Those looking to explore the endless possibilities of fortune and adventure within online casinos, will no doubt come across the familiar looking, brightly lit welcome bonus, a mouth-watering offer from the casino to the player, granting them playing money and free spins should they sign up to become a member.
With a huge figure being waved about, it plays a very influential role in what is essentially a marketing ploy. We take a closer look at the bonus structures offers by online casino operators. We pick at the small print to inform you of the honest facts behind them.
This will become information that you will need to know and want to know about. Do casino bonuses have value and fairness? Are promotional offers a scam and trick?
If you want the best out of service, then we are going to tell you exactly how it is all possible in the world of online casino gaming as we explore the world of the small print that goes largely unnoticed.
What are you being offered this time?
So, what are casino bonuses? Well, the answer covers both attract and retain aspects of marketing. Lure the player in and then keep them there with rewards. A rather cynical view but this is the reality, and this is shown throughout the small print of promotional offers known as the terms and conditions (T&Cs).
The welcome bonus presents big money that is exclusive to new players only. Sometimes they will add free spins into the offer to make it more irresistible. This is to solely get you into joining, nothing more, the big hook on the end of the line. The competition for membership numbers is huge, there are far too many casinos online, but your money is just as important as the next player.
Once you have signed up, the casino needs you to stay, and this is where the casino’s ongoing promotional offers will be used to retain your custom and membership. It is all methodically planned, and it will be planed to a tailored degree, so you feel that the personal touch means much more.
But, despite this, the fact remains that, yes, you can receive x-amount of money to play games with, and yes, you can receive x-number of spins to win money from. But just how good of a deal is it?
Marketing at its finest
When it comes to bonuses, there is only one person that can shine an expert line on the topic and that is the Editor-in-Chief at Norskonlinecasino, Ingerlise Dalen. Norskonlinecasino, is a comparison site for the Norwegian market that also provides players with exclusive bonus content, check the site here. Here is her reply to what value casino bonuses have…
“We specialise in the business of supplying limited and exclusive casino promotions, mainly the welcome bonus or in some cases a special promo offer. Their value varies and it’s all entirely relative to the terms and conditions provided as they are all uniquely different. Whether they are seen as good or bad, players must remember that casinos are under a regulatory obligation to provide fair and honest services. Fines have been issued in the past for rule breaches so, what is advertised will be rewarded. However, the full details are within the terms of the bonus offer.”
Time and time again, players and consumers, in general, are always told to read the small print, it is there for a reason. It is informative and essential in the use of what is the casino’s own money. The T&Cs will define the quality and worth of the offer and they are not all the same because different bonuses exist across the many casinos that are available to players online.
Types of promotional bonuses
The push on promotions and the lure of new players begins with the welcome bonus but it certainly does not end there. The most important goal is to retain those that sign to the casino, so the money does not flow elsewhere. Every casino online has a promotions page, and this offers all the ongoing and latest rewards that can be claimed throughout a player’s membership, every week, month, and year.
There are primarily two types of casino bonuses in existence, and they get re-packaged every which way to players. The most luring is the cash credit offers that you’ll see within the welcome bonus, and then you have the free spins. These two types of rewards will be found in deposit bonus specials, game of the week rewards, seasonal specials, loyalty, and VIP offers.
The welcome bonus itself can be a mix of both cash credit and free spins. These are often the largest of rewards because of their intent to lure players in. You might get anywhere up to 10,000 to play with and 500 free spins to win from, but the reward is relative to the offer at the time and depending on where you play.
Free spins are the most common of rewards because they also feature as an in-game bonus feature. Free spin bonuses are essentially free goes on games and the number can range from 5 to 500, again, depending on which casino you sign to.
The most rewarding of bonuses are those you usually pay for and these are the deposit bonuses. The deposit bonus requires you to put cash into your account first, in order for the bonus to become activated. The returned amount is relative to what you put in. The percentages change from 100% up to 400%, but the option to pay a minimum and the maximum amount is there which means if you want the most out of it then you have to put in more.
Now, if paying for the privilege seems less of a reward, there is an alternative casino bonus which is the no deposit bonus. This offer withdraws all requirements to pay into your account in order to activate the bonus return. For the no deposit bonus, you simply claim it. The rewards returned will be minimal and will also vary between either a cash credit return or some free spins.
No bonus is ever really the same. Different casinos will have different ways of rewarding their members and most importantly, they all have their own unique terms and conditions on how the bonus offers are to be used.
The boring small print
No one likes reading the small print, so we have done it all l for you. T&Cs can be and frankly are a bit of a bore, but they are there for a very good reason. It is important to know what deal you are paying into. The majority of casino bonuses found online are deposit-based bonuses, so there is a cost to all of this, and you want your spending to be wise.
The terms make the rules of use clear. If you collect free spins for a NetEnt new release slot, then you can only play this slot. Obvious, but sometimes clarity isn’t always presented first-hand.
So here are some of the more common terms that make there way into casino bonuses:
- The minimumdeposit value needed to activate the offer.
- The maximum amount you can deposit.
- Information on the eligible games that can be played with the bonus.
- The bonus expiry date.
- The Wagering Requirement is
- The Wagering games
Some of these seem clear and obvious, but not many players know what a Wagering Requirement is. They should because it’s everything important about the whole bonus process.
The terms of profit
The Wagering Requirement is everything you need to know about the integrity of the bonus, is it of worth, is it of value, is it fair and is it honest? Remember, these Wagering Requirement terms are deemed to be fair and honest by the regulators, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will like the rules.
The Wagering Requirement surrounds the rules relating to the withdrawal of winnings. If you claim a bonus from the casino and from that bonus more money is won, the Wagering Requirement sets a rule of additional costs that must be met in order for you to be able to withdraw the winnings.
This is somewhat harsh given the deposit was put down to activate the offer, and now you have the Wagering Requirement which is asking for more money and it is at a far greater cost.
The Wagering Requirement is a multiplication amount. Typically, the Wagering Requirement asked is 35x, now, it could be more and up to 75x or less and down to 20x in rare cases.
To explain, if you claimed a bonus of $100 and the Wagering Requirement is 35x, you will be asked to deposit and play through $3,500 in order to meet the Wagering Requirement so you can withdraw any winnings won through the bonus money.
How is it cleared by regulators? Well, if you win over the total sum asked of by the Wagering Requirement, then you have gained a huge profit. But all this is not obligatory. You do not have to play on and meet the demands, if you win some money, you do not need to meet any cost, just play casino games as you normally would and let the expiry of the bonus and Wagering term run out. Find value in what you use within the casinos, they are out there especially within sports betting bonuses and insurance offers.
That’s the small print covered, and we hope you can now play with a greater awareness of what rewards are available and what value bonuses have.
