Playing games in online casinos are fun and inviting. Some sites allow you to play for free and once you have a feel for the site you can make a deposit and start to play for real cash. Many of these websites offer a variety of bonuses, some of them incentives to get you to register for a real money account, some of them little rewards for customer loyalty. Most of the time there are terms and conditions attached to their little awards. It is important to know what these bonuses are, how they work, and then decide if they are worth the extra work you may have to do to get them.

The first bonus most people see when they are still in the investigation stage of online casino ‘shopping’ is the sign-up bonus. This bonus is for signing-up and agreeing to play at that particular casino. Most of the time the casino matches the players deposit by a certain percentage up to a maximum amount of money. For example, casino A could offer a 100% match up to $100.00 on a player’s first cash deposit. Sometimes players will have to meet certain conditions in order to earn this bonus. An example of this would be that casino A requires their new player to rake a certain amount of money before the bonus is released into their account. Each individual online casino will have more information on how they pay out their sign-up bonuses as each one is different. Occasionally you find one that does require you do anything to claim bonus except join.

A cashable bonus is one that a player can collect and withdraw upon meeting the requirements. A sign-up bonus becomes a cashable bonus once the player has met the requirements of the bonus and it is added to their account. Sticky bonuses are those that can be cashed out but can be used to bet with. They would be allowed to withdraw all of their money from their account minus the amount of the sticky bonus. A cash back bonus is usually awarded in games that pay the loser as well as the winner. A good example would be an online casino that offers to pay back 25% of a player’s loss at the end of the week. These bonus types can be found in very few of the online casinos but they are out there.

Most of the online casino disputes have to do with bonuses and bonus abuse. Players who consistently use their bonus money in the games without depositing any additional funds could be labeled a ‘bonus abuser’. Fraud regarding bonuses is also a problem and both the player and the online casino could be accused of it. Players who create multiple accounts using different e-mails and deposit methods simply to collect the bonuses are committing a crime. So are online casinos that change the terms required to receive a bonus after the requirements have been met and not paying the player their bonus in a fair and legal manner. If you think you may be the victim of an online casino bonus fraud, contact your local gaming commission and report them. You may not be the only one who has suffered a loss of this kind.