How Secure are Online Casinos?

I must admit that when I first started gambling online, my biggest fear was the fact that I was exposing my private and financial details over the internet.  A few years down the line, however, with purchasing things over the internet through sites such as Amazon and ebay becoming second nature, I am much more confident about paying for my gambling entertainment online. A lot of that confidence comes from the fact that good online casinos take very real steps to ensure that their players’ financial details are kept safe and secure at all times. In addition, I’ve learned to identify those sites who go the extra mile to make sure that I’m playing in a safe gambling environment.

The most important tool used by online casinos to keep your information safe is the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) data encryption protocols.  In layman’s terms, this means that all data sent to the online casino regarding financial data or private details is garbled up and can only be read by the online casino when the code is cracked.  SSL encryption is a great way to keep hackers at bay  as even those who manage to intercept messages sent to or from the online casino won’t be able to understand it anyway!   Most online casinos today use 256 bit SSL encryption, which has proven to be very effective against fraudsters.

Another system used by online casinos to protect their members is the use of firewalls. In a nutshell, firewalls keep unauthorized users out of the site, which means that only top management of the site is allowed to access certain areas, ie. those where the financial data is stored.  This kind of technology is usually installed by premier security companies such as VeriSign or Thawte, and I usually look out for online casinos that carry these companies’ logos on their sites to ensure that extra layer of protection.

Of course, there are also the usual, but by no means less important, measures taken by online casinos to ensure that not just anybody can access the site.  When you sign up, you choose a user name and password, which protects your account and info.  With all these protective systems, I can honestly say that online gambling is one of the safest forms of internet entertainment available out there.