Changes in Palace Group T & C - Not so sensational

[LRDell]

Hello - It has been a while since I was on the forum, but some recent changes in bonus terms at Spin Palace and Ruby Fortune brought me back. I was expecting to see some other outraged discussion of this, but I didn't see any. I am a "VIP" with this group - yep, lost lots of money there. So they periodically send special VIP offers, often with rediculous headlines like "Sensation VIP offer!". But over the last several months, they have not only been switching to the new MG format of splitting real and bonus dollars (certainly not to our advatange), but have also DRAMATICALLY increased the required paythrough and eliminated or amost elimated most non-slot wagering.

Here is the latest "sensational" offer:

[I]The below offers are by invitation only and are exclusive
to your recognised VIP casino account, tspr0*******6.

- 25% VIP JUNE BONUS* - on ALL deposits!

To view full details and to submit a Claim Form, visit:

http://www.spinpalacepromo.com/vipjun06.asp

Note. max. VIP June Bonus available is $1,000[/I]

And here are the important terms:

5. Upon qualification, the VIP June Bonus will be credited to your Bonus Account and is subject to thirty (30) times playthrough (wagering) before a withdrawal will be honored.

6. NOTE: play at different games may contribute a different percentage of the playthrough requirement:
100% - all Slots, American Roulette and all Parlor Games
50% - all Table Pokers, Red Dog, all Roulettes (excluding American Roulette), Casino War and Sic Bo
10% - all Video Pokers (except all Aces Poker), all Blackjacks (except Classic Blackjack), all Craps and
all Baccarats
2% - Classic Blackjack and All Aces Video Poker

I was already not happy with the new dual account system set up by MG casinos, but these T&C are so stupid as to pretty much make them worthless. I have basically stopped taking their bonuses. And to top all this off, I have a few thousand in winnings that all of a sudden after two years they requested a bunch of documents (I have moved tens of thousands in and out of these casinos with no documents before). What I don't understand is why more people aren't commenting on these changes on the forum.

[soflat]

First of all, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to get those offers. If you lose $20 they will start offering you 40 and 50% bonuses (but with a lower maximum).

As to the new bonus system, are you referring to the EZBonus thing where you can cash out your winnings any time? Because I kind of like that deal.

[LRDell]

Soflat

My issue isn't with the 25% - I get varying % offers. (I was making a joke about the "VIP" status being because I have given them lots of money!) I am sure almost everybody is on their VIP list. My problem is the outrageous wagering requirments / limits.

The new account system I was referring to sets up a separate account for bonus dollars and you only use those dollars when you have no real money in and they only accredit to your cash account after having met the wagering requirement. So you can't get the combined betting power of real and bonus money.

[vinylweatherman]

I am afraid you misunderstand this "bonus account", it is NOT the same as the old Casino Action setup. The bonus money forms part of the playable balance at all times. If, for example, you had 100% on $200, you could still bet the entire $400 on the first hand of BJ or whatever and continue with slots if you win.

Compared to the level of tightening Palace Group had before, this is an improvement. The 30x is only calculated on the BONUS, so is much better than the earlier 12x D+B that was on the 25% bonuses. Wagering on Blackjack had already gone down to a 10% weighting from an earlier 20%, so again an improvement. Lastly, the ban on Jacks or Better in meeting WR has gone - now it's 10% weighted with other VP and Blackjack.
As you play, the bonus is earned and becomes withdrawable in increments of $10. If you have an early big win, it is possible to break out of the bonus contract early and withdraw and have remaining bonus cancelled. The old terms required the whole WR to be ground out after an early big win.
One further advantage is that these offers have become more predictable, they seem to cycle through 1)small/big deposit bonus; 2)big/small deposit bonus (depending on what last week was); 3) cashback choice on losses and then back to 1) again. The deposit and wager $50 random draw has gone.

The actual amount on offer seems to depend on how much profit the casino has made in the past. Occasionally a much smaller amount will appear, although often at 100%. I don't know what criteria make one ineligible for the weekly promo. I still got them after 2 slot jackpots and a couple of Royal Flushes, admittedly, the casino has a fair bit of that back now because I took up later promotions.

There are casinos where the change to EZBonus has meant a worse deal, and these are ones where the normal WR were low, or where a fair bit of free chips were handed out in prizes without deposits.

[Mousey]

What I really miss is having no wager requirements on prize or loyalty point money. **heavy sigh** I also miss winning some really neat bling-bling every now and then. All that went out the window when they (Palace Group) consumed (absorbed, took over, merged -- call it whatever you want) the Piggs casinos group. Mummy's was my 'home' casino. It just ain't the same...

[And]

First of all, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to get those offers. If you lose $20 they will start offering you 40 and 50% bonuses (but with a lower maximum).

As to the new bonus system, are you referring to the EZBonus thing where you can cash out your winnings any time? Because I kind of like that deal.

Apparently Spin Palace doesn't use the new system. You can't cash out your winnings with forfeiting your bonus if you haven't met the wagering.

"Upon qualification, the 50% June Bonus will be credited to your Bonus account and is subject to thirty (30) times playthrough (wagering) before a withdrawal will be honored. "

It could be they don't intend to enforce this rule as it could just be copied from an earlier version of terms.
Anyways, I'd like a clarification from them.

[LRDell]

vinylweatherman: You are right in the playthough requirements - On a quick read I did not catch that it is only on the bonus amount. That is a little better. But I do still hate the limiting percentages!

[vinylweatherman]

Apparently Spin Palace doesn't use the new system. You can't cash out your winnings with forfeiting your bonus if you haven't met the wagering.

"Upon qualification, the 50% June Bonus will be credited to your Bonus account and is subject to thirty (30) times playthrough (wagering) before a withdrawal will be honored. "

It could be they don't intend to enforce this rule as it could just be copied from an earlier version of terms.
Anyways, I'd like a clarification from them.

The terms for the bonus account DO allow withdrawal at any time with forfeiture of the bonus. The "before any withdrawal will be honoured" was with the old terms.
I was not aware that Loyalty points also went in as bonus. The only downside is the prize money, which used to have a token 3x WR or 5X WR.

[Palace Group]

Hiall,

Good feedback on this thread.

Just to clarify, our Loyalty points do not have any wagering attached to them.
I'll keep an eye on this one if there is any more uncertainty.
Thanks to all the posters for clarifying things

The Palace Group

[vinylweatherman]

Hiall,

Good feedback on this thread.

Just to clarify, our Loyalty points do not have any wagering attached to them. I'll keep an eye on this one if there is any more uncertainty.
Thanks to all the posters for clarifying things

The Palace Group

A smack in the eye for Casino Rewards then! Their "loyalty" points have to be wagered 30x!

I also received a newsletter prize at Ruby Fortune, and I noticed this was credited as withdrawable cash rather than a wagerable amount in the bonus partition at the bottom of the balance - this would seem to be an improvement on having to wager it 3x. This could be a system error, so I would urge Palace Group to check this out with regard to the terms for prize money.
Some "prize" money still comes as bonus though, such as the current World Cup $10 and the cashback on the insurance cashback promotions.

My own offer was for a bonus of £350 (25% on up to £1400). Palace Group DO weight their offers for currency, unlike many other casinos.
I am convinced that there are a small number of offers that are on the list, and each week sees a VIP version and a "valued player" version which differ only in the amount offered. Currently, these offers seem unusually predictable, and it might be worth throwing in a few unexpected ones now and again to keep us VIP's on our toes