Online gambling is a lot of fun and can even make you some good money, but there is still only one good way to approach it: cautiously. You need to know exactly what you’re getting into and the potential dangers associated with betting online.
Today, we’re going to look at our top tips for staying safe when online gambling—what to look out for, what to be wary of, and what to look for to know a site is trustworthy.
Read on to find out more.
- Research
The first and most important step is to do as much research as you can before even getting started. Certainly, if it is your first-time betting online, you need to know exactly what you are getting into and what you should look for in the newer sites.
If you have an understanding of betting in general, then you are in a good position to start, but you will still need to learn the ropes before you can get started betting online. Learn about different deposit methods, online licenses, methods of digital verification. In 2020-21, figures showed reported losses of £2.35 billion pounds to online fraud overall, receiving a total of nearly 900,000 reports.
Any reputable online casino will have strict security measures in place, so you shouldn’t sign up for the first site that seems attractive. Do your research to find a site that is reputable, licensed, and fits your needs.
- Strong account security
Part of your research as mentioned in the last step will, of course, be on the security features of any site you’re considering. This is one of the most important things, and will go a huge way to safeguarding your details and your funds.
However, you need to be sure to take the extra step of tightening up your own security in terms of your password. There are plenty of browser extensions nowadays that will, completely securely, choose a very strong password and store it for you. This is one of the best things you can do.
Most sites should also offer some form of what’s called 2-factor authentication, too. This is again one of the strongest security features on any site or app, so you should definitely find a site with this feature—and use it! 2FA is usually optional, but it really makes it virtually impossible for your account to be compromised.
Of course, to reiterate, you can’t just rely on your password and 2FA—you need to make sure the site you’re using is reputable and secure to begin with.
- Use only private networks
It can be a strong temptation to pull out your phone while on the bus or in a café, jump on the public WIFI network provided, and do a little bit of gambling. It is a great way to pass the time, after all.
However, public WIFI networks can be security’s worst nightmare. Hackers are known to ‘spoof’ public networks so that they can harvest the data of anyone using it. If you are entering login credentials for a site on a public network, someone could be stealing that data.
While the best advice is to just not use public networks for any kind of sensitive data, we would say absolutely never use them for any kind of financial transaction. Don’t use your gambling app to withdraw or deposit funds on a public network, or someone could well get access to your details.
Keep off the public networks and bet at home.
