Of all the factors that have contributed to the immeasurable success of the online casino industry, at the bedrock of this success is an iron-clad set of regulations and procedures that ensure casinos guarantee fair play on their site, as well as transparency.
Although the sector has become increasingly crowded over the last decade due to the rise of thousands of new online casinos entering the sector, fair play, transparency and security remain the overarching components that have not been compromised. In fact, in the current market, they are more critical than ever.
With several regulators offering licenses more easily, such as those in Curacao and Panama, there has been a call for greater transparency from both casino gamers and industry leaders, who recognize that fair play and transparency should be the cornerstone of the industry.
Navigating the global market
Online casino gaming has created numerous opportunities for new companies seeking to establish a presence in the global market. However, it has also provided opportunities for brands to capitalize on this golden age and make a quick profit, cutting corners in the process.
This isn’t just bad news for consumers, who have much more difficulty raising complaints and issues with these types of companies, but for industry professionals who have spent countless hours helping the industry gain legitimacy.
The best betting site for your country involves a number of variables, and it can depend heavily on the type of casino game you most enjoy. One thing that quality betting sites shouldn’t compromise on is transparency and fair play. Regulators help to uphold these ideals, and casinos that try to cut corners can face heavy fines, as well as being completely shut down.
Online casinos must ensure they adhere to the rules and regulations specified by the country in which they operate. To ensure fair play, the highest-rated casinos often display their certification and third-party auditing certifications.
Staying transparent in the market
Cryptocurrency has shed light on the current appetite in the market for casinos that uphold the strongest ideals to ensure they remain as transparent and fair as possible. Although blockchain ensures that all transactions are logged and can’t be amended, it isn’t a simple case of every transaction being transparent.
There are cryptocurrencies such as Monero, which are specifically designed to obfuscate transactions, making it extremely difficult to track, but online casinos typically avoid these types of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin all use blockchains that allow for complete transparency. The Achilles' heel for these cryptocurrencies at the moment is the lack of a clear set of regulations that provides a concrete framework.
The mechanics of proving gaming legitimacy
For a casino to prove that the outcomes of the games on their site are fair, online casinos ensure the games go through rigorous testing. Gambling Lab International (GLI) and eCOGRA are the two most prominent names you will encounter, and they perform a sizeable chunk of the third-party game testing that occurs.
Other companies that implement equally stringent random game checks include iTech Labs, and you can find the certifications on their site. However, it’s not just online casinos that need to prove this; the onus is on game developers to demonstrate that their gaming mechanics operate randomly. Slot games go through some of the most scrupulous testing in the gaming industry, with measurements such as the Return To Player (RTP) percentage, a result of millions of different spins.
Ultimately, if games are proven to be unfair or can be altered in any way, it brings the entire online casino industry into disrepute, so it is one of the most essential and meticulous sets of testing you can find anywhere in the entertainment industry.
Player protections
Despite the cutting-edge technology that ensures games are provably fair behind the scenes, several key factors ensure that fair play and transparency are something gamers can verify for themselves.
Self-exclusion tools, as well as time and deposit tools, are vital in ensuring that players can keep themselves safe and keep their betting measured. Legislation in the UK, US and Canada requires online casinos to identify problem gamblers. If they continue to advertise services to people who have self-excluded, they can face substantial fines and severe reputational damage.
The UKGC and eCOGRA can assist customers with their disputes in the UK, for instance, which is crucial, as it demonstrates that third-party companies operating outside of the industry are willing to step in and assist whenever fair play or transparency issues arise.
Regulations also ensure that terms and conditions from a casino are not overly complex and that they don’t obscure the more negative aspects in jargon and other convoluted language. I’ve found that entering these terms and conditions on generative AI can be a great way to cut through the noise, especially when you have a couple of dozen pages to sift through.
It’s not the only tool you should use, and generative AI does have its limitations, but I’ve found that more often than not, it's able to identify the casinos that have a clear and straightforward set of terms and conditions.
Final thoughts
Despite what you might read on social media about casinos being rigged, you’ll often find that these opinions are voiced the loudest by people who have no idea what they are talking about and zero experience in the industry.
Can casinos do better? Of course. However, just like any online industry, it's a fast-moving and ever-changing sector that involves millions of people across multiple continents and constantly seeks to incorporate the latest technologies, whether it’s Bitcoin, virtual reality, AI or a combination of all three.
Without reputable companies ensuring the industry remains fair, the whole fabric of it comes apart pretty quickly, and this is in nobody’s interest. Models established by the UKGC and in the US are the industry standard.
