New Scam Gambling sites pop up every day online. Some offer casino, some offer sports offers, truth is, we have tons to choose from.
Some of these sites are very much legitimate and are licensed and regulated. This means that the site would be compliant with the law and both the gambling license, and will always place the player first. KYC, verification, and compliance are all elements that a legal gambling site requires.
Unfortunately, there are sites that are not as legitimate, they operate without a gambling license, they do not follow the rules, and at the end of the day, the player suffers.
These are what we call scam sites, sites that are not legitimate to play at. Players might be asking for a withdrawal request after landing winnings, and these winnings never arrive, this is the sad truth of new betting sites that are considered scams.
Many gambling sites follow the rules imposed by the company and also by the license holders, unfortunately, not all do that. This is why we always suggest that you do your groundwork when you opt to register and play at any casino.
Do your research, see the comments that other gamblers are stating, and then when you are 100% happy that the site is legitimate, we suggest you sign up and play. When it comes to security and handling payments, it is important to find a great gambling site, one that is secure, trustworthy, and one that can place your mind at ease for any issues arising.
How to avoid scam gambling sites?
As a punter and gambler, you have a job to make sure that where you sign up is legit. To be fair this could be quite an easy task.
Registering at some of the biggest gambling sites out there could be a good place to start. Some of the biggest names in the industry have been active for a long time, have a good client base, see their advertisement everywhere, and also are above the competition.
If you stick with this, you set off your gambling journey on a good foot. There are some other hints and tips to help you filter what is a good new betting site and what is not, let us have a look at what scams look like and why they are even operational.
Not Honouring Payment Terms
Unfortunately, sites that are deemed as rouge, are those sites that cannot be trusted. They might hold a gambling license, and they might not, the truth is they still cannot be trusted.
One of the terms that scam sites operate is not paying the players. Rules go out of the window here, and the sites just formulate their own specific rules.
The specific site might advise that you will be getting your winnings in X amount of time, however, once you make your withdrawal request, you might be faced with a different scenario whatsoever.
Scam sites normally find excuses not to give you, your money back, and this is why they are listed as scams, and sometimes blacklisted.
The hint and tip that we always offer are that you should check the comments by other players, and check blacklisted casino sites, and it would be good to play at sites that hold a Malta Gaming Authority or a UKGC gambling license.
Setting their own rules, overruling the terms and conditions
There are many times that you read the terms and conditions of new betting sites and you have a plan. You just know what will happen once you make a wager.
You have your plan set out that once you win or once you make a bet, the following steps will happen. Unfortunately, when it comes to scam sites, they just make up the rules as they go along.
We suggest that you stay away from such sites. Their welcome offers might look glamorous, but in reality, will you get your winnings if you win, will you need to wager the winnings more than stated in the T&Cs?
Changing the terms and conditions as the site pleases is not a good trait and we suggest you avoid playing at such sites at all costs. These are all things that you need to consider, and again, we suggest that some research would help a lot in the long run.
They sometimes void wagers, for no reason.
There are times that we have heard that some scam gambling sites would void wagers.
This could be before the match or even during a sporting event. Unfortunately, we have seen this happen many times, with the gambling site not providing any specific explanation to why this is happening.
You can contact support a million times to try and justify and understand what is the reason behind this, but in reality, there is a slim chance that you will get a valid reason why this has happened.
We do have a theory, and this includes the site knowing that they will need to pay out either a big payout to the player or payouts to a good number of players. So, what do they do?
They just void the wagers so there is no need for them to pay out winnings. Is this right? Nope. Is this fair? 100% not. Do your digging, check what other players are saying about the site, and avoid scammers and underground sites.
Affiliate Marketing Scams
For those of you that have no idea what affiliate marketing is, it is a system that gambling sites use to have affiliates market this gambling site via various channels.
The gambling sites would normally have an affiliate program where affiliates can sign up, and if they bring the site business, they will grant them a portion, or a small percentage of the signup money, or the wagering money the player does. Quite simple, and this is done 100% online.
Whilst many affiliates are not aware of the scams going on, the casino might still be operating with illicit behaviours. Whilst new scam betting sites might still pay their affiliates, the site might hold on to any winnings that are due to players. Most of the times ll of this happens without the affiliates knowing what is really going on, and it is a pity as they continue working hard to market casinos that at the end of the day will scam players that they have brought in.
Is it the fault of the affiliate? Definitely not. The affiliate would not know what goes on with the casino and the relationship between the casino and the player, so the affiliates are definitely not at fault here. This cannot be said about the scam betting site, unfortunately.
Treating players differently
It is quite common knowledge that when a casino or a sportsbook site has a massive win, the next day the office the conversation is about that.
To all gamblers dismay, new betting sites sometimes treat players very differently. You might see the one time plyer come in, sign up to the site, wager and win, and will get his payment as listed in the terms and conditions.
All well and good here. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are times when a returning player will place a wager, a wager that is due to be a winning bet, yet even if he wins, he will not get his funds and winning money.
The online gambling site might ask for some additional documentation, they might even not reply to any winning requests, and the player ends up getting nothing. Unfortunately, there is a limit you can do about this, but as we always stress, check feedback from other players.
Invalid or Non Existent Gambling License
A gambling license is one of the things that make a casino site legitimate. Having a gambling license means that you as a gambling operator need to abide by rules and regulations that are imposed by the gambling license, with daily / monthly, and annual checks that need to be contacted by the licensing institution.
When a new betting site is granted a license, this is normally displayed proudly at the bottom part of the casino’s lobby. It would read the owner of the casino, the gambling license that is held, and also the number of the license.
Some gambling sites unfortunately lie in this department.
They might list that they have a gambling site when in theory they have none. What we suggest in this case is to write down the license number and always check it out on the license site. This is an option that is available at your fingertips and only 2 minutes of your time before registration could see you not getting scammed in the long run.
Before the season betting sites
When an upcoming big match or a massive sporting event is about to happen, a good amount of new betting sites pop up.
Some of these sites might be 100% legitimate whilst others might not be. Truth be told, it does not take a genius to set up a site, and sometimes scammers would just pay someone to set up a site for them.
There is a specific reason that this happens, they would want to launch a site before a massive sporting event and then disappear without having to pay any winnings out. This gambling scam has been going on for years unfortunately and has seen many NBA and NFA fans not take home their promised winnings.
The scam they operate is simple, they would launch a site, net as many bets as they can before the sporting event, and disappear after that with no ways and means for the punter to contact the gambling site.
It is as if the site never existed. This is quite an unfortunate event for gamblers, and the only way to avoid such things from happening is to always stick to gambling sites that you know as opposed to new betting sites.
So what do I need to do to avoid getting scammed?
Scamming is quite popular nowadays, and the more time we spend in the gambling niche, the more we see gambling scams happening. It is quite sad to see gamblers getting scammed.
Some gamblers would set a small budget a month for gambling, or save some money for the biggest sporting event of the year. To scam them from winnings is quite unfair. So what does one need to do to make sure that the site is 100% legit and trustworthy?
For starters, sticking with the gambling sites that you really know is the best option.
Whilst new betting sites might offer you a lucrative welcome offer to lure you in, it is always good to stick with the devil you know. Yes, a welcome offer might sound very tempting, and that extra sports bet might be worth it, but will you get scammed if you win.
Will the new betting site formulate its terms and conditions as they go along? You are very much safe with a gambling site that you have played before at, so why change?
We cannot stress enough about reading blogs and affiliate sites to see how other gamblers rate the site. Were they paid on time?
Did they get paid on time? Were they bombarded with unsolicited marketing emails and calls? How did the casino measure to keep up with the promises that are laid out in the terms and conditions? Doing your research for a few minutes could see you filter what is good and what is a scam. Do your research.
Last Thoughts
Whilst some sites operate in a rough market and operate illegally, some gambling establishments are safe and offer a legitimate gambling experience.
Not all new betting sites are a scam, some will become the great gambling sites that William Hill, Leo Vegas, Mr Green, 888, and many more are. Some will not. Make sure that you choose your next gambling destination wisely, as this could be a great relationship or a fraudulent one.
Your gambling fun is at stake here, choose wisely.
