No transferring money electronically for gambling; and No wagers in offshore Internet casinos even if you live in the U.S. What’s allowed? Some free online games, fantasy leagues, and Indian gaming sites that aren’t strictly defined as Internet gambling. It’s also illegal for businesses to run gambling websites and to solicit online bets.
While playing a game online, you may occasionally get a creeping suspicion that something isn’t going the way it should. What’s happening with the data you’re entering into that tablet game? Can hackers trace you through your World of Warcraft account? With all the weird stories buzzing around on the internet, you can’t help but wonder, is online gaming safe?
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The answer is, like so often, “it depends.” To get a little closer to an actual answer, we’ll have to take a look at a few different kinds of gaming, but also at a short history of data breaches in games. There are more of these than game companies would like to admit, so let’s just take a look at the biggest ones.
Before we do, however, do note that this is not an article aimed at people looking to avoid unpleasant encounters on the internet: griefers, smacktalkers and scriptkiddies employing aimhacks are a fact of life while gaming online. If there was an easy way to solve these problems — besides the good old “mute” button — we would be happy to share it with you.
Identity Theft
The problems we can deal with fairly easily, however, are usually more serious than a thirteen-year-old calling you names. One of the most common is identity theft, where cybercriminals steal your data and use it for their own ends. When it comes to online gaming, such hackers are usually after credit card details.
It should be noted that big name games are usually free of this kind of thing, unless they’ve been hit by some kind of concerted attack that their, mostly excellent, security can’t handle. The biggest offenders are usually casual or mobile games, some of which give the impression they are only put on the market so the companies behind them can steal customers’ information.
Reformed conman Frank Abagnale, whose life served as the basis for the movie Catch Me If You Can, has warned Facebook users in the past of signing up for games on the social media platform. As it’s not always clear with these games what kind of access they have to your account, it could very well be that the people you’re playing with are trawling through your posts to see if you’ve left behind any interesting tidbits for them to use.
Another large risk are mobile games from digital media marketplaces like the Google Play Store. As there are generally no strict controls who puts what up on these pages, scams have proliferated. Most of these mobile games will either collect data by letting the app give itself permissions to look through your entire phone, while many others will wait for users to complete a micro-transaction and then make off with the credit card info.
Though one could argue that micro-transactions are in themselves criminal, buyers best beware when it comes to free-to-play games, as they might find that the bill ends up being a lot higher than promised.
Data Breaches
Though the ill-intentioned make up far too large a proportion of these mobile games, smart consumers may want to avoid even bonafide companies as their security often is just very bad. Take for instance Fashion Fantasy Game: back in 2016 the information of 15,000 users past and present was stolen in a data breach perpetrated by cybercriminals.
Though most of the data involved was just email addresses, it does mean that the hackers were able to add another 15,000 names to one of their spam lists. That criminals want to go after such a treasure trove of information isn’t surprising, but their methods were: Fashion Fantasy Game was hacked using a SQL injection, which is scriptkiddie 101.
The fact that the game’s security wasn’t up to the task of defending against this very basic type of attack shows that many of the fly-by-nights that create these games skimp on security in order to turn a profit. A bigger and nastier example was the Gamigo hack in 2012, where the passwords and usernames of around eight million users were stolen from one of the largest online gaming companies in the world.
Though the damage was limited that time around, it was probably cold comfort for all the people that had found they were now on all the spam lists in the world.
In practice, all this means that mobile games are best avoided by the security conscious as the risk of being scammed or having your device slaved to a botnet are simply too high. As with many things on the internet, “free” just means that you’re the product being sold. For further examples of these kinds of practices, check out our article on the worst free VPN providers.
Big Players
When it comes to mobile games, here at Cloudwards.net we recommend you either stay away or at least never sign up for anything. There are plenty of casual games around that need little besides HTML5 to run, so there’s no reason to infect your computer with malware.
However, it isn’t just this segment in the market that suffers from data breaches: even some of the biggest players around have been hit once or twice. The biggest, or at least the most embarrassing, was the PlayStation network hack in 2011 when not only the data (including credit card info) of around 2.5 million Sony customers were stolen, but the entire network went black for several days, to boot.
The CEO of Sony publicly apologized to his company’s customers, but the damage was, of course, done. Steam users are generally a luckier bunch: Valve’s security is pretty tight and they have prevented many attacks in the past.
One of the few times anyone noticed anything was during Christmas 2015, when the store page would display in foreign languages. Nothing much was stolen that time around, though Steam did lose millions of game keys just a few months later.
How to Protect Yourself While Gaming Online
The question whether online gaming is safe is pretty difficult to answer. As you can see from the above examples, every company large or small has been hit at some time. However, as a rule of thumb, it’s best to avoid free-to-play and other downloadable casual games, as well as anything offered on Facebook.
When it comes to bigger platforms and titles, the best protection is of course still not playing anything and reading a book instead, but that is likely not an option for most. Generally it’s best to never store your credit card info with the company — though this means you’ll have to enter it for every purchase, this minor annoyance also means that there is nothing to steal — as well as fixing up a strong password that can’t be easily guessed.
Gamers could also consider signing up with any of our top five cloud services for gamers, which all offer increased security, anonymity as well as tons of games. Though GaaS is still in its infancy, here at Cloudwards.net we predict a rise in popularity of this type of entertainment and the five services in that article seem to be on the cutting edge.
Last but not least, there is one way for consumers to always protect themselves from cybercrime — as well as NSA spying and nosy ISPs — and that is subscribing to a VPN service. Though these generally cost money (except for our top five best free VPN providers), you’re getting value for money as nobody will be able to track you online.
Conclusion
Here at Cloudwards.net we have a list of our preferred best VPN services, though we always encourage people to browse our VPN reviews to figure out what will work best for them. Online gaming may not be the safest thing to do, but it is possible the most fun; by protecting yourself before going online, you can be assured that no one can come after your money or personal information.
Do you have a security strategy different from that outlined above? Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for reading and stay safe.
There are several different reasons why there are so many
online gambling sites to choose from, with the most obvious one
being that there are a wide variety of potential customers. It’s
not known exactly how many people around the world use these
sites collectively, but it’s guaranteed to be a large number.
One of the biggest sites, Bet365, claims to have over 15 million
users, and they don’t even accept customers from the United
States.
So it’s safe to assume that online gambling is a very popular
activity. This isn’t really surprising, as gambling has been
popular throughout history. People enjoyed betting and playing
gambling games long before the internet existed, it’s just that
the internet has made it even easier to do so.
There are, however, many people who believe that online
gambling should be banned. Some of these people may have
questionable motives for believing this (such as the owners of
brick and mortar casinos for example), but there are some that
have legitimate and well-reasoned concerns about whether it’s
beneficial.
We are obviously supporters of online gambling. One our
biggest motivations for producing and maintaining this website
is that we love to gamble. It’s a passion of ours. We believe
that it can be a very positive experience, and we’re grateful
for the fact that we can do it over the internet. It’s important
to be responsible, of course, but we certainly don’t feel it’s a
pastime that should have any kind of social stigma attached to
it.
With that being said, we wouldn’t encourage anyone to start
gambling online if they didn’t feel it was right for them.
That’s not what we’re about. What we can do, though, is provide
the information needed to make a personal judgement. That’s the
purpose of this page. We discuss the main pros and cons of
online gambling, so that you can make your own mind up about
whether or not it’s something you want to try.
The Pros of Online Gambling
In our opinion, the following are the biggest advantages of
gambling online.
- Entertaining & Exciting
- Convenience & Comfort
- Suitable for All Budgets
- Choice of Betting & Gaming Options
- Privacy and Security
- Bonuses and Rewards
Entertaining & Exciting
The fact that online gambling is ultimately a form of
entertainment is often forgotten. Many people gamble purely for
the chance of winning money, which is fine, but for a lot of
people it’s more about the fun they can have. Gambling can be a
lot of fun even when you’re losing money. If you’re sensible
about how much money you risk, then the losses should just be
thought of as the price to pay for entertainment. It’s not
really any different from spending money on any other form of
entertainment.
Of course, this point applies to gambling in general rather
than just online. It’s one that we feel is worth mentioning
though, as many of those people who are against online gambling
don’t seem able to accept the fact that it’s not ALL about the
money that can be won or lost. It can simply be about having
fun.
Convenience & Comfort
Using the internet is an incredibly convenient way to indulge
in gambling. You don’t have to leave the house, and gambling
sites never close. You can enjoy your betting and gaming at any
time you choose: all from the comfort of your own home. You
don’t even have to get dressed if you don’t want to!
You can gamble online using a variety of
different devices. All you need is internet access and an
account with a gambling site.
With an online gambling account, you’ll never have to worry
about not getting to the bookmakers in time to place a wager
before a big game. You’ll never have to worry about not being
able to get any action at the poker table, and you’ll never have
to worry about not getting a seat at your favorite casino game.
Suitable for All Budgets
Most gambling sites cater for all budgets. You can typically
deposit as little as $10 or as much as several thousand. There’s
usually a wide range of stakes too. You don’t have to spend much
money at all if you don’t want to, yet high rollers can bet as
much money as they like.
This a particularly significant advantage for casino players.
The range of stakes you can play for in many land-based casinos
is much smaller. This means some players have to play for stakes
a little higher than they would like, and some players have to
play stakes that are lower than what they would prefer. The same
is true for poker players. Very few poker rooms have anything
near the same range of stakes as online poker sites do. You
certainly won’t find the micro-stakes available at live tables,
and this is where a lot of poker players like to start out.
Choice of Betting & Gaming Options
There are all kinds of different gambling activities you can
enjoy online. Most sites offer several different forms of
gambling these days, although there are still some that
specialize in just a single form. The following are the most
popular types of gambling done online, and they are all widely
available.
- Sports Betting
- Casino Games
- Poker
- Bingo
- Horse Racing Betting
- Daily Fantasy Sports
You simply don’t find this same variety offered offline, with
the exception of some of the larger Vegas casinos that have
poker rooms and sportsbooks as well as their casino tables.
Generally speaking, though, you’ll need to go to different
venues for the different activities. When it comes to daily
fantasy sports, please know that these are only available
online.
Bonuses and Rewards
The vast majority of gambling sites give their customers a
range of incentives for doing their betting and gambling with
them. Pretty much all of them offer new customers welcome
bonuses, which are basically extra funds added to your account
when you sign up and make your first deposit. Most of them offer
additional bonuses and rewards too, usually via some kind of
loyalty scheme.
These bonuses and rewards are a huge advantage of gambling
online, particularly for those that bet and play regularly. They
essentially help your money go that much further, and in some
circumstances they can even be the difference between losing
money overall and winning.
Always read the terms and conditions before
accepting a bonus. They are usually quite fair, especially at
reputable sites, but it’s still very important to fully
understand them.
Privacy and Security
Your privacy is assured when betting and gaming online. This
point will be important to people who prefer to keep their
gambling activities to themselves. There are also people who
don’t particularly enjoy others watching them in the casino,
which is obviously something they don’t have to worry about when
playing online.
Security isn’t an issue either. It’s not really a major issue
offline, but there have been cases of people being robbed of
their winnings when leaving the casino or bookmakers. This is
not a concern online. Providing you use only reputable and
trustworthy sites, your funds (and personal data) are all fully
protected.
The Cons of Online Gambling
- Convenience & Comfort
- Risk of Rogue Operators
- Cashout Times
- Lack of Personal Interaction
- Transaction Fees
- Legal & Regulatory Issues
Convenience & Comfort
This is not an error; we’re aware that we’ve already listed
convenience and comfort as one of the pros of gambling online.
The very same point can also be one of the downsides though, as
there’s an argument that the internet has made it TOO EASY for
people to gamble.
For most people this isn’t really an issue, as they are
perfectly capable of monitoring and controlling the amount of
time and money they spend on their betting and gaming
activities. Some people, however, can find themselves getting
carried away. Gambling can be addictive, and having round the
clock access to gambling sites can make a problem even worse for
some people.
Studies have actually shown that the advent of online
gambling has NOT led to an increase in addiction (despite what
many people say to the contrary), but that doesn’t mean it
hasn’t caused difficulties for some people. It’s important to
make sure that you aren’t one of those people, and that you stay
in full control of your gambling.
Gambling is only ever fun when done responsibly.
It’s important to set yourself limits for how much you are
prepared to spend, and you must stick to those limits.
Risk of Rogue Operators
The vast majority of online gambling sites are operated
ethically and fairly, by reputable companies. However, as with
pretty much any industry, there are some operators who are
nothing short of crooks. Thankfully such operators are few and
far between; they tend to get discovered very quickly, but they
do exist.
This is almost certainly one of the cons that deter people
away from the idea of depositing money online for the purposes
of gambling. They get worried that they are going to get ripped
off, treated unfairly, or simply have their funds stolen. Sadly,
there have been cases where this has happened.
There’s an easy solution to this potential problem though,
and that’s just to stick to the trustworthy sites. There are
plenty of them, including all the of the sites that we recommend
here at GamblingSites.org.
Lack of Personal Interaction
One of the advantages we mentioned earlier was the privacy of
online gambling. There’s a flipside to this, in that there’s
also a lack of personal interaction. This may not be important
for everyone, but there are certainly a lot of people that enjoy
the social aspect of visiting a casino or playing a live game of
poker.
There isn’t the same social aspect to gambling when betting or playing online.
This makes it less appealing for some people.
It’s worth pointing out that gambling online doesn’t mean you
have to stop going to land-based casinos or poker rooms. You can
still enjoy both, as the two experiences both have their own
merits.
Cashout Times
If and when you’re lucky enough (or skilled enough) to win
some money online, you won’t necessarily be able to cash in your
winnings immediately. How long it takes to get your funds will
depend on the withdrawal method you use and, to some extent,
where you live. For example, it generally takes a little longer
for cash outs to be paid if you live in America.
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You won’t typically have to wait too long though, especially
if you’re using any of the top sites. They tend to be good at
getting your money to you as fast as they can.
Legal & Regulatory Issues
The laws relating to gambling online vary around the world.
In some regions they are very complicated, which makes it hard
to know exactly what’s legal and what’s not. This puts a lot of
people off. Most legislation is targeted at those that operate
gambling sites rather than the people who use them, but it can
still be a little unsettling when the laws aren’t completely
clear.
Regulation also varies in different parts of the world, and
it’s not always as strict as it might be. Again, this can put
people off. With that being said, if you stick to the reputable
sites as we’ve already recommended, then this is unlikely to
become an issue.
It’s a good idea to be aware of the
relevant laws that apply where you live, and also any regulation
that’s in place. All of this information can be found in our
section on gambling laws.
Transaction Fees
Gambling sites don’t typically charge any transaction fees
when you make deposits, but your bank or credit card might.
Although these are generally quite small, they can add up over
time when depositing regularly. Some sites do charge for
withdrawals too.
Summary
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As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, we wouldn’t
encourage anyone to gamble online unless they were sure it was
right for them. Gambling of any kind involves risk, and it’s no
different online. You should only start if you’re comfortable
with the risk and have the money to spare.
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There are also downsides to gambling online that we’ve
outlined in this article, and these shouldn’t be ignored.
Overall, though, our view is that the pros outweigh the cons by
quite some margin. If you like to gamble, or think you would
like to try it, then it makes sense to do your betting and
gaming online.