With online casinos existing in the “virtual world” it is often difficult to think of them as real businesses that operate in order to make a profit.

So while online casinos offer a variety of welcome and on-going bonuses and promotional offers, and it’s great to receive and take advantage of these as a player you need to keep in mind that you never just get something for nothing.

While we’ve mentioned it countless times before, it definitely bears repeating that as tempting as bonuses are they do have a number of pros and cons and many of them do come with restrictions so it’s up to you to read the associated terms and conditions before accepting and playing with bonuses.

Here we examine the type of restrictions that online casinos may impose on their bonus offers so that when they do come up you will know what you are dealing with.

Sticky Bonuses

To prevent player abuse of bonuses by simply registering at a casino, claiming the bonus and simply withdrawing the money, casinos impose a number of conditions that need to be complied with before players can access any funds from a bonus.

This has resulted in a number of what are referred to as “sticky” bonus conditions. Basically, this means that the bonus will “stick” to the players account until all terms and conditions are met. If a player attempts to withdraw the bonus before meeting the T&C’s, the bonus is automatically lost and in some cases the player’s account may be closed with the casino citing “bonus abuse“.

Other Sticky Bonuses are not cashable, even when you have met the wagering requirements and the terms and conditions of these will state that the bonus funds are for wagering purposes only. What’s the point of a bonus you can’t cashout? Find out here.

Wagering Requirements

The majority of bonuses have wagering requirements attached to them. Wagering requirements dictate the number of times and ultimately the amount of money that a player is required to wager at a casino in order to benefit from the bonus offer.

This is why it is always important to examine any offer that a casino affords you – oftentimes a 200% welcome bonus will have wagering requirements that equate to a $1000 spend before the bonus or wins can be cashed out.

Generally casinos require anything from a 20 to 35 times play through requirement of the joint bonus and deposit amount before players can cash out. These requirements can make a huge difference to your bankroll so it is worth spending the time investigating the requirements before accepting any offers.

Game Requirements and Weighting

Some casino games have lower house edges and therefore higher odds of winning than other which means that online casinos weight wagering requirements for game pertaining to bonuses or completely exclude certain games from their bonus offers.

Oftentimes popular games like Roulette, Baccarat, Sic Bo and Craps are excluded or have lower “weightings” when it comes to wagering towards bonus terms fulfilment. Some bonuses are game specific and limit game play to a single game, most often slots.

Geographic Restrictions

Some online casinos restrict players from specific countries for eligibility for bonus offers. In the past this has been due to the rise in bonus abuse from certain geographic locations. Again the onus is on you to ensure that no restrictions apply to players from your country before signing up for and accepting any bonuses.

As you can see from the above, reading the “fine print” of bonus offerings is as necessary at online casinos as it is in any sensitive transaction or agreement in life. Even though online casinos are “virtual” in nature, you still have to be aware of conditions and restrictions implied to playing at their casinos or accepting their bonuses.

By being well informed of bonus details you will never be in for unexpected surprises and you are assured of a pleasant and issue free experience every time you play.