Terms and Conditions Associated with a Bonus

When you register at an online casino, it is important to read all of the Terms and Conditions. Still, it is just as important is to read the Terms and Conditions that are associated with any bonuses that you wish to claim. As soon as you make your real money deposit and accept a bonus, effectively your money is now a bonus. In order to have your money returned with extra cash on top, you will need to play through that bonus according to its Terms and Conditions. You need to be fully aware of the clauses that will affect your bonus. Luckily, they can found be in the bonus Terms and Conditions. You should only enter into a bonus once you are comfortable with its Terms and understand them. If you are in doubt about anything you should check with the casino’s customer support before making your deposit.

Once you have accepted the bonus you are bound by its Terms, there is no going back. A lot of complaints that are opened by players revolve around the player simply not reading or adhering to the Terms and the Conditions imposed by that casino. Don’t forget that, by claiming a bonus, you are accepting the casino’s Terms and Conditions.

In this guide we will talk about the reasons in which you could have your bonus forfeited for not being clear on the Terms and Conditions of your bonus.

Bonus abuse

Bonus abuse is a term that is often used by casinos, denoting the occurrence of players failing to adhere to the bonus rules that they accept. One example of when a player abuses a casino’s bonus could be if you were to accept multiple bonuses under one IP address, household or even shared computer. Often the casino will restrict a bonus to one per household, so if there are multiple users in your household, you should always check with the casino before you all register to receive their bonuses.

Another common form of bonus abuse is when players open multiple accounts to repeatedly receive the welcome bonus. Bonus abuse simply occurs when the Terms and Conditions have been explicitly violated. If you were to repeatedly open new accounts to, say, keep receiving a Free Spins promotion, you would be flagged for bonus abuse as a result of violating the Terms and Conditions.

Bonus abuse could also apply to players that are placing bets equal or higher than the maximum amount that is stated in the bonus Terms and Conditions. If you are a player that enjoys placing high bets, you should always check what the maximum bet is you are allowed to make. This way you will not risk having your bonus forfeited for exceeding that amount. Once you have completed your bonus wagering, you will be free to place higher bets if that is what you wish.

Irregular betting pattern

This is a term that is often described in the bonus Terms and Conditions and can often be a reason you could have your bonus and any winnings attached to it forfeited by the casino. This term can also be referred to as ‘irregular playing pattern’ or ‘bonus abuse’. Any bonus that you accept will have wagering requirements attached to them and you must meet those wagering requirements before you are able to withdraw your winnings. If a player is showing irregular betting patterns, what this means is they are not betting in order to win money, but only play low risk games and wager the bare minimum in order to be able to withdraw cash out of the casino. If a casino finds that you have been following this term, they will indeed forfeit your bonus and may even suspend your account from future gameplay. The casino will usually check your account for irregular betting patterns on submission of a withdrawal.

Other examples of irregular betting patterns include, but are not limited to placing single bets that are equal to or in excess of a percentage of the value of the bonus credited to your account. This percentage value will vary from casino to casino. When you accept a bonus, the casino does indeed reserve the right to decide in its sole discretion which activities will constitute towards irregular betting patterns.

Playing restricted games with bonus funds

One of the clauses that you may find within a bonus’ Terms and Conditions are the games that you can play while playing with bonus funds. It is important that you know what games you can play and what games you can’t play. Even if you are a player that only enjoys slots, these restrictions could affect your bonus in different ways. You will always need to meet the casino’s wagering requirements, so picking the right games that count towards this wagering is vital. Wagering requirements and game restrictions are in place to protect the bonuses that the casinos give away.

When it comes to playing slots most casinos will allow your gameplay to count 100% towards the wagering requirements, although this is not always the case. Most casinos, however, will not allow the play of table games like blackjack, for example, to count 100% towards your wagering requirements. The contribution on these kind of games could even be as little as 10%. Games like these have lower house edges, which means that they have higher odds of winning than other games. This is why some casinos will lower the wagering contributions for some of their games or even completely exclude certain games from their bonus offers. As well blackjack, other popular games like roulette, sic bo, craps and baccarat can often be excluded or have lower weightings when it comes to the wagering requirements of your bonus.

Bonuses are often game specific and more often than not these are towards video slots. If you are a player who just plays table games, you should maybe look for a casino bonus that is aimed purely towards those games. The only other restriction that could be set in place by a casino when it comes to games is for progressive jackpot games. Although most casinos nowadays will allow you to play progressive jackpot games while using a bonus, some will not, so you should always check this before playing.

Bonuses and country-based restrictions

As we mentioned at the beginning of this guide, a common reason you may not be entitled to claim a bonus is because of the country from which you are playing. Most casinos will nowadays restrict players from specific countries for eligibility for bonus offers. The main reason why casinos place these restrictions is because of a rise in bonus abuse from certain geographic locations. Before you accept any bonuses, you need to check that the country where you play from is eligible to receive the bonus. Reading the bonus Terms and Conditions is an absolute necessity.

Make sure you are always well informed on the bonus details, which means that you can never have any unexpected surprises, but will instead enjoy a pleasant and trouble-free time at your casino of choice.