| Virtual Piracy Part Two
One example of how brazen these site pirates can be, involves the Interactive Gaming Council. The Interactive Gaming Council, or the IGC, is a not-for-profit corporation whose primary purpose is "…to provide information and education regarding the interactive gaming industry." Although legally impotent to intervene in matters of casino operations, this group and their members are beyond reproach and are recognized as a very influential organization - whose membership costs $10,000 per year in dues. Thus, only sites who are legitimate can sport (or even afford) their logo. Or at least that's how it's supposed to be. More than one site has simply made themselves members by either copying and pasting their IGC's logo on their site, or stating that there software has been endorsed by the Council, a function that is not even performed by the IGC!
Considering the ease with which rogue casinos can steal the appearance of a legitimate site, to protect themselves, players must always take a cynical approach to any new site. Assume that this wonderful looking site is out to scam you, and do some basic checking before you play. Visit online discussion groups that involve gambling and find out if anyone has ever heard of them. Ask the important question: Did you have any problems with the software? Was there an active support team employed? Did you get paid? If you have trouble finding your site in a forum, a quick method to see what, if anything, is being said about a casino or sportsbook is to enter its name into a search engine, joined with the word "review." This will at least pull up any sites that offer at review of the casino. Beware, however, that site reviews are NOT the final step in determining if a site is any good. Many portals simply write good reviews for their advertising sites, or, even more incredulous, many casinos establish their own portals to promote their own sites!
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