There are risks to buying coin packages on social casino apps. Use these tips to protect your money and identify.
Fraud Risk
If you play an app on any of your devices and make a purchase you must link your financial data (credit card or other account information) to that app in some way in order to complete the purchase.
That data may come from your Google Play account or an Apple store account and while those services centralize payment processing in order to protect you from having to share your data with multiple apps and businesses they cannot guarantee 100% protection.
Every time you put your personal account information online anywhere you immediately increase your risk for fraudulent transactions.
Your data gets stored on some server somewhere in the world and any such server storing credit card details is a potential target for hackers. As much as companies strive to protect this data there are thieves out there working just as hard to crack the code.
Big companies everywhere have fallen victim – Target, Home Depot, and Starbucks to name a few – and if you’ve ever had to work to get fraudulent transactions refunded and credit and debit cards replaced you know this can be a time consuming process on your end.
In addition, if your phone ends up in the hands of someone else they may be able to make transactions with your Google Play account depending on your security settings, app settings, and other information stored on your phone.
TIP #1 Require a password, fingerprint or facial recognition to unlock your phone.
TIP #2 Buy Google Play gift cards at a local store and use those to make in-app purchases instead of entering your credit or debit card information.
If you buy these cards at a grocery store and are a member of the store’s rewards program you may get gas points or other discounts in exchange for the purchase and save yourself a few cents.
Financial Risk
Hopefully it’s not news to you that social casino apps exist almost exclusively to make money.
They have not created these apps out of the goodness of their hearts just to keep us all entertained.
They have large expenses and hope to cover those costs AND profit through one of two ways – in-app ads and in-app purchases.
If they have in-app 3rd party ads they may make anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars for a click on one of those ads.
However, the real money is in coin package purchases.
I have seen packages that cost as much as $199 and all of that is pure profit to the app creator. What they are selling is not tangible, does not require supplies, has no production expense, does not require any shipping and has no value elsewhere.
Just one such purchase certainly pays a lot more than a number of ad clicks.
Because they make so much from these sales their advertising, layouts, and messaging are designed to encourage every player to buy coins.
More than that, though, once you do buy coins you can be sure your account is somehow marked in that app creator’s data. Any good business would keep track of those who have already spent money with them so that they can market to them differently in an effort to make more money.
They want your money – as much of it as they can get whether that means you use money you’ve set aside for your own expenses or not.
TIP #3 – Be aware that these apps are always trying to market to you.
You may be opening yourself up to different kinds of messaging and offers. That may be obvious to most people but not to everyone.
Sometimes just being aware that the way offers are structured in these apps is a marketing ploy may help you to decide when you should and should not spend money in these apps.
I read an article recently referring to big spenders on these apps as “whales” – a term real casinos have used for high rollers for years.
Big spenders might shell out hundreds of dollars on these apps in a year – far more in some cases.
It’s also very easy to lose track of what you’ve spent. You spend $4.99 and it doesn’t seem like much but maybe that’s gone in a few minutes and you justify another purchase of $4.99. It might seem like a small amount but it adds up over time. Before you know it you’ve spent $50.
TIP #4 – Keep track of what you spend.
Whether you jot it down in a little notebook, keep track on a spreadsheet, or make a note in another app on your phone you’ll be more in control of your spending.
Someone who spends a lot of money buying chips on these apps may just be flush with disposable income and you’re certainly free to spend that however you want.
I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with spending one’s money this way. Anyone who goes to a movie is doing something similar – laying out cash for entertainment and you walk away with nothing tangible.
Addiction Risk
If you have an addictive personality – if you think there’s any possibility that you could spend more than you intend on one of these apps – then there are things you can (and should) do to keep that from happening.
TIP #5 – Stick to apps that you can delete and reinstall as a new player with fresh, free bonus coins any time you run out (like King Spin Slots).
TIP #6 – Stick to casino apps that offer a higher free-coin-to-minimum-bet comparison.
If you compare two apps and one of them only provides enough daily free coins to cover 50 spins at the minimum amount and another offers enough free coins each day to spin 200 times at the minimum then play the 2nd app. You’ll see less need to buy coins.
TIP #7 – Set bet limits. Tell yourself you won’t increase your bet to a new level until you’ve built up a certain number of free coins.
These apps let you up your bet on the slots – often even defaulting to a high bet – knowing that it will cause you to run out of coins more quickly.
Don’t fall for it. Bet low and stay low until you’ve won enough free coins to safely cover a higher bet without running out.
TIP #8 – If you find yourself getting in too deep get help.
These “free” slots can be just as addictive and costly as real gambling. We all have weaknesses of one kind or another and getting help for this kind of addiction is nothing to be ashamed of. You can contact NCPG for assistance.
These casino apps CAN be a fun way to relax and de-stress and they can be used without costing a dime or causing you any additional harm. Just be informed and take steps to protect your personal information and your wallet.