The information in Haywood's book is outdated.
Haywood wrote his book before the Great Credit Card Crash of 2002. Web casinos found themselves with drops in revenue anywhere from 20-80% (!!!) depending on how much exposure they had to US customers. They had to cut losses, and that included cracking down on bonuses.
Secondly, there was price warfare between new operators and new software manufacturers, entering the market in 2002. The casinos began to advertise even better bonuses, higher percentages, that were potentially very self-destructive if they were not selective in how they paid. Real Time Gaming turnkeys became infamous for opening, advertising generous bonuses for initial deposits, and then screening out as many players to actually receive the bonuses as possible. The losing players had just provided the funding for a casino startup, and the winning players were portrayed as "bonus abusers" and blacklisted from collecting.
They would be welcome to deposit at the next casino opening, if they so chose.
If a Real Time Casino player wanted to withdraw a significant amount, they would be offered a bonus to reverse the withdrawal. They would then get a bonus, and have to meet the new wagering requirements. Withdrawals were stalled in this fashion as long as possible.
Casinos 86 as many players as they can who are thought to be bonus hunters, or, too smart players. Wagering requirements have been tightened up to higher multiples and to exclude games such as bj,baccarat, craps, and roulette. The newer, smaller software providers are also more likely to have "rigged" software as far as the card games go.
Opportunities still exist. The bookkeeping has become even more complicated and important than in Haywood's time. Expect to have to nag the casino about your withdrawals and bonuses. You will want to shop with care for your transaction processor, as you will not have the protection given by a credit card (unless you are outside of North America) Many Microgaming and Boss casinos offer good sign-up bonuses.
Players have been accused of being bonus hunters for flat-betting. Players have been accused of being bonus hunters for using progressions. Break your play up into several sessions; exceed the wagering requirements; use Ad-Aware and Zone Alarm to protect your Internet privacy.
