Always read the red tape before claiming a bonus at an online casino

When it comes to wagering with free bonus money at online casinos, one can never be too cautious before claiming said free money. In other words, no matter how many terms and conditions you have to dig through and read, ensure that you understand all of the conditions, or better yet, red tape, that will impede just how fast and likely you will be able to cash out any winnings derived from bonus play BEFORE you claim a bonus and start wagering.

For the seasoned pro’s out there, it’s likely you’ve heard this time and time again. Believe me, I’ve written about it so many times that I could probably recite it in my sleep. Nonetheless, there is always somebody new on the scene who runs into a snag at the time of trying to cash out (due to breaking casino bonus terms), and who consequently, makes a big stink on the forums about being cheated and denied rightful winnings.

Granted, there are some jilted newbies out there who wouldn’t have known better anyhow, because of a lack of disclosure of bonus terms. Needless to say, any online casinos that do not properly disclose their terms, including general and promotional terms, should be blacklisted. And yes, there have been plenty of blacklisted online casinos over the years.

These days, the word has gotten around so much thanks to reputable online gambling portals such as Your’s Truly, that you are much less likely to find an online casino withholding bonus terms on their website – albeit some sites will require you to dig around more than others. Instead, you will find some casinos that mail out unsolicited promotional postcards showcasing free bonus chips (without disclosing terms) and directing players to a stand-alone signup page that offers no direct links to the specific bonus terms. Free bonus chip offers are especially bound by terms, so you can imagine what a mess they can make when a player is not aware of the cashout restrictions.

When you are combing through bonus terms and conditions, be sure to verify the following:

1) The play-through or wager requirement – This is the number of times that you will be required to wager over the sum total of your bonus and accompanying deposit BEFORE eligible to cash out winnings (minus the original bonus amount). All casino bonuses have a play-through. Be sure to verify what it is.

2) Minimum number of wagers – If you’re a high roller or risk-taker, do not think that you can drastically increase your wager amount so that you can meet the play-through in just a handful of wagers. Most online casinos deem this to be bonus abuse. If there are no stated minimum wager amounts, ask customer service to explain their bonus policy more in depth. And remember, if you get an incompetent customer service rep who doesn’t know what your asking about (and just keeps telling you what the play-through amount is), demand to speak with a casino manager.

2) Restricted Games – In conjunction with the play-through, all bonuses will restrict certain games from being wagered until the play-through has been met. Be warned that the casino software will not automatically block you from playing these games. Nor will you be notified that you have played a restricted game. It is your responsibility to ensure which games are restricted. If you are unclear, contact customer service and get it in writing. Slots bonuses are the most common, however, even these may restrict certain slots wagers, such as tournament play and progressive jackpots. Again, if you are unclear, contact your casino rep or customer service.

3) Maximum Cashout Limitations – Although some casinos, do not impose maximum cashouts on winnings earned with bonus play, most do. Free chip bonuses ALWAYS have a maximum cashout amount. That means you are limited to the maximum cashout even if you hit a jackpot while using bonus money. Please note, in order to ensure you are free of any bonus restrictions after meeting the play-through, it is advised to withdraw all winnings earned from said bonus and make a new deposit. Again, if you are unclear about the extent of withdrawal constraints, contact customer service. Two great casinos that do not impose a max cashout on their welcome bonus are Club USA ($777 Free) and Lucky Red ($4,000 Free).

4) Time Constraints – Most bonuses require that the play-through requirement be met within a specified timeframe. On average, this is 90 days, which is reasonable. This is especially important for low-stakes bettors (penny slots, anyone?) to know, as it’s important to ensure that your time spent wagering online is sufficient to meet the play-through requirement within a designated timeframe.

In summary, if you can’t any validate any and all of the above terms (that means getting it in writing), take your business elsewhere. There are plenty of great online casinos out there offering free bonus money. Don’t buy into the hard sell.

Actor buddies Brad Pitt and George Clooney will face off in the Best Actor category at this Sunday night’s 84th annual Academy Awards. One might guess that these two sin city vets, known around the world for their work in casino heist flick Ocean’s Eleven, might have a friendly wager going on the outcome of Sunday’s festivities. While it may be fun to fantasize about what those two gents might consider a friendly wager, you can easily get in on the Oscar action yourself by taking advantage of a great offer going on now at Grande Vegas Casino.

The movie buffs at Grande Vegas are offering 9 Oscar themed bonuses – one for each of the Best Picture nominees. Players can receive a 50% cash back bonus on deposits made with the winning film’s corresponding bonus code.

In addition to the Best Picture bonuses, players can win more bonuses by participating in the casino’s Facebook contest dubbed, “Oscars 2012 at Grande Vegas.” This is a follow up to the successful Valentine’s Day Facebook contest Grande Vegas held earlier this year.

In a press release announcing the Oscar bonuses, casino manager Oliver Smith said, “We can only guess which Hollywood stars will be winners, but we know we’ll have lots of Oscar winners right here at Grande Vegas. And I know they’re going to love all the exciting bonuses we’ve got this weekend!”

With 9 Best Picture nominees this year, fans have been complaining online about the Oscar’s expansion of its Best Picture category sighting financial motivations. Of course, the upside is that with more nominees, the chances that you have seen one of the films up for Best Picture this year increases as well. And that can be helpful when it comes to deciding which bonus code to go for when making your deposits this week at Grande Vegas!

The best online casinos do more than just reward you for joining. Every decent casino has some sort of a welcome bonus to thank you for signing up (or to entice you to sign up). After that, though, a lot of casinos seem to stop with the bonuses. It’s like the telecom companies that offer you a great deal to become their customer but then seem to ignore you once you are a customer. Go Wild Casino doesn’t do that. They know the value of keeping current members happy.

One of the ways in which they do that is with a popular midweek bonus they call the Wednesday Deluxe. Every Wednesday, players can get 100 free spins on a featured online slot. The current slot is Break da Bank Again. You get to keep whatever you win on those free spins.

To qualify for the 100 free spins on Wednesday, you must have deposited at least a total of $100 during the preceding 7-day period. Once you claim the 100 free spins on Wednesday, you have 6 days to use them, but you will probably be so excited that you will use them right way on Wednesday.

If you are new to the online casino and have accepted the Wild Welcome Package, you must fulfill the wagering requirements of that bonus before accepting the Wednesday Deluxe bonus. More information on both bonuses can be found on the promotions page of Go Wild Casino. Go Wild is one of Microgaming’s online casinos. As a Microgaming software licensee, Go Wild Casino does not accept American customers.

I’m not sure if the people of the Old West were really that into celebrating Halloween. I certainly can’t imagine Wyatt Earp coming to the sheriff’s office dressed as a vampire. But maybe I’m wrong. In any case, High Noon Casino, one of the best casinos in the business and one that is highly recommended here at OnlineCasinoSuite.com, has a special weekend promotion for the Halloween holiday.

From Friday, October 28 to Monday, October 31 (which is Halloween), the online casino is running the Halloween Week Special. During that time, the casino is offering a 100% deposit match bonus. The bonus has a maximum amount of $1,000. However, they are unlimited, so you can claim as many $1,000 bonuses as you want. Each bonus would be subject to the wagering requirements, though.

The coupon code for that bonus is BLACK. Each deposit and bonus under this promotion must be wagered a minimum of 25 times before a cashout is allowed. Only wagers on online slots, keno and scratch cards count toward the wagering requirement.

In addition to the special Halloween bonus, High Noon Casino continues to offer two regular bonus promotions. One is unlimited 65% match bonuses for players of slots, keno and scratch cards. Obviously, that is a lower percentage than the BLACK bonus, but there is no maximum bonus amount. Players of blackjack, video poker and any table game can also get unlimited 55% match bonuses. The coupon codes for those two bonuses are SLOTS65 and OTHERGAMES55, respectively. More information can be found on the promotions page of High Noon Casino.

Right now, Aladdin’s Gold Casino is running a bonus promotion for the Halloween holiday. It is called the Halloween Weekend Cash Back and it is a good way of putting more money in your pockets to spend on costumes and alcohol.

The promotion, which runs from Thursday, October 27 to Sunday, October 30, allows you to recoup some of the money you lose playing at the online casino. If, during that period of time, you have a net loss while playing at the casino, on Monday the casino will reimburse you for 31% of the money you lost. It’s a good way of easing the sting of losing money at the casino.

There are terms and conditions for the cash back bonus. The bonus must be wagered at least two times before you can withdraw the money. There are no limitations on the games that apply to the cash back bonus, so even money lost on progressive slots count. To claim your cash back bonus, once the promotional period ends, send an email to promotions@aladdinsgoldcasino.com requesting the bonus. The casino should award the bonus to you within 24 hours.

Once Halloween starts, the casino will have a different bonus for you. The Trick or Treat bonus will give you a bonus if you deposit $50 or more. You pick one of the two bonus codes, TRICK or TREAT. As is appropriate for Halloween, you won’t know what the bonus is until after you claim it. All of these promotions and more can be found at Aladdin’s Gold Casino.

If the weekend is here, that must mean there is a new weekend bonus being offered by Lucky Red Casino. One of the good things about the online casino is that they constantly rotate promotions in and out. Rather than have a standard bonus running all of the time, they bring in different promotions to fit the occasion. On the weekend you can usually count on something good.

This weekend, Lucky Red Casino is offering 5 bonuses worth up to $5,000 total. Players who deposit a minimum of $100 can receive a 100% match on their deposit, with a maximum bonus value of $1,000. The bonus can be redeemed up to 5 times during the promotional period, which runs from Friday, October 21 to Monday, October 24.

The coupon code for that bonus offer is GIFTS4U. As always, the bonus comes with certain terms and conditions. The deposit and bonus must be wagered at least 25 times before you can withdraw the money. Only wagers on online slots, keno and scratch cards count toward the wagering requirements.

If you are more of a table games type of person, there is a bonus for you as well. The casino is offering unlimited 55% deposit matches for players of blackjack, video poker and any other table games. If you are a slot, keno and scratch card player but the 5 bonuses aren’t enough for you, there is also an unlimited bonus promotion for you. The online casino is offering unlimited 65% deposit matches. The coupon codes for the two bonuses are OTHERGAMES55 and SLOTS65, respectively. More information on the bonuses and other promotions can be found at Lucky Red Casino.

It’s the weekend, which means it’s time for another weekend bonus promotion at Lucky Red Casino. The popular online casino holds regular promotions every day. Aside from permanent promotions that are always running, they generally run two to three other promotions each week, including one to cover the weekend. This weekend is no exception.

This weekend, the casino is running the LUCKYRED500 promotion, which runs from Friday, September 30 to Monday, October 3. During the promotion period, if you deposit $150 the online casino will give you a $500 bonus. The bonus is intended to be spent on slots only. The deposit and bonus must be wagered a minimum of 45 times before you can withdraw the money. Only bets on online slots count toward the wagering requirement. The coupon code for that bonus is LUCKYRED500.

There are two permanent bonus offers also going on during this time. One bonus is for slots players and the other for players of table games. For the slot players, there is a 65% deposit match coupon. Unlike the LUCKYRED500 coupon, which can only be redeemed once, this one is unlimited, so you can take the bonus as many times as you want. The deposit and bonus must be wagered at least 20 times before you can cash out. Only wagers on slots, keno and scratch cards count toward the wagering requirement.

The other promotion is for players of online blackjack, video poker and other games. Lucky Red is offering a 55% deposit match bonus. This bonus is also unlimited, so you can redeem it as many times as you want. The deposit and bonus must be wagered at least 25 times before you can make a withdrawal. To find more information, see the promotions page on Lucky Red Casino.

Autumn is the time of year when things finally start to cool down. You can finally open the windows and let some fresh air in. You can start stuffing your face with candy corn and other Halloween candy. It’s also a time of change, with leaves dropping from the trees. Virgin Casino is also looking at it as a time to drop some cash on you with a giveaway that could definitely change things for you.

It is time for the Autumn Gold tournament. It is a slot tournament with £15,000 giveaway. To qualify for the promotion, you only need to wager at least £500 on selected slots between September 26 and September 30. There is a long list of eligible games and you can find the entire list on the promotions page of Virgin Casino. Some of the most popular are Tomb Raider II, Cleopatra, Star Trek, Monopoly YITM, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

This is a promotion that rewards you for money wagered during normal gameplay. It is not a tournament, so there is no entry fee and you do not compete against other players. You simply wager real money on any of the eligible games, winning or losing real money while you play, and the online casino tracks the amount of money you bet. The casino will then reward your wagers as follows:

• Wager £500 get £10
• Wager £2,500 get £50
• Wager £5,000 get £100
• Wager £7,500 get £150
• Wager £10,000 get £220
• Wager £12,500 get £300
• Wager £15,000 get £360
• Wager £17,500 get £430
• Wager £20,000 get £500
• Wager £25,000 get £650

Terms and conditions apply to the promotion, as always. Be sure to read the promotions page for more details. To take advantage of the deal, visit Virgin Casino.