Online casino bonus - to get or not?

There is not one feature of the online casinos more notable than the bonus offers and free money. If you have seen an advertisement for an online casino the chances are that ad was showing the bonus the casino is offering for new players signing up at the gambling website. And while the online casino bonus is also one of the best features, sometimes it could turn into a nightmare. The problem stems from the fact that while all online casinos will give you some form of free money to play when you sign up for the first time at the gambling website, not all bonus offers are created equal.

 In general, there is nothing wrong in taking the online casino bonus, at the end, it's free money and you can win big. I personally now a person who won a progressive jackpot playing with the bonus money the online casino offered. But at the same time the terms and conditions of the bonuses are not advertised as openly as they should. For example, it's very important, not to say crucial, to make sure you understand that the online casino bonus always comes with some strings attached. It's not like you will just get a bunch of free money from the casino which you can take home. Every casino bonus has something called "playthrough" requirements, i.e. a mandatory amount of wagers you should commit before being able to withdraw the bonus and your winnings. Note, the wagering requirements are not related to the money you deposit, but to the money you bet at the casino. For example, if you bet $10 at the blackjack table and win, then bet $10 and lose, you have not won or lost anything, but you have put $20 towards the wagering requirements, since you wagered $20, i.e. the actual outcome of the wager is not important when we talk about meeting the playthrough requirements of an online casino bonus.

 Now that we have gotten this straight, keep a watch for which games do count towards the bonus playthrough requirements and which don't. Bets made on table games, especially blackjack, often do not count towards your wagering requirements and at some online casinos, even when they do, they raise the total wagering number higher. Always make sure to read the fine print of the bonus offer at the online casino website, usually located right below the bonus description. Don't just browse through it, make sure you understand what's being related with the description and if you fail to grasp it (some bad online casinos purposely make this more complicated than it should) do not hesitate to contact the customer service of the online casino and ask about it.

 And finally, we will touch on what we like to call the "fake bonus". This is a bonus offer by an online casino which you cannot withdraw. Some online casinos will offer players a bonus that comes with playthrough requirements attached, but at the end, when you have met those requirements and put in a withdrawal order with the casino cashier, the bonus amount is subtracted from your total withdrawal before the winnings are paid. And although you indeed get paid your winnings, you don't have the chance to also add the bonus money, which is pretty much the standard for a good online casino bonus. So if you come across this type of bonus offer - don't get it, it's not worth it.