Complete Guide to Avoiding Crypto Gambling Scams in 2025

Common Scams in Crypto Gambling and How to Avoid Them

Over the past few years, crypto gambling has grown from a fringe novelty for hardcore crypto geeks to a mainstream global industry. This growth has been fuelled by the incredible bonuses unregulated crypto casinos and sportsbooks can afford to offer compared to regulated sites. Of course, innovation has also played its part, with things like provably fair games a huge hit with players globally.

However, bad actors have taken advantage of the rise of genuine crypto-gambling sites to prey on unsuspecting players. These criminals know that the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency means once you’ve made a payment, you can’t cancel it or get a refund – even if the casino or sportsbook turns out to be fraudulent. Indeed, the only way to avoid losing your funds is to steer clear of scams in the first place. So, in this original CoinBets.com guide, we’ll take a look at the most common scams in crypto gambling and how you can avoid them.

Common Scams in Crypto Gambling

As with all things online, crypto gambling scams come in many different forms, but here we’ll take a look at some of the most common crypto casino and sports betting scams, and the red flags to watch out for.

Fake Casinos

The most common scam in crypto gambling is that some online casinos are straight-up fake. Yes, they will have games that are playable and may look convincing, but if you try and withdraw winnings you will hit a brick wall. Unscrupulous operators set them up to catch unwary players, get them to deposit, then simply refuse to pay out winnings and eventually disappear into the night. This has always been an issue with offshore online casinos, but it is more prevalent than ever with crypto casinos.

Red flags to watch for:

• No or fake licensing information (carry on reading to find out how to check licenses)
• No information about the operating company
• Poorly designed website and odd casino name (fake casino operators tend to be cheapskates)
• Terms and conditions are missing or hard to find and badly written
• Poor choice of games and software providers No blockchain-based provably fair games
• Lack of responsible gambling tools
• Limited payment options (especially if it is only crypto)
• No information about auditing or memberships of industry associations

Cloned Casinos

Unfortunately, these days it is extremely easy for criminals to clone entire sites. This happens with everything from casinos to financial services. A fraudulent site will look virtually identical to the legitimate site it is cloning and is solely designed to steal your funds. If you enter your personal information on one of these sites, it will probably be sold on the dark web, and if you make a deposit, you will lose your money.

Red flags to watch for:

• Check the URL (look for spelling discrepancies or a strange domain. For example, if you are visiting leovegas.com, the address should start with exactly that)

Phishing Attacks

One of the most common ways for criminals to steal information and money online is via so- called ‘phishing attacks.’ This is when fraudsters pose as someone else to try and obtain your sensitive information. Again, this problem isn’t limited to online gambling but affects every aspect of our day-to-day lives. And, phishing attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so you need to stay alert.

aspect of our day-to-day lives. And, phishing attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so you need to stay alert. Usually, phishing takes place via email, but criminals also use phone calls and messages, including SMS, WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, Telegram and other platforms. The rule to remember is, never click on a link in an email or message. Instead, go directly to the site via your browser (double-checking the URL), log in to your account, and then check messages directly on-site. If it was a legitimate message, It should be in your casino account inbox. And, absolutely, never reply with personal information, including usernames, passwords, other log in credentials, payment information, and seed phrases.

Red flags to watch for:

• Unsolicited emails, phone calls and messages
• Any email or message asking you to click a link or respond with personal information
• Messages from private or spoofed email addresses (legitimate marketing communications will come from the official casino or sportsbook domain)
• Badly written messages laced with errors and awkward phrases

Rigged Games

Legitimate crypto casinos will provide genuine games from reputable software providers, like NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Hacksaw Gaming, NoLimit City, and Play’n GO. The RTP (return to player %) of each game should be provided – either on the game thumbnail or an information page. These RTP rates can also be checked at the official sites of the game providers themselves (for example, you can check Pragmatic Play slot RTPs here).

Unfortunately, some crooked crypto casino operators tamper with RNG (random number generator) based games, especially slots, to reduce the RTP, or even make them impossible to win. The best way to avoid these is to play at a site with a good license. Many regulators, like the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), Malta Gambling Authority (MGA), and Curacao Gaming require casino operators to undergo regular audits from specialist independent game testing labs like iTech Labs or eCOGRA. For example, here are the publicly available audits for Party Casino, operated by British gambling giant Entain.

Red flags to watch for:

• Games from unknown or obscure software providers
• RTP is not provided for games
• No information about third-party audits
• No provably fair games are available

Withdrawal Issues

Okay, so this is a difficult one. With today’s regulatory environment getting tighter by the day, licensed casinos are required to verify identities before processing withdrawals. This is to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws. Just how strict these requirements are will vary by jurisdiction, but in all of them, they can be frustrating for players. In fact, the most common complaints on casino review sites are about verification processes.

However, bad actors have taken advantage of this situation and use it as an excuse to either delay payouts or not payout winnings at all. Thankfully, there are ways to spot crypto casinos that are likely to make life difficult when trying to withdraw winnings.

Red flags to watch for:

• Withdrawal processing times not clearly stated upfront
• Lack of information about the account verification process
• Unreasonable terms (usually buried deep in the small print)
• Unresponsive customer support

Bonus Scams

When it comes to crypto casinos, everyone is looking for great bonuses. And, for sure, you’ll find some incredible welcome bonuses, reload bonuses, free spins, and cashback offers at the best casinos. But, as the old adage goes, if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. This issue gets muddier when you take into account that not all bonus scams are technically breaking any rules. Some just have such ridiculous terms or insanely high wagering requirements, that unless you’re a very patient millionaire, you’re not going to be able to benefit from the bonus.

Here’s a typical example. Let’s say a crypto casino is offering a 100% deposit bonus of up to $10,000 (or equivalent in BTC). All sounds amazing, right? But, it has a 50x wagering requirement. And, it gets worse, that wagering is on the total of the deposit + bonus. And, worse still, you’ve got seven days to complete the wagering, or you forfeit it. This means if you deposited $1,000 and got a $1,000 bonus, you’d have to then play through $100,000 of your own money, within seven days, before you could cash out. And, if you deposited $10,000 and got a $10,000 bonus, you’d have to wager an insane $1 million within seven days!

• Very large potential bonuses
• High wagering requirements
• Short time to wager
• Hard to find or poorly written terms and conditions

How to Avoid Crypto Casino Scams

Okay, so we’ve covered the most common types of online casino scams to watch for, so let’s go through how you can avoid them.

Research and Reviews Before you spend any money online, whether it’s buying insurance or depositing at a casino, it pays to do your research first. Unfortunately, when it comes to crypto casinos, this isn’t as simple as it sounds.

One of the main problems is affiliate marketing. The vast majority of online crypto casinos promote themselves via affiliate marketing. This is when marketers earn a commission for every new player they send to a casino. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this – if it is done right. Many affiliates are honest, and this kind of marketing takes place across every industry (social media is full of it). But, especially in the crypto casino space, you need to be wary of fake or biased reviews and guides.

Conversely, you should also be aware that some reviews will have been left by disgruntled sore losers, or even casino operators trying to give their competitors a bad name. The best strategy is to check several different review sites. Read both the official reviews and the comments and feedback from individual players. Don’t put too much weight on any single review, but rather try and get a general vibe.

Here are some popular casino review sites that you can check:

• AskGamblers – one of the world’s biggest online casino review sites
• Casino Guru – a great source for reviews and guides
• Casino.org – a large, well-established casino review site
• Trustpilot – user reviews of everything online, including crypto casinos

Licenses and Regulation

One of the best ways to avoid dodgy crypto casinos is to only play at sites licensed by a reputable gambling regulator. Online casinos will usually proudly display their licenses in the form of logos and links in the page footer. Normally, clicking on the license logo will take you to more detailed information. You can then check if this information is valid by going to the gaming regulator’s official site.

As things stand, only a handful of jurisdictions will license crypto casinos. By far the most established of these is Curaçao, although Kahnawake and Anjouan are also fairly common. The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is trialing crypto gambling licenses, but most MGA-licensed casinos are fiat-only. At the moment, UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) licensed casinos and sportsbooks are prohibited from accepting crypto. Here’s a quick guide to the licenses you’re likely to find at crypto casinos:

Here’s a quick guide to the licenses you’re likely to find at crypto casinos:

Curaçao Gaming Control Board

Until recently, the online gambling licensing system in Curaçao was very complicated. Instead of the government directly issuing licenses, four master license holders were authorized to issue sub-licenses. These were; Cyberluck Curacao N.V. (Curacao-eGaming); Gaming Curacao (GC); Curacao Interactive Licensing N.V. (CIL); and Antillephone. This system was inefficient and gave the jurisdiction a poor reputation.

So, in 2023, with the help of Dutch and Maltese advisors, the Caribbean nation set up the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (CGCB). Now, all new licenses are issued directly by the CGCB, and regulatory standards, especially regarding player protection, have significantly improved. You can check the validity of any Curaçao online casino license at the official CGCB site.

Kahnawake Gaming Commission
Established way back in 1996, long before crypto, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) is based in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake in Quebec, Canada. The KGC has issued licenses to hundreds of gambling operators and earned a good reputation for integrity. Illustrating this, the Canadian federal government in Ottawa has never attempted to interfere with the KGC’s activities. You can check licenses at the official KGC site.

Estonian Tax and Customs
Board A rare example of a European regulator that will license crypto casinos, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (ETCB) is something of a trailblazer but well respected. You can check online casino licenses at the official TCB site.

Anjouan (Comoros)
Anjouan is an autonomous region of the Comoros Islands – an impoverished and underdeveloped archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. The authorities there have been issuing online gambling licenses for a number of years, but recently several major crypto casinos, unable or unwilling to comply with the new regulatory regime in Curaçao, have registered there. However, the value of an Anjouan online gaming license is questionable at best.

Other Jurisdictions
As with cryptocurrency exchanges, some crypto casinos have opted to base themselves (license-wise at least) in remote, little-known countries to evade regulatory oversight. While some of them do, technically, have regulatory authorities, in practice these licenses mean next to nothing and offer virtually no player protection. For example, you may see licenses from the Seychelles, Vanuatu, and Micronesia. Several crypto casinos are also operated from countries in Latin America, like Costa Rica and Panama. However, as a rule, these don’t even claim to have any license – just a registered operating company.

Provably Fair Gaming

For the ultimate guarantee of fairness, you can look for provably fair blockchain-based games. These allow you to personally check the hashes, logged on the immutable public ledger, after each round. Because blockchain-based games are decentralized, there is no way individual operators can tamper with them. It should be noted that some casinos use the term ‘crypto games’ or ‘crypto slots’ to refer to any regular games player with deposited crypto. This can be misleading. Provably fair games are actually based on blockchain technology and use cryptography to guarantee that the outcome of any round is truly random and cannot be affected by factors such as the player’s bet. One of the leading provably fair game providers is BGaming. Their official site provides a detailed explanation of how their probably fair gambling system works.

Secure Practices

In addition to taking steps to verify the legitimacy of a crypto casino itself, there are several things you should do to keep your information and funds safe.

1. Check the casino site itself is secure. To do this on Chrome, click the little circle with slider icons in the address bar. You want to see a padlock with the text ‘Connection is secure’.
2. Always use strong passwords. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special symbols. If you think your password has been compromised, change it immediately and notify the casino.
3. Use two-factor authentication. If 2FA is available, use it. This could mean using the Google Authenticator app, SMS codes, or email links. It will make it much more difficult for someone to hack your casino account.
4. Manage your account balance carefully. Make sure you are aware of how much you have in your casino account. Don’t leave large amounts sitting in your casino account. Withdraw your crypto winnings to a secure non-custodial wallet regularly. Remember the saying “Not your keys, not your crypto.”

Recognizing Red Flags

It’s important not to get paranoid about crypto casino scams. Most crypto casinos, and all the ones we recommend here at CoinBets provide good service and great entertainment. But, as with everything online, you should always be looking for red flags and approach all promotional offers with a healthy dose of skepticism. Never rush into depositing funds, and always make sure you read the terms and conditions. If a bonus seems too good to be true, it most likely is, so pay extra attention to the small print.

Remember, one red flag shouldn’t necessarily write a casino off. Sometimes there are good reasons. For example, a brand-new casino may only have a few game providers and payment options. After all, every business has to start somewhere. But, if those red flags start stacking up, it’s best to move on. There are plenty of great crypto casinos out there.