Why so many online casino guides cannot be trusted.
Online casinos are among the most lucrative ecommerce industries in the world. They’re also one of the most competitive, with thousands of operators vying for customers from all over the planet. To boost marketing, internet casinos employ affiliates, who advertise for them by creating websites that promote the operators and their games.
If you think there are a lot of online casino websites out there, the affiliate industry is so much larger. For every gambling site on the web, there are many thousands more affiliate sites. This is why looking up a relative search term on Google—something as simple as ‘Canada online casinos‘—begets approximately 29,000,000 results!
These websites generally offer basic guides to internet gambling. They’ll write game rules, strategies, tips, news, whatever they can think of. This can be of great value to players looking for a new casino to join, information on deposit methods, bonuses, etc. But it can also be extremely misleading, because the sad truth is…
Most Online Casino Guides Can’t be Trusted
There are a few really good ones out there. The best are often sites built and maintained by actual players who are not biased, and genuinely want to help other players stay safe while making the most of the experience. But the vast majority don’t care about anything but making money, and they’ll do, say or publish whatever it takes to get people to click their links.
Today, I came across one of the most shameful promotions of online casino games I’ve seen in a long time. Not only is it a complete load of garbage, it might actually be a violation of several jurisdictional laws. I’m not going to name any names, because it’s not my objective to get anyone in trouble. But I do want you, the readers, the players, the people who may come across this information and actually believe it, to recognize such dubious tactics when you see them.
The article in question was geared towards recommending video games that promote ‘mindfulness‘ and a ‘a sense of calm‘. They were also extolled as being able to enhance ‘physical and mental fitness‘.
The list begins with reasonable choices that could actually promote some of these qualities. Fitness and dancing games were on the list, which could certainly be a good substitute for actually going to a gym. Shooter games, another sensible choice that could help refine one’s reaction time and motor skills. What should not have been on the list was the final choice in their list—online casino games.
The article went so far as to say (and I’m paraphrasing here to protect anonymity, but not by much!) that online casino games can build the strong mental fortitude needed to help people push themselves towards their fitness goals, and the strategy skills needed to help develop a perfect fitness routine. The section then goes on to describe online slot machines, and how players can triumph over them with the right strategy and perseverance.
I’m sorry, but this is not how slot machines work. Not in the slightest. It’s not a matter of winning by invoking strategy. These games are entirely random, unpredictable, and specifically designed to take more money from their collective players than they pay out. No amount of toughness, mental strategy, or perseverance is going to sway the odds in your favor.
The author steps further over the line by calling slot machines a fun way to relax your mind. And remember, in the beginning, these top video gaming formats were noted for promoting a ‘sense of calm’; then later in the text, a ‘healthy lifestyle‘.
There are numerous jurisdictions all over the world, from Canada to the UK, that prohibit the advertising of gambling as a stress reliever. It’s people like this thoughtless author who unwittingly (or uncaringly) proliferate at risk behavior for gambling addiction.
In an effort to endorse social responsibility , the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) states: “Ads cannot imply gambling can solve financial or personal problems or that it is indispensable, a rite of passage or linked with sexual success.”
Imagine if your dearest loved one were feeling stressed out, and someone told them gambling would make them calm again? Imagine if they believed them, and so every time they felt a little stress coming on, they ran for the blackjack tables or slot machines, spiraling downward into a full-blown gambling addiction? I would want to punch the person who told them that in the face, repeatedly, with brass knuckles in a dark alley!
This is exactly why you can’t trust most online casino guides. They don’t think before they type. They don’t care about the consequences. They only care about adding another dime to their affiliate payment. So, in the future, if you come across something this blatantly disreputable, do me a favor. Close that webpage and never turn back. Maybe one day, if enough of us stop reading their bullshit and clicking their links, only the good, trustworthy guides will remain.
