There’s something to be said for the value of gaining experience in any field … online pokies included! Experience allows you to see potential problems before they occur, plan to solve them and either jump the hurdle or neatly sidestep it! Nothing can really replace experience for you. Yet we see sad cases of cash lost or delayed, game play interrupted and angry words said via email quite often, so we have decided to start a series looking at the biggest online casino pitfalls to jump over. Here are our top 10 to start with!
- Wagering Requirements
Just about every player new to the online pokies world is trapped by wagering requirements. It doesn’t take long to learn about them – but forewarned is forearmed!Wagering requirement is the set amount of money that you must bet at an online casino, if you choose to take any of their bonuses. For example, if you deposit $100 and get a 100% deposit match for a total of $200, you cannot simply withdraw your $200 (or even your initial $100) straight away. You must bet a certain amount – between 300% and 1500% your original bonus amount – before you can withdraw.
Check the actual terms and conditions for your bonuses, and think carefully about whether they will actually be worth it!
- Identification
Almost every reputable online casino requires you to provide photocopies of your actual identification documents in order to play there. This is mostly to prevent players opening multiple accounts for abuse of the bonus system. It will take some time to process these identification documents, since it can’t be done by computer! - Self-Exclusion
Some players at online casinos have found that once they have self-excluded at one casino, they can no longer make withdrawals at other casinos. However, ‘glitches’ in the system may still allow you to register at other casinos, make deposits and play. Still, this is not best practice for online casinos. - Withdrawal Delays
Delays in withdrawals are widespread across the online casino industry. It is an unfortunate aspect of play which is often due to regulatory and political issues, as well as the potential fraud issues mentioned below. Know your terms and conditions, act within them, and trust that if you are owed money, it will come! - Big Wins
Withdrawal delays seem especially prone to occurring after big wins. Often the compliance or anti-fraud team within an online casino will go through a player’s records after a big win. This is obviously to protect all honest players at the casino, as well as the casino itself. Yet we know they can be frustrating! - It’s Just for Fun
The only sound reason to play online casinos is for fun. An ongoing poll on a major online casino player community reveals that there are some very big wins. However, those making over $2000 per week are few and far between! The amount that you reserve in your household budget for online casino play should form part of the ‘entertainment’ portion of the budget – and you should always expect it to be an expense, not income. If you win some play money – well and good. If you don’t, it shouldn’t be a surprise!
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