While it's common to speak of the internet of the early twentieth century as a lawless Wild West, the landscape hasn't changed all that much in reality. Today scammers, hackers, con artists and cyber criminals are still creatively trying to earn a living outside of the law. At the same time, digital casinos and investment platforms see user numbers rise steadily, or even sometimes explosively. All this growth makes them valuable targets, ripe for exploitation if a scammer can bypass all the modern security features these platforms have put into place to stop them in their tracks.
But what exactly are these measures and how useful are they, really? What does it even mean to prioritize digital safety for platforms asking users to take calculated risks?
Minimum deposit casinos: where digital safety and fun must be in balance
When you really think about it closely, gambling isn't so different from investing at its core. A player puts some amount of money down and, just like in volatile market situations, this deposit could go up or down based on lots of things including random chance. Investors know well that a smaller investment is usually safer when volatility is high and the odds of increasing their initial investment are low. This is essentially the idea of very low-deposit casinos. They let you put down a much smaller amount in terms of a deposit, shortening returns but also risk.
Low-deposit casinos can vary from as little as 1$ (source: https://www.askgamblers.com/casino-bonuses/minimum-deposit) and they're incredibly popular, which means more players, and more security challenges. Because these casinos, and all casinos really, are no strangers to risk, they use a few different safety protocols to protect players as much as possible.
Protecting your information
Without getting in the way of the fun, here are just some of the protocols, methods and systems they make use of to safeguard the financial and personal info of you, the player, in a balanced way:
- Know Your Customer or KYC verification
- Encryption systems
- Practices that champion responsibility
Encryption
Perhaps the most meaningful of these systems is the encryption method. Without encryption, anyone would be able to see your delicate financial information while it's traveling to and from that minimum deposit site which has all your favorite fruity reeled games. Not all casinos offer state-of-the-art 128-bit SSL encryption protection, so it's on you to make sure you only spend your money at sites which say they protect your info with encryption. You'll know a site has encryption if you see a small padlock image at the top of your screen by the URL.
Responsible gambling resources and tools
Online casinos can't protect you from every cyber threat out there, so you also need to be handling yourself and your information as best you can. The tools on the site can help you figure out your personal limits, so you can enjoy a game but also have enough left in your bank account to do other things like travel. In the same way, you can stretch your travel budget, the responsible gambling tools help explain how to stretch and responsibly use a gambling budget.
KYC
KYC verification is a system that casinos of all varieties use all the time to make sure you really are who you say you are, and make sure you're not underage. It protects the site as much as it protects you, and helps make fraud and money laundering less easy to do for would-be criminals.
Investment Platforms use very similar tools and tactics
You have to transfer money into a stock investment platform in a very similar way to how you would for a casino. Because the risks involved when transferring money are essentially the same, the security measures these platforms use look and feel the same, for the most part. Some casinos and investment platforms use two-factor authentication to add extra security to already secure encrypted channels. This makes it much more difficult for anyone who isn't you to get into your account and steal or misuse your funds.
Regulators have your back and want you to be protected
Casinos and investment platforms are forced to play very strict rules to allow you to risk your money in a calculated, careful and sometimes fun way. Regulatory authorities won't hand out operating licenses to platforms unwilling or unable to put as many protective measures as possible in between your in-platform funds and cybercriminals. These authorities generally aren't the same, but what they're trying to achieve with their strict rules essentially are mirror images of one another.
Digital safety is your responsibility too
Strong passwords and a basic understanding that you shouldn't be going around telling people your login details are your end of the bargain. No site can protect you if you're not doing everything you can to also protect yourself. Encryption doesn't work as well if your details were leaked from a successful phishing attempt. Make sure you know what to look out for and be careful online, as there are people out there who want your gambling or investment account for themselves.