Each week Steve Adkins reports on the good, the bad, and the ugly in the online gambling scene. WINNERonline welcomes feedback on Adkins' remarks from both players and casinos. Send your comments to reception@winneronline.com. Your comments may be published.

I am always writing or saying something about Bad Casinos and how they rip off the online gambler. I would be amiss if I did not cover the other end of the fraud claim.

First, let me point out that there are more gamblers ripping off casinos then there are casinos ripping off customers. When a player goes into a casino and makes a purchase and then charges back their purchase, the casino cannot very well come into a message board and say "Mr. So and So ripped us off". But if that casino does anything that even appears to be unfair, players are quick to publish their opinions in message boards and news groups all over the Internet. It's an unfair disadvantage to the casino.

The biggest fraud is committed when a player makes a purchase and then disputes this with their bank. Since there is no signature on file most banks give the customer the benefit of the doubt. But what does this do to the online gaming industry?

I know of two OPA casinos that get over $80,000 back each month in chargebacks. $80,000! When this happens it is the honest player that suffers. First there is going to be less bonus money available -- when you have to write off that amount of money you have to cut corners somewhere. Second, when the honest player wins sometimes they are run through the ringer before they get paid. The casino has to do this to make sure you're not going to do a chargeback. Of course casinos do not trust online gamblers anymore than online gamblers trust the casinos.

This is a widespread problem that the casinos have to deal with on a daily basis. This whole matter of chargebacks in my opinion could be completely eliminated if the casino would make the gambler sign for all purchases. Pain in the butt you say? Yes, but if it stops this widespread abuse why would we not want to sign for our purchases?

I suggest that all online casinos make gamblers sign for their charges. When you go to the store and buy something with a credit card you are required to sign. This is no different.

The second method of scamming a casino is by opening multiple accounts in the same casino to receive a bonus. On whatever account they might win, they want to be paid. It does not matter to them that they have 12 accounts that all got the bonus already. This is fraud! Plain and simple.

It is time to address the issue of player fraud just as we address the casino fraud issue. Jerks that create chargebacks for casinos hurt us all. I am trying to get casinos to make players sign for their purchases for the first few times they make a purchase in the casino. I realize this is not going to go over very well with most players. The point is if we do not stop this fraud, there are not going to be any honest casinos left in business.

It's time to straighten out all the fraudulent activities in the online gaming industry -- casinos as well as players.

Now I would like to give you an update on some previous problems that have been reported to the OPA.

WindnSea Gaming promised they would send me proof last week of them sending out checks to winners. It did not happen. Just another reason to avoid all the casinos that are connected to them.

Sportbet.com claims a player used a robot to win 30k from the casino. The manager Jake claimed that playing 8 hands a minute was impossible. Sorry Jake, but with the help of some online gamblers I have proved this not to be true. It is possible. Our advice to you is to PAY THE PLAYER UNLESS YOU CAN PROVE THAT HE CHEATED.

This week we've added Hometown Casino to the OPA "not recommended" list. This is the casino that claims the owner Jim Palhatte has died. They offered to send proof of this claim but have since refused to do so. You need to be very careful with this casino and its sister casino Downtown Casino. I think when you blame not paying people on the death of the owner that you should provide details of his death. As of the writing of this article I have been told by Mike at security to mind my own business. He has also threatened a woman with having her arrested in Boston for extortion. Very unprofessional staff there at Hometown, please do not waste your time or money.

Steve Adkins
President, OPA

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The Online Players Association is an association of casino owners, forum managers, and online players working to "cleanup" the industry, assist mutual parties in earning complete trust, and establish integrity for us all. For more information, or to join the OPA, go to www.onlineplayersassociation.com

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