Since the first online casinos launched in the 90′, Casino bonuses as a part of welcome bonuses or ongoing promotions, have been the norm for all Online Casinos. It has been a thing that players expected as a part of the welcome offer or as a part of the Casinos ongoing promotions.
There have been written many articles about Casino bonuses in the past, about both the good bonuses and the bad bonuses. During time, there have also been many frustrated players that felt they got cheated by the Casinos when they received a bonus and made a deposit. And maybe the worst part is that these bonuses have helped Casinos to convert Gambling addicts to come back and play, as they could not say no to the high bonuses that some companies hand out.
Why will Casino bonuses most likely be gone soon?
As the industry gets more and more regulated all over the world, the restrictions are also getting harder for the Casinos. This is good for player protections and for trust, as it is getting harder for shady Casinos to operate. The more countries that regulate the fewer countries the shady casinos can operate in.
With player protection in mind, you will see many regulators starting to limit the bonus amounts, or how many bonuses the Casino is allowed to hand out. For example, in Denmark the government and regulator are currently discussing if they should restrict the number of Casino bonuses to a maximum of 1000 KR (around CA $200).
Sweden is about to get regulated, and pr the 1st of January 2019 online casinos would need a license to provide games to Swedish people. In the new regulation, there is a cap on bonuses, which means that only ONE welcome bonus is allowed per customer. And after the player has received and used this one bonus, the Casino is NOT allowed to give out any other bonus as promotion or goodwill. The regulators have made it very clear that only one bonus per customer is allowed, to try and protect gambling addicts or people who are in the danger zone of becoming one.
In the United Kingdom, UKGC is ruling, and that has also in many cases clamped down on Online Casinos, who was offering welcome bonuses which were hard to understand or not clear for the player, in some cases, they even fined the Online Casinos for offering these types of bonuses.
What does it mean for Casino players if Bonuses will be gone?
For most Casino players this is good news, as the Casinos have to focus more on their product and not on their bonuses. So unless the Casinos will find new ways to get around the law, then we should slowly but surely see how the casinos’ products and user experience will change to focus on improvements, and not bonuses and free spins.
For most Casino players this is good news, as the Casinos have to focus more on their product and not on their bonuses
Support, Trust and Reputation will also be things that the casinos cant neglect, as players will spread the word, and no one wants to play in a casino that treats you badly and does not give you any promotions. Local Jackpots could also be a thing that gets more attention from both players and operators. Designing unique games might be something that Online Casinos should look in to, to be able to stand out from the crowd.
Bottom line is that Online Casinos have to step up their operations, to be able to follow the industry.
Will it be any different for Canadian players?
As Canada currently does not have any Casino license, it might be a bit longer before all Casinos adapt to these new rules, as it is a bit like the wild west over here. This will also open of for unlicensed Casinos, that always do what they want, to provide bonuses until the regulators find a way to stop them.
The Casinos that operate in Canada and also hold a license in other jurisdictions like UK, DK, Sweden or Spain, will most likely be changing their behaviour in all markets they operate in, as the regulators do not want Casinos in their market, who break the rules or work in an unethical way in other markets.
What is a Casino bonus and wagering?
A Casino bonus is a bonus you normally receive upon signup with Online Casinos, to boost the amount you have available to play for. So for example, if a Casino offers you a 100% bonus up to $100, you can deposit $100 of your own money, and the Casino will give you an extra $100 to play for. This means you now have $200 to play for, which sounds like a win for any player.
But the Casinos have terms that you accept upon signup, which tells that a bonus has to wagered X amount of times. This means that you have to turn over the amount or in some cases both the amount deposited and the bonus, before you are allowed to withdraw anything from the Casino. We have added a bonus calculator here, where you can play around with different bonuses and see just how hard some bonuses can be to wager in full.
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Alternatives to Casino bonuses?
The operators have to look for new ways to attract players, and this could be by having more local Jackpots that are unique for one brand. These jackpots will be lower than the ones we know from Mega Moolah and other pooled jackpots, but this could be a way to offer something unique in an industry that more or less shares the same games across all operators.
Casino companies could also start to develop their own slots games, again to have something unique to offer apart from their competitors. Some companies have already started to look into this or developing games, but more information about that in a later article.
It’s clear that almost no matter what will happen then it should affect players in a good way, as the products should better and innovations will play a key part in attracting new players.
What do you think about if bonuses will disappear? What would you like to see instead?
Share your opinion about bonus stories below.
