We know sometimes it can be really difficult to make yourself read 10 pages of formal text and stay concentrated on it, especially when you only wanted to have some fun with a casino.
But the most important reason why you need to get familiar with the rules and your rights as a player is your personal safety. Anyone who shares their private information on any sites, including gambling ones, must know why he or she is doing it and where it’s going to be used.
That’s why in today’s post, we will teach you how to read those large sentences that sometimes make no sense. And we guarantee you will understand the Terms and Conditions of any online casino and you will not blindly tick it as ‘I read”.
Realize the Importance of Terms & Conditions
The easiest way to let you understand the importance of reading casino’s boring text is giving you an analogy. So, imagine you’ve bought an expensive car but you don’t have any driving experience yet. You just didn’t care about getting driver’s skills since having a car is more important. For some reason, you drive it safely until one day you get in a car accident. The crash is not big, but the car is no more as beautiful as it was, and moreover, it’s going to need repair and extra expenses. Do you want this type of trouble? We doubt that.
The same is with online casinos where the casino is the car that was damaged due to your ignorance. Online casinos are not simple to use. They require real money investments, your patience and alertness. Although they reward players with different bonuses including no deposit and wager-free bonuses, these offers are given only with accordance of strict rules specified in the following points:
- Your geographic location at the moment of claiming;
- Limited promotional periods;
- Specific bonus wagering requirements;
- The device you are using;
- Payment service you are depositing with.
We’ll give you an example: you’ve found a great site that caters for Canadian players and has an amazing $1,000 deposit bonus. You make your first deposit and enter a promo code. Finish the transaction successfully, but the support emails you saying the bonus money is forfeited because you used Skrill as a deposit method, and payments with Skrill do not qualify for the promotion. So, you can’t do another first deposit and get the bonus. Now, this is against terms and conditions.
Even this small thing, and you are already discouraged to play at this casino. That is why you need to know the terms of your casino site. In fact, terms and conditions are the key to finding all the tricks of online casinos. And instead of searching for the information in Google, first find it in T&Cs of your casino.
Unpacking Terms & Conditions
Here we put together the information which you need to look out for in terms and conditions of a casino. Surely, every single piece of the text is important, but we draw your close attention to the following points.
Casino Registration and Regulation
This information is usually placed in the beginning of the terms and conditions. Pay attention to this clause just to make sure that the company is officially registered and publicly shows the address and other information.
Also make sure it complies with the standards of its regulatory body. The best thing to do would be searching for the license number on the site of the regulator. The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), and UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) post all the valid licenses on their sites.
Bonus Terms
Every casino points out the general bonus terms in the T&Cs document. Besides, every sign up offer also has its special place in the terms. Read the two of them to understand under what circumstances the casino will be giving you the bonus. These include minimum deposit amount, wagering requirement, deposit method, qualifying games, maximum win amount, and so on. Every single point is crucial. We promise you this information will clarify if the bonus is even worth claiming.
Available Payment Services
Online casinos let you deposit and withdraw via various payment methods. If it offers your preferable option, it’s great. But first, you need to understand the banking process of the casino. In T&Cs, find the financial section to learn if you can withdraw via the same method you deposited with. If you can’t, then what’s the alternative? And how much time does it take to transfer your money via this alternative option? Does it require documents or is it a no verification casino?
Also check if you can get a bonus with your payment option to avoid situations like the one we described above with Skrill method.
Promotional Period
This is a common mistake of Canadian players. They just don’t see the time period during which a bonus is available. For example, if a sign-up offer is valid only during the first week after you made a deposit, then you cannot use the bonus after 10 days. Or if free spins are given only for 48 hours, then you need to play them within this time period. Otherwise, they will be forfeited.
The same applies to seasonal offers, tournaments, cashbacks, and other specific casino rewards.
Sports Betting Terms
If you sign up at an online sportsbook, you will need to read the terms regarding sports betting activity. Casinos usually highlight the important information about available cashouts and types of bet. Read the terms because it would be not cool if after betting you find out that you can’t cash out your money.
Use of Your Personal Information
The casino must protect your information and use it only for their business purposes. The third parties can be perhaps only banking services. This detailed information is placed in the terms and in the Privacy Policy, which we also recommend reading.
Concluding Thoughts
You need to understand that online gambling is just entertainment. However, it involves money and thus all money-related troubles. But if you read the terms and conditions of your casino, you will be more aware of possible outcomes if something goes wrong. Remember to read the formal text of several pages because if anything goes not the way you expect, even the most dedicated support team will not be able to help you.
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