What Keeps Online Gambling Honest - The Best Online Casino Guide Blog

Online Gambling has grown in recent years by "leaps and bounds", as Superman is found of saying. Online gambling generated over €15.6 billion worldwide in revenue in 2008. Although the figures for 2009 are not yet official, experts are convinced that the online gambling industry will buck the trend of the worldwide economic downturn and show an increase in revenues in 2009. As the popularity of online gambling continues to grow, people often wonder who is watching over the online gambling establishments and keeping them honest. This is a fair question since doing business online is a relatively recent phenomenon and not everyone is anxious to hand over their personal information or cash without knowing if it is safe. Earning the public’s trust is one of the most important jobs of the online gambling industry and online gamblers are well advised to seek out online gambling establishments that can earn their trust by meeting certain necessary standards. With thousands of online gambling establishments offering their services, finding the honest ones can be a daunting job for an uninformed gambler.

The first line of defense watching over the online gambling industry are the various governments and gaming jurisdictions that offer licensing to online gambling establishments. These agencies are spread far and wide as there are now over 50 countries offering online gambling licenses. This is in addition to the various independent Tribal Compacts formed by Native Indian Tribes that offer licenses. For example, Antigua’s Directorate of Offshore Gaming licenses over 100 online gambling businesses, Netherlands Antilles provides over 200 online gambling licenses, Costa Rica is licensing over 150 online gambling establishments, Malta licenses over 50 online casinos, the Kahnawake Native Indian Tribal Organization in Canada licenses over 60 online casinos, Panama has issued almost 50 online gambling licenses and Cyprus has licensed over 30 online gambling establishments.

Prospective online gamblers might wonder what having a license from a government or gaming jurisdiction actually means. The process of getting an online gambling license, when done properly, is an intensive procedure. When an application is made for an online gambling license, the applicant must meet a rigid set of standards before a license is granted.

The licensing requirements can include:

1. A detailed business plan.

2. Proof of sufficient assets for business operations and to pay all winning bets.

3. Criminal background investigations of all involved parties.

4. Use of fair and approved gambling software.

5. Inspection of the actual online casino facility or detailed plans for the facility that must be in place before the license is valid.

6. Proper business insurance.

7. A waiting period of between 2 to 6 weeks.

8. The use of industry standard internet security and encryption for the casino’s online activities.

9. Reporting any suspicious gambling activity to appropriate government agencies.

The licensing body is required to do a complete, detailed investigation, complete a written assessment of the application and make a recommendation. The applicant also pays a license fee of between $10,000 to $100,000, depending on where the license is issued. A license based on the standards listed here can go along way to help protect online gamblers but there is a need for constant follow up to keep an online gambling establishment safe and honest.

The next step in the process of making sure online gambling establishments are honest is for the licensing agency to maintain supervision of the licensee after the license has been issued. Legitimate licensing bodies will monitor the finances of the licensee as on ongoing policy to make sure that the online casino is always capable of paying its winning bets and operating expenses. The licensing body will continue to inspect the online casino to assure that they are compliant with all the requirements of their license and also inspect the online casino’s software for fair and honest results. This policy of investigation, approval and follow up monitoring is the foundation stone of making sure online gambling establishments are honest. Never gamble at an unlicensed online casino. Always make sure the online casinos where you gamble are licensed by a legitimate government or gaming jurisdiction and that the licensing information is easily found on the online casino’s website.

After an online gambler has verified the online casino’s license, you might ask if there are other ways to make sure the casino is safe? Who else is watching the online gambling establishments to keep them on the up and up? First and foremost, is the online gambling community itself. Online gamblers have created an amazing network of forums and casino review websites on the internet of which they should be justifiably proud. The depth and usefulness of the information available on the web about online gambling establishments is a testament to the value of the internet. There are dozens of forums where you can find user’s comments that relate their positive and negative experiences with online casinos. There are websites that provide blacklists of dishonest online gambling establishments and others that provide lists of safe and approved online gambling establishments. There are casino portal websites like http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/ that review and list a great many of the online casinos and provide detailed information on the online gambling industry. The portal websites also review the various gambling software in use in the industry and present awards to the industry’s best online gambling establishments. Once an online gambler has verified the fact that the online casino is licensed, he or she can then come to a site like http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/ and do in depth research on the casino’s he or she is considering.

At the present time, no single oversight body exists for the online gambling industry. However there are some independent organizations that monitor online gambling. One of the most prominent is eCorga, an organization that publishes member casino’s payout percentages. eCorga provides payout percentage reports for slots, table games, poker games and all games on a monthly basis; Poker card-shuffling reviews on a monthly basis; and Bi-annual RNG (Random Number Generator) reports for blackjack, video poker and roulette. As stated on eCorga’s website, "eCOGRA, a non-profit organization, is the independent standards authority of the online gaming industry, specifically overseeing fair gaming, player protection and responsible operator conduct. The function that eCOGRA performs protects those who engage in online gaming where it is lawful." Look for online casinos that display their eCorga membership logo and click on the logo. It will take you to the most recent eCorga report for that online casino. This is an excellent way for gamblers to make sure the Random Number Generators in use at that online casino are fair and truly random. This also allows online gamblers to verify the online casino’s payouts percentages and decide if they are satisfied with the payouts the online casino offers.

Many of the better online casinos also use an outside, independent accounting firm like Price and Waterhouse, to monitor their payouts and finances. This can be another useful way to get information about the finances and operations of an online casino but in order to find this information the online gambler must carefully research each online casino and see what accounting, monitoring and / or licensing is in use at that casino. Consider this another tool in your online casino safety toolkit.

Hopefully, there will come a time in the future, when the online gambling industry is under the supervision of an overall, governing body that oversees standards and certifies honest and fair online gambling establishments. Until that time, online gamblers will have to rely on licensing bodies, their own ability to do research, the network of casino review websites and organizations like eCorga to help them in their search for the safest online gambling establishments. Websites like http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/ provide tutorials and advice on how to find safe and honest casinos with articles like http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/blog-detail/Do-your-homework and http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/article-detail/The-golden-rules-for-choosing-a-new-online-casino. The smart and savvy online gambler will make good use of every resource at his or her disposal and take the time to find the very best places to gamble online.