How to Play Casino Games Safely

Gambling, whether in real life or online, carries a risk. Gambling is mostly about chance and that’s why people find gaming is so intoxicating and keep coming back for more. Without risk, there’s no fun or excitement. But there’s a difference between taking a risk and playing casino games at a risky casino.

Taking a risk involves recognizing the odds and being prepared to accept those odds. Playing at a risky casino means that the casino may be engaging in unethical processes to ensure that you lose more than you would otherwise. You should avoid playing at any real or virtual site which is not 100% safe and secure.

It’s important that you ensure that the casino at which you play – either online or on-site – offers some sort of guarantee that the games are fair, that the banking procedures are proper and that your personal and financial information are stored with protected security measures.

An honest, fair and safe casino, like our Springbok, will be certified by an accredited regulator. The certificate will attest to the fact that the casino’s servers and systems have been tested for randomness and safety. Players will have a guarantee that the operator has fulfilled and complies with all relevant practices, rules and regulations which are accepted safe-casino practices.

The certifying body checks financial documents, practices of integrity and competence, paperwork for identity and ownership, criminal background checks and more. 

There are a number of organizations that focus on auditing, testing, and certifying the software and financial practices of online casinos. A casino that wants to carry the stamp of approval of one of these organizations, each online casino was required to meet certain minimum standards.

The agencies should be independent of and unrelated to any gambling establishment, including any casino. They are considered to be disinterested third parties which allows them to function in a way that ensures fairness in the dealings between other various parties.

The accrediting agencies create a win-win situation.  Players can rely on the information provided to be sure that they are enjoying a safe gaming event. The casinos pursue certification so that they enjoy the trust of their customers which, or course translates into more business.

Every online banking institution wants to be sure that their name isn’t dragged through the mud by an unscrupulous operator. And governments, which can’t monitor the entire Internet, appreciate the initiative.

Regulation - Very Important!

One of the most trusted and widely accepted regulatory licenses is that issued by the Antillephone licensing agency overseen by the Curacao Gaming Commission.  It is for this reason that Springbok has chosen to be licensed by Antillephone - so our gamers can be 100% at ease with our operations.

The Curacao Gaming Commission is the regulator for the local Curacao land based casino industry. The CGC serves as a licensing authority for lotteries and charity bingo activities and for online casinos worldwide.

The Curacao Gaming Commission is tasked with protecting the interests of the gaming public and with the integrity and stability of local land-based casinos as well as online casinos.  Governments, casino operators and gamers rely on the CGC to ensure that all gaming at casinos that are supervised by the CGC is conducted competitively, honestly, responsibly and free from corruptive and criminal elements.

The CGC’s eGaming branch has provided IP (Information Provider) and eGaming licenses to qualified online gaming sites since 1996.  As one of the oldest providers of regulated eGaming services in the world, the CGC has served hundreds of eGaming operators over the years in order to ensure that licensed casinos comply with all of the industry’s best practices.

Curacao eGaming License IP compliance data centers and services are located in dozens of locations around the world to enable easy accessibility with compliance-ready solutions that assist providers and operators to meet legal, geographic, business and multijurisdictional challenges.  Operators receive custom dedicated servers, GEO IP services, cloud storage, private cloud servers, single or high unit rackspace and aggressive bandwidth  to establish and manage compliance with international and national standards for their gambling activities.

Elements of a Safe Casino Environment

What do these accrediting agencies check?

1. Security

It’s the job of the online casino to ensure that private information remains private. When you sign up with an online casino you are asked to prove that you are who you say you are. 

You need to provide contact information, bank account numbers, phone numbers and photo copies of I.D.  The casino is responsible for ensuring that this information is not passed on to any third parties. 

The casino is expected to use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to secure your private data. The SSL connection keeps your information safe. The SSL will encrypt your ebanking information, passwords, numbers and contact information. If there’s no SSL, your connection is not secure.

2. Financial Transactions

Online casinos must handle all financial transactions carefully. Is it clear when deposits are made and when you can withdraw your winnings? Is there a clear trail?  There are special auditing firms  that certify that the financial transactions that are facilitated in the casino are honest and straight-forward. To determine that everything is aboveboard, check for the logo of well-known accounting firms of a government authority.

One of the companies that is the most intimately involved in this aspect of online casino certification is Price Waterhouse Coopers. This is the company that provides consulting and auditing services to the majority of the online gambling industry. Services provided include legal services, public trust assurance and secure e-gaming business practices.  

PWC also audits tax and financial reports and provides human resource management,  and serves as advisers and consultancy for stake-holding of public gambling companies. 

3. Gaming Software

The fairness and reliability of the gaming software is basically determined by the Random Number Generator, also known as the RNG.  That’s the software that ensures the “randomness of cards, numbers, dice and reels. It’s the job of the accrediting agency to check that the RNG operates in a truly random manner and that all of the machines function properly.