Bonus hunting still profitable?

[Pingu007]

Hello,

I was wondering if there are people that still make money from bonus hunting?

Did some 'hunting' last week and made some money with it. Played on multiple slots at the same time to speed things up with a betsize around 1% of the deposit amount.
Not really sure what the best strategy is...;
- bet high in the beginning and hope to get a big win and than lower bet
-Or just play the same (lower bet size) all the time.
Anyone have some ideas about that?

Thanks!!

 

[Realitybitez]

Bonuses are good if your'll wanting more play time but I found I just dont the patience to complete the wagering which can take forever and ever

 

[Jono777]

As one of the most prolific bonus players for years,coming to think I needed them and being pretty much bonus banned eventually everywhere.....

Have been playing bonus free for about 6 months now, yes I have some super fast bust outs but in summary it is the best thing I ever did!

 

[goatwack]

I guess it's the players that purposely go hunting for these bonuses, in the hope of doing a number on the casino, that has led casinos to cease offering them to others maybe?

 

[brianmon]

Not that there are many bonuses around these days.
But with the new UKGC rules, bonuses aren't really worth taking now, apart from getting extra play time. The chances of cashing out from a bonus are much less.

Ok. you can now cashout, IF you have one of those rare early big wins, while still playing with cash.
Most casinos have implemented the new system. BUT a lot have kept the same wagering which has effectively doubling the wagering, since wagering doesn't start until you've lost your cash.

Tied-in (old bonus)...
£100, 100% at 25x D+B = starting balance £200, wagering £5000 - wagering starts from the very first spin, so it's effectively 25x starting balance (£200)
and since you've got twice the balance, you play at a higher stake, meaning higher possible wins, less spins to complete wagering and a possible higher cashout.

Second chance (new bonus)...
£100, 100% at 25x D+B = starting balance £200, wagering £5000 - wagering starts only after cash is lost, so it's effectively 50x starting balance (£100)
play at your normal stake level for your balance, to avoid going into bonus funds. So potential cashout isn't as much as it could be.
Once you hit bonus funds, continue playing at regular stakes to avoid busting out, until you get a decent win, then start the grind through.

I rarely take bonuses now. But I also only make a fraction of the deposits I used to.

And I'd say the reason there are less bonuses, is because they're now taxable and without the tie-in, the casinos aren't 'guaranteed' as many lost deposits. players are more likely to make some kind of cashout from their deposit, without needing to use the bonus. Plus of course there's the syndicates

 

[Harry_BKK]

As one of the most prolific bonus players for years,coming to think I needed them and being pretty much bonus banned eventually everywhere.....

Have been playing bonus free for about 6 months now, yes I have some super fast bust outs but in summary it is the best thing I ever did!

Happy to read that mate!

Whenever you win, it will be yours and won't go back because you haven't finished wagering. You may have noted as well that on lucky days you hardly need a tenner to get the ball rolling.

 

[ed skull murphy]

I reckon that playing through bonuses can lead to addiction problems, and I reckon the casinos know this.

Better to play shorter sessions and take long breaks in between, if you want to keep your sanity.

 

[KasinoKing]

I was wondering if there are people that still make money from bonus hunting?

VERY few and far between these days I'm afraid
Long gone are the days of Intercasino's monthly 100% match with WR bonus ONLY x18, cashable, with games like Blackjack & Pai Gow allowed at 100%...
Or Ladbrokes daily scratch cards which made me £1,000 over a couple of years and contributed to me making profit from casinos for 9 years in a row (2001-2009).

Any bonus with WR more than (D+B)x20 and cashable is a losing game IMHO - and I'm pretty sure I've already taken all the ones better than that!
Until April this year I used to list casinos on my websites in order of who had the best bonuses (lowest WR), but no-one seemed to care too much about that, so now I just list them A-Z!

These days I rarely take bonuses myself - I just play for fun!

KK

 

[paul7388]

As one of the most prolific bonus players for years,coming to think I needed them and being pretty much bonus banned eventually everywhere.....

Have been playing bonus free for about 6 months now, yes I have some super fast bust outs but in summary it is the best thing I ever did!

And how many times did i say that even as a lowroller you were better of without bonuses. But you had got into the habit of taking them as you felt you needed them. So glad you changed your mind

 

[Pingu007]

Had some good results with 30x wagering. But that included high betting in the beginning and hit a 100x and slow play from there trying to bring it home.

Don't know if that is the best strategy in the long run??

 

[pinnit2014]

Last one I took was high roller casino. But it was strange - I went to cash out, as I’d not touched bonus money, only to find my real cash was contributing to wagering AND I could cash out anyway. Their terms say otherwise so I’m either special or it was a glitch.

Aside from that. Rarely. I’d end up taking a bonus at a casino to play games that I didn’t really want to.

 

[Pingu007]

Do you start of with 1% of deposit bets?

 

[jjezebel37]

I had an email from Casino Room today for 100% bonus. I haven't taken a bonus in years and in was tempted until I saw that it was 100xwagering

 

[RRodriguez72]

Bonuses are good if your'll wanting more play time but I found I just dont the patience to complete the wagering which can take forever and ever

You could just seek out bonuses without wagering requirements. Sure, the value of the bonus won't be as high, but without wagering requirements you stand a pretty decent chance of getting your hands on winnings.

 

[Pingu007]

Little update:
After around 25 deposits varying from €20 up to €50 I am around 2k profit.
Been playing Koi Princess, Steam Tower and some other Netent games mostly, when possible multiple slots at the same time to save time.
Starting of with bets around 2% of total amount and lowering that when around 10x wagering is left.
Will do around 10 more I think..

 

[eizei]

For me taking deposit bonuses almost every time has been very profitable. I like depositing around 20-30€ at a time and playing at 0.4-0.6 bets so if I go with raw deposit I would bust out very quick most of the time and end up wanting to deposit more. I would also rarely end up with the high cashouts that I get with bonuses simply because if I turn my 20€ into 200€ I'm withdrawing that basically every time. I hate losing more than I like winning so I avoid wiping out a nice balance that I could withdraw like the bubonic plague. However with a bonus I'm forced to play longer after getting a nice hit so I often end up with much bigger withdrawals to the tune of 500+. Obviously you sometimes get a decent balance boost at the beginning but end up busting out because of the WR but even when it does I've probably been playing for a decent enough of time and I won't feel like depositing more.

This approach has kept me in profit every year I've played although I've been a bit of a luckbox. I'm just now on an amazing run for the past month or so 2000+€ profit with small deposits. The last 4 deposits towards bonuses totaling 90€ all cleared successfully and got me 1300€ in withdrawals which is insanely lucky. I've been getting runs like this a couple times a year and when I'm losing or not winning as much I only deposit a few times a month so I don't think it's even possible for me to dip towards losing. If I didn't use bonuses I think there's no way I would be anywhere close to the profit I've had.

The only network that constantly offers decent deposit bonuses for infrequent low roller players like me has been Caddell and I'm very grateful for them for their 35x B wagering (only after 1st deposit bonus package) and game selection that has Blueprints and BTG which have given me most of my winnings in the past year. Sometimes I do deposit raw cash though and it's mostly when I just want to have a quick session and I'm happy with even a small profit like doubling my deposit.

 

[Pingu007]

Update: Played 80 Casino bonuses now and I am € 4.600,00 in profit now.
Probably stopping here as there are no good rated casino's left

 

[Lincolnuk]

I had an email from Casino Room today for 100% bonus. I haven't taken a bonus in years and in was tempted until I saw that it was 100xwagering

Add to that the bonus only works on Bonus games and thats around 60% of there netent games. Cant use it on any other games

 

[ESCJAMIE]

I keep getting phone calls from a certain casino called casino of dreams saying I have been selected to get a "WHOPPING" 25% match on my next deposit, I then go on and explain why would I take such a weak bonus and be tied in with x45 bonus it does not make sense, Then they go on and tell me how it gives me extra money to play with, This is the only casino who has ever phoned me and offer me a bonus over the phone. The cheek of it !

 

[scarletmuse]

So much more wagering and T&Cs I reckon out in force these days then there ever was when I was a beginner scouring the vast world wide web for sites and not knowing a from b and just signing up and trying out stuff (before I found CM as well Lol)

One site I saw the other day (won't name cos can't remember it Lol-it might be an honest to god accredited so this ain't a malicious comment either) but they had a NDB on rego, for 10 free spins-not an uncommon promo right. They wanted all the KYC docs before issuing the spins. Yeah alright mate.

I get it KYC is important but I have an issue handing over my data until I am a steady contributing member of a site or club or watever really, with a level of trust and my account has some merit...

rather than in the stage of testing the fields and hoping to playba freebie to get the vibe of it, maybe make a small deposit if happy you know... but ultimately i may not go back or end up spending /withdrawing big amounts ... but they still now would have all my data. Nup no thanks, unless they are like 10 high roller $50 spins on a real frigging hot slot for free with no wagering and no max cashout then forget about it

It wouldn't srsly be necessary for 0.10c on starburt and a 75x wager would it?!?

I thought how are these places enticing newbies?? The top two sites I ever played at hooked me with the offers at the beginnig of my membership, The Rizk wheel and other assorted deals plus VS welcome bonus n other freebies. Oh and the wagering - oh what a time to be on a bonus-Rizk at most I ever had was 30X eventually as Vip dropped down to 15X right, and omg sometimes if you spun it up and won-you'd bloody get a free cash no wager bonus right amazing customer relations really!! And VS?? From memory it was maybe 35X ?!

Places these days are 80X - 100X wagers and then the max. cashout will be so shit it's not worth playing $6000 worth of spins for a $50 cashout.

Like yeh i get its free money and they want to limit abusers blah blah but far out there is a limit where a bit more player trust and discretion can be utilised and i mean honestly...if i spent 63hrs playing non-stop to master that particular bonus and freaking meet the ridic wager then to a degree, I reckon i might deserve that $50 for the trouble buddy

 

[Lincolnuk]

Been getting a lot of calls from Poppy at Wildslots about 50% or 100% so gave it a go............... It cost em

 

[scarletmuse]

I keep getting phone calls from a certain casino called casino of dreams saying I have been selected to get a "WHOPPING" 25% match on my next deposit, I then go on and explain why would I take such a weak bonus and be tied in with x45 bonus it does not make sense, Then they go on and tell me how it gives me extra money to play with, This is the only casino who has ever phoned me and offer me a bonus over the phone. The cheek of it !

Yeah they are dodgy those sorta things and its just a ploy to hook less savvy players honestly. When i first started i never knew CM forums were around and i honestly never thought I would have to scrutinise t&cs, as for the most part the sites i'd browsed or joined either did have the requirements needed either stated on the promo ads or i was easily able to chat with a live agent and clarify the meaning of their NDB etc...

it wasn't til these places especially like dreams (i know the one lol) and the like advertised these huge crazy free chips like $200FRee!!! and %% etc that made me realise hang on, how is this? They cant just be giving people free money its either gotta be a scam or there's a catch i thought... and the subsequent googling i did is how i discovered casinomeister Lolol.

 

[Deleted member 49134]

I keep getting phone calls from a certain casino called casino of dreams saying I have been selected to get a "WHOPPING" 25% match on my next deposit, I then go on and explain why would I take such a weak bonus and be tied in with x45 bonus it does not make sense, Then they go on and tell me how it gives me extra money to play with, This is the only casino who has ever phoned me and offer me a bonus over the phone. The cheek of it !

Sometimes I think the 'hype factor' of the marketing is negatively correlated with how great the bonus usually is. I've got emails from some casinos advertising my 'UNMISSABLE MEGA VIP BONUS' of 50 free spins, and other pretty understated emails that give me a nice juicy 100% up to £500