It is important to understand the significance of free casino chips. Are they legitimate online casinos offering them?
Online casinos were first established 10 years ago. Now there are many. Although estimates vary on the number of gamblers online, recent estimates suggest that there are around seven million. With an additional $12 billion in casino spending online (not including land-based casinos), free casino chips might be considered a small drop in the ocean.
We also need to know if these free chips are offered by legitimate online casinos. This is an area that deserves serious research.
Let’s first consider the real value of these free casino chips for each individual player at online casinos. There are four types of free casino chips:
Online casinos were first established 10 years ago
No deposit bonus This is just free money. To attract customers to their virtual tables, honest online casinos will give away free chips and no strings attached. Sometimes, there will be minor strings attached. The casino might ask for your credit card information upfront. Always read the terms.
Matching Deposit Bonus This is where the house will match you deposit. This is often done in multiples. A 200% bonus would mean that, for example, if you deposit $100, the casino would give you $200 in casino chips. This is very nice! This is especially useful for beginners.
Uncashable Bonus. This is also known as the’sticky bonus’. Although this bonus cannot be cashed, it is still useful in that it remains in your account. This allows you to leverage the bonus account to make higher wagers. These casino chips are free and remain in your account to enable you to do things that you wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
Loyalty Bonus It’s exactly what it sounds like. Online casinos and offline casinos are honest and want to retain their loyal customers. They offer loyalty bonuses, which include free casino chips.
Online casinos are able to afford this because they don’t have the overhead of brick-and-mortar land-based casinos. Online casinos can also be openly honest because they have the same overhead. Online casinos can provide free chips and still be honest in situations where physical counterparts would not find it possible to do so.
How do we identify which online casinos are legitimate and which ones are scams? Since 1996, when the first online casinos were established in offshore locations, much has changed. Self-regulation, at best questionable, led to the accreditation of organizations like ECOGRA (E-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance). You should also look out for good customer service, positive feedback from members of online casinos forums and decent helpline services. Online casinos that are more open to honesty will provide live chat, live email support and toll-free phone help 24 hours a day. Is there a mailing list that you can subscribe to in order to stay informed about the latest tournaments or special offers? Trust is the foundation of any subscription process (or people wouldn’t subscribe), so that alone can be a good indicator of a trustworthy online casino.
Another indicator that online casinos are honest is transparency in accounting systems. Make sure testimonials are more than just a collection of initials. Also, make sure they have a country or state. Although free casino chips might seem ‘virtual’, real people use them!
