Those who are opposed to gambling (for whatever reason) will often promote falsehoods and untruths about what they consider to be a vice, dare we say, a sin. However, with a small bit of common sense, you can see through most of these false lies about online gambling. I’ve been playing for over fifteen years, and this time, I’m here to explain and debunk the most vicious rumours about playing online casinos. Let’s get stuck in.
#1 Online Casinos Are Rigged
Arguably, the most often repeated lie about online casinos is that they are rigged. The rumour goes that it is impossible for you to win at online casinos because all the games are fixed. That’s utterly untrue. In fact, some of the biggest ever progressive jackpot prizes paid out to gamblers have occurred at online casinos – some total tens of millions of pounds. While there are always scam sites out there that rig pirated games, all reputable online casinos feature games that utilise random number generators to ensure a fair, unpredictable and totally random outcome on each spin, hand and bet. They publish the RTP (return to player) rates of their games, and you can check those with the software providers behind the titles.
There’s nowhere for cheaters to hide, so casino games certainly aren’t rigged for you to lose. Don’t confuse house edge (which is designed to make the casino money on every bet) with games being rigged. They aren’t the same thing. A house edge is a small slice of each bet which goes into the casino’s pocket – the rest (the RTP) is put back into an all-encompassing pot for every player to win.
Other Myths Related to Online Casino Games Debunked
While I’m on this subject, let me quickly run the rule over some other falsehoods associated with online casino games. They include:
- No betting strategy can guarantee a win. As explained above, games use RNGs. You can use gambling strategies to improve your chances in games of skill, but this won’t guarantee wins, either for you or the casino.
- No, you can’t cheap games by using hacking software. Any software you see for sale online is spurious – it doesn’t work.
- Despite what you may have heard, card counting “can” be possible in some games – namely those that feature just a single deck – only in games where the auto-shuffle algorithm isn’t implemented after every hand. In most cases, it will be.
- Free spins aren’t only valid on slots that the casino wants you to play. There are plenty of instances out there where you can claim free spin bonuses on almost all slots at a casino.
#2 It Is Illegal to Play Online Casino Games in the USA
This is another whopper which I regularly hear. It is true that the United States doesn’t have a national licensing body or a federal law that makes online casino gambling legal. Many countries don’t, though. Instead, the US Government allows each state to decide whether it wants to licence and regulate online gambling or not. Some, such as New Jersey, have chosen to do so, while others have not. However, it is not illegal to play at offshore casinos (sites based outside the US). They fall into a legal grey zone. It is only illegal to play at a US casino if it is based in the USA and not licensed in the state where you’re playing. If it’s based out of Curacao, everything is legal and above board.
#3 Casinos Won’t Allow You to Withdraw Winnings
Again – this is simply not true. You may come across disgruntled players who believe that casinos aren’t paying out. In a minute number of cases, namely with scam sites, this may be so. However, most of the time, it is simply down to players not fulfilling the withdrawal requirements. They may not have cleared any outstanding playthrough rates, have breached their limits or the site’s T&Cs, or simply haven’t cleared the KYC process yet. This one is often blown out of proportion because players don’t do their homework before betting. It is almost never the case that an online casino will actively withhold your winnings, and if they do, there are resources out there which you can use to make them pay up.
#4 Casino Sites Don’t Care About You
Arguably, one of the more childish myths about online casinos is that they don’t care about you at all – they only want your money. Again, I’m happy to disprove this one. Many online casinos are under strict regulation, especially if they have a UKGC licence. If they breach those rules, they can lose their licence, and that’ll be the end of them. Given that running a casino can be a lucrative business, they don’t want that.
In reality, online casinos have become safer with each passing year. Not only do they now have SSL encryption and RNGs, transparent T&Cs and are heavily regulated, but modern casinos are also offering responsible gambling tools and access to self-exclusion programs. You can set caps on your deposits, losses, and bets and restrict your account at any time, for any reason. Moreover, even top NetEnt casinos not on GamStop have all manner of tools to help keep you safe. Problem gambling is one of the casino industry’s concerns, and they take steps to counter it, which are beneficial to you.
#5 Online Casinos Are Used to Launder Money
Lastly, I want to end with a controversial one – money laundering. Yes, I will admit that in the past, there were criminals who deposited at casinos using one payment method and withdrew the same money using another. This is money laundering. Over the last decade, regulators have hit online casinos with immense fines for allowing this practice. Now, most sites keep a watchful eye on money laundering and have AML (anti-money laundering) policies in place to prevent it.
There are hundreds of reputable casinos not on GamStop offering air-tight AML policies to fight against organised crime. It isn’t as though online casinos are the only culprit here – there are lots of ways to launder money if you want to, but casinos have been unfairly singled out. Today, it would be exceptionally hard to deposit at a site and cash out the same cash immediately. You’re normally required to bet at least a part of it beforehand – helping to crack down on this.