Online casinos are on the rise, which can only mean one thing: more bonuses to feast your eyes on. These offers are of the most effective ways for casinos to capture the attention of new players and to keep existing customers engaged. It’s also a great way to boost one’s bankroll and cash in on some extra profits.
However, such incentives are seldom straightforward. When you see the marketing material for such an offer, it just seems too good to be true. It’s almost like the casino is giving away free money for nothing! Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as free lunch. While the promotion may offer some value, they usually come with many strings attached.
Even though a casino promotion looks fantastic on paper, it’s only when you read all the bonus rules, terms and conditions that you fully understand exactly how the offer works. Many new players regrettably, claim a casino promo without understanding the fine print. Only later do they realize that there are a lot of conditions they need to satisfy in order to gain any value from the offer.
In the online casino industry, certain promotional T&Cs have become standardized. Even though their details may vary from one offer to the next, the setup generally remains the same.
Let’s go over why such restrictions are put in place and explore some of the most common types of rules that online casino promotions are subject to.
Why Do Online Casinos Have Bonus T&Cs?
If casinos offered bonuses without any rules, it would simply not be a sustainable way to run the business. An online casino, at the end of the day, is a business after all. Without some rules and restrictions, it would be akin to a charity and players would inevitably exploit the incentive. In order to prevent bonus abuse and offer incentives to deserving players in a balanced and sustainable manner, online casinos publish and impose promotional rules, terms and conditions.
With that said, some online casinos take it too far and impose bonus rules that are far too restrictive. As a player, the only way to truly understand the value of an incentive is to understand its terms and conditions.
Yes, a casino promo is definitely one of the main attractive features that incentivize players to choose one provider or game over another. But! Before getting too caught up in the excitement and prospect of winning real money at a no deposit casino, know that there are certain T&Cs to read and follow. You surely don’t want to be flagged up as a bonus abuser by your provider, which more often than not, won’t end well. Trying to bend the rules to get an extra couple of offers is simply not worth it!
The Most Common Bonus Terms and Conditions
Wagering Requirements – also referred to as playthrough requirements, these tend to be the most significant bonus terms and also the biggest obstacle to overcome in order to withdraw the money you have received by claiming the offer. In a nutshell, they tell you how much of your own money you need to wager at the casino before the bonus funds you have received is eligible for withdrawal. There’s usually a time limit on how long you have to meet such requirements.
For example, if you’ve received $100 bonus funds by claiming a bonus with a wagering requirement of 10x the bonus amount, you first need to wager $1000 (10x $100), before you can withdraw the $100.
Game Wagering Contributions – some casino games have a higher house edge, and needless to say, online casinos prefer that you play these games since they’re more profitable. Therefore, when meeting wagering requirements, the casino could influence you to play such games by giving them a higher wagering contribution.
For instance, if the wagering contribution percentage of slots is 100% and for table games 50%, it means that 100% of any wager made on a slot game will be counted towards the fulfillment of outstanding wagering requirements. Whereas, only 50% of any wager made on a table game will be contributed towards wagering completion. So, you’d obviously be more inclined towards playing slots since you’d complete the wagering requirements much faster this way.
Minimum Deposit – this rule usually applies to promotions that require the player to make a deposit in order to claim the offer in question. The minimum deposit rule simply tells the player how much money they need to deposit in order to be eligible to benefit from the bonus on offer.
Validity – whether it’s free spins or bonus funds, an offer is usually only valid for a specified period of time. This timeframe is laid out in the promotional terms and conditions under the ‘validity’ clause.
Maximum Winnings – outlines the maximum amount of money you can withdraw from a casino promotion. Although not all promos have a cap on the amount that may be earned, in general, the lower the wagering requirements or the more lucrative the offer seems, the more likely there will be a limit.
Now You Have All the Information
You’re now equipped with all the information you need in order to claim a bonus and enjoy the fruits of your gambling labor. Always remember that whether it’s slots, blackjack or roulette, you need to know your limit. Even if the bonus makes it very attractive to put another $100 in after you have decided you’ve had enough, then be strong enough to quit. Always try end your gambling session on a high!
