How the Online Casino Bonus Originated

As gambling went online, a number of new concepts developed to accommodate the new way of doing things. The sign up bonus or the welcome bonus was one such concept that started way back in the late 90s when the internet gambling industry was just beginning to find its feet. Back then, there was relatively less competition and fewer players. To correct this problem of few takers in the internet gambling industry, operators of casinos hit upon the idea of offering bonuses to all the players who joined the casino. This was like an incentive for new members to join, and back then, the bonuses were quite generous as compared to today. The player would deposit a small sum of money in the casino and get an amount equal to or greater than the deposit to try out the casino without risking too much of his own money.

The principle of the casino sign up bonus remains the same even today, but the rules have become much more complicated. In the early days after the birth of the internet gambling industry, there were few casinos; the competition was less which meant the player could actually walk away with a profit. There were fewer choices available to the player and no watch dog organizations were around to monitor and regulate online gambling. Players therefore remained with the internet casino site that they found to be safe and trustworthy.

Over the years, the internet gambling industry expanded and more casinos came into the market to take advantage of this lucrative business. The online casino industry found a new visibility and new watch dog organizations and regulatory bodies sprang up. With a large number of new casinos coming up, players now had a wide choice – they could jump from casino to casino, take the benefit of the sign up bonus and move on to a new internet gambling site. Abuse of the bonus terms, deceptive means of obtaining more than one bonus and fraudulent activity by players was something that became very common.

In this kind of a situation, the internet casinos were losing out, as they could no longer afford the casino bonus offers on the current terms, which, back then were quite moderate. The player had to wager the bonus and the deposit a certain number of times before they could cash out the winnings made from a bonus. However, the wagering requirements were simple and easily attainable back then. For example, a deposit of $50 earned a bonus of $50, with five times wagering requirement. In this case, the player would have to place bets totaling to $500 if he wanted to cash out his bonus winnings. Also, bonus betting was allowed on pretty much all the casino games.

Sign up bonuses are quite common in the casino industry today, but the wagering conditions have drastically increased. On the face of it, the bonus may appear lucrative with a 200% or even 400% match. But once you read the terms and conditions attached to it, you find that opting for the bonus is not profitable for you but serves the purpose of the online casino. So make sure to choose the best internet casinos and read the terms and conditions carefully before making a deposit. Most of the games are excluded for bonus wagering and very often the bonus and deposit needs to be wagered more than 30 or 40 times. In fact, some players no longer opt for the sign up bonus these days, simply because the wagering requirements are too steep and generally unachievable.

The change in the constitution of the welcome bonus offer has no doubt restricted the fraudulent practices that some online gamblers adopted in the past, but for the player it is no longer a profitable proposition. Finding a good sign up bonus deal with reasonable wagering requirements is extremely difficult and even if you do, you must be extremely lucky to take home a profit.