Online gambling has been an industry in constant growth for the last couple of decades. Gamblers see new casino sites opened every month and wonder if using their services is worth it. Most experts warn that new brands are more vulnerable to early closure. However, the real question is how to protect ourselves from dishonest operators, closing their venues and not paying our money! The answer could be in the reasons that forced these companies to seize business. After all, iGaming is one of the most profitable sectors these days.

Reasons for Shutting Down

You may never know the exact reason for your favorite online casinos’ closure. But in most cases, it’s one of the following:

• Merger with other brands or absorption by another operator;
• Black PR and impossibility of a proper reaction;
• Bankruptcy – huge losses and unavailability to register profits;
• Online gambling legislation changes;
• Fraudulent activities detected by regulatory authorities;
• Major reputation loss due to scandals, negative feedback, or unresolved complaints.

Some reasons will not affect your account balance, as companies that are facing difficulties but are willing to assist their customers will give a heads-up. Thus, you’ll know that even if a certain operator is accused of fraud, it is rather not guilty.

Reputation could continue to be essential for many enterprises as they may run other gambling platforms. This is why detailed research is crucial before trusting your money to an unknown and recently launched casino. We would say that using the services of well-established and popular brands is the key, but we saw giants collapse in the last few years too. Gambling is risky for many reasons, so cash out your money as soon as possible and keep only a small amount in your account for future playing. We recommend avoiding operators paying jackpots in monthly installments!

Recently Closed Online Casinos

It’s hard to track the record of all casino brands running on the market today. However, we did detailed research, and here are some of the popular gambling sites that have closed recently:

• Big on Bets
• Planet Casino
• Adler Casino
• Free Spins Casino
• VegasCasino.IO
• Roxy Palace
• All Irish Casino
• Dash Casino
• Golden Riviera Casino
• Prestige Casino.

Keep in mind that the list is quite long, so always check the platform and read reviews from reputable sources. Some casinos may resume operation after fighting the difficulties, especially if they are due to a delay of license renewal or disputes escalated to an ADR. The major regulators, like the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority, are very sensitive and prefer to freeze the activities of certain operators in such cases. Of course, if the reason is bankruptcy, the chances of getting your money are lowered significantly. Unfortunately, this is why most online casinos close!

Poor Management?

Poor administration does not always mean a lack of qualities or experience in the people who practice it. The problem is in the complexity of the iGaming industry. The same strategy may work with a few brands and fail with another in the same market. A few consecutive periods without an operation profit usually mean bankruptcy due to the extremely high expenses every online gambling operator faces. For example, a starting casino site must pay in advance for software, license, website cost, and integration of payment providers, marketing, and servicing staff. The sum only for all this can easily reach a million dollars.

We said only because every online casino must keep a cash balance, a mandatory requirement by all major regulatory bodies. It can be from several thousand to half a million, depending on the size of the venue. Many companies are tempted to skip that rule, but this is a pure example of poor management plus a deviation from fraudulent activities. The key could be a larger budget or better research, but since this is a customer-oriented article, we would suggest tracking your casino operator’s behavior. If you see a major drop in bonuses and promotions or slower withdrawals than before, it’s better to search for an alternative and collect your money immediately.

Casino Closures vs. Their Reputation

Perhaps the first association in your mind with the current subject is fake casinos. And you will not be far from the truth in many cases, as solid operators are too heavily connected to the market to allow easy closure. However, here is a thought to consider – rebranding. Due to a bad reputation and unsuccessful attempts to repair it, some companies decide to abandon their current projects, register new firms and run the same venues under different names.

Of course, those are just the bad examples. In online gambling, acquisitions and mergers are common. If any fresh site makes a major breakthrough for any reason, the chance of being quickly bought by a larger group of companies is almost 100%. Huge minds in this business know that a brand’s value can rise by millions in just a few months. Of course, some keep the name, while others change it, redirecting the existing and satisfied customers to their “new” project. In any case, reputation is the main driver and reason for the closure of many online casinos.

Final Words

Casinos will continue to pop up and close, so you need to know when to switch sides. These places are not financial institutions, and your money is only guaranteed by the company and, eventually, the licensing authority. However, a few-hundred dollar case may prolong with years, and it’s just not worth the effort. So, our advice is to play your favorites, complete bonuses, and cash out your profits!

There are hundreds of casinos to choose from on the internet. When I first started playing casino games online, I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of sites out there. So in this blog post, I decided to share a few hints and tips to help you quickly pick out the best of the bunch. You should bear in mind that different types of players want different types of things. As such, I cannot simply tell you which is “the best casino”, as what is good for one player will not be a good fit for another. Instead, I’ll give you helpful criteria that can be used to assess an operator and determine if it will be a good fit for you. I would also recommend checking out https://www.bestonlinecasinos.org.uk/ for even more help in identifying top casinos on the internet.

Licenced and Regulated

The first thing you should check before signing up at a casino site online is that it is licenced and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. It is a legal requirement for any online casino that provides services to players in the UK to possess a licence from the UKGC. In order to get their hands on the licence, the operator must prove that they adhere to strict standards regarding player protection. This includes using cutting edge technical security, to encrypt transactions and prevent players from becoming victims of fraud. The operator must also invite independent testing of their games and payouts by industry accredited agencies, to confirm the fairness and integrity of their games. Trustworthy operators will display their licence with pride. So, if you cannot find evidence of a valid licence on the homepage of the casino website, you should avoid them at all costs.

Rich Game Selection

Good online casinos use leading software providers to offer a rich and diverse game selection. Some of the big names in the industry are Playtech, Microgaming and NetEnt. If you choose a casino which is powered by any of these providers, then you can be sure that there will be a wide selection of games on offer, which run smoothly and flawlessly. There are some operators who hand pick their game selection from a large variety of providers. In such cases, you will find a mix of games from the big, well-respected software providers, as well as from smaller, specialist game developers. The benefit here is that you have a more diverse selection of games to choose from, with many interesting variants. To make sure that an online casino is right for you, have a look at the game portfolio to ensure they have plenty of the types of games that you want to play.

Bonus Opportunities

You will be hard pushed to find an online casino that does not offer a welcome bonus to entice you to sign up. It is important to check out the terms and conditions before you accept a bonus. There are some offers that match your first deposit with bonus money. There are others that offer a package deal, with rewards available over several deposits. Some offers are valid for all types of games, whereas others may exclude certain games altogether. So, to make sure that you are getting the best deal, you should consider how often you will play, how much you want to deposit, and what games you want to play at the casino. That way, you can check that the bonus is suitable for your needs. If it does not tick the right boxes for you, then try another casino. There are no shortage of offers available, it is just a case of doing a little research before you accept one to make sure that you are getting a good deal.

And here we are! My very first casino-themed article for my blog! To be quite honest, I’m a bit nervous, but hey – it’s important to take that first step at some point, right? While I did briefly consider writing an article about dolphins, I knew that I couldn’t put it off forever. You guys are here for casino tips, and casino tips you shall get… even if we’ll start out a bit basic. Hey, don’t expect me to jump into the deep end from the get-go! Sometimes you need to dip your toes into the pond before jumping in, right? With that said, let’s get to it! Today, what I want to talk about in particular are some basic strategies that people who play online blackjack should be aware of, and when I say “basic” I really mean that. Okay, maybe not as basic as “Uhh, you should, like, always stop on an 18, man”, no. I’m talking about rules that particularly pertain to online blackjack. You know what, it just might be easier if I showed you. For example…

1. Forget Most Things You Know About Real Blackjack…

Real, physical blackjack and online blackjack are two veeeeery different things, with completely different strategies on how to win. In real life, blackjack is very much a game that can be beaten, with a mixture of card counting strategies, probabilities and some basic math, you will almost always come out on top, if you play your cards right, that is (no pun intended). When it comes to online blackjack, though, the variables suddenly diminish and card counting is no longer a thing since, well, there’s no cards to count. Since the decks are shuffled automatically after each hand (something that would be too inconvenient and time-consuming in real life, but takes literally a fraction of a fraction of a second for a computer to do), card counting is suddenly out of the equation and the probabilities shift accordingly, thus making most books about blackjack floating on Amazon next to useless.

2. …But not everything

However, with that said, it’s still the same basic game, and there’s still a thing or two that blackjack masters can teach you. Things such as when to hit, when to split and when to stop are always going to be useful to you even if you have no idea what card counting is. Those are most certainly things that you should be absolutely considering regardless of what kind of blackjack you’re playing – online, physical, with friends at a bar somewhere… No matter the circumstances, the beauty of math is that it always stays the same! Even in the coldest reaches of space, two plus two equal four and splitting tens is a terrible idea! I guess what I’m trying to say is that, if you’re reading up books on traditional blackjack, you should try and cherry-pick the information that’s relevant to online blackjack and discard the rest, since it’s useless to you.

3. Research, research, research!

Playing the actual game is only half of the online blackjack experience. The other half is finding an online casino that’s going to keep you satisfied in the long run, and that takes research. What are the bonuses that you get on various online casinos? What is the RTP percentage? How many variations of blackjack does each casino have? Are there any requirements or limits when it comes to withdrawing your winnings? Learning stuff like that takes tons of research. Luckily, there are places where you can get all of that information, such as this comprehensive online blackjack site, but you still need to look around and make an informed choice based on the information you have available to you, and that takes time. Sure, if you’re playing just for fun and don’t ever intend to actually win any money from online blackjack, then it doesn’t matter one bit where you play – just find the game with the interface you like the most (or don’t) and have fun! But if you really want to make blackjack into a steady revenue source for yourself, you need to put in the work.

Before we dive into the sea of casino games, where I’ll be commenting on anything a player might be interested in, such as the latest slot machines, interesting roulette variations, and innovations in software, I’d like to take a step back and dwell on something I’ve mentioned in my welcome post.
If you remember, I told you I had recently been to Cabo, Mexico, where I fell in love with everything that has to do with Baja. Well, it turns out Cabos isn’t that well-known and many people don’t know where it is or what it is really. That’s why I thought I’d share my knowledge and experience. For once, I’m tired of telling everyone who asks me the whole, long story. And then again, the place is so beautiful and unique, it just has to be shared with as many people as possible.
Los Cabos is located at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is a municipality which consists of the towns of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo as well as the resorts between the two. Americans often use the name Cabo to refer to the town of Cabo San Lucas but what they actually mean is the tourist-rich area of about 30 kilometres between the two towns, which is sprinkled with resorts and beaches.
The area is a unique meeting place for desert and sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. There are lots of breath-taking beaches, some of which are wide and populated while others are small and secluded. Probably two of its most famous landmarks are El Arco de Cabo San Lucas and Playa del Amor.
El Arco (The arch of Cabo San Lucas) is an arch-like rock formation that is significant not only because of its shape but also because it is the very spot where the pacific meets the Gulf of California.
Playa del Amor (Lover’s Beach) is one of the best beaches in Mexico. It can only be reached by sea, so you’d need to take a glass-bottom boat or a water taxi from the marina of Cabo San Lucas.
Lover’s Beach faces the Sea of Cortés and is safe for swimming and snorkeling. However, if you walk away from the sea you’ll find yourself at Divorce Beach, which faces the Pacific Ocean. It offers beautiful views but be careful as it is not safe for swimming.
If you get to Cabo, make sure you take a tour around the tip of the Baja California Peninsula – visit Lover’s Beach, dive around the Arch, and enjoy the magnificent rock formations at Land’s End.
Now, if you’re reading this and finding mistakes, please forgive me. I’m not an expert, just someone who loves the place and would like to see more people falling in love with it. Also, if you care to share any of your personal thoughts or experience in Los Cabos, feel free to send me a message. I’d love to hear from you.

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name’s James. On this site, I’ll be writing about anything that has to do with the casino business and casino games while focusing on the UK and European market. I plan to spend as much time on this project as possible, so stay tuned for some interesting blog posts.
You might be wondering about the name Ekobaja… I’ll tell you all about it but first let me introduce myself. You see, I’m an ordinary bloke. I grew up in Manchester and attended college in London. I currently live in Croydon, in a detached house, with my chocolate Labrador named Burnley, and drive to work in the City. Though I am all up for footy on the telly and beer drinking with my mates on a Friday night, I have some quite unusual hobbies.
You see, I like swimming with dolphins. But swimming with dolphins in captivity just doesn’t do it for me. That’s why I travel as often as possible and collect memories of swimming with those intelligent animals in distant seas. On my recent trip to Cabo, Mexico, where I enjoyed long walking tours and whale watching, I fell in love with anything Baja – the landscape, the food, the culture. So, that’s what Ekobaja means – it’s the website of an eco-friendly bloke with a somewhat unusual perspective on life (hence the change of ‘c’ to ‘k’ in ‘eco’) with a passion for anything Baja.
But where’s the link to European casinos, you may ask. Well, to be honest, I got the domain with the intention of having a personal site but didn’t think people would be that interested in reading about me. Casino games, on the other hand, are everyone’s cup of tea. So, that’s how that happened.