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It is virtually impossible to stay anonymous when you are online – that is the reality of the times we live in. There are dozens of different ways in which governments, your ISPs, and other tech wizards can keep track of you everything you do online.
So what is the deal with this new breed of casinos that call themselves “anonymous casinos”? Are they for real, or is it a misleading title used to make fools of gullible gamblers? If you have ever tried online real money gambling, or have an active interest in this pastime, you deserve to know the answer to these questions.
The difference between a regular online casino and an anonymous casino
Right off the bat, when we mention “regular online casino” we mean a legit, licensed operation that runs in full compliance with all local and international laws related to online gambling.
These websites usually require a registration process before players are allowed to wager real cash bets on site. During a typical registration process, you are required to provide the following vital information about yourself:
● Personal info like name, age, gender
● Contact details like address, phone number, country of origin
● Banking details like credit card data
The casinos are required to keep this information as online gambling can be misused for illegal activities like money laundering. So the law has a serious problem with allowing folks to play anonymously.
In contrast, an anonymous casino usually limits the amount of information it asks of a player. Some don’t even ask any information and do away with the registration process altogether. These are called “no registration casinos.” The legal status of these casinos tends to be quite murky, as most established casino licensing authorities do not support this system.
Others limit the registration requirements to just your name and contact email address. The banking options available at both are usually bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies since they offer maximum privacy and anonymity.
Then there are casinos that require registration but offer relatively anonymous payment options. Along with bitcoins, electronic wallets like Zimpler and Skrill have anonymous payment features. These work by acting as a link between your bank/credit cards and the casino. This allows you to make payments to a casino without revealing your bank account or credit card details.
The same principle is used by online prepaid cards like Paysafecard and Neosurf. You can buy these for cash and then use them to recharge your casino balance online. Yet another anonymous payment service growing in popularity in Europe is Trustly.
Why the need for anonymous online gambling is so strong?
There are numerous reasons why players yearn for maximum anonymity while playing at online casinos.
Even though gambling is an activity enjoyed by billions of people around the world, there is still a considerable social stigma associated with it. Many players would rather hide their pastime from spouses and other family members, and that is an understandable choice.
Full online anonymity is not required to make this happen. Your online activities can be hidden from others using services like a VPN and clearing browser data from your devices. What is necessary are anonymous payment options that keep the gambling payments out of your credit card bills and bank transactions.
This is also a safe tactic if you want to keep your credit score high for any loan/mortgage applications. Irresponsible gambling can lead to bad credit and those unpaid bills could dissuade lenders from accepting your requests.
Many other players are simply concerned about the level of security available at online casino websites. The best of the lot use state of the art 128-bit SSL encryptions and firewalls to keep out cybercriminals.
But online defenses are not invincible and if a casino gets a data breach, your personal contact details and financial information could end up in the hands of cybercriminals. For these privacy conscious players, online anonymous casinos are the only recourse.
Then there are casual players who like trying out new casinos all the time. They just hate the tedium of having to go through the sign-up process over and over again, leaving their information at many online casinos. This group of players will also benefit from anonymous casinos.
Finding the ideal casino that fits the bill for all these groups of players can be a tough ask.
Is there are future for anonymous casinos?
In business (and in life in general) services will only survive and prosper if there is a genuine demand for it among the consumers. The prohibition was killed by the incredible demand for alcohol among the people.
The same is also true for sports gambling which is coming back in a big way in the US in 2019. Given the strong clamor for online anonymous gambling among players, it is not farfetched to see a future where online anonymous casinos become commonplace, if not the standard.
But as far as laws and licenses are concerned, fully anonymous casinos may be a bit of a non-starter. These full crypto casinos may continue to occupy the fringes, purely because all governments hate providing full privacy to citizens. This is especially true for online casinos, given the potential for misuse of anonymity for criminal activities like money laundering and tax evasion.
As we already explained, full anonymity is quite impractical and not really necessary for most online gamblers. What is more important is the need to anonymize the banking and financial aspect of online casinos. This is the reason why most legit online casinos provide prepaid cards and e-wallets as payment options these days.
The key takeaway for players seeking anonymous casinos
Full anonymity is not really feasible online and comes at a price. Most no-registration anonymous casinos lack a gambling license. Playing at these places is often the ultimate gamble as they offer no player protection or dispute redressal mechanisms.
You might find a legit casino that deals fairly with its players, but the opposite might also happen. Licensed casinos that offer anonymous payment processes offer the best of both worlds and might be the ideal solution for most players. And yes, these casinos do have a bright future ahead of them.
