Evaluating Online Casino Deposit Bonuses
Posted on 9th Jul, 2010
The online casino industry is a very big industry. Not only is it big, it is also very crowded. There are literally hundreds, even thousands of online casinos out there all fighting one another to get a new player to sign up with them. In a saturated market like this, aggressive marketing tactics should be utilized. But, marketing strategies like advertisements, promos and referral programs have all been done before. However, just like what marketing people say, if you can’t think of a new idea, just improve on what you already have. This concept applies to deposit online casino bonuses. More and more online casinos have increased the amount of bonuses they offer.
Most online casinos offer deposit bonuses that are a couple of hundred dollars. Some offer a few thousand and still there are some that offer deposit bonuses as high as $20,000. But does increasing the deposit bonus guarantee more player sign-ups? The answer would be yes and no. One has to keep in mind that it is not just the amount that you have to consider. One has to evaluate these bonuses thoroughly to get the best value for your money. Here are some factors you might want to look into.
First is the attribute of the deposit bonus. One has to look at the maximum amount of bonus and the percent of the deposit that the casino gives as a bonus. This is one factor of deposit bonuses most people misunderstand. For example, one online casino offers a 100% deposit bonus that is subject to a $5000 dollar maximum. Any player would think that this is a very large deposit bonus casino. Yes it may appear to be that way, but for anyone to get the $5000 bonus, one has to deposit $5000 to his or her casino account to maximize the 100% bonus. Remember that not everyone can deposit that amount, so the 100% bonus will not be fully maximized.
Another factor to consider is the wagering requirements. Usually, information regarding wagering requirements can be seen in the online casinos Terms and Conditions. Each casino has a different way of interpreting the wagering requirement but here are the most common. One is that you should wager both your deposit money and deposit bonus a number of times to claim earnings. The other is that you should wager only the deposit bonus a set number of times before he or she can claim earnings. One has to read the fine print clearly to understand this. But to keep it simple, here’s an example. Say a casino offers a 100% deposit bonus to a maximum of $100 but has to wager that 40 times. All in all, the money you are wagering is worth $8000. This is a big amount and there is a possibility that you would lose all that money. So is the deposit bonus worth it?
Again before signing up, one has to remember to read the Terms and Conditions of the online casino very carefully. Although most of them disclose this information freely and openly, there are still some who would try to hide these things just for you to sign up.