What Does a Casino Integrity Code Mean?
Conflicts arise constantly in the gambling industry. Many players are convinced that casinos have treated them dishonestly, and gambling industry representatives often believe that customers are breaking the rules or trying to cheat them.
In most cases, one of the parties is guilty. Still, often, it is a banal misunderstanding, inability to find a common language, or stubbornness that does not allow finding a compromise.
One of Casinoz's key goals is to help create the most favorable atmosphere in the gambling industry.
We strive to ensure that:
- Gambling operators work honestly and as openly as possible.
- Gamblers understand how important it is to carefully study the casino's rules and adhere to all points of the user agreement.
- Players and casino representatives strive to reach a consensus in controversial situations.
We understand that conflicting parties do not always make the best decisions; therefore, we are ready to act as independent mediators. When considering disputes between clients and online casinos, we try to consider all the arguments as objectively as possible, reach a fair verdict, and justify it in an accessible form.
Since we act as mediators in this case, we must ensure that our decisions are logical and transparent. We think that a set of requirements we have established for online casino operators and customers will help us achieve this. We have called it the Code of Integrity and Professional Ethics.
Players and casino owners have different functions in online gambling, so the requirements for them are also different, which is why the code is divided into two parts:
- Casino Customer Integrity Code,
- Gambling Operator Integrity Code.
In these sections, we have established our vision of how both sides should behave and published our wishes and advice.
Casino Customer Integrity Code
In the gambling industry, not only the owners of casinos, poker rooms, bookmakers, bingo halls, and other gambling establishments are obliged to behave with integrity. Customers must also fulfill certain operator requirements and follow general guidelines.
The famous expression "ignorance of the law does not exempt from responsibility" applies to online gambling. It sometimes matters whether a player knowingly or unknowingly breaks the rules. Still, such actions can result in punishment, which can be quite deplorable, up to blocking the account and withdrawing money from it.
The following code of player integrity provides guidelines for visiting any gambling site. It will help minimize the likelihood of problems with the administration of an online casino or other establishment.
In the most trustworthy casinos, many rules cannot be broken unintentionally, as the overall security system will not allow it. For example, you can't open an account from a banned country or request a withdrawal when this is not allowed.
However, not all operators have implemented such measures. Thus, players should carefully read the user agreement, bonus program rules, and other information pages on the club's official website.
How Should an Honest Gambler Behave?
The following are the principles of honest behavior of a gambling establishment client.
- Personal Information: All personal information you provide in your registration form or player profile must be true and accurate. This applies to addresses, names, contacts, and more. The information must match the ones on your documents.
- Accounts: It is forbidden to register with the same casino more than once. Creating multiple accounts is a very serious violation of the rules.
Age of the player: Find out the minimum acceptable age for customers of the casino you are interested in. It is usually about eighteen years old, but sometimes institutions accept players from twenty-one years old. If you have not reached this age, opening an account at an online casino is unnecessary. - Excluded Countries: Almost all online casinos do not cater to residents of certain states. Do not try to circumvent these prohibitions.
- Deposits: When a player makes a deposit, he should include his name in all payment documents. This will avoid possible confusion and suspicion.
- Software Glitches: Online casino software glitches should not be taken advantage of. You should not think that it is only the operator's problem. If the administration decides you have deliberately capitalized on software bugs, trouble awaits you.
- User Agreement: Read the terms and conditions carefully, even before registering at an online casino. Re-read the agreement from time to time. This is especially important if you have been notified that the rules have changed.
- Bonuses and Promotions: Participating in a bonus program requires scrupulousness and responsibility on the part of the player. Thoroughly study the rules of all promotions that interest you. Do not hesitate to ask support representatives about all conditions. Take into account all the nuances.
- Casino Games: Some providers' slots cannot be opened in many countries. Check the lists of models and jurisdictions.
- Casino Player Programs: Online casinos prohibit using any software that interferes with gambling. Do not try to hack slot machines or random number generators using such methods. However, this does not mean you can not take educational programs, utilities for keeping statistics, or software for problem gamblers. But it's better to check with the support representatives if it won't be a violation of the rules.
- Betting Systems: Although all sorts of betting systems do not affect the casino's theoretical return and mathematical superiority over the player, many sites prohibit playing with such algorithms. Be prepared for this.
- Communicating with Support: When contacting support representatives, be honest and polite. Do not try to mislead them, be rude, or threaten them.
- Casino Reviews: Be objective When discussing your experience playing casino games on Casinoz, our forum or third-party resources. Remember that your loss is not enough reason to accuse the institution of fraud.
- Casino Complaints: Before complaining about a casino to the gambling regulator or intermediary organizations, try to solve the problem through communication with the support team. If you do have to make a complaint, be honest and objective. Do not write untruths. Do not misrepresent the facts.
Summarizing the above, we can give a universal advice:
Stay a decent person in any situation.
If you stick to this advice, you are unlikely to violate the casino player's code of integrity.
Gambling Operator Integrity Code
Casino owners and management have even higher requirements. They provide services and act as professionals. Accordingly, they should take care to keep disputes as low as possible.
If such conflicts arise, representatives of gambling establishments should try to settle them as peacefully as possible.
How should honest casinos behave?
Fair play guidelines for online casino operators are discussed below.
- Casino Rules Statement: The user agreement of a decent online casino should be stated in clear language. There should be no ambiguous provisions, pitfalls, or "fine print clauses." It is unacceptable to mislead customers deliberately. Accidental errors or contradictions in the rules are also not acceptable.
- List of Excluded Territories: Almost all casinos refuse to serve residents of some countries for one reason or another. This is a standard practice, and how the casino regulates this issue is crucial. A decent online casino does not allow residents of such states to register and make deposits. A dishonest one will enable them to open and deposit but refuse to accrue payments if the client wins. An honest operator should verify a player's whereabouts before depositing money.
- Checking New Customers: When signing up at a casino, players should check to see if they meet the establishment's customer requirements and have not previously opened an account with the site. The best online casinos perform the verification themselves right away, helping to avoid possible misunderstandings.
- Advertising: All online casino or newsletter advertising should be honest. No statement should mislead users. For example, it is unacceptable to name five separate 100% deposit bonuses as a 500% bonus.
- Limits on Winnings: It is not uncommon for online casinos to have artificial limits on maximum winnings. So, if a client, playing at the maximum bet on a slot, collects the highest combination, he is not awarded the full payout but the maximum allowed. For example, he should get 75,000, and the casino has a limit of 50,000 for one round. Total limits for the specified period are also possible. For example, no more than 100,000 per day. Sometimes, these are the requirements of the gambling regulator, but more often, it is the operators' initiative. According to Casinoz, a casino should not accept bets for which it cannot provide full payouts.
- Jackpot Payouts: If progressive jackpots are accumulated and paid out by the game provider, the casino operator should not delay paying out winnings, split the payouts into installments, or charge any part of the jackpot. His task is to act as an intermediary, creating comfortable conditions for the client. Again, it is worth considering the requirements of the legislation and the gambling regulator.
- Denial of bonuses: We find it unacceptable that an online casino accepts players from a certain country but prohibits them from participating in the bonus program. All customers of the establishment should have access to all services. If, for some reason, residents of certain states are still not eligible to receive bonuses, they should not be able to apply for the promotion. Otherwise, errors and misunderstandings are not uncommon.
- Wagering bonuses; The terms of bonus accrual and wagering should be clearly stated. In addition, the establishment should take care that the client does not violate the rules by mistake. For example, when he wagering a bonus, he should not have the opportunity to overbet or make it in a prohibited game. This option should be regulated automatically at the software level.
- Fighting Bonus Hunters: Casinos can oppose people who violate the establishment's rules to receive bonuses illegally. For example, if a person creates multiple accounts for the sake of no-deposit bonuses for registration, he should be penalized. All possible violations of the provisions of the bonus program should be clearly described on the official website of the online casino. If the institution is looking for far-fetched reasons to prevent the client from cashing out the bonus, this manifests as foul play.
- Withdrawal Limits: An ideal casino should have no such restrictions. The client should be able to withdraw any amount he managed to win. However, most establishments have such limits. This practice should not be considered a violation of the code of fair play if all the provisions of the financial policy of the online casino are explained in detail in the rules and fully implemented in practice.
- Maintenance of Inactive Accounts: Casino player accounts are not the same as bank accounts. The establishments bear the cost of maintaining them. Accordingly, if a customer does not play for a long time, the administration can charge money for account maintenance. However, decent online casinos should approach this reasonably: wait at least six months (a year is better) and charge a moderate fee.
- Attitude towards Betting Systems: Many online casinos prohibit customers from following betting systems, the most prominent example of which is the Martingale betting system. This is not fair. First, the client has every right to change the amount at stake at his discretion but not exceed the established limits. Second, such algorithms do not affect the RTP. In this case, we are not talking about wagering bonuses when players can actually use certain systems to more successfully "launder" bonus credits.
- Responsible Gambling Program: A trustworthy casino should help customers fight against tinkering. Users should be able to have their accounts suspended and blocked permanently. At the same time, the establishment should not go out of its way to help the player. If his account is blocked, it should remain so until the end. Other ways to combat ludomania—all kinds of limits, reminders, tips, tests, contacts of specialists, and so on—are also welcome.
- Treating Rule Breakers: If a client breaks the rules, the establishment can punish him. However, this can be done in different ways. Online casinos that care about the players first must determine whether the violation was conscious. Often users simply make a mistake. If punishment is unavoidable, a fair online casino will inform the customer in detail about all the circumstances and possibly suggest ways to solve the problem.
- Openness and transparency: A fair online casino does not hide copies of documents, the operator's legal address, other contacts, game return rates and other important information from players. This helps to build trust with customers.
Casinoz hopes that customers and casino operators will adhere to the principles of fair gambling.
Let's work together to improve the gambling industry in every way.
The Code of Fair Play is also subject to additions and changes. Please watch the updates and feel free to express your wishes.
Lastly, we recommend our readers a few online casinos that adhere to the code.
