5 Ways to Spot Suspicious Online Pokies

Many online casinos offer legitimate online pokies for real money. However, there are a few sites out there that offer counterfeit or fake online pokies. How do you spot suspicious or scam pokies at online casinos? We show you 5 ways to spot suspicious online pokies.

The Developer is New or Has Very Few Games

Building a reputation in the online casino industry can be difficult. This is in part because so many fly-by-night companies have emerged over the years and scammed players. These companies show up with a handful of games at the most and offer various games until they are discovered to be scams.

As such, you have to be cautious around any new online software developer, particularly ones that only have a couple of games to their portfolio. You’ll often see these oddball companies at websites that are not licensed or licensed by “paper regulators.”

Not all new companies are scams. Many newer companies are forming partnerships with larger companies, such as Microgaming, to get their product out to the public. If a new company is partnered with a major operator, then you can be assured the games and the company have been properly vetted.

The RTP is Suspect or Non-Existent

We always advocate playing online pokies with the best RTP that you can find, provided you can find the RTP of the game. One sign that a game may be fake is that the RTP is not published or the RTP is at a level that you don’t see for pokies.

The Return to Player is a statistic that helps to make games more transparent to the player. You’ll see games that have RTPs as low as 94% but still have a huge following. That’s because players know what to expect going in. Either that or they just don’t know to look. However, if the game does not list an RTP, that’s often because the game is well below the industry standard.

Next, you’ll find some games that have an unusually high RTP. If you find a pokie from an unknown developer claiming that the RTP is 99% or more, it is likely a scam.

The Graphics or Sound Are Different From Similar Games

If you play Prizefighter KO at Spin Samurai, it will be the same version that you see at any other Aussie online casino. The sounds will be the same, as well as the graphics. The only thing that may be different is the currency type of the betting limits. That’s normal.

However, if you see that the graphics or soundtrack are noticeably different from games at other online casinos, that’s a massive red flag. Counterfeit online pokies will often use game engines that piggyback on existing code, but slight changes are made. Sometimes they are hard to notice. Other times they stick out like a sore thumb. Sadly, these changes are only noticed by those that have played the legitimate version of the pokie.

The Game Looks Eerily Like Another Popular Title

Some developers of fake online pokies will go the route of making games that look similar to other games. For example, if a game is called KO Prizefighting with a theme similar to Prizefighter KO, some players will play it thinking it is the authentic version. You’ll often see these copycat pokies floating around at different casinos.

Many times, it is clearly obvious the companies are trying to clone popular games. Other times, they are putting a similar name or cover design on a game that’s drastically different from the original. The bad thing about this trend is some games are so similar, the only way to tell the difference is to compare the two games side to side.

Game Does Not Offer a Demo Mode

As strange as it sounds, fake online pokies typically do not offer a demo version. That’s because the company is too focused on developing the scam version of the pokie. Many online pokies use demo games to entice players to play the game for real money. Scam casinos or pokie developers are trying to get the scam into operation as fast as possible.

If you find a new game from a new developer that doesn’t offer a free play mode, you probably want to avoid it.