Online gambling is illegal in the state of Maharashtra under the 'Bombay Wager Act'. Other acts/legislations are silent with respect to online gambling/online gaming in India. The most recent law to address gambling online was the Federal Information Technology Rules where such illegal activities may be blocked by Internet providers within India. However, the US Department of Justice disagreed, claiming all online gambling is illegal in the US, and that advertising online gambling is akin to aiding and abetting a crime. In 2004, search engines Google and Yahoo! Pulled all online gambling advertising. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. May 01, 2008 The major poker sites are just as trustworthy as most traditional businesses, if not more so. After all, their only real asset is their reputation. Just use common sense, and protect your online poker password like you would a password for online banking, etc. And you'll be fine. Good luck at the tables! Online casino gambling is generally safe, but expect some malpractices from these companies. Although they are regulated, their selling techniques and marketing techniques are sometimes very cheeky, and they will hold your funds for as long as they can.

Imagine you’re a customer at one of the largest poker sites online…

You log into your account to check your balance.

You see that you have $2,576. You smile, because you remember that $1,500 of that came from a nice score in the Double Deuce you played last Sunday.

You figure you’re running good. You’re playing good. So, why not try to score again the following Sunday? Your poker room always runs a heavy tournament schedule then. But, you don’t want to put up all the cash. Some of these tournaments are expensive.

So, you make the decision then – on Thursday, April 14^th, 2011 – to play some satellites the next day (and Saturday, if needed) to see if you can win your way into the more expensive tourneys.

You go to bed early. You want to be fresh for the next day.

You wake up that Friday morning. You press the power button on your laptop. While your PC is booting up you grab a cup of coffee.

Then you click-click on the poker room’s shortcut on your desktop …and what you see next sends shivers up your spine.

You open the 2+2 and PartTimePoker forums, frantic to find out what the heck is going on.

Because you just came to find out that the US government – specifically, the Department of Justice – indicted the largest poker sites on the planet of multiple felony charges.

The bad news is you can’t play online poker. And you have no idea when or if that will change.

But, the good news is you were playing at one of the largest poker sites online. And their biggest competitor is shipping out bankrolls to all their American customers as fast as the requests are coming in.

You breathe a sigh of relief. You put your request in and expect to see it processed and shipped out quickly.

But …payments are taking a while.

No worries, you tell yourself. They have lots of cash out requests to deal with. Yours will come soon. And representatives are reassuring players on 2+2 and PTP that their payments will be shipped out ASAP.

This goes on for a couple months. You’re getting more worried by the day.

Then another bombshell drops.

On June 29^th, 2011, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission suspended Full Tilt Poker’s license. Full Tilt is accused of running a pyramid scheme …and for not having the money to pay players back.

Your $2,576 balance – your entire poker bankroll – is sitting in your Full Tilt Poker account.

An Extreme Example to Prove the Importance of Online Gambling Safety

What happened on April 15^th, 2011 – the day the poker community calls ‘Black Friday’ – is an extreme example of why online gambling safety is important.

Why you need to research and join only the best sites.
Why you need to know the shenanigans rogue operators pull so that you can spot them in advance …before they steal from you.
Why you need to practice common sense and basic internet safety.
Why it’s important to play at licensed and regulated sites over offshore sites if/when possible. And when it’s not, why it’s important to diversify your bankroll.

In short – it’s important to educate yourself.

Honestly, Full Tilt Poker is an extreme example. An exception to the rule, really. It wasn’t player’s fault – not entirely.

Players were blindsided by their own kind. By other poker players pretending to be businessmen.

And instead of being bitter, we need to focus on getting better. Getting better at spotting rogue gambling operators before they take our money.

The question is – how do we do that?

An Hour of Research Goes a Long Ways

Much of your safety – or lack thereof – comes down to the work you put in before you join an online gambling site.

We recommend you commit to doing an hour or two of research when coming up with your shortlist of online gambling sites you think you want to join.

Most casinos, poker sites, etc. have similar games, bonuses and banking options. Some are bigger or better than others, sure, but not so much that that’s where your focus should be. Not in the beginning.

Besides, scam sites render these things pointless. If they rip you off, what good did that fancy deposit bonus do you? Or that banking option with cheaper fees?

No, you should always focus on safety first.

But what do you research? What should you look for?

This is what we recommend looking for:

Age – How long have they been in business? Older sites aren’t trustworthy because of their age alone. It’s also that there’s more history, more information – good or bad – available.
Reputation – How do other players feel about them? Do they like them? Do they feel like the site has their best interest in mind?
Banking – Are they paying players? How fast? Have they missed payments? Are checks bouncing?
Games – Have their games been tested for fairness?
Promotions – Are they offering fair bonuses …and only to people who want them? Are their rollover requirements reasonable?
Privacy – Do they say how they’re going to use your information? Are they the only ones who’re going to use it, or will they sell it so others can market – aka harass – you?
Licensing – Do they have a license? Who gave it to them? Can you trust them?
Jurisdiction – Who is overseeing this gambling operator? What commission? And do they take their job seriously? Some do and some don’t. Read our page on gambling jurisdictions to learn more.

A good way to think of this is as if you’re interviewing someone for a job – or better yet – someone to watch over your kids. What would you look for? Who would you trust?

It’s okay to be skeptical during the research process. You should be. This isn’t a time to look for the good stuff. This is the time to find every little bad thing you can.

Where to Find This Information

You know what to look for, but where the heck do you go to find it? Here are some suggestions to get you started:

Reviews – Read site reviews (like the ones we have on our site). They cover all the information you’re looking for on the site’s history, games, reputation, support, and so on. But because review sites are biased (they get paid to refer new customers), you might need to do some additional digging to uncover details about a site’s past, licensing, scams, complaints, etc.

Forums – This is a great way to find out what’s going on because it removes most of the bias you’d otherwise get from website owners. Most of the people posting in forums have no skin in the game – they’re not influenced by money or any other incentive. Their opinions are honest – though you may want to ignore the random ‘this casino is rigged’ posts.

Two forums you can start with include Casino Meister and Latest Casino Bonuses. You can also Google whatever it is you’re looking for – casino, sports, poker, bingo, etc. – plus forum and you’ll get plenty of results.

For example, casino forum, sports betting forum, poker forum, etc.

Terms/Conditions – Read the casino’s terms and conditions. You might need to read a few to get an idea of what’s normal, what’s not and what’s highway robbery. You can also get an idea from reading site reviews.

What you want to look for are how bonuses are handled; when they process payments; what might stop you from getting your payment; how they handle problems – and so on.

We also recommend getting a screen shot of the terms and conditions of whatever casino you ultimately decide to join in case they try to screw you over later. More on this in

Is Online Gambling Safe Yahoo