For many of us, trust is the number one factor in virtually any online financial activity. Knowing the sites you can trust and the ones you can’t can often feel like a minefield for the average consumer. Most of us are even more vigilant when it comes to casino sites. The big question for many of us is whether UKGC casino sites are trustworthy.
We believe UKGC sites are trustworthy for a few reasons, so let’s look at some of those reasons.
Licensing
The number one reason that you can trust UKGC is that they are licensed. This is the most basic requirement of any operator wishing to offer online casino services in the UK. The UKGC must permit anyone who wants to operate such a business. If they are not, then they are operating illegally. As seen with sites that list online casino sites, UKGC and MGA are the two main licensing bodies in Europe.
Naturally, this has a whole host of implications. Currently, the UKGC has issued licenses to around 2,600 operators, so it is not as if being licensed by the UKGC is exclusive or difficult to achieve. It’s the most basic requirement of trust.
If a site is not licensed, they are essentially not bound by any of the regulations put in place by the UKGC to ensure consumers’ security and fair treatment.
Security
In the online world today, security is a massive concern for everyone. Data breaches are common, with around 65,000 attempts to hack businesses every day—about 4,000 of which are successful in some degree. For this reason, the UKGC places a number of requirements around security on operators.
These requirements are essentially twofold. There are, on the one hand, requirements for effective firewalls to prevent widespread data breaches of their sites. On the other hand, there are certain requirements about the security of individual accounts. Features like 2FA and requiring complex passwords to prevent account breaches are essential.
Any site unlicensed by the UKGC does not necessarily abide by these rules. Thus, either your financial data is potentially at risk in the event of a successful attack, or in the event that your account is breached. So, for this reason, UKGC sites are really the only ones you can trust.
Fairness
Finally, in terms of the actual games you’re going to be playing, there are requirements for fairness as far as your chances of winning. These are put in place by the UKGC, and there is no guarantee that any site not licensed is operating within these boundaries.
You may find it virtually impossible to make any significant winnings with a non-UKGC site, since they may simply be set up to siphon money from players before they realize there is no real chance of winning.
Non UKGC sites often use attractive welcome bonuses to bring customers in, only to then remove all real chance of winning. UKGC casino sites must give the player a certain chance of winning in any given game, and so you can always rest assured you are getting fair treatment.
If there are any casino sites which are trustworthy, then, it’s those licensed by the UKGC. They are strictly regulated in terms of everything they do, from advertising, to security features, to fairness. If you are interested in playing in online casinos, then UKGC sites are really your only safe option. Any other site offering casino services without a license from the UKGC is at best going to have shoddy security and limited features, and at worst is actively set up to steal money from you and other consumers.
