The
bonuses offered by the online casinos are the best tool in their
arsenal to attract new players, but it could easily turn against
them. For people new to the online casinos, the bonus offer is the
most likely incentive to choose one casino over another, but
oftentimes this could be a mistake. The online casino bonus problem
often derives from the fact that the new players have no idea how
the bonus works. There are two types of bonuses offered by
the online casinos - the sign-up bonus, which is the point of this
piece, and the existing player bonuses. We will look at the fist
type of casino bonus, which is the one causing the most headache for
players and casinos alike.
All online casinos offer bonuses for new players, which
could be as small as $7 and as big as $5,000. But there is always a
catch and we will break down how the bonus works and what to look
for when you are faced with
casino bonus dilemma.
The first thing new gamblers need to realize is that
although all online casinos list their bonuses as dollar amounts,
they all use percentage to calculate the bonuses they give to their
new customers. For example, a casino may have a $500 sign-up bonus
for new players, but this doesn't mean that new players will get
$500 when they sign up with the casino. The actual offer is a
percentage of your deposit UP TO $500; to use an example, you may
get 100% on your first deposit, up to $500 free, i.e. you have to
deposit $500 and then the casino will add another $500 to your
account. If your first deposit happened to be only $100, you will
not get $500, but only $100 instead (100% of your first deposit).
That's why when we ranked our best online casinos by bonus offer,
you may see one casino ranking higher, although they offer the same
bonus as an online casino ranking lower. The reason is likely that
percentage-wise the higher-ranked casino offers better bonus.
Most often, when you visit the online casino and check
their promotions, you will see what the percentage bonus is. But
what you should also pay a great deal of attention to is the
"play-through" bonus requirements, often hidden in the fine print.
The play-through requirements are the amount of wagers you have to
make, as related to the amount of bonus received, before you can
withdraw your winnings. For example, if the bonus you get from the
online casino is $100 and the play-through requirements are 30x the
bonus, you have to wager $3,000 ($100x30) before you can withdraw
the winnings from the bonus offer. Keep in mind that you only have
to "wager" that amount, not lose that amount. If you place 3,000 $1
bets at the blackjack table, you have met those requirements, no
matter whether you won or lost.
This may seem a bit unfair to beginner gamblers, but you
need to understand that if these requirements were nonexistent,
players would simply open an account, get the bonus and withdraw the
money without even playing at the casino. This, however, doesn't
mean that you should take the play-through requirements as they come
- some online casinos have higher bonus play-through requirements
than others, which would increase your chances of losing the bonus
money.
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