It’s a sad fact that a small but determined number of rogue online casino operators can spoil the reputation of what is otherwise a well-regulated and operated industry. Not every casino that fails to make our list of top casinos is a blacklisted casino.
There are many good casinos that aren’t necessarily top-tier but still perfectly legitimate casinos that treat players fairly. Nevertheless, there are unethical casinos out there and so it’s important to be able to spot a less than scrupulous operator. In order to help you make the right choice, we maintain a blacklist of casinos that should be avoided:
Slow or delayed payment
The moat common complaint players have about rogue online casinos is the slow payout or withholding of winnings. They might also accept a player’s deposit without the funds reaching their account, or close an account without notice. We will blacklist a casino for any or all of these reasons.
To avoid this, check a casino’s terms and conditions regarding the length of time required before they pay out for each different withdrawal method, and the documentation they require in order to be able to verify your identity. The latter is often where a rogue casino will try to catch you out, so get your hands on the necessary documents before you start playing.
Rigged Payouts
To ensure that an online casino’s games are fair and honest, it’s important that the software is provided by a respected developer and is audited regularly by a third party testing agency, such such as eCogra, IGL or TST.
Reputable software providers, such as Microgaming, Playtech, NetEnt and Sheriff Gaming, guarantee the randomness of their games and ensure that an individual casino cannot manipulate or influence the result of any spin or game. They also publish the payout rates for their games. If you can’t find this information quickly and easily on an online casino site, it should be avoided.
Poor Customer Support
Rogue casinos offer little if any customer support and do not respond promptly or helpfully to player enquiries or complaints. When we blacklist a casino, it is usually because they have not been able to answer players’ queries as to why withdrawal funds have been withheld or delayed, or they have not been able satisfactorily to answer questions about bonuses, promotions or technical issues on the site.
Bad business practices
Rogue online casinos understand how important licensing is, and so blacklisted sites often have fake licensing from a reputable authority, or may be ‘licensed’ from a jurisdiction that is untrustworthy and does not impose any real controls.
Online casinos should provide links on their pages to their licensing authority and players should check these links to ensure that they are live and the accreditation is current and valid. We blacklist casinos that are not licensed by the gaming authority of a recognised and reputable country, or if any accreditation is out of date or not valid.
Why we keep a blacklist
We take online security and fair play very seriously, and this is why we blacklist casinos that do not meet the above criteria. Our aim is to ensure the overall health and integrity of the online gaming industry and to ensure that players get a fair go when they are entrusting their money to an online casino. Rogues are out there, but we are fighting to ensure that players know who they are.
Adding to the Blacklist
We thoroughly research the casinos that we recommend on our site, but it may be the case that players come across problems on other sites that we don’t list that we aren’t aware of. We encourage you to get in contact with us if you encounter any problems with an online casino that you think merits it being added to our blacklist.
