The T&C’s of an online casino can be an absolute minefield! It is extremely important that you read the T&C’s of an online casino. Especially if you live in a country where online gambling is illegal, or if you intend to accept and use a “free Bonus” offered by the online casino. Even though many online casinos operate (relatively) fair and standard T&C’s, there are still plenty of little pitfalls to watch out for. Here you can read all about the ones that are likely to cause the most “pain”. Keep in mind that an online casino will always show the terms of play, but very often Bonus and promotion terms are kept separate from the main online casino T&C’s. Therefore you will need to check them both. Also, an online casino can change its T&C’s at any given time, and they frequently do. Therefore, check the T&C’s at the time that you download or before you start an instant play and don’t rely on any information that you saw at any given time before.
Bonus Wagering Requirements
It’s wise to always keep in mind that ‘nothing in life is for free’. Because almost every casino offers a special signup Bonus, normally an amount relative to the amount you first deposited, BUT there’s always strings attached. Usually, you will find that you have to make bets that total more than 15x the deposit and the Bonus combined (!). Let’s say that you deposit €100, receive a “free” €100 which gives you €200 to play with. At 15x, you need to make at least €3000 of bets before you can withdraw any of your winnings. Additionally, you will find that certain games are excluded from these wagering requirements. This is basically to stop players from taking advantage of their free Bonuses simply to walk away with a profit and without any return. Therefore Casinomeister advises not to take any Bonuses because generally it really is more of a hassle than they are worth. Also, the T&C’s get so complicated sometimes that it’s really just easier to play with your own money.
Limited Withdrawal Amounts
Some online casinos limit the amounts that you are allowed to withdrawal on any given day, week or sometimes even month. Usually, this is a sign that you are dealing with an online casino without adequate funds. You’ll rarely, if ever, find this on Microgaming and Cryptologic software based casinos as they license strictly. But elsewhere, if you see this, it’s better to reconsider playing at this online casino.
Jurisdictions And Age Limits
There has been a case where an underaged player signed up to online casinos from a country where Internet gambling was illegal. She actually won and quite big too! Of course she was aware of the fact that she was underaged, but because the online casino let her sign up and play, she thought it was fine to carry on. Obviously, this raised some moral obligation issues and the online casino suffered big-time in PR terms, but the upshot of it was that the player did not receive her money, as per the letter of the law. So always make very sure that you are old enough to play at the online casino before you sign up. Some will have 18+ limits, others 21+. ALWAYS check first!
Multiple Accounts from The Same Household
Pretty much all online casinos’ T&C’s will state that you can only have one account per household. Some will be more flexible about this if you contact them and ask, but this particular term is generally there to prevent the fraudulent “Bonus abuse”.