The online casino industry is an industry mired by cybersecurity threats. But more than that, players themselves try to cheat the system by altering it to their favor. Online casinos, being dependent on technology, have built ways to avoid such schemes. This article will give you an overview of how online casinos prevent cheating happening on their sites.
Introduction
Casino players bet their odds hoping to win in online casino games. While it’s true that gambling online gives far more benefits in comfort and safety, cheating is also a concern. Because some players resort to cheating rather than playing fairly, many players end up turned off by the site. You can’t blame them because there’s real money involved in the process. Even then, cheating is more like the exception than the rule.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s harder to cheat online than it is in land-based casinos. Modern technology paves the way in building stronger walls for cheaters to alter the system. For example, online casinos build different software programs to prevent cheating on their servers. You can say that online casinos are now prepared for any tricks cheater’s up their sleeves. But knowing how these work is important to land yourself a reliable online casino. So, let’s explore cheating in the context of online casinos more.
Advanced algorithms and secure software
There’s a growing incentive for players to cheat in online casino games. So far, there’s a pattern of the same types of cheating done at these sites. So, online Casinos embed protection in their website to capture any similar cheating attempts. Let’s take a look at some of them:
- Geolocation tracking
Internet geolocation is a software that tracks down any device through their IP address. Online casinos have this to locate where you access your account. Since most of them don’t allow more than one account, seeing two from your location puts you in suspension.
Online casinos also monitor accounts that use VPNs to access the site. Geolocation tracking can determine accounts from countries where online casinos are illegal. Also, countries that are flagged for many breaches and liable for cheater players.
- Encryption
Encryption protects information and transactions in online casinos. It translates information into codes of algorithms that the casino uses and stores. Casinos input encryption in their system similar to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TSL). Digital encryption like SSL and TSL ensures that the information (i.e. personal information, bank accounts, password) you input in online casino websites is only between you and the casino server.
- RNG (Random Number Generator)
Casino games developed an algorithm that can draw a random number. This way, no human or casino site can control the winning odds of the player. It’s a safety measure for players to ensure that the casino is not favoring numbers against any players. On the other hand, it prevents cheaters from creating an algorithm that can draw the frequent numbers that appear in games. Casinos use RNG to ensure games are protected from any tracking interference.
Monitoring systems
Online casinos have artificial intelligence in their system to monitor players’ activities. Artificial intelligence (AI) uses the pattern of their activities to determine sketchy activities and take action. For example, when players try to penetrate the casino’s protecting software, AI will think it’s weird for them to do that and take action.
These also have the capacity to verify any accounts. Similar to what you encounter in some sites when it asks if you are a bot or not. It can report accounts that are real and or bots to its server to take action.
Enforcing strict rules and penalties for players who are found to be cheating
There are varying rules on penalties for players who are found guilty for cheating. You’ve probably seen big news regarding cheating crimes where people dealt with thousands of dollars of fees for reparation. But before it goes to that, there are penalties that online casinos put to players’ accounts if they cheat.
Penalties
Penalties come in many forms, depending on the online casino. But usually, it’s when they take out a part of your bonus or access to some games. It can also be taking some of your loyalty points out to achieve a specific status on the site. Penalties are the most common ways to deter players from cheating. But if you continue to cheat, you might get banned or suspended.
Suspension
Suspension happens when a player continues to cheat despite obtaining numerous penalties already. They’re serious cases and can take up to a month in effect. Sometimes, suspension also means banning the account, but players can still make another account. If it so happens that the player won real money out of cheating, online casinos can suspend their account already.
Blacklisting
An account gets blacklisted if they’ve been found to be cheating multiple times. This method prevents them from making an account on the site, or even accessing it. The site uses geolocation tracking to make sure even their dummy accounts don’t get access to the site.
Online casino sites can have only one operator, which means getting banned in one online casino can mean getting banned in many more.
Regulatory bodies and third-party companies
Online casinos comply with specific regulating bodies, while also getting audits from independent third-party organizations. The most common regulatory bodies are also the licensing bodies. There’s the Curacao Gaming Authority and Malta Gaming Authority among other licensing bodies.
There are also third-party companies that online casinos can consult to, to make sure their security measures are intact. There are testing agencies like eCOGRA and iTechLabs which test all aspects of an online casino to look for loopholes. Then for software solutions, GLI Company provides the Technical Systems Testing (TST) for all iGaming-based companies. It looks at the database and the website, to fix what the site could improve on.
Choosing reputable online casinos
The internet offers numerous online casinos to play. There’s too many of them that it becomes hard to choose the best ones among the pool of casinos. But there are aspects that help you know a safe online casino from a dangerous one.
These are the things you should check out when looking for an online casino:
- Check the reviews – There are sites that offer reviews of online casinos. You can read reviews based on their experience with some technicalities involved. There are also customer reviews, which are more subjective but equally helpful. You don’t have to read each review, but you only have to look at where the majority of reviews are leaning.
- Security certificates – Online servers apply for security certificates to ensure safety measures in their websites. If the casino sites are registered with security certificates, then you can notice in its URL it has “https”. The “s” at the end indicates that the site has security encryption on its server.
- Licenses – Even though there are many preventive measures casinos develop, sometimes hackers still get in. For a casino to take on its operation, there are regulatory bodies that exist in countries where online gambling is legal. These regulatory bodies ensure that casinos follow the standard operation from policies and securities in its system.
Some of the common casino regulatory bodies are Gambling Commission of the United Kingdom, Curacao Gaming regulatory Board, and Malta Gaming Authority.. Many regulatory bodies exist for each countries’ jurisdiction. But there are a lot of regulatory bodies that give licenses to online casinos regardless of their region.
- Customer Support – When you experience any tampering in your account you need someone to reach about your concerns. With that, put on your list for casinos that have active customer services. It is important that casinos take action with your issues.
Bottomline
Cheating in casinos for some is like a trophy. They feel as if they broke the system in an online casino. Now that live casinos are now online, it is another playground for them. But online casinos learn how to put multiple security software to prevent any tampering in their websites. Even if cheaters are from a remote location, it’s possible for the new technology to detect them.
It’s not worth it to cheat in an online casino, because getting blacklisted in one can spread to many. You might only be planning to cheat, but these online casinos already know how to block your account. Now that you know some ways to prevalent cheating, you can check your favorite casinos if they do any of these on their server.
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