Casino Loyalty Programs
A casino loyalty scheme, sometimes known as a “Loyalty Program”, “VIP Scheme” or “Players Club”, is a mechanism employed by online casinos to reward gamblers who stick with them over a period of time. Typically, a loyalty scheme will reward these players with extra money rewards and prizes, often related to the amount the gambler wagers or deposits over a monthly period. In fact it is difficult to find a casino that doesn’t have a loyalty scheme of some sort, although they vary considerably.
The majority of casinos offer “cashback” as part of their loyalty program, the exception to the rule being casinos like 32Red who operate an “invite only” scheme. Cashback typically means that for every bet placed, the punter accrues a small number of points which can be redeemed at a specific cut-off point (normally 1,000 points) or on a specific date in a given month. These points vary, but typically reward 1 point for every $10 wagered, with 1 point equally 1 cent. So 1,000 points might therefore equal $10. It’s surprising how quickly these points can accrue, as they are based on every bet made rather than the amount of the deposit.
Most casinos vary the points depending on the game. The games that offer 50/50 options (ie: red/black bets in Roulette) and Blackjack usually offer 1 point per $10, while slots might offer 2 or 3 points per $10 wagered. Some casinos extend this further and offer up to 5 points per $10 bet on certain slots or games of chance like Keno and Scratch cards. Check the terms of the scheme at each casino.
A number of casinos operate a “tiered” loyalty scheme where the more you play, the higher you climb. From a personal point of view, these work out generally quite well for me having picked casinos where this plays a major part in the focus of the operation. Unfortunately, it is often hard to discover the full extent of what’s on offer, and often you tend to find out these things by playing at one place over a period of time. I’ve often seen valued players taken out to meals or offered flights and incentives, though you have to imagine that the better the deal, the more they wager. A punter who deposits a couple of $k in a month is likely to find good deals like these few and far between, whereas a punter regularly risking $10k and up might enjoy more of these freebies over the course of time. No harm in asking the casinos what they offer if you canot find information on the website, although much of the time these are discretionary gifts and not necessarily set to a schedule.
Finally it is worth noting that all casinos run daily, weekly or monthly promotions for all players, not just loyal ones. These will normally be displayed on the “Promotions” page, along with any terms and conditions. In addition, a majority of casinos also run extra competitions for “loyal” players with better rewards.
My Conclusions
A loyalty scheme can play an important part in a punter’s decision to stick with one casino. Leaving aside service, support and the games themselves, if you are have a monthly budget of $5k or more, I would definately spend a little time finding out about the loyalty scheme on offer before selecting a casino as the scheme can often be very rewarding over time.