Mirrors and alternative addresses: how to recognise the real site
A "mirror" is a copy of a website at another address. Gambling operators use them when the main address is unreachable. For a player, one thing matters most: fake copies hide among mirrors and harvest passwords and card details. This page explains how to check an address, not how to get around restrictions.
Access restrictions
In many countries regulators can order internet providers to block gambling sites that lack a local licence. If you cannot open a site, that may be the reason. Finding an alternative address does not answer the question of whether the operator may serve your country; check the operator's licence and your country's rules instead.
How to spot a fake copy
- The address differs from the real one by a letter, a hyphen or the domain ending.
- The site redirects you to a payment outside the normal cashier.
- Login asks for data the real site doesn't (such as a card PIN).
- You got the link in an unknown message or advert.
Before logging in
- Check the address in the browser bar, not the link text.
- Check the site has a valid certificate for that address.
- Compare the footer: company name and licence number.
- If in doubt, do not enter your password and contact operator support through a channel you know.
If you already entered your details
Change your password on the real site immediately, and anywhere you reused it. If you entered card details, call your bank and block the card. Keep the fake site's address and report it to the operator.
Why mirrors don't solve legal questions
An operator reachable only through alternative addresses does not become more accessible in a legal sense. In a dispute what matters is which company runs the site, where it is licensed and which law applies — information found in the footer and terms, not in the domain name. Operators usually announce an address change to existing players by email from an address you already know; a link from a stranger or a social media ad is more likely to be fake.