Getting reeled in by false advertising and inflated claims is nothing new. From used car salesmen to late-night TV hucksters, we’ve all seen or fallen victim to misleading commercials at one point or another.
Sadly this shady practice isn’t exclusive to the brick and mortar world—online businesses, including casinos and sportsbooks, are just as guilty of bending the truth. Fortunately, it’s easier to police these illicit acts online because everything an organization says can be fact-checked and compared to what others in its industry are claiming.
PayPal Casinos That Accept Pay by Phone Bill 2023To that end, we’re going to debunk five common ways internet casinos lure you in with false advertising so you’ll better understand how to spot these deceptive practices and avoid falling for them.
1. Misrepresenting Win Rates
One of the most insidious tactics casinos use to attract new depositors is outright lying about win rates.
If you’ve wandered through our casino guide, you likely know that house edge lets you know what the casino’s margin is on a particular game. The lower the house edge, the higher your chances of winning, and consequently, the game’s RTP (return to player) rating will be higher.
2023's Best PA Casino App - Update's Top Real Money AppsFor instance, let’s take blackjack, which has a typical house edge of 0.5%, meaning its RTP is 99.5%. This means for every $100 bet, the casino will rake in 50 cents, and the game will return 99.50 to players.
Casinos that want to make it seem like you’ll win money playing their games may claim that a certain slot has an RTP of 97%, but this doesn’t mean you’ll win 97% of the time, or even that you’ll profit 97% of the time you play it. Instead, this figure represents the amount of money the casino expects to give back to players over the life cycle of the machine.
We ran some numbers to help illustrate how misleading this marketing ploy can be.
While it’s true that you could lose $3 when playing a slot with a 97% RTP, the chances of that happening are far less likely than with a game that has a 75% RTP. In the first example, there’s a 28.8% chance you’ll loss 5 bucks, but with the second machine, there’s a 40.6% probability that you’ll lose that much.
This falsely inflated RTP will probably only apply to a few select games, too. Most of the titles on the site will have accurate house edges aligned with payouts that reflect low RTPs.
casino online no downloadRelated: Check out our guide on to get a feel for where to play.
How Casino Advertise “Guaranteed” Wins
Some casinos go further than just outright lying about RTPs and actually guarantee wins. Of course, these promotions come with so many strings attached that they render the “guarantee” moot. Common stipulations include:
- There’s a minimum deposit/bet. To qualify for the free prize, you might have to bet 100x your initial deposit amount. For example, if you deposit $20, you’ll have to wager $2,000 before you can receive your “guaranteed” $10 bonus.
- Games contributions vary wildly. In order to fulfill the requirement for a guaranteed bonus, you might only be able to wager on certain games, and their contributions toward fulfilment might differ widely. It wouldn’t be unheard of for slots to contribute 100% while keno contributes 20%, but roulette only kicks in 2%.
- Bonuses come with steep rollovers. Even after you fulfill the primary requirement, you’ll probably have to rollover your bonus several times before it becomes genuine, spendable cash.
- Expiration dates are stiff. Bonuses routinely expire within a week or two, which makes it extremely difficult to complete the rollover in time.
In short, when you see a site promising “guaranteed” wins, look for the hidden costs built into the deal, because they’re almost always there.
2. Falsely Claiming to Be Licensed in Multiple Jurisdictions
Online casinos must obtain licenses from various regulatory agencies to operate legally within specific jurisdictions. These permits ensure that the venues adhere to strict standards designed to protect players and provide an honest, level playing field.
Macau Slots with the Highest RTP - 7MacaoWe talked about this more in our , but licensing seal placements should link to the regulating body so you can verify legitimacy.
Deceptive casinos may display these seals to give patrons the impression that they’re licensed throughout Europe or wherever, but when you click on the seals, you’re taken to obvious fakes of the regulators’ logos pasted on a plain white page. In truth, these sites may only hold a license for a small number of specific games run by the regulatory agency itself—not for the thousands of games found on the casino site.
Simple Tips On How To Win At Online CasinosTop-rated Internet casinos clearly identify which games are operated by the regulatory agency and limit their wagers to the amount needed to participate in the authorized games. Every other game on the site will bear the logo of a reputable regulatory organization such as the Malta Gaming Authority, UK Gambling Commission, or Curacao Gaming Control Board. When you click on any of these logos, you’ll be taken to an official page that verifies the relationship between the casino and regulatory agency.
3. Falsely Attributing Games to Notable Brands
Another way that Internet casinos attempt to separate you from your hard-earned money is by touting that that their slot selection includes games licensed from well-known companies such as Blockbuster, Disney, Fox, and Universal. They hope that fans of popular movies and television shows will be drawn in by the prospect of playing themed slots and ignore the many red flags indicating that the site is untrustworthy.
Slots with High Payouts (That Aren't the Progressive Ones) - Indivisible GamingFor instance, I recently came across a casino offering a slot called Fast & Furious Zoom. Knowing that this was one of my husband’s favorite movie franchises, I mentioned the game to him. Excitedly, he headed to the site to give it a try. Before he deposited any money, he searched the game’s title to learn more about it. His research led him to realize that while there is a Fast & Furious slot created by Escarpment Studios, it’s not the one offered by the questionable casino. The art, features, and layout were entirely different.
Best Live Dealer Casino Games You Should Try OnlineFurthermore, Escarpment Studios wasn’t listed among the suite of ten provider logos featured prominently on the casino’s aforementioned “Licensed Partner of Major Entertainment Companies.” Upon closer inspection, my husband recognized one of the logos as belonging to a company long defunct. A Google search confirmed that this provider had ceased operations nearly a decade ago—yet the suspect casino continued to feature their logo.
When my husband clicked on any of the logos, a pop-up window appeared, featuring a single game that looked nothing like any of the software providers’ actual titles. We can only assume that this was a random selection produced by the casino itself to give the appearance of legitimacy.
20+ Best Casino Games to Play at Online Casinos in 2023Fast & Furious slot from Escarpment Studios.
Related: Our guide to the details what goes into making one.
Legitimate casinos proudly display the logos of the software providers powering their gaming platforms. When you click on these logos, you’ll be directed to a page listing all of the games provided by that source. Moreover, these games will look exactly like the ones you’ll find on the provider’s official website.
4. Making Bogus Claims About Endorsements
Just as some casinos misleadingly display logos of well-known movie producers, others falsely claim endorsements from major media sources, professional sports teams and leagues, and even beauty queens.
States Where Online Casinos Are Legal in 2023For instance, one site we encountered boasted that it was “Officially Licensed African Partnerships” included the African Nation Council Logo, the Union of African Nations Emblem, and the Nigeria National Football Team Emblem. Additionally, it claimed endorsements from CNN, Forbes Magazine, and Oprah Winfrey.
The casino also asserted that 2% of all deposits went to charities such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Unicef, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Needless to say, none of this could be true. Governmental organizations and prominent citizens do not endorse gambling enterprises, and legitimate businesses does not donate money to charity based on customer actions.
Double-checking logos revealed that they were either fake or pasted on a blank page when clicked. My further research showed that the sites purportedly comprising “African Nation Counsel” belonged to third-party entities and had no affiliation with any national government.
Gambling Movies to Watch While Self-Excluding from CasinosYou may encounter sites that claim to be the “Official Casino” of well-known companies. For instance, one casino we investigated asserted that it held an exclusive contract with World Duty Free Company—the largest airport retailer in the world. Its homepage featured the logos of numerous high-end brands, implying that it had similar agreements with them.
In truth, airports may have World Duty Free stores, but each airport is free to choose its own suppliers. Just because Southwest Airlines offers Peanuts on their flights doesn’t mean they own the intellectual property behind Snoopy and the gang. There’s a huge difference between being an airport vendor and having trademark rights to someone’s likeness.
Again, a simple mouse click will reveal fraudulent endorsements. If you’ve ever tried to click on the Coca-Cola logo while it’s on the screen, you know it will take you to their website … not some irrelevant webpage created by a random third party.
Best Live Dealer Craps Casinos Online (2023)5. Posting Fabricated Reviews from Mainstream Media Outlets
It’s becoming more and more common for dubious casinos to post supposed reviews from mainstream media outlets to give the illusion that their site has been favorably received.
For example, you might come across a casino quote a seemingly prestigious publication as saying, “[Their] casino stands alone as the leader of the pack,” without attributing the comment to a specific author or providing a link to the review. A quick search using the exact quotation and the name of the alleged publisher will show whether such a glowing assessment appears anywhere on their site. If it doesn’t, you’re looking at a fake.
🏆 Top High RTP Casinos Online (with High Payout Games) 2023 💳Even positive reviews that are properly attributed should be taken with a grain of salt. Rogue operators often hire writers to pose as casino patrons and submit complimentary reports. If you investigate the biographies of the supposed authors, you may discover that they've only submitted reviews for this one site and have no other online presence.
You can read more about avoiding in our detailed guide.
Avoiding Deceptive Online Casinos
Common sense tells us that a business unable to make an honest living deserves to fail. However, it’s unfortunate that until that happens, you and I are the ones who get fleeced in the interim. By understanding the tactics deceptive casinos employ, you can do your part to deny these nefarious sites traffic and thus hasten their demise. Furthermore, you’ll save yourself untold frustration and probably some money in the process.
Ultimately the best way to combat this problem is to stick to the . Doing your research before signing up will save you lots of headaches down the road.
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