How to make sure that the bookmaker is trustworthy?
The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has further accelerated the move of the sports betting industry from land-based outlets to the virtual world. Nowadays already most of the betting is done on the Internet. Unfortunately, in this transformation the opportunity to get easy money is seen by scammers. There are more and more new sites on the market, which even outdo each other with tempting offers and promotions. Some of them are trying to make an honest profit, but the goal of others is to cheat. So how to check whether a site is honest and whether a particular bookmaker can be trusted? This question will be answered in this short article.
One good way to guess that a particular bookmaker is spinning something is that it guarantees earnings. We have already written on this topic and in order not to repeat ourselves, we provide a link to this article.
We must start with the basic issue, which is the license. In order for a bookmaker to operate legally in Poland and offer betting to customers, it must have the appropriate license issued by the Ministry of Finance. At this moment 23 companies have such a license. You can find their full list on the website of the Ministry of Finance.
It is worth mentioning that this license only entitles you to offer pari-mutuel betting, such as betting on the results of sports competitions, and not gambling games, such as roulette for example. In Poland, the monopoly on offering legal gambling is held by the state-owned company Totalizator Sportowy Sp. of.o.. So, if a site offers gambling or is not on the list we have included above, it means that it is not operating legally in our country. Such sites usually operate under a license issued in Malta, Curacao, Gibraltar or another tax haven where gambling restrictions are less restrictive than in our country.
Website
In order to register on the bookmaker's site you have to provide quite a lot of sensitive data. After all, you have to prove that you are at least 18 years old, confirm your data and provide payment details. This, of course, involves the risk of data leakage. That's why it's important to only register on sites you're confident in.
The most important aspects here are two. First of all, the site must be encrypted, preferably with SSL protocol, similar to those you'll find, for example, on bank sites. To find out if a site is encrypted, check whether its address starts with standard http or encrypted https. A closed padlock icon should also be displayed next to the address. Such security will ensure that unauthorized persons do not steal your data from the site.
The first aspect gives you the assurance that your data on the site is safe from external villains, but your data is still accessible to the site administrator. There are situations where it turns out that it is the creator of the site himself who is the fraudster and uses your data contrary to what you agreed on when setting up your account. That's why you must remember to carefully check who you share your sensitive data with before you decide to do so.
A good example of a secure site is the STS website and its mobile version, which you can learn more about here.
User reviews
Theory is one thing, and practice is another. Checking the security and license of a given bookmaker is not enough. It is also important to know the opinions of players who have already had the opportunity to work with the bookmaker you are interested in. This is because it may turn out that despite the fact that the site operates legally and is well secured, it offers very unfavorable rates, charges a high commission, or causes problems when trying to withdraw the funds earned. Therefore, read carefully as many reviews as possible and try to find a common denominator in them. Beware of sponsored reviews though, do your best to make sure the people who write the comments are other players like you.
Customer service
The last feature we would like to tell you about is not as zero-one as the fact of having a license or an encrypted website. It relates more to emotions and your gut feeling. We believe that the ideal way to check how a bookmaker relates to its customers is through customer service. How quickly and if at all someone will take care of you. What will be the tone of the conversation and how will the consultant react when you ask him, for example, about the legality of the site's operation, its security and tell him about your concerns about the withdrawal of the funds collected.
Summary
The world of gambling and sports betting is a dangerous place. Just betting requires a lot of self-discipline and self-control, and as if that weren't enough, there are scammers lurking at every corner. Therefore, when deciding to start working with some bookmaker, make sure that it operates legally, your data will be safe and you will have a real chance to win and withdraw money. Finally, we would like to wish you a lot of prudence, composure and sanity in your sports betting adventure.
