Back in the late 1990′s when the internet casino industry was still in its infancy, bonuses of $20 to $50 were the norm. Anything approaching $100 was considered a stand out offer. Fast forward to today, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a casino offering less than $100 and some casinos are handing out upwards of $5,000 to new players.

The online casino industry has always been a very competitive one. From 1997 when Intercasino (laying claim to the first casino online) started taking bets to 2000, around 1,500 casinos flooded onto the internet in something akin to a gold rush, and competition for new players was fierce. But the carrots that are now being dangled are a quantum leap from those offered back in the ‘old days’ and a good portion of the increases have occurred in just the last 2 years.

For those uninitiated with the industry, bonuses as the name suggests, are real money contributions made by a casino to a player’s account. They come in many forms and sizes, but the most common is the new player sign up bonus. That is, a player opening a new account with a casino and depositing real money, will have his or her account credited with additional cash following the deposit of their own cash. So if a casino is offering a 100% match bonus capped at $500, for every dollar deposited by the player to $500, the casino will match it dollar for dollar. Some offers are structured to include multiple match bonuses with varying percentage matches for each.

The bonus money is real and belongs to the player, although there are strings attached. In order to prevent players signing up and then immediately withdrawing bonus funds, there are always ‘times wagered’ conditions attached. Usually you will need to turn that cash over 15 or 20 times playing one of the casino’s games before you are eligible to withdraw it.

Currently, a handful of casinos are offering an astronomical $5000 in multiple deposit sign on bonuses. This is a lot of money for any business to hand out to customers as an inducement to try their product, and one has to question whether casinos are reaching a point where their bottom lines are being severely impacted by these promotional strategies.

It also indicates that the industry is having to compete harder than ever before for new players. This is despite the fact that after quickly reaching a saturation point, the number of casinos online has not changed significantly over the last 5 years. So the market is either becoming more discerning, shrinking, or being cannibalized by other gambling options.

One likely contributing factor is the US government’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Law. Passed in late 2006, the legislation aim was to prevent US residents from accessing offshore gambling operators by rendering it illegal for payment processors (Mastercard, VISA etc) from facilitating payments from Americans to these operators. While many US players continue to gamble online despite UIGEA, its impact on the world’s online gambling market size must be considerable when you consider that prior to its enactment, Americans comprised half this market.

Whatever the reason, the fact remains – bonus amounts are now at ridiculous levels.

By: Milton Shaw

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If you’ve ever visited Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or any other gaming city, you may have experienced the adrenaline and thrill of a big win. If you’re a slots player, the ringing bells and flashing lights get your blood pumping. If you’re a blackjack aficionado, it’s the crisp snap of the cards as they hit the table that sounds so sweet and the satisfaction in sneaking a peek and seeing an ace and a jack in your hand. For roulette players, it’s the unique sound of the wheel whirring and the skipping of the ball against the numbers. Whatever your game of choice, there are few experiences as satisfying as the big win.

If you like to gamble, you’ve likely perused the offerings of online casinos. Perhaps you’ve played at an online casino, or maybe you’ve just nosed around. Either way, you may not be aware that you can get a free casino bonus when you play at an online casino. Even if you know about online casino bonuses, there are so many gaming opportunities on the Internet that it’s difficult to figure out which casino bonus would work best for you.

When that’s the case, your best bet is to visit a site dedicated to reviewing and ranking online casinos. Even better is a site that offers free casino bonus reviews. Such a site will often list dozens of online casinos, and enumerate the bonuses offered by each. So, for example, you can quickly find a 100% first deposit bonus, or an online casino that offers a 10% cash back bonus for second and subsequent purchases.

But most online casinos offer some type of bonus system; the trick is to find the one that appeals to you with just a few clicks of your mouse. The best free casino bonus review sites allow you to do just that: you can easily sort gaming establishments by bonus, name, traffic, rating, or votes. Delve a little deeper, and you can discover the number of votes a casino received, the traffic it’s receiving, and the average visitor rating. This is especially important, since you’ll be able to see – at a glance – how many visitors rated an establishment “excellent,” “very good,” “average,” “fair,” or “poor.” When you have this information, you can quickly find a casino that perfectly matches your preferences.

When looking for a site that provides free casino bonus reviews, make sure that the portal is approved by the Gambling Portal Webmasters Association (GPWA). The GPWA seal of approval is only given to sites that meets certain standards, such as being independent of gaming websites and engaging in professional business practices.

Once you find an online establishment that looks intriguing, it’s time to have fun. By starting with a free casino bonus, you can play longer and potentially win bigger. If you’ve never played online, you should know that, while the experience is different than physically visiting a casino, the thrill of winning is exactly the same!

By: Chris Robertson

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One of the best benefits that come from using online casinos is the casino bonuses. These are the incentives that online casinos give in order to attract new customers and pull customers from other casinos. These bonuses range from cash to game plays and a variety of other upgrades and features.

The purpose of them of course is to get individuals to play the games and join the casinos. Some casino bonuses are given right away others after certain criteria are met. These can either be taken out directly as a withdrawal or some are casino based online.

The most often sought after is going to be the cash bonuses. This is because they are usually the ones that can actually be withdrawn from the casino. They are not “pretend” or virtual credits that can be used for game play only. While these casino bonuses are designed to be used to play the games at the casino they can be withdrawn depending on the bonuses there could be all or a portion that is available for instant transfer while the rest becomes available after you complete certain tasks.

For example, some casinos will leave you with a cash bonus of a certain amount. The initial deposit however is less than the bonus offered. Once you make a deposit or play a certain number of games, wager so much then the rest of the bonus becomes available to you. This is one of the other methods that casinos use to fight against scalpers.

Technically anyone who joins a casino just for the bonus money is a scalper but there are legitimate ways to go about doing it that will not get you into trouble financially in order to accomplish your goal and can make you several thousand a month with little trouble.

The key is to know how to work the system and to do that you will need a good guide to casino bonuses that can provide you with the information that you need to successful work the system that is behind casino bonuses.

Also you should not ignore casino bonuses that are not cash often times if played right with the right games you can easily turn these bonuses into cash. This is why it is important to have a good guide to the online casino bonuses it will show you how to spot a good casino, how to avoid scams and how to make the most out of the bonuses that you receive.

By: Mike Bunyan

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