Main Menu
Casino
Take Care With
  Casino Bonuses
Down
Casino Games
Slots
Card Games
GGG
 
 
 
  | Home   | Index   | TV   | Main News   | Email
 
Take Care with Casino Bonuses 
 
We obviously are happy that casinos add something to our accounts when we join up. There are even no-deposit bonuses where you get a small amount of money to play with without adding anything of your own. There are however some very complicated rules and conditions that go with many online casino bonuses, some of which are a bit shocking and can cause problems for players who had every intention of sticking to the conditions. Thats why its always good to choose a site with a detailed and easily found bonus terms page like Insta Casino. We've seen sites like 32Red where the link to this page is called "View Terms" and written in a colour that virtually can not be seen on the screen.

No more free money
In the early days of the online casino world the number one thing was to get customers and casinos did give money to players depositing or even with no deposit without much in the way of conditions. Much was made of this in the newspapers and many people religously joined sites just to get the money and withdraw it. This is not possible now even though there are some websites charging money to show you where these bonuses are and promising you can make £/$ 1000 per month doing it. You can't, stay clear of them.


What to Do
Really simply put and very important, if the bonus is important to you, maybe because that is why you joined, then please just get to the T & Cs page and read carefully. There are very surprising rules that will cost you money if you don't know and cause disputes which are hard to win (but not impossible).

Games that Qualify
All casinos have different targets to achieving the full bonus and this involves having to play an amount equivalent to many times your deposit. So a typical casino will require you to bet 40 times as much money as your deposit. So if you deposit £20 you will have make bets in total of £800 to qualify. Some others are much worse as they require you to gamble 40 times the promised bonus. 32Red again asks you to bet £6400 to get your £160 bonus on a £50 deposit!

Games that Qualify
All the casinos we have looked at have different contributions from each game. So slots normally contribute 100% of the money you spin-up but many have restrictions even on these with bonus plays. Casino games are typically the worst contributers down at 10% or even 2%. Meaning if you bet £10 at Blackjack then the contribution is £1.

Zero Contribution Games
Take care with zero contribution games. A site like the Hippodrome has odd rules when it comes to these. For them Classic Blackjack is a 0% contribution game and if you play this it holds the right to void any winnings made from such games at its discretion. Not saying they are going to but why have this as an option!?

Forfeit
Some sites will stipulate that if you withdraw real money winnings before the full wagering requirements have been met you may do so by forfeiting the Bonus and all winnings! This seems crazy but once you accepted the Bonus offer you are tied into these rules.

Multiple sites operated by the same company
Many online casinos operate branded versions of their software with skins in another name. They too will have a bonus offer but unless you get a request from them to join up, which means you are a good loser, the bonus will not be on offer if you have already taken a bonus on one of their other sites.

Restricted Territories
Players from Poland, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Russia, Czech Republic, Portugal, Slovakia, Latvia and Thailand and others (so please check) will be prevented from getting bonuses from many casinos.

Maximum Stake
Beware that some sites have a maximum bet size that counts towards your bonus. This makes you play lots of small bets so their advantage in that bet or game gets played lots of times, increasing your chance of losing your money.

Disputes
If you have a dispute then contact customer services of the site first. They do sometimes help in a positive way. If in doubt or not getting anywhere then look at the Gambling advertising rules and regulations for the Gambling Commission's latest position and contact them if you need help on how to tackle a dispute. They don't respond quickly so get to them early whilst you are dealing with the site itself.

 

 
Home | Index | Information | Links | Advice | Diary | This Week | Columns | News | Email
Lotteries | Casino Gambling | Games | Betting | Equipment | Film Review | Book Review | Glossary
 

This document maintained by GGGeditor.
Material Copyright © 2000 - 2016 TheGoodGamblingGuide.com