The concept of online safety is a complex one. You hear so many tales of people getting scammed, ripped off, hacked, and worse whilst using the internet that it is only natural to be cautious and dubious when surfing the net. But when it comes to things that involve money, credit card details, passwords, and bank accounts, people become even more nervous, and with good reason.
As technology advances and as service providers come up with new ways to protect client’s data, there is always a hacker not far behind waiting to break through the latest defence and wreak havoc on the poor and unsuspecting victims. Whether it is identity theft, hacking of email accounts, or straight forward theft, online users and service providers alike must stay up to date and on the ball when it comes to handling sensitive information.
So what about online gaming? It involves card details, personal information, and potentially large sums of cash- so what steps do iGaming companies and platforms take to ensure that their clienteles information is kept safe and secure? After all, one slip up could cost them not only money, but their reputation as well and in a highly competitive arena such as this- reputation is everything.
Let us take a look at one of the more well-known and popular online casino platforms, Mr Green in the UK and see what measures they have chosen to put in place to protect the privacy of their players.
Payment
Secure online payments are one of the most fundamentally important parts of a safe, reputable, online environment. Ensuring that a player’s cash is safe at all times, as well as being easily retrievable is of the utmost importance and if you have any suspicions about a provider’s’ payment methods or you fear it is not as secure as they are making out, then it is better not to risk it. High quality service providers use methods like Paypal, Neteller, Visa, Skrill, and Mastercard to process their payments and often there is a delay between withdrawal and deposit in your account meaning that if someone does gain access to your account, you have a window of opportunity to stop them in their tracks.
Awards
If your online casino of choice can boast an impressive array of awards, you can be pretty sure that you are safe to continue playing with them. Look out for recent accolades such as “Online Gaming Operator of the Year” and “Online Casino Operator of the Year” and make sure that the awarding body is someone recognisable, and not just someone that the casino has made up to make them look good!
Another thing to keep your eye out for is memberships to organisations such as Gambling Awareness and the Gambling Commission which have been set up to help and support players and prevent abuse towards them.
Regulatory Body
One of the most popular places to register an online casino is in Malta and all gambling companies in the country are regulated and licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority. The regulations that are in place are not only adherent to EU Law but they provide strict standards and requirements as well as a carefully considered application process to ensure that all licensees are playing by the rules. They monitor live tables and games, check RNGs, keep track of payouts and payout percentages as well as conducting thorough and regular audits and spot checks. iGaming is a huge deal in Malta and the government and regulatory authorities take its reputation extremely seriously. Any company that is licensed under the MGA is sure to have been rigorously checked and inspected and therefore be considered safe for use by players.
This list is by no means exhaustive and there are many more things you should take into account when playing online, but these three tips are a good starting place and are things that every decent online gaming platform should have.
