While many video games do look and feel very similar to online casino games in terms of entertainment, there’s some hidden legal stuff going on behind the scenes at platforms offering higher stakes than a simple win. If you’re not paying attention and get your fun at one that’s not licensed, you’re actually gambling with more than just your gaming budget.
Excited by the idea of spinning slots or being dealt a hand of cards at a digital blackjack table for real potential profits? You’re not the first, and there’s no doubt you’ll be the last. Nobody in their right mind can ignore the heightened potential for fun iGaming spaces offer up in heaps. But if you’re new here, only now turning to online casinos after many happy years playing video games, there’s something novel that you simply must think about: whether or not the platform you’re enjoying has a license recognized in the country you live in.
Okay, so why should you care? And what even is a gambling license? Let’s go over some hidden-from-view details that will hopefully convince you to stick to spaces where your games are forced to be fair and the space is forced to be secure.
First, Some Context: What are Gambling Licenses For?
If you’re not a lawyer, it can be simple to miss the easy-to-overlook details separating online video game platforms from online casino platforms. Here’s the scoop: when you win a game of Fortnite or Solitaire, all you get is the satisfaction of beating the challenge the games present to you. At a casino, that win has more to it, because you’re then entitled to real financial takeaways. And, if you lose, you get nothing.
You’re owed if you win that game of poker, but without a license, that platform won’t get in legal trouble if they don’t pay out your due. This is an issue where that gambling license comes in clutch. Countries have set up legal rules to keep online gamblers from becoming victims to greedy operators. If a platform doesn’t promise to behave and play fair, they don’t get a license.
Let’s use Ontario, Canada as an example
This whole casino license business is messy because governments and regulatory authorities in different countries have their ideas about what a casino is and isn’t allowed to do. Online casinos that want to offer games to players in Ontario, for example, need to first run their whole operation by the AGCO, which stands for Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
The AGCO is strict and doesn’t hand out licenses to just anybody. There are only around 70 online casinos that hold this license right now, according to GambleOntario.ca, a platform that reviews platforms and keeps track of this kind of licensing thing. If you live there, this platform is a handy resource for finding a site you’ll know is playing by all the right rules.
Here’s Why That License Matters:
Other than promising to cough up those winnings, what other things are licenses good for? Some are obvious, and others are less so. Here’s some of the most important ones in a list for you:
Licensed casinos can’t rig their games unfairly to get more profits
In games like solitaire, the playing cards are dealt with randomly with help from random number generators.
In slots however, those same random number generators are deciding how often the game spits out a winning combination. Casinos get do decide how often a win happens, and can tip those scales in their favor if they want to. Licenses makes sure those scales aren’t tipped too steeply.
If you have a problem with a casino, that license makes it easier to solve
Now, the entire point of licenses to to make sure you probably won’t have an issue with how your chosen platform is paying out your winnings. But disputes and complaints still happen every once in a while. Because of that license, you have a clearer, more direct way to deal with that whole complaint process, and the law is on your side.
The sensitive info you hand over is kept safe
That online platform needs you to prove you’re old enough to legally gamble. This is fair, but in order to prove your age, at least in the UK, you have to give them personal info in the form of your ID card or something else.
What are they doing with that info once they have it? Licensed ones aren’t allowed legally to do anything other than keep it as safe and private as humanly possible.
It’s Way Better to Play at a Licensed Platform
Casinos that ignore the need for recognition from an authority like the AGCO exist, and are far easier to find than they probably should be. If you’re not paying attention, or actively choose one that’s missing it’s seal of approval, you’re risking your personal information getting leaked online. Plus, there’s a way higher chance the games you’re playing are unfairly rigged against you. Whether you’re in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom or anywhere else, it’s just not worth the risk. Even if the games seem to be better, or the payouts promise to be higher, you really shouldn’t want to gamble with more than your deposi
