5 Online Casino Safety Tips for South Africans

The South African online casino industry is one of the fastest growing industries around and with more and more people signing up to play every day, it is not surprising that the level of cyber-crime has risen too. Though a bill was recently passed in government, declaring that cyber criminals would be fully prosecuted and punishment, we know that as a South African, you have to be a little overly cautious with how you use your money online. This is true not only of shopping on your favourite gadget site, but also of playing at your favourite online casino accepting rand (ZAR). So how do you choose a casino that can protect your online safety? Follow these five tips for online casino safety, and you should be able to keep criminals at bay.

Remember that though this list is a guide to help you choose a South African online casino to play at, you can always refer to our list of top casinos, which we’ve tested for safety on your behalf, and get a no deposit bonus so that you can try them out yourself.

1. Licensing – if you haven’t had much experience playing at online casinos, you may not have been aware that most online casinos are actually licensed outside of South Africa. Some of the common licensing countries include the Netherlands Antilles, Curacao, Antigua, Isle of Man, Kahnawake and more. Generally, as a rule of thumb, have a look to see in which country a casino is licensed. If you have never heard of the country, or it is an Eastern European country such as Russia, that may not be a legal online casino.

2. Software – playing online, you’re going to hear a lot about certain games developers including Playtech, Real Time Gaming, Microgaming and Net Ent. Though these developers are not overly stringent about who uses their software, for the most part, they don’t license their games to untrustworthy casinos. If the casino uses software you’ve never heard of, it may be best to stay away.

3. Transparency – one of the things that really great casinos do is stay transparent. This means that they are honest with players about the company that owns them and how they do business. If a casino refuses to share that kind of information, and the only way to contact it is using an online form, it may be better to stay away.

4. Payment methods – great casinos try to accommodate their players as best they can, and they understand that though everyone wants to play at an online casino accepting rand (ZAR), they don’t necessarily want to pay the same way. If the casino you want to play at only allows for debit and credit card transactions, or asks for your banking details with no other way to pay, it may be best to keep your financial info to yourself.

5. Security software – fighting cyber crime is easier when you’ve got technology on your side and every good online casino should know this. Online casino safety for patrons has to begin with THAWTE software, which is the most commonly used for online financial transactions. A quick glance at a casino’s security page should give you all the information you need about the type of online anti-crime software it uses.