We've done a few articles over the last little while on Bonuses but we haven't really talked about the big picture, what the casino expects of the player and vice versa.

THE OFFER

Of course that's the easy part. Casinos offer bonuses, usually free money or chips, in order to attract and/or keep plays. So, to a certain extent, casinos are competing for a player's attention by offering these freebies. It's the casino equivalent of a free coffee at Dunkin Donuts or 2-for-1 on lawn tools at Home Hardware.

THE CHOICES

There are basically two kinds of bonuses: Start bonuses and Returning Player bonuses.

Start bonuses are monies the casino gives you to say "thanks for choosing us". You usually get them when you sign up at the casino and make your first deposit in a Real Money account. Often they match your initial deposit, up to say $50 for example. Or they might give you a 25% bonus on your initial deposit up to a max bonus of $100. The actual numbers vary widely from casino to casino and over time. What applies at Casino X may will likely not be the same as at Casino Y. And what Casino X offers this month may not be the same thing they offer next month.

Returning Player bonuses are freebies that the casino gives their established players. They're usually awarded on the first deposit of a given month, say 20% thereof, or a certain percentage of what a player deposits at the casino over the course of the month, say 5% or whatever. They're a way for the casino to say "thanks for your continued support".

THE PLAYER'S ROLE

In simplest terms the player is expected to identify themselves truthfully, to not cheat, to follow the rules given in the casino's "Terms & Conditions" (T&Cs), and to respect the casino's terms for cashing out.

The implicit understanding is that if you go to Casino X and take one of their bonuses then you'll stay there and play a while. The clause that keeps you there for a minimum amount of play is called "the playthrough requirement". It states how much money you must wager in order to be able to cash in on the bonus. It's usually expressed as a multiple of your deposit, or the bonus you receive or the sum of the two. The details of the play-through are usually found in the casino's T&Cs.

THE CASINO'S ROLE

The player, of course, expects the casino to offer fair games and to pay out in a reasonable and timely manner. That's obvious enough, but what might not be obvious is that games change over time and the payouts are almost certainly subject to the player's full compliance with those same old T&Cs.

Games change because the casino either updates their software to offer new features or they adjust the pay tables --especially in Video Poker and Slots games-- in order to fine-tune the "hold", the amount the casino can expect to yield from the player's deposits on average.

The casino's T&Cs represent their terms of service to the player. They are often tweaked and modified to reflect changes in the casino's bonus structure and play-through requirements. They are the rules of doing business with that casino and any player who doesn't want rude surprises down the road is well advised to read them.

So, again, there's no avoiding it: the T&Cs dictate what is expected of the player and the casino will almost certainly hold the player to the spirit and usually the letter of those terms. If the player doesn't know the T&Cs that's no excuse. It's like the law: ignorance is not an acceptable defense.

For further reading see our article on the T&Cs (Terms & Conditions: The Bonus Players Road Map), the art of using the bonuses to gain an advantage (Playing for Bonuses), maximizing your bonuses (The Art of Double Dipping) and our Ultimate Casino Bonus listing.