Rogue Online Casino Exposed! WPokies gets Blacklisted

WPokies Casino caught serving up fake casino games with no evidence of an operational license.

Thank goodness for online casino watchdogs! For the last two decades, the iGaming industry has been plagued by rogue operators. In recent years, the rate of casino scams has been on the decline, thanks to tougher licensing restrictions and greater player protection policies. But it’s the watchdog websites like Casinomeister, ThePOGG, eCOGRA and LCB that are helping to catch the ones that still slip through the cracks.

Last week, it was revealed that WPokies Casino, which bills itself as “the best online casino in Australia”, is most definitely not living up to its marketing tactics. Not only is the operator breaking the law by accepting AU players in the first place, it’s doing so without any kind of license, and peddling fake software to its players.

Serving Up Fake Casino Games with No License

I’ve personally double-checked all of the rogue references made towards this online casino, and all are accurate. WPokies Casino may look like a legitimate gambling site, but deep down, none of their claims hold water.

You’re Licensed Where…?

According to the website, WPokies is “operated by ALMORA SLOTS LTD”, which is “licensed and regulated with registered address is Sinte James street 45H”. Notice something missing? Any reputable online casino would list where it is licensed and registered. This one does not. In fact, there’s not a single instance on the entire website where the licensing authority is identified.

A search for that registered address brings up nothing, either, aside from suggestions that I’ve typed it wrong.

Oddly enough, a throng of reputable iGaming review websites have pinned the casinos jurisdiction as Curacao. However, the Curacao iGaming Authority has no active-status licensee with that address, or by that name, or associated with that domain.

But the Games are Certified Fair…Right?

WPokies Casino claims to employ major, distinguished software brands with safe and fair certification. Software from brands like Aristocrat, IGT, NetEnt, Novomatic and Playtech (among others). These company’s most famous games are depicted on all the casino’s main pages.

For players, there’s virtually no way to tell the difference between a real game, as it was published by its creators, or a fake game. The cinematics do not change. The graphic quality is the same. The pay tables and symbology do not waver. Only one difference can be seen, and only by those who know how to look for it.

A fake slot machine will not be run from the software developer’s servers. If it is running from a different server, foten with a very similar domain name, the internal workings of the game could have been compromised. A slot machine with a standard 96.2% RTP could have been altered to reflect a 76.2% RTP, or any other percentage. Basically, loading the game from non-branded servers means the program was lifted, altered, and is now capable of ripping off players to any degree.

To find out what server the games are run from, you can either keep a close eye on the status info at the bottom of your browser as the game is loading (difficult and often too quick to verify), or open the frame source and scour the coding for the URL (painstaking, but far more accurate). I actually wrote a detailed report on How to Identify Fake Casino Software back in April.

In doing so, we find that WPokies casino games are run from these unauthorized and known rogue server addresses:

• Aristocrat Games: casinomodules.co
• NetEnt Games: casinomodules.co
• Novomatic Games: grandx.pro
• Playtech Games: casinomodules.co
• Amatic Games: grandx.pro
• IGT Games: gamesapi.net

Takeaways

What can we take away from these findings? For one, it’s very clear that the owners of WPokies Casino (whoever they may really be) are looking to spend as little money as possible to sustain their operation. They aren’t paying for a license. They aren’t paying for the games they present to their players. They may not be paying players at all.

There sure are a lot of winners listed on their incessantly scrolling ticker tape. But there’s no way to verify if they are real or made up. What hasn’t been faked are the numerous complaints of non-payment from the site. There’s not so many as to say no one is getting paid, but certainly enough to raise flaming red flags.

It was reported in December 2018 that NetEnt confirmed the bootlegging of its software by WPokies, and in December 2018 that customer support is entirely unresponsive to complaints from both players and watchdogs. Similar complaints have continued month after month, with the same result – no response, and no authoritative licensing body to turn to.