Most online casinos offer bonuses of one type or another to try and attract your custom. Quite often there’s a large bonus available for opening an account, followed by weekly offers to keep you active.

However, there’s no such thing as a free lunch - every bonus has conditions, of which the most common is a minimum playthrough. For example, if you deposit $100 and get $100 in bonus, you may be required to play the entire amount ($200) through X number of times - quite often this can be 15x playthrough or about, meaning you will need to wager $3000 before being permitted to cash out.

But wait - on top of that, many bonuses also limit the types of games and wagers you can make which count towards playthrough. The most commonly restricted games are variations of blackjack, roulette and video poker, those games which offer the lowest house edge. Some casinos will not allow any play on these games at all, while others will count wagers as 1/2 or 1/4 towards wagering requirements.

A common ploy by bonus hunters is to take their entire stake and bet once on red or black in roulette, hoping to double their money, and then grind through the minimum playthrough in order to cash out. This is highly risky as casinos tend to view this as bonus abuse, even though they may not explicitly say so in their terms and conditions, and they will simply void your winnings, return your deposit and close your account.

Many bonus hunters play by the rules, and the casinos are the ones who set the conditions in the first place - so if you’re an operator, and you find yourself getting hit by bonus hunters, you ought to rethink your terms and conditions rather than arbitrarily declaring suspected “fraud” or “bonus abuse” - you’re just setting yourself up for an even bigger fall.

Bonuses were meant to be a way to extend a player’s playing time and enjoyment - I would suggest every player carefully read the terms and conditions before accepting a bonus - I’ve seen a number of innocent players caught out for playing the wrong game or not meeting the playthrough requirements, or even trying to cash out after losing an amount equivalent to the bonus which was given.

Personally, I like bonuses, but there are times when I will completely avoid a bonus simply to be rid of any conditions attached to receiving bonus money. For example, if I’m going to play slots, I don’t mind a bonus because I am playing for enjoyment. But if I decide I’m going to have a few hands of video poker and try to make a quick kill, I avoid abonus because of the restrictive terms.
As for the operators - I’d advise you to make your bonus terms simple, and stated up front at the time of a playe requesting a bonus - rather than creating a maze of terms and conditions hidden in some deep-linked page on the site. You’re not insurance salesmen, after all.