3 Tools for a Safe and Smooth Experience When Betting on Ice Hockey

Hockey is a national sport in Canada. It has millions of fans who meticulously follow every single NHL game, and just as many who enjoy betting on the sport. After all, who doesn’t like cashing in on their knowledge and making an extra buck while supporting their favorite team?

In today’s time, there are many trustworthy online sportsbooks in Canada where you can safely and securely place a bet. However, if you like going the extra mile, you can even add another layer of security to make your gambling experience even better.

Curious to learn more?

We’ve prepared a short guide to show how to protect yourself when gambling online. We will also show you how to pick the best device for betting online and even tell you how to elevate your betting experience to a whole new level.

Top 3 Tools To Use For Betting on Ice Hockey

Picking the Best Device for Betting

To bet online, you will need a device you can use to place a bet, compare odds, follow the latest sports news, watch match highlights, and more. Depending on your preference and your needs, you can either go for a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, or a PC.

The good news is that sportsbook apps or internet browsers aren’t demanding on your hardware, so you won’t need a flagship phone or a high-end PC that can end up being quite costly.

Still, to make sure everything runs smoothly, there are a few specifications you should look out for when getting a device you can use for betting.

CPU and RAM are the two most important aspects you should consider when getting a smartphone, a tablet, or a PC. Most modern-day smartphones have a quad-core processor, which is more than enough to run lightweight sportsbook apps or browsers you use to access sportsbooks.

Regarding RAM, 4 GB should be enough for your phone, but if you wish to be on the safe side, you can always get a phone with 6 GB of RAM or even more.

As far as a PC goes, make sure you have at least a quad-core processor and at least 8 GB of RAM. In most cases, an integrated graphics card will do, but if you plan to watch match recaps or highlights in high resolutions, such as 2K or 4K, you should consider getting a dedicated graphics card—1050Ti or anything better should do the trick.

Since a 1050Ti is relatively old, you may even get it fairly cheap, if that’s even a thing in today’s market.

Additionally, you should also go for SSD storage if you can afford it to make sure your PC boots up in seconds. Unlike GPUs, SSDs are somewhat cheap, and you should always consider SSD over HDD.

Staying Safe with VPN

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) encrypt all the data you send, protecting your privacy and adding another layer of security. In other words, a VPN is an excellent way to stay safe when gambling online, especially if you like to bet on the go and often connect to public WiFi networks.

As the name suggests, public WiFi is accessible by anyone. However, since a lot of public networks are unencrypted, connecting to a public network can be risky.

Namely, all the data you send to the router can be seen by everyone on the public network. Hackers can exploit it to access sensitive information like your passwords and personal data and potentially hijack your credit card and banking accounts, which is where VPN comes in handy.

Additionally, if you are using a VPN that uses a no-logs policy, you also prevent sites to store your activity and bombard you with targeted ads. It may not sound all too important, but it is extremely helpful if you use your device for more than just gambling and want to keep your betting separate from other activities.

An important thing to remember is that you should not use a VPN to circumvent sportsbooks’ geo-restrictions. Even though most sportsbooks allow the use of VPNs, using a VPN to join the sportsbook from a country that’s on the sportsbook’s restricted list goes against sportsbooks’ policies and may cause the sportsbook to permanently close your account and withhold all your funds after you fail to pass the KYC check.

Everyone Needs a Good Wallet

Crypto betting is one of the latest trends in the online gambling industry and a crypto wallet is the first thing you should get before you can buy crypto or use it for betting. Even though a wallet may not improve your betting experience, per se, having a crypto wallet will surely open a slew of new betting possibilities you can take advantage of.

Crypto wallets work much like your everyday wallets and are designed to store your funds. However, instead of storing physical cash, crypto wallets store private keys you use to sign cryptocurrency transactions and the interface you use to trade crypto.

There are several types of wallets, such as:

• Desktop
• Mobile
• Web
• Hardware

Desktop and mobile are considered hot wallets. They are software you install either on your desktop or your smartphone and use to send and receive crypto. Desktop and mobile wallets are generally easy to set up and even easier to use. The main downside of mobile and desktop wallets is that you may lose your crypto if you lose your phone or if your PC gets hacked or has a faulty storage drive.

Web wallets are service providers that store crypto for you. While this does mean you are not responsible for your device’s security, web wallets are often targeted by hackers. Moreover, a lot of web wallet service providers prohibit gambling, so chances are you might not even be able to use your web wallet for betting online.

Hardware wallets are physical devices, like a USB device, for example. They are a form of cold storage wallets and are considered the most secure method for storing crypto. The downside to hardware wallets is that they are a tad more complicated and more time-consuming to use.

Hardware wallets excel in security but are generally designed for storing life savings or large amounts of crypto, while desktop and mobile wallets are better suited for betting online. Of course, the decision is entirely up to you, so you should carefully consider your priorities before deciding which type of wallet to get.

The Wrap Up

The latest advancements in technology have made online betting more convenient and accessible than ever.

Now that you know how to pick the right device for the job and how to protect your data, the only thing left to do is find a reputable and trustworthy sportsbook where you can bet on hockey, or any other sport, for that matter.

And if you get a wallet, you can even bet using crypto!

The most important thing to remember is that betting is risky, so make sure to gamble responsibly—don’t bet to chase your losses, and never bet with the money you cannot afford to lose.