Be Careful of Casino Misleading Terms—Read Our Top 5!

Have you ever been a victim of false advertising? Nothing is more infuriating than falling into these traps. The sad thing is that false advertising is prevalent in the online casino industry. This problem has been around for a long time that various governments are now taking action.

To help you out, we are going to provide you with a list of the five most-used abusive tactics in the online casino industry. If you ever see these promotions, we urge you to investigate appropriately. Doing so will protect your money, and also prevent you from being a victim.

Penny Slots

Many penny slots are not penny slots. A real penny slot is a machine where you can drop a penny and play. The thing with false advertising is that they tell you that you can place a bet for as little as a penny. But once you register, you find out that the penny only bets for one payline, and that you have to bet for all pay lines to be able to spin the reels.

A real penny slot is one where you can wager a penny and spin the reels. This can only happen if the program was designed that way, or if you have the liberty to adjust the number of active lines.

For example, a slot machine may charge as little as £0.01 per line, but it requires that you pay for all 20 fixed pay lines. In this case, you have to spend £0.20 to spin the reels.

Still a penny slot? Not anymore. It takes you a minimum of £0.20 to play, not £0.01.

On the other hand, there are slot machines where you drop a penny, and then reduce the active line count from 20 to 1. In this case, you bet a penny, and the slot will spin. The thing is, you can only win on that line, which is fine because you only placed a bet for one line. Use free online slots to find out if it is really a penny slot.

200% Deposit Bonus

Another misleading advertisement that we see from casinos is the bonus offer. Some even offer up to 1,000%. The issue here has nothing to do with the bonus terms and conditions; we will talk about this later. The issue is with how the online casinos calculate the bonuses.

If a casino offers a match-up of 100%, the correct mathematical calculation is that for a deposit you make worth £10, the casino must give you £10. Why? Because 100% of £10 is £10.

The problem begins when they offer you a match-up bonus higher than 100%. If the match-up bonus is 200%, the correct mathematical process should be:

• You deposit £10

• The match-up is 200%

• £10 x 200% = £20

• The casino must give you £20

• Now, you must have £30 to play with

• £10 is your original money, and £20 is your bonus

That is the right thing to do. However, casinos will only give you £10 instead of £20, and their reasoning is that £10 x 200% is £20.

If this is how they calculate the promo, then they should have called it 100% match-up bonus, not 200%. Some casinos provide examples of how they calculate the bonus. If the calculation is wrong, walk away. If there is no calculation example, send them a mail and verify.

Some Forms of Deposit Bonuses

Almost all online casinos offer deposit bonuses. In exchange, they give you free money, so you can play more.

Here is the issue: some online casinos hold on to your money, and they will not allow you to withdraw unless you meet the bonus terms and conditions.

This practice is wrong. Your deposit is your money, and the casino must not hold it from you. The terms and conditions about the bonus must only apply to the bonus money they gave you, but not to the funds that came from your own pocket.

Sadly, you cannot find out about this predatory practice unless you have made a deposit. The best thing to do is to send the casino an email to clarify. Ask if your deposit balance is separate from your bonus balance. If it isn’t, do not get the bonus.

No Withdrawal Limits

Many bonuses limit what you can withdraw. The most common amount is £20. How does this work?

Let us say that you deposited £100, and you got a bonus of £100. After depleting your deposit money, you can now use the £100 bonus to bet. Let us say that after meeting the wagering requirement, you turned that bonus into £200.

Sadly, you can only take out £20 because that is the withdrawal limit. Players hate this, so many casinos introduced the no withdrawal limit rule to the bonus winnings.

The false advertisement is this: there is no withdrawal limit, but there is an aggregate withdrawal limit. The aggregate withdrawal limit refers to the maximum allowable withdrawal for ALL players. If the aggregate withdrawal limit is £1,000, and Player A already withdrew £900, you can only withdraw £100 even if you have £1,000 in your winnings.

Cash for Loyalty

The last in our list is a cash for loyalty. Many online casinos would have you believe that if you keep on depositing and playing, you will earn loyalty points, which you can convert to cash.

The problem with this is that the “cash” they are talking about comes in the form of bonus. It means that you cannot withdraw that “cash” unless you meet the wagering requirement and all bonus terms and conditions.

Summary

Many online casinos are sleazy. This is not unusual—after all, evil people lurk where the money is. These misleading and false advertisements should not deter you from gaming and in general try something new. All you need to do is to err on the side of caution.

Investigate and take the time to read the casino’s terms and conditions. Ask around and go-to online forums. If you have questions, and you cannot find an answer, send the casino an email. If the answer is vague, walk away.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes