Researching about something that you are going too interested in or you would be playing that again. But dont you think we are doing it at place. We have to rethink about our decision even from root level. Either we are putting our money in a thing, would this thing be legit? Would it be profitable for us? These scam or not things can be solved later once you finalize your field.
That which you have said is a personal thing and has nothing to do with scam. Normally, I do not expect someone who wants to gamble not to have been able to sit out the reason why he or she is set out to gamble anyway and knowing that having the wrong mentality would set them for a very long run of sadness if care is not taken.
Nevertheless, with respect to spotting a scam, it is all just about doing some research and checking for reviews of such platforms online and it could even be applicable to anything online and not just gambling.