficult it is to hack.
Sensible Offers and Promotions
Welcome offers and promotions are a way for betting sites and online casinos to attract new customers and reward those loyal customers who continue to use their sites. These offers include things like deposit matching, free spins, free bets, and no-risk betting. Reputable sites will offer great promotions and bonuses but not crazy ones. It’s a classic case of if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
You should also check the fine print of any bonuses. Some scam sites will have so many restrictions in the fine print that it’s impossible to actually claim any winnings made from the bonuses. A reputable site will have balanced restrictions that it’s possible to fulfill.
