Online casino bonuses must be treated with caution

Almost every marketing man in the world will tell you that the best way to attract the attention of prospective customers is to give them the idea that they are getting a bargain. In retail businesses this is usually in the form of seasonal sales or cut price offers, but for online casino operators the carrot is generally some form of an online casino bonus, often called a welcome bonus. Some of these online casino bonuses are indeed a bargain, particularly the free small bets you often find associated with certain casino games, usually selected slots games, but there are other online casino bonus offers which need to be approached with a little more caution. In this case we are talking about the apparently extremely generous deposit matching bonuses headlined on many of our popular online casino sites. They usually take the form of a promise to match a new casino games player’s first deposit with a 100% bonus, effectively doubling the available stake money which can be used to play their casino games, but all these offers come with terms and conditions attached and it is vital that anyone accepting one of these casino bonus offers understands what is required of them to qualify for the bonus. The sting in the tail is nearly always the ‘play through’ conditions, which usually stipulate a multiple of the total deposit plus bonus money which has to be staked before any money can be withdrawn from the account. In some cases this can be as much as thirty times the initial deposit plus bonus and may also have a time limit imposed for the play through conditions to be satisfied. It is also important to be aware of any specific casino games which may not qualify as part of the play through stake money. These generous online casino bonuses are voluntary and should only be accepted if the terms and conditions suit the way you plan to play casino games at an online casino. Do not be tempted to exceed your budget simply to get a bargain.