Gamers ask us here at Slots Play Casinos to explain the ins and outs of deposit bonus and no deposit bonus casino offers. So, we will talk about the kinds of bonuses online casinos offer.
The Welcome Package Creates the Best Kind of Anticipation
This is usually a set of deposit bonuses that an online casino might offer to new gamers. These packages can get up into the high single-digit thousands. So, the obvious question is: How can online casinos afford to offer such extravagant bonuses when land-based casinos do not offer any bonuses at all?
The follow-up question is why land-based casinos do not offer this level of bonuses.
Online casinos can offer high bonuses because of the wagering requirement and land-based casinos cannot offer bonuses because of the wagering requirement!
What is the Wagering Requirement?
Way back in the nineties in the heady, halcyon days of the burgeoning online casino market, online casinos offered bonuses and lo and behold, some people took their bonus and cashed out immediately! The new market of online casino gaming saw quickly that there had to be a way to prevent that from happening.
Thus, the wagering requirement was born.
The wagering requirement is a factor of the bonus that a gamer has to bet before he or she can withdraw winnings.
Online Casino Gamers Can Complete a Wagering Requirement at Their Own Pace
Here at Slots Play Casinos, we always recommend playing in frequent, short sessions. By doing so, a gamer can get a lot of online casino gaming playing with the casino’s own money. There is never any pressure to finish the wagering requirement by a certain deadline.
At a land-based casino, players have a set number of days to gamble. So, few could complete a wagering requirement for thousands of dollars in wagers in a long weekend. Land-based casinos have other ways to comp players none of which can compete with a big deposit bonus.
Online Casinos Run Promotions with Deposit Bonuses and Free Spins
This combination is one of the most alluring of all casino offers. A land-based casino might offer an exploding volcano. We admit that an exploding volcano has more pizzazz than a hundred free spins.
But we don’t recommend spending the money it costs to get to a land-based casino just to see the exploding volcano!
How Do Land-based Casinos Comp Players?
They appeal to the gastronomic side of players and to the attraction of a free hotel room! First, land-based casinos offer free alcohol and free buffet meals. The alcohol goes straight to a player’s head especially if he or she has not eaten recently.
The effect of the alcohol is that the player gets just tipsy enough to start to make gambling mistakes.
The free buffet meals cause players to get drowsy as they digest the food. A dinner rich in fat and protein makes a player need to lie down. But they go back to gambling instead! A buffet encourages overeating. So, a player who has just finished a heavy meal at the buffet comes back to the casino floor and starts to make the kinds of mistakes a land-based casino loves to see.
How Does an Online Casino Keep Track of Wagering Requirements?
The biggest expense at an online casino is maintaining the bank of computers that keep track of everything gamers do in real time. This includes keeping track of the wagering requirements for every gamer who has taken a bonus.
Online casinos connect your unique login with the code for any bonus you take and through the magic of computerization, they keep track of everything! They also keep track of the comp points you accumulate as you play. These points can eventually be redeemed for casino credits.
Is There a Way for Gamers to Have Winnings after They Complete a Wagering Requirement?
The best way to come out ahead is to play video poker or blackjack. Here is a little arithmetic to show you. If a gamer takes a $1000 bonus with a 30x wagering requirement, he or she has to bet $30,000 before they can take winnings.
Now, the return to player rate in blackjack and video poker is about 99.5% if the gamer plays correctly on every hand. Strategy for these games has been documented over tens of millions of hands so we know what the correct play is on every hand!
If a gamer bets $30,000 and loses one-half of one percent, they will have lost $150. So, they would have winnings of $850!
Does This Work with Slots, Too?
In slots, the return to player rate is about 96-97% but there is also volatility to consider. High volatility has relatively high winning sums but there are relatively few of them. Low volatility slots have many winning spins and each is worth relatively small amounts.
If you play low volatility slots to complete a wagering requirement, you might lose 4% of your bets. If you bet $30,000, your loss would be around $1200. So, for all of the gaming you did, you will have lost $200.
Online Casino Gaming is a Form of Entertainment
We have stressed many times that gaming is entertainment. And all entertainment eventually cost money. Hikers need to buy new hiking boots at a cost of a few hundred dollars. Bird watchers travel to where the birds are! Sports enthusiasts pay top dollar to attend an important sports event.
The list goes on!
In the modern world, people need entertainments. Online casino gaming is one of many entertainments! If we combine short sessions, deposit bonuses, high return-to-player rates, easy access to hundreds of games, and the feeling that the gaming is at the bottom a form of entertainment and not a way to get rich, then gamers can have a lot of fun at relatively low cost!
Online Casino Gaming Helps Gamers Set a Budget and Stick to It
Here are some of the most common “unnecessary “expenditures that are a big part of modern life:
- Fast food.
- Buying things at the supermarket that weren’t on your shopping list.
- Buying two of something when you needed only one.
- Souvenirs.
- Clothes. We all need clothes but do we need ALL of our clothes?
- Shoes. We all need shoes but do we need ALL of our shoes?
- Matching accessories.
- Multiple streaming services.
This list also can go on and on!
So, the key is to see online casino gaming as a way to have fun. In small doses, online casino gaming can help us unwind after a long day at work or it can stimulate the brain as we play the games of skill.
Slots Play Casinos Encourages Gamers to Seek Fun at the Casino
We have been covering the world of online casinos for about a decade. We are more certain than ever that the best way to play casino games is online and to play them as a form of entertainment.
SPC also tries hard to be entertaining even as we dispassionately report on casinos and other matters.
COME TO SLOTS PLAY CASINOS OFTEN!
