Online casino gone bad - what to do

Unfortunately, in the online gambling business, just like any other, there would be bad and fake casinos, out to get you.

Bad online casino At OGPaper.com we have recently seen an alarming rate of complains about online casinos, sportsbooks, poker rooms disappearing overnight, along with their clients money. Although it may be a little late for some, others should always exercise caution when choosing online gambling websites, in jurisdictions where legal. Rule of thumb should be to never directly visit an online casino or other gambling websites, such as online poker rooms, for the first time, unless you are familiar with the brand, or you have heard enough good things about them. Keep in mind that you should apply this across the board, including websites which "recommend" or "rank" online casinos and poker.

But let's assume the unfortunate event - one morning you try to visit the online casino you played at yesterday, just to find a blank page. What should you do?

In all cases, these casinos have not been licensed by any authority, run a fake software, and most of the time the idea behind them is to steal your identity, credit card number and/or your money. They would claim licenses from all sorts of commissions, which, of course, would be fake. Most likely the website and all the software are located in a basement who knows where, and operate for a short period of time, just long enough to get what they are after - some fast money. There would be no licensing authority you can report them to, as they would not be licensed by anyone, despite opposite claims.

The first thing we recommend is to check your credit report. There are three major credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian (most recommended) and Trans Union. Some of them offer a subscription service which would allow you to check your credit report unlimited number of times. All three credit bureaus are obligated under law to give you 1 to 3 free credit reports per year, depending on your state. It's good to check your credit report not only when suspect a rogue online casino - your identity could be stolen at any time, on or off the Internet.

Keep a very close eye on your credit cards. Most online gambling e-wallets are a good protection against this kind of theft, but if you used credit card(s), you should check your itemized balance for transactions you have not made, not necessary labeled with something that would appear to be a casino transaction, as those fake online casinos use a fake company for their credit card processing. If you find a transaction you have not made, contact the bank that issued the card to you, and report it. Almost all of the banks will credit back the stolen money and issue a new card for you.

Invest in a good PC protection program, one which offers spyware removal and virus detection. Most fake online casinos would load your computer with all kinds of malicious software when you download the casino. Viruses, spyware and keystroke loggers, to name a few, which could continue to steal private information long after you have deleted them. Don't be cheap when buying such programs, a good research on the tech forums will steer you in the right direction. Remember that privacy invasion could happen not just from bad online gambling websites, but from other sites on the Internet, so it's always good to be proactive.

Don't worry yourself gray, as most of the fake online casinos are in just to take your deposit and disappear. But you must take the above steps, just to be on the safe side.

The following actions are not recommended: wall punching, kicking the computer, breaking the monitor, yelling to people who had nothing to do with it, crying. The Internet is very similar to the real world - you will always have crooks lurking around. Be careful.

05/03/2007