Casino bonuses promise a lot: a large cash balance, dozens of free spins, a refund of some of your losses… All you need to do is make a deposit, and sometimes even that is not necessary. When selected and used correctly, these bonuses can be very useful, but doing so may not be that easy. An inexperienced player can fall into the trap of “bonus abuse” or have their bonus voided because they did not pay attention to the wagering requirements. Here, we will discuss the most important things you need to know to make the most of online casino promotions (and without any problems).
What Is Bonus Abuse?
First, let’s start with the basic issue: what is bonus abuse? This constitutes an abuse of a bonus offered by an online casino and will result in the relevant promotion being voided, but the casino determines what qualifies as “abuse”. In most cases, the following actions are considered abuse:
- Trying to benefit from a promotion multiple times by opening different accounts,
- Acting contrary to wagering terms,
- Trying to complete the wagering process using certain tactics in specific games.
These are the most basic reasons for abuse and are valid in almost every online casino. However, never forget that every casino reserves the right to consider a particular action as abuse. In the bonus terms & conditions document, this is stated as “any action that indicates abuse of the promotion, even if not expressly stated”, and the discretion is left to the casino. In other words, the casino management has wide discretion as to what is and is not abuse. We can’t know what all the reasons will be, but we can at least help you by explaining what clearly stated reasons for abuse mean.
Bonuses Are for a Single Player
Let’s start with the first reason: let’s say you found a big welcome bonus and used it to get a cash balance of 10,000 PLN. Sounds good, right? The problem is that welcome packages are single-use. So, what if you try to register again with different account details and claim the same bonus again?
This is a clearly prohibited action and the first reason for the abuse listed above. Never do this. Casinos clearly state that their promotions are for a single person, and they even include people living in the same household. For example, let’s say you and your roommate register at the same casino. Since you both have the same IP address, it will be assumed that you have exceeded the single-person limit, and the abuse conditions will be met. (In most cases, you can contact support and explain the situation and have them make a one-time exception).
Do not try to change your IP address using a VPN or proxy. Casinos are surprisingly good at identifying people and locations – it is very difficult to fool them. Even if you manage to do this during registration, it will eventually be detected that you are playing with multiple accounts. There is no way to bypass this limitation, but we recommend that you evaluate offers from different sites rather than registering on the same site multiple times. For example, without leaving the casino you are currently a member of, you can take advantage of the Bruce Bet kod promocyjny bez depozytu offer and open an account at this online casino.
Wagering Requirements “Trap”
The most complicated aspect of casino bonuses can be the wagering requirements. So much so that it can even become a trap for a player who doesn’t know what it is.
Even the United Kingdom Gambling Commission has special rules about transparency of wagering terms – it is that important. To explain what it is, we first need to briefly touch on how gambling promotions work:
- The money you get from a promo or the winnings you get from a game using that money is transferred to a special balance.
- This balance remains locked until a process called “wagering” is completed.
- Once the wagering is complete, it is unlocked, and the money inside is transferred to your real balance (and can be used/withdrawn).
Wagering is playing games at a casino using your own money until you reach a certain total amount. This total amount is determined by the wagering rate and the bonus amount. The table below will show you what the total amount that needs to be wagered will be in different scenarios:
|
BONUS AMOUNT |
WAGERING RATE |
TOTAL WAGER AMOUNT |
|
250 PLN |
30x |
7,500 PLN |
|
500 PLN |
15x |
7,500 PLN |
|
1,000 PLN |
40x |
40,000 PLN |
In other words, “bonus x wagering rate = amount that needs to be wagered”. But that’s not all, as there are many restrictions applied to your account until you reach this amount. The most common examples are:
- The types of games you can play may be restricted. You can play any game you want, but only your wagers on some of them will be taken into account (others do not contribute to the process). You will usually be asked to play slot machines.
- Your maximum bet limit may be restricted. There may be a limit on the maximum bet you can place on any game until the wagering process is over. This will usually be between 6 PLN and 10 PLN. This is to prevent you from completing the process too quickly.
- You may be restricted from withdrawing. If you withdraw your winnings before the wagering process is over, your bonus balance or winnings may be void.
The only thing you can do about this condition is to choose bonuses with low wagering rates.
For example, do not claim if the rate of an offer exceeds 40x: it may take too long to reach the required wager total. If there is also a time limit to complete this process, this can become a big problem.
Forbidden Tactics & Strategies
Some games give the player a higher edge, and it is possible to increase this even more by using certain strategies in these games. This will speed up the wagering process explained above, and casinos do not want this. Therefore, the use of some strategies is considered abuse.
The most common example of this is trying to complete the wagering process by playing even money bets on single zero roulette. This gives a chance of winning close to 48% on each spin and is prohibited for the same reason. All other strategies that allow you to increase your edge will also be considered in this context – do not think that this is specific to roulette and even money bets.
The best thing you can do here is to focus on games with high RTP without using a specific tactic/strategy. For example, play blackjack if it is allowed – its RTP is above 99%. If you have to play slot games, choose slots with an RTP of 95% and above. This way, you can speed up the wagering process a little without falling into abuse.
The last (and best) piece of advice we can give is to read the terms and conditions of use of bonus offers carefully. Everything you need to know about a promotion is written in this document. So, before you claim an offer, read it to find out exactly what is expected of you – this is the best way to make the most of gambling promotions.
