I want talk about gambling security today. By that I mean steps to keep yourself safe while gambling. I’m going to address both online and land based gambling because it’s been my experience that while many gamblers who visit land based casinos won’t gamble online, online gamblers are happy to play at a land based casino if one is convenient.

The most important safety rules at a land based casino cluster around the idea of – “don’t let people see you walk out with cash in your pocket” or you know, a large suitcase handed to you by a teller. Because the shocking news is that while some people think the goal of visiting a casino is to make money by winning it at the tables, others have figured out that the odds of them versus you in a parking garage are much more predictable. Especially if you have cash and they have a weapon.  So, you do your best to keep the winnings low key, use valet parking and perhaps even tip a security guard to accompany you to your car.  Also, guys – this is the time when you might want to take a tip from the gals and visit the bathroom as a group. Yes, I know it’s freaky, but at casinos the mens rooms have proven to be a lucrative location for thieves.

Now, if you’re gambling online from home, you can probably risk the bathroom unescorted. But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take other precautions. Choose an online name for the site that people won’t recognize. Yes, you have to register under your real name for banking purposes, but your site user name can be different.  Also, don’t post to gambling bulletin boards bragging about your winnings. Don’t post your winnings to twitter.com.   The problem here is that while you aren’t carrying around a lot of money, you are advertising to folks out there that you have accounts at online casinos with lots of money in them. You become an easy target for hackers, fishers, spammers and whole lot more.

So online or offline, keep those winnings under wraps!

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