Mobile gambling is the future of the online casino market, with millions of mobile users around the world using their smartphones and tablet computers the access their favourite games. Free games have emerged as a new niche in the mobile gaming and casino market, but authorities are worried about their security, and the potential harm they can cause for mobile users.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Juniper Networks's Mobile Threat Centre has found that free casino and racing apps pose the biggest risks to mobile players. A report by the company examined 1.7 million applications available in various app markets and found that hundreds of thousands of these applications have the potential expose personal data over the internet.

Free casino game applications are meant to provide players with play-money version of their favourite card games, table games and slots. However, research found that players could be jeopardizing their safety while doing so, as many apps access information that they do not particularly require. For example, 94% access phone calls, 83% access the user’s camera and 85% could access and send texts.

"If people choose to use free applications, they will likely need to provide information in exchange,” says Dan Hoffman of Juniper Networks. “Many do not realise that this tracking is happening and may not be making informed choices." Free applications are more likely than paid apps to access a player’s location, but developers do not justify why they require the information.

Hoffman believes that developers should not be able to access certain types of mobile data unless it is necessary for the application to run. Until this is the case, developers should strictly outline why they need to access the information. Additionally, players should use discretion when downloading applications.

Players often ignore the messages which dictate the information that the application will access, but this is important data. As such, they should closely examine the information and decide if they are willing to divulge the data before downloading the app.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.