Licensing and Regulation

First and foremost, a legitimate online casino must hold a valid license from a reputable regulatory authority. This license is a seal of approval, indicating that the casino adheres to strict standards of player protection, fairness, and anti-money laundering practices. Look for casinos regulated by authorities like the Malta Gaming Authority or the UK Gambling Commission. Typically, this information is prominently displayed on the casino’s website footer.

Security Measures

In an era where digital security is paramount, ensuring that your chosen online casino employs state-of-the-art security measures is crucial. SSL encryption is a must-have, safeguarding your personal and financial data from prying eyes. Verify the casino’s commitment to data protection and the security protocols in place by checking its privacy policy and security information.

Fair Play and Game Integrity

The cornerstone of any reputable online casino is its commitment to fair play. Random Number Generators (RNG) should dictate the outcomes of the games, ensuring every spin, card dealt, or dice thrown is purely random. Independent third-party audits by organizations like eCOGRA or iTech Labs provide an additional layer of trust, certifying that the games are fair and outcomes are not manipulated.

Reputation and User Reviews

A casino’s reputation among its users can be a telling indicator of its reliability and trustworthiness. Delve into online forums, review sites, and gambling news platforms to gauge the experiences of other players. Be wary of casinos with a prevalence of negative reviews, especially those mentioning unresolved disputes, withheld winnings, or unfair practices.

Payment Methods and Financial Transparency

A trustworthy online casino should offer a wide array of secure payment options, including credit cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies, ensuring convenience and security in transactions. Clear information regarding withdrawal processes, transaction fees, and payout times is a sign of financial transparency. Casinos that obscure this information or have a history of delayed payments should raise red flags.

Customer Support and Service

Exceptional customer service is a hallmark of a reputable online casino. A reliable platform should offer multiple channels of support, such as live chat, email, and phone, ensuring help is readily available when you need it. Test the responsiveness and helpfulness of the customer support team as part of your evaluation process.

Bonuses and Promotions

While attractive bonuses and promotions can enhance your gaming experience, it’s essential to read the fine print. Understand the wagering requirements and terms associated with bonuses to ensure they’re fair and achievable. A trustworthy casino will be transparent about its bonus policies, using them as incentives rather than traps.

Responsible Gaming Practices

Lastly, a commitment to responsible gaming is a significant indicator of a casino’s integrity. Look for features like self-exclusion, session limits, and links to gambling help resources. Casinos that prioritize the well-being of their players demonstrate a level of care and responsibility that goes beyond profit.

Conclusion

Selecting a trustworthy online casino is a crucial step towards a safe and enjoyable gambling experience. By following this checklist, you arm yourself with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions, ensuring your online gambling journey is both fun and secure. Remember, the responsibility of choosing wisely rests in your hands; use this guide as your compass in the vast sea of online gambling.

Feel free to share this article with fellow gambling enthusiasts, and don’t hesitate to share your experiences or tips on finding trustworthy online casinos in the comments below. Here’s to safe and fair gaming for all!

The post The Checklist: What to Look for in a Trustworthy Online Casino appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Dignan — who calls Starbucks “a digital innovation machine” — thinks enterprises everywhere need to take notice.

What’s Starbucks doing that’s so brilliant?

“The company’s Mobile Order and Pay rollout have juiced sales,” notes Dignan. “Its apps are driving sales velocity and technology partnerships are bolstering the vibe in Starbucks’ locations.”

The fiscal 2015 numbers are impressive, especially considering the state of the economy. America’s comparable stores were up 7 percent due to a 3 percent increase in traffic. China and Asia Pacific comp sales were up 9 percent. Revenue for the year surged 17 percent to $19.2 billion as $3.6 billion flowed to the bottom line.

CEO Howard Schultz said on Starbucks’ fourth quarter earnings conference call:

“By anticipating and beginning to invest many years ahead of the mobile technology curve, Starbucks today is defining customer-facing and apartment-facing mobile and retail experiences of the future,” said CEO Howard Schultz during the earnings call. “And the technology innovations we are introducing are further strengthening our brand, improving our efficiency and in-store execution, increasing our profitability, enabling us to further extend our lead over competitors, and, most importantly, enabling us to deliver an elevated Starbucks experience to our customers.”

Mobile and digital, it turns out, go great with coffee.

“Add it up and mobile payment now accounts for 21 percent of all transactions at Starbucks,” Dignan notes. “Starbucks’ loyalty program, My Starbucks Rewards, has more than 20 million members around the world.”

There’s more to glean from the whole article. It’s a good wake up call — kind of like that Starbucks coffee millions line up for every morning. To check it out, click here.

The post Starbucks’ Digital Dominance is Cup of Strong Info Every Business Should Study appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

It’s yet another major financial services giant to warmly embrace Apple’s red-hot mobile payments platform.

“As the mobile payments landscape matures, Discover remains committed to giving cardmembers secure options for using their cards and mobile devices,” said Diane Offereins, Discover’s president of payment services. “Discover’s focus on simplicity and value for our cardmembers aligns well with the way Apple Pay makes purchases easy and convenient.”

The option to pay via Apple Pay will be available to Discover Card members beginning this fall.

The post Cardmembers Poised to ‘Discover’ the Latest in Contactless Mobile Payments appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

It’s also becoming quite clear, however, that digital convenience and security also play important roles in why some companies last and others do not.

Quik Check, for example, which is licensed/registered in every state in which it operates — Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming — has developed a stellar reputation, not only for its financial services, but for embracing the mobile/digital age within this field of service.
Gone are the days when physical trips to the local cash advance storefront are a required part of the process. Today, the digital resources available to online borrowers make the process much more convenient and ultimately secure (since there’s no cash to actually handle).

Of course, while a growing number of similar service providers are also going digital, financial experts warn potential short-term borrowers that they should also read the fine print to ensure that all provided information remains private and secure.

“While it is important to read the fine print, we’d like to put this in bold,” Quik Check states on its website. “We will not share or sell any of the information you share with us. We are committed to keeping your information confidential.”

If a payday loan provider can’t make that pledge, especially in the digital age, it would be a wise move to move on… and quickly.

The post Quik Check Aims to Bring Borrowers Convenience and Security in the Digital Age appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

This new offering is the result of Blackhawk Network’s recent acquisitions of incentives providers that include parago, InteliSpend, CardLab and Incentec Solutions.

“Blackhawk Network is a leader in providing unique and easily accessible prepaid and egift content. It was natural for us to extend our solutions beyond retail with the incentives marketplace where we meet needs of consumers, employees and business partners,” said Talbott Roche, Blackhawk Network’s president.

“According to Mercator Advisory Group,” Roche adds, “the incentives space was an estimated $41 billion industry in 2014, so this expands our addressable market considerably, and allows us to further leverage our deep expertise in prepaid cards.”

To learn more about what Blackhawk is up to, click here.

The post Blackhawk Not Down: Network Launches Promising New Blackhawk Engagement Solutions appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Several months ago the city requested proposals from companies willing to provide the service and the city staff have returned to recommend Parkmobile USA. Other companies who submitted bids include CALE, IQA, MobileNow, Pango, Passport, and Software for Good.

If approved by City Council, the technology would be made available in 2015, following a limited field test. The system is expected to have “minimal to no cost” according to the report.

It may reduce parking capital costs, since there could be less need in the future for physical pay stations.

The mobile payment systems allow drivers to easily add money to their parking meter by using a smartphone app or placing a phone call.

Additional benefits envisioned include text messages to alert users their space is about to expire, and allowing users to pay for a space while inside their vehicle during severe weather.

The post Mobile Parking Payment System Coming to Minneapolis appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

One of the most recent financial behemoths to announce support for Apple Pay is Wells Fargo. In fact, the team at Wells Fargo has begun heavily marketing its incentive to get customers to try the service.

Just check out in a merchant app or look for the Near Field Communication (NFC) symbol at checkout registers in stores and use your iPhone 6 Touch ID to authorize payment quickly and securely.

“Use your iPhone 6 to make an Apple Pay purchase with your Wells Fargo Credit Card by November 30, 2014, and you’ll earn a $20 statement credit,” Wells Fargo says on its website.

Not too shabby. Wells Fargo is offering customers upwards of $20 in bill credits just for giving the Apple payments service a shot.

Wells Fargo joins the likes of American Express, Bank of America, and Chase among the leading financial firms to get on board Apple Pay right out of the gates.

The post Wells Fargo Marketing Support for Apple Pay appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The possibility that net neutrality could be abridged has been lost on some people, who have only heard debates centered on delivery of video content, specifically streaming video from purveyors like Netflix, which indeed do consume a lot of internet bandwidth.

The term “net neutrality,” coined in 2003 by Columbia University professor Tim Wu, refers to the overriding principle that all internet traffic, regardless of source, content or type of data, be treated equally.

According to a post at eMarketer, “Broadband service providers, which typically also offer TV and/or streaming video services of their own, have paid enormous sums to build bigger data pipes. They regard OTT services as a threat in more ways than one: as a potential siphon of their customer base and a burden on networks for which the OTT services have not paid.”

That’s one highlight in a new eMarketer report, “Key Digital Trends for Midyear 2014: The Internet of Things, Net Neutrality, and Why Marketers Need to Care.”

“In a world where not just conveniences but also essential services are channeled over the web, the free flow of data morphs from nicety into necessity,” argues Noah Elkin, eMarketer’s executive editor. “Framing the net neutrality debate solely in terms of maintaining low-cost streaming video overlooks the bigger picture. Today the issue is video streams, but tomorrow it will be about data streams in general.”

In other words, inexpensive on demand video streaming is nice to have — but when every function of one’s life and work depends on data available on demand, it’s no longer a discretionary matter.

“In a not-so-distant, more-connected future, consumers will rely on fast, reliable delivery of data to power their homes and perhaps even direct their self-driving cars,” eMarketer suggests. “Marketers will count on speed to buy and serve ad inventory; as with brokerage firms, the velocity of transactions will make a crucial difference in margins, fulfillment, and success.”

The decisions made by governing agencies, corporations, and other stakeholders could keep the road flowing for one and all — the only right decision in a world gone digital.

The post Net Neutrality: No One Wants to Be Stuck in the Slow Lane appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Not only is credit and electronic payment processing more affordable than ever—but it will negatively affect your bottom line if you don’t accept alternate payment options. In fact, some small business are going out of business because they do not offer competitive payment options.

If you are a small business owner who is considering upgrading to credit card and electronic payment options, you must also consider the benefits of securing a merchant account. Along with superior support, a merchant account will provided you with a multitude of payment processing options—from credit, debit, PayPal, gift cards, and wireless. Your information will also be stored in a centralized system so there is no need to worry about losing data if your system temporarily goes down.

The post NAB Talks the Benefits of Securing a Merchant Account appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

In fact, GoDaddy teamed up with three big players — PayPal, Dwolla, and Stripe — to introduce the service.

“Get Paid” will let users, most of whom have not been taking payments electronically, accept credit cards, debit cards, eChecks (ACH), and PayPal transfers. The service will be available first to GoDaddy’s 9 million users in the U.S.

GoDaddy will offer “Get Paid” in three service tiers starting at $4 per month and increasing up to $15 per month for users who want to add features such as expense tracking, connecting bank accounts, and other accounting interfaces.

According to SVP of applications Steven Aldrich, GoDaddy decided to add a payment service because the company was hearing regular complaints from customers about being paid in a timely and easy way for their products and services.

“They were using a hodge podge of different methods to collect payments,” says Aldrich. “Less than half of our users accept credit cards, some would invoice, some would take sales over the phones. Small businesses were losing track of who paid what and who owed money, rather than just getting paid then and there. When you are talking about businesses that may only be pulling in $40,000 per year, every dollar makes a difference.”

GoDaddy is preparing for a $100 million IPO, and the domain and web services company is bulking up on features that will help it boost revenues from its 12 million small-business customers.

Aldrich says that the company decided to partner with established payment companies because PayPal, Dwolla, and Stripe are already services that its customers are using; and each of the three offer strengths in different areas.

PayPal, for instance, is so big that many of GoDaddy’s customers already have PayPal accounts, making it a natural route to take for mobile and point-of-sale payments (via PayPal’s Here offering). Aldrich says that the mobile element was a “must have” in whatever payment service GoDaddy built. He noted that Stripe, on the other hand, offers a “really innovative credit card processing service, with great support for developers. You can basically start taking payments right away.”

Industry observers have noted the proliferation of payment services providers and question how many will survive to become dominant forces.

“We’ll continue to look at it,” Aldrich says. “There are a bunch of payments providers out there today and a lot of activity going on. We don’t know what the future will hold so I don’t know where our payments strategy could lead over time.”

And GoDaddy, already trying to swim upstream (it made $1.13 billion in 2013, with $199.88 million in net losses), may have other challenges. That could come when Google jumps into the domain registration business. Google is currently testing its own service, dubbed Google Domains.

The post Passing the Bucks: GoDaddy Launches Mobile and Web Payment Service appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.