Hi Everyone,
As far as I see it, big bonuses are irrelevant to the casinos exposure to bonus abuse, and to it's reputation.
Big bonuses are meaningless. We could offer 10,000% Bonus if it had enough restrictions we would still not be in any trouble.
We have a policy of offering a mid size sign up bonus with more restrictions and a large bonus with less restrictions. There are players that mind playthrough/sticky and prefer a small bonus, there are players who don't mind restrictions and just want the largest starting bankroll to play for hours on end. We as a casino need to be able to cater to both.
It is when bonuses have too-good to be true restrictions that you must be concerned. 200% Blackjack bonus with no playthrough and no-max cashout? You know that there has to be more to it than that! 200% bonus with high playthrough, restricted games and such... can be more reasonable.
The old adage of 'if it sounds too good to be true...' is applicable even in the high tech world of today
Atleast that is my opinion. If I'm wrong and you guys feel otherwise, please tell me, since pleasing YOU is the reason we make bonuses for.
Kind Regards,
Nicolas Johnson
Manager
My point was that it is your AFFILIATES that do the damage. Not only do they show as "headliners" these big bonuses, but they will often offer a service to encourage players to sign up through THEIR banners. Often, this is a step by step guide to "abusing" the bonus, and if their is the slightest chink of an exploit, some affiliate sites will spell it out. This is how the "big bet & grind" came on the scene. No sane recreational player would think of placing their entire bankroll on a single bet, but when these affiliate sites spell out, and show with irrefutable mathematics that this method is a guaranteed winner long term, you get players who will try it, succeed, and spread the word.
Before I joined Casinomeister, I joined a couple of these so called "bonus whoring" forums, and this is what they are still doing now.
Before all the current, and highly leveraged, methods of advantage play, it was mainly about making small bets, and grinding out the small, but pretty consistent positive value in those early bonuses. These often had 20x or 30x playthrough, Blackjack allowed, and really WERE a way to make a living if you had nothing better to do than spend an entire day playing $1 hands for a few tens of dollars profit.
The current problems are indeed down to poorly written terms, or badly structured offers, rather than the size, or percentage, of the bonus offered.
Bigger bonuses will always get more advertising exposure, but also will get the attention of those unprofitable "advantage" players the casino does not really want, especially at launch.
This current offer being discussed does seem too good to be true, BUT it may be sticky, and have 100x playthrough, which would actually make it a safe bet for the casino, and a poor deal for the advantage player.
The problem at present is that many casinos neglect their loyal players, and this makes it easy for a new casino to lure them away with even a modest offer. To KEEP loyal players, the casino should be offering them deals that make it a waste of effort for them to play elsewhere, with all the hassle of again being a new player, having to send in documents, etc.
Players who play at several casinos STILL tend to stick to a set of favourites, and will perhaps try a new one every now & then, and if it doesn't match up to their favourites, will ditch it again.