Casino licenses
You've probably heard stories of insane luck when the lucky ones won millions of dollars playing at online gambling website. More such stories appear around free online casino gaming every year thanks to the slot machines that accumulate progressive jackpot. And where to find these slot machines? They only can be found on sites of licensed online casinos!
The obvious difference of licensed sites from unlicensed sites is that they only offer licensed games to players. But why is this so important? The thing is that only licensed software works correctly, and without failures. And what is very important, it has a correctly configured random number generator which allows you to win fairly.
Unlicensed software is much simpler designed and occasionally crashes. And, what is most dangerous for a player, the online casino owner can change the settings of the RNG at its sole discretion. Usually, when such a resource is launched, the slots give prizes more often, thus, feeding the visitors. With the growth of popularity, they become greedy, since the RNG is falsified and it's almost impossible to win.
What does a license give to an online casino?Online casino license is not only a licensed software. It is also the control of the regulator. If the resource has received a license, this means that it has been fully tested by dozens of parameters:
- the licensing of games;
- the quality of the business plan;
- financial reliability;
- the ability to protect information about their visitors.
Before issuing a license, the regulator seriously checks the constituent documents, the functionality of the site and the correctness of its work. If there are any failures or the incorrect operation of a random number generator in games is noticed, the online casino simply won't receive a license and won't be able to start working.
In other words, for a player, a license at a gambling site is a guarantee of an honest, confidential game.
What does a licensed online casino have unlike unlicensed sites?Licensed sites invest huge sums in their design and development. No fraudulent website without a license will be able to offer the same range of products and quality of games.
For example, only licensed sites have games of the following categories:
- live dealer games in the Live Dealer section: Roulette Online, card games, Wheel of Fortune;
- progressive jackpot slot machines in the Online Slots section: Real Money mode allows you to win an amount comparable to the biggest winnings in real casinos. Slots are connected to a single system, all players accumulate a total prize pool which can be won by any lucky person, even if he or she made the minimum bet.
At the moment, there are no unlicensed live dealer games because it's too expensive to develop them, and impossible to fake them. Similarly, the creators of unlicensed software can't afford to organize the gameplay with a progressive jackpot.
How to check a license of an online casino?So, if a player wants to play quality games and win, he or she should choose only licensed sites. Moreover, it is very easy to check the site for a license.
Let's take the licensed site playshangrila.com as an example. You can see that there is full information about licensing at the bottom of each page.
Here is what the license data should contain:
- number;
- name and the regulator's website that has issued the license;
- name and contacts of the company that received the license;
- license class;
- date of license issuance;
- license holder.
Of course, nothing prevents the site from placing any information in this block. However, it is easy to check this data on the site of the regulator. You can find all the information by indicating a license number or company name.
Naturally, if the information is false and there is no confirmation on the regulator’s website, you have a fraudulent website. You shouldn't play on this resource. Even if you manage to win something or get free spins, it is likely that you won't be able to withdraw your prizes.
The owners of unlicensed sites practice various tricks in order not to pay money to the players. For example, they may block accounts giving such reasons as various violations. Claims can even look believable, and resource representatives can communicate with the player. But the account will never be unblocked and the money won't be paid.
Signs of fraudulent unlicensed sitesIn order to attract players with something other than licensed software, fraudulent sites are actively offering large bonuses. Indeed, the online casino deposit bonuses are very large: up to several thousand dollars or euros. This way they copy the system of welcome deposit bonuses and free spin bonuses from good online casinos but fair sites usually offer players $100-500.
A large gift for registration is a serious reason to think about the integrity of the resource. To make sure that everything is going according to the law, it is enough to check the license.
Another indirect sign of virtual scams is a young domain. If the resource is less than 6-12 months, and especially when there is no information about the license, you should not register there. If you still like the site, you should observe it for several months.
Another close a call is the lack of progressive jackpot machines and live dealer games. Unlicensed resources simply cannot afford them.
It’s enough just to spend 5 minutes checking information about an online casino to make sure that it's licensed than to be deceived.