Currently, Nigeria has a fast-growing population, its country-wide communication infrastructure is improving year by year, and it has an ever-growing young population. With young tech-savvy citizens connecting to the internet, online casinos are attracting the masses. On top of this, with the ease of signing up to online casinos as well as most casino establishments accepting players from Nigeria, there is a boom in online gambling. However, with good often comes bad and ugly.

For online casinos, the bad are casinos that offer unfair terms and conditions and the ugly are those operating without an iGaming licence. Right now, the latter issue is the cause for the most concern.

Below you will find an overview of how to safeguard yourself from unlicensed (rouge casinos). As a side note, there is also advice on how to avoid being conned by attractive bonus deals that offer close to zero chance of converting your bonus into real money.

The Primary Concerns of Nigerians Playing at Unlicensed Casinos

Playing at an online casino without a reputable iGaming licence is a concern for any country and/or player. The reason is simply that casinos operating unchecked or with ‘free will’ so to speak do not have to operate under a framework that keeps them in check. 

Here are the key issues you can avoid if you play at licenced online casinos:

• T&Cs the casino has no incentive to honour
• Cancelling big wins for no reason
• Delaying or refusing withdrawals
• No customer support response
• Closing your casino account without reason

Play at Online Casinos with an International iGaming Licence

The best way to avoid rogue casino platforms is to make a personal rule to play at casinos with a licence and with positive casino ratings. 

Thankfully there are numerous iGaming licensing authorities. As long as you understand the type of licence to look for, you will have no problem avoiding rouge casino platforms. And to help you find a reputable casino with an iGaming licence, there are a wealth of iGaming portals with casino reviews outlining the licence available. For instance, Playcasino.com portal has an excellent reputation for producing detailed casino reviews with casino ratings, as well as a section covering the iGaming licensing framework the casino operates under.

When you are searching for a licenced gambling establishment by reading these reviews, check which licensing authority covers your jurisdiction. For example, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) licence is the best for players in Nigeria, and it offers player protection, and legal mediation service and forces casinos to update T&Cs. Also, there is the Curacao iGaming licence. 

If you go directly to a casino website, check the footer and/or the terms and conditions for licensing info. To validate the licence, click the licensing authority’s logo usually found in the footer of the casino.  This should take you to an official page on the regulator’s website.

Check the Bonus Terms & Conditions

Some online casinos are licenced, which means the games are fair and trustworthy. However, you also need to note that these casinos are run by individual operators. For those that like to limit their risk exposure by using bonuses, you could get caught out with the bonus terms.

There are no specific laws under any of the reputable iGaming regulatory authorities in regard to the bonus terms and conditions a casino places on their bonus offers. In short, it is up to the casino’s marketing team. That being said, casinos must still ensure they do provide terms and conditions, which you should study before you claim a casino bonus, and here’s why. 

Some online casinos will offer a high bonus deposit match with hundreds of free spins that look attractive. However, when the wagering requirements are 100x your ‘deposit’ or worst still 100x your ‘deposit + bonus’, there is little point in claiming the offer, and almost no chance of converting your bonus into real money, which this challenge is the whole point of claiming a bonus. 

For the most part, the large majority of licenced online casinos offer fair bonus terms. Yet also understand that some casinos, either knowingly or unknowingly, do come with bonus rules that make it virtually impossible to play through your bonus balance and convert it to real money.

Give yourself the best iGaming experience by being prepared

By understanding which iGaming licence authority has player protection as one of the cores of its framework, you can protect yourself from the most commonly reported ‘bad experiences’ Nigerian players report with online casinos. On top of this, if you are interested in bonuses, then finding a guide that will walk you through how to understand bonus T&C, you’ll always ensure you have the best chance of enjoying bonus deals offered by the casino.