Casino, Italian for “little house”, once typically referred to a small gaming house, usually situated within a larger Villa and served as a recreational gaming area for the noblemen of the house. Today, this is no longer a true reflection of what a casino is, with the world of gambling and online gambling having developed into a multi-million dollar industry. The online gambling industry has grown into a tremendous source of income and revenue and has become inseparable from the rest of the world wide e-commerce movement.
The casino industry has become one synonymous with live entertainment and lavish luxuries. Traditional land-based casinos are known to reward loyal players with prizes that include luxury vacation trips, instant wins such as cars or even boats and yachts, and coveted weekend getaways. New players are often enticed to play by means of live in-house lucky draws, free drinks and more.
The online casino industry has come up with its own answer as far as player bait is concerned: online casino bonuses and promotions. Land-based casinos may have all of the bells, whistles and flashing lights, but top echeck casino canada offers something far more valuable – the opportunity to turn free cyber currency into cold hard bankable cash.
Understanding Minimum Wagering Requirements
In order not to be disappointed, it’s vitally important to read the minimum wagering requirements predetermined by each online casino. These may differ – and often do – one online casino site from the next. Wagering requirements may relate to the total number of games to be played in general on the specific online site, with the free currency on offer, to a certain ratio of free currency having to be gambled on specific games, whether online slot games, online table (card) games, roulette, etc.
Players who experience disappointment with promotional bonus offers and loyalty programs are usually those who do not bother to familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions relating to the specific online casino’s bonus policies.
General Eligibility
Most countries are included as far as general eligibility for bonus offers is concerned, with only a small number of locations being excluded on the grounds of those locations being known for fraudulent online activities – in the online casino business and the internet at large. Players will be notified immediately, already as early as the registration process, in the event that they do not qualify for special bonus and promotional offers.
Online casino site administrators have grown wise as far as the schemes of most online fraudsters are concerned and it is no longer a simple task to hustle online players and gaming sites out of pocket. The eradication of online financial fraud has seen and brought about an improvement on a large scale as far as the availability of bonuses and promotions to players in previously problematic locations go.
Loyalty Programs – How to Qualify
Loyalty programs work on a system of bonus points. Players start earning bonus points from the very first second of access on the online casino site’s system, after registration. These points accumulate over time, with more points being awarded each time a player wagers any amount of money on a game on the online casino’s site – however small the amount may be deemed to be.
Accumulated points may vary in type – with some points meaning instant access to exclusive games not available to all players, others adding up to sums of cash, and still others acting as currency to be wagered on specific slot games and table games.
Players winning big money by making use of loyalty points are those who play continuously, more so than those who wager large amounts of money at any given time. Loyalty programs are referred to as loyalty programs for the very purpose of rewarding players who show loyalty to the online casino of their choice. It is however often the case that once-off large wagers put players in the running for once-off sizable loyalty rewards, but it must once again be emphasized that this is not exclusively or continuously so.
Players who join up as a result of being specifically interested in loyalty programs for the loyalty points on offer need to ensure that they are familiar with the terms and conditions associated specifically with the online casino’s loyalty program. These, much like general bonus and promotional offers, also vary – sometimes considerably. A good example would be game preferences. Players who regularly play a card game like Blackjack must ensure that Blackjack is in fact part and parcel of the qualifying game package contributing to the loyalty program.
At times, loyalty points earned whilst playing specific games may only translate into a limited selection of bonus prizes. For this reason, players must also be sure to familiarise themselves with the type of bonus prizes available for each set type of loyalty points.
Online Tournaments
Tournaments are categorised with bonuses and promotional offers, as they too offer cash bonus prizes, double-up loyalty points and the like. During tournaments, online players are able to measure up their online gambling skills against those of players from all over the world. Cash prizes paid out during tournaments are often not as large as those on offer to new players in the form of welcome bonuses and the like, but these are certainly not to be shamed and are a welcome credit to any player’s purse.
Online tournaments do involve putting players in a more social and personal spotlight than what is usually the case. Players must therefore ensure that they adhere to the casino’s policy of decent social conduct, if they are to be allowed to complete a tournament or be involved in any future tournaments hosted by the online casino.
VIP Status – Where Size Actually Matters
As mentioned before, loyalty points are often awarded to those players playing regularly rather than those wagering once-off larger bets. The exception to this rule is VIP Status. In order to obtain VIP status, players are required to place wagers in a slightly higher betting bracket. Awards associated with VIP status are usually of a much higher value too.