Online casinos have a wide variety of bonuses to entice players to either register with them or to continue playing. These bonuses include free money, free spins, free tokens, and many more. Players however are subjected to certain terms and conditions when it comes to these bonuses. This is to ensure that these people don’t just claim the bonuses and run off with the free money that these casinos offer.
There are some however who find ways to circumvent the terms and conditions set by these casinos. This is what an online gambling bonus abuse is all about – people who try to cheat casinos of these bonuses by finding loopholes in these terms and conditions and availing of what can only be considered “free money”.
How Online Casino Bonus Abuse Happens
So, how do people cheat casinos of these bonuses that they offer players? Here are some of the methods that they use:
Betting huge amounts to skirt playthrough amount – Some people try to circumvent the necessary betting requirements of some casinos to avail of bonuses faster. For example, if a $50 deposit qualifies you to a bonus provided that you bet 40X this amount, this means $2,000 in bets have to be made before the person can avail of the bonus. Some people circumvent this by finding machines that allow $500 maximum bets. This means they can avail of the bonus only after 4 spins of max bets.
Some casinos have tried to counteract this by restricting the maximum bets of such players to $100. This forces players to actually bet less and play more, ensuring that they follow the playthrough conditions according to the casino’s guidelines. If a person is found to circumvent this particular rule by finding a machine they can bet big on, they are usually banned by the said casino.
Getting bonuses using multiple accounts – There are players who try to claim multiple welcome bonuses by creating different accounts on one casino. This is usually done with casinos that offer rather sizable welcome bonuses, such as 200% deposit match bonuses and the like. Those who try to cheat this system often use VPNs and fake credentials to create multiple accounts that they can gain such bonuses with.
People who use this strategy often use multiple emails and a few VPN (virtual private network) accounts to gain the huge bonuses such casinos offer. This may be why some casinos now lower their welcome bonuses to 50% instead of the usual 100%. The 200% match deposit bonus has also become pretty rare these days because of this.
Same bonus claimed over and over again – While most online casinos now have ways to prevent this, there are some that still have players claiming the same bonus over and over again. These are those casinos that don’t have software that prevents such things from happening.
What players do when they claim such bonuses over and over again is they log in, claim the bonus, then log out. They quickly log in again, claim the bonus again, and log out. They do this over and over until the casino tells them they’ve already claimed this bonus.
Consequences of Such Bonus Abuses
No bad deed goes unpunished and the abuse of online casino bonuses comes with its own set of consequences. The bad news is the consequences don’t only affect those who abused the system. It also affects the new players who register with these online casinos. Some of the consequences that come with online casino bonus abuse include:
Banning of the player in question – Players who are found to abuse these casino bonuses are banned from ever registering and playing at these online casinos. These usually don’t deter them from playing again since there are lots of other casinos for them to try and play in. Some even go so far as to use the credentials of other family members to continue with what they are doing.
Reduction of bonus offerings – This is one consequence that affects everyone, not only those who abuse these bonuses. When a bonus is abused, the casino in question often retaliates by either removing the said bonus or by reducing the amount that a person can get in bonuses. This is to discourage the abuse in the first place. When huge rewards are offered in match-deposit bonuses, people tend to abuse this. When the rewards aren’t as lucrative, people will not waste their time in trying to circumvent the system.
Removal of bonuses altogether – Some casinos choose to remove the match deposit bonus altogether and instead reward new players with something that they cannot withdraw or use just as quickly. These include free chips or spins instead of match deposit bonuses, discount coupons, and vouchers. These aren’t as attractive to those who are aiming to game the system so these aren’t that prone to bonus abuse.
Offering loyalty bonuses instead of match deposit bonuses– There are a few casinos that offer loyalty bonuses instead of match deposit bonuses. This is to discourage the abuse that people do when it comes to welcome bonuses. So, instead of offering 100% match deposit bonus for the first deposit, casinos offer sizable match deposit bonuses to players who have played for more than a month on their portal with a mandatory minimum bonus made within the month.
For example, if a player has played for more than a month at an online casino, they can only be eligible for the one month match deposit casino bonus if they’ve already deposited more than $200 in credits into their account in the past month. Some casinos even require that the person log in at least once a week on their portal to guarantee them such a bonus.
How to Avoid Becoming an Online Casino Bonus Abuser
If you don’t want to be labeled an online casino bonus abuser or simply don’t want to be called a cheater, you should avoid doing any of the acts outlined above. Another thing you will want to do is to avoid what is called irregular play before you withdraw any funds that you may have won online with the use of an online casino bonus. Irregular play is defined as any type of gaming that you do that takes advantage of some of the flaws of the online casino’s rules and games.
Not all casinos are victims of online casino bonus abuse. Some of them are, in fact, the ones who abuse their bonuses and deny their players of what is rightfully theirs. If you don’t want to be scammed out of any bonuses that you are entitled, there are a few things you need to do.
For starters, register only with casinos that have a sterling reputation. To find out if a casino is fair, check reviews online to see how they are rated. If they are noted to be unfair and have been known to withhold rightful winnings from players, steer clear. You also need to check the terms and conditions of these casinos when it comes to withdrawing your winnings. Knowing what you can about their processes and rules will help you skirt any problems that may arise with withdrawals if you know what you will have to do or what you will face.
