Until not long ago, both to place bets and to invest, there was no choice but to approach the physical office of a business that offered such a service. But to this day, although this offer still exists, it is certainly not enough, because, thanks to new technologies, it is possible to do it comfortably from home, with the great advantage that you can operate quickly and, at any time, without relying on office hours, queues and more. This possibility has taken bets and investments closer to the general public, but, unfortunately, it has also attracted many scammers who want to take advantage of the non-professional gamblers. Adam Bjorn, a gaming industry executive and expert on gambling, discusses why using a regulated gambling operator is a better choice for consumers.
There are many sites that are well known to gamblers and which, in principle, there is no reason to doubt. However, the fact that they are trusting does not mean that they are advisable. In general, if a site is not licensed to operate in a particular location, such as a US state, it cannot offer bets of any kind. Says Bjorn, “Bookmakers and casinos know this and, since they don’t want to do anything illegal, those that are not licensed often have IP filters so as not to offer their services to residents of the country or state. So, if you try to get into their pages, you’ll see a message saying you can’t play with them, because of your nationality or state of residence.”
Scammers, of course, do not bother to make IP filters, as any potential customer serves them, regardless of their nationality. Therefore, if you find an unlicensed site that allows you to enter its page, you may start to suspect. It’s not a reason to say it’s a scam, but it’s a reason to stay cautious. In addition, licensed sites are required to offer the maximum security guarantees, while, with the others, it will depend on the legislation of the country or state in which they are headquartered.
Another important aspect to take care of is transparency in promotions. Bjorn explains, “The conditions of the promotions should always be accessible from the pages on which operators advertise their promotions, which avoids many misunderstandings and frustrations. If they’re not there, it’s buyer beware.”
Finally, but not least, you should know that if you have any problems on an unregulated gaming website, you can only rely on the good intention of the company to fix it. However, if you use regulated websites, you can make claims with the gaming regulator, which at least ensures total independence and the absence of a conflict of interest when deciding.
Keep in mind that each bonus can be governed by its specific conditions, so you should always read them. Usually, problems come when withdrawing the money, which is when some operators may demand a certain lower or higher limit, or charge extra fees. If the consumer consciously accepts these conditions and has understood them, there is no room for an accusation of fraud. However, operators don’t always care about clearly setting their rules and sometimes even showing them to consumers.
In order for there to be no problem, it is ideal that the consumer must give his express consent to receive the welcome bonuses, or if not, that he has the option to refuse them. Please note that if you have accepted the conditions, you cannot subsequently claim not to comply with them, unless by law, you are abusive and the contract is invalid.