No Deposit Bonus – Free Cash On Sign Up

A Once Very Popular Online Casino Bonus

This bonus was used by every Tom, Dick and Harry. In fact everyone used the no deposit casino bonus, the problem was a lot just took the money and ran. The fact was this problem nearly killed the industry in its infancy, here’s a little history.

Way back in the mists of time when the online casino world was born nobody trusted any of it. Even established names were struggling to get punters. Let’s be honest nobody trusted the internet in the beginning years. And a casino online was just about the biggest red flag there could be. I mean casinos have not had the best reputation over the years. Who was going to put their faith into one that had no premises to visit? No staff to see, dealers to watch etc.? The regulatory bodies were just working out how to do things, nothing was tried and tested. It was all new ground. What was needed was a way to get people in through the virtual doors. A way to build trust. A clever little person in marketing came up with the bright idea of a freebie sign up gift. Let’s give every new customer $30 to play with, get them into the games and they will deposit their own money and keep playing. Well that was the idea anyway.

Great Idea Bad Execution – No Deposit Bonus Almost Meant No Casinos!

The idea worked, in so much as the punters flocked into the virtual venues. Suddenly online casinos had members coming out of their ears. What didn’t really work was not everybody stayed and deposited their own cash. The problem was the marketing departments didn’t talk to the legal guys. The terms and conditions, if there were any to speak off, were very simple. The strongest being a 30 day waiting period before withdrawals could be made. The unscrupulous punters out there took advantage of this miss step and ‘bonus abusers’ were born. We will talk more about the term later but it was a serious problem, so much so that it crushed some brands very quickly. The lawyers were scrambling to plug the gaps and before long the terms and conditions became so complicated and harsh that the idea of free cash went right out of the window. Before long the no deposit bonus was slowly pushed aside in favour of the deposit bonus.

The Oldest Online Casino Bonus Is Still Going – Just Not So Strongly

Most casinos ditched the no deposit bonus. The play through became so harsh that the bonus was having the reverse affect, it was turning customers away! There were some notable exceptions, 888 has always had a no deposit bonus it doesn’t seem to have done them any harm! They are still one of the top tier UK online casinos. But as with just about everything in life the no deposit bonus is staging a comeback. The industry is well established now and trust has been built. The licensing jurisdictions know what they are doing and punters are not so wary anymore. The thing is the market is saturated. Well-known brands have a loyal customer base and have built up a solid reputation. So for new brands to start up the task of looking good to new punters is getting harder and harder. There are only so many tricks in the book. So out comes the old favourites dusted off and put back into service, the no deposit is back. The difference being the lessons have been learned and now the sums are smaller and conditions are cast iron. The no deposit casino bonus is a great way to sample a new offering without risking your own money. Another use for the no deposit bonus is a way to get punters to download the software instead of the web based instant version. This is usually a very small amount however. You can always opt out of the bonus of course if you don’t like the terms and conditions.

Those Dreaded Terms And Conditions Are All Because Of Bonus Abusers

‘Free Money’ will get attention every time it is mentioned. The naive fall for it hook line and sinker. This is what the casinos are counting on. Offer something that sounds great that draws people in to spend money. This is marketing. Look at the supermarkets they all do it. How many times have we all been in to get the promo freebie and ended up buying a trolley full of stuff we never needed? The problem for casinos is that not everybody is that easy to fool. As said before quite a few found the holes in the system and bled it. The term bonus abuser is used by all casinos and may sound very insulting but it is a fact that serious financial damage was done to a lot of brands. So when you see the term used in the small print remember that players bought it on themselves. So too the often ridiculously unobtainable wagering requirements, these are all understandable measures to prevent abuse. The nature of bonus abuse however is a little unclear. Casinos will not clearly define this most heinous of crimes. They don’t want to give away ammunition and allow the really clever ones to get around definitions. And when we say crime it is not an exaggeration in the casino world. It is considered so bad that accounts will be closed and all funds can be confiscated if a casino thinks bonus abuse has been committed.

Things To Take Into Account

There may be no definitive explanation of what makes a bonus abuser but some things are straight forward. The oldest scam by casino punters online is the multiple account blag. The idea is to open several accounts and claim a bonus for each off them. Back in the day this was a common ruse and a lot got away with it. Multiple accounts have never been allowed but the problem was casinos didn’t have the tools to combat the issue. Fake names, PO boxes, multiple e-mail accounts these were all used. Techniques to uncover these frauds have become very sophisticated these days. Nowadays IP blockers, VPN’s fake ID’s thy just don’t work. The off shoot of this is however a few innocents get caught in the net as well. These days a lot of casinos belong to groups and there are a multitude of sister sites. If you happen to have more than one account with separate members of the same group a lot see this as multiple accounts and term it abuse. Double check this point with the customer service agents and keep the answer recorded somewhere.

Unfortunately It Works Both Ways

There will always be crooks out there and the online casino world is no different. The wide scope of the term bonus abuse has been used by some casinos to screw over the punter. Bonus abuse is written into every single set of terms and conditions there are. Read them closely and you will see that the management reserves the right to define what is and what isn’t, bonus abuse.

This is a massive get out of jail free card. This part of the T&C’s gets a huge amount of traffic on forums and rightly so. The sad fact of the matter is that this point is being used by far too many casinos to default on paying bonuses. A great example of this is the casino saying that players are not entering into the spirit of the bonus. What on earth does that mean? Well some players do just enough to cover the play though and then want to withdraw. The casinos will refuse to pay. Call me a cynic but why is there a limit set in the first place? If the x25 limit has been met then the payout should be made period! Casinos have such good legal teams that the terms are written in such a way that they can maneuver their way out of most situations.

Another way the casinos abuse the system is the ‘irregular play’ clause. This come under the playing pattern review as part of all payout procedures. It’s common practice for casinos to review all bets made looking out for the equal plays and hedge betting also zero margin bets. The other big no no is the single bet 30% or above any bonus amount. These issues are covered in the terms and conditions but they are still discretionary and open to misuse by casinos. It’s that sore point of ‘reserves the right to decide what irregular play is’. Good legislative bodies do have measures in place to keep the playing field fair. But the bottom line is read very carefully before taking any bonus. Off course you can always opt out and then the casino has nowhere to hide and can’t worm out of paying a win.

What The Point Why Take The No Deposit Bonus UK Casinos Offer?

There are a ton of people out there that shout from the roof tops ‘don’t take any bonus’. They make some very valid points. You know exactly where you stand if you don’t accept any bonuses. All of them are promotional gimmicks and as such have some big catches attached. If you don’t take them the casinos have no ammunition and the lawyers are stumped. You win you get the cash simple. Casinos are smart and if there is a way not to pay they will find it. If you look at bonuses as extra time at the tables then they are great. Most of us accept that we are not likely to win and we are there just for entertainment. For us bonuses are great. The real problem is some people think they are going to win. They have some system or other and expect to cash out.

Couple that with not reading terms and conditions and all of the bad blood flows. The fact of the matter is casinos are in business to take money from gamblers. The games are made with a house edge. The long game is they will win. Even the outside bets in roulette are not a coin flip. So as long as you don’t think you should be winning fun can be had.

In Summary

If you want more time at the table and not worried about winning take the no deposit casino bonus. If you want to have as much chance at booking a win and keeping it don’t take it. Always read the terms and conditions and if there is any confusion get the answer from customer services and record the reply. Be very wary of large sums with no deposit bonuses. Good luck and have fun.

Top 4 Casino Bonuses