Avoiding Welcome Bonus Scams

A welcome bonus is almost always a part of the registration process of signing up for an online casino. Online casinos know that if they want to attract new players, they have to create an enticing bonus that appeals to a wide range of players and is lucrative for potential players. Before you sign up to an online casino, you should fully understand how a welcome bonus works and all the inner workings of the welcome bonus, and some general do’s and don’ts when choosing an online casino.

We also put together a list of the top welcome bonuses.

How Do Welcome Bonuses Work?

For the most part, there are no real downsides to the welcome bonus, but they do come with caveats to be met. These are usually pretty straightforward and reasonable at the best and most trusted online casinos, but sometimes the casino can make these requirements very much in the house’s favour. Sometimes you may only be able to use the welcome bonus on specific games such as specific online slot games, and if you aren’t a particular fan of the game on offer, then the bonus won’t be of any use to you.

You should always read the terms and conditions of a welcome bonus before you sign up. In particular, you should look at the wagering requirements; we will now say exactly a wagering requirement works. They are in place to stop players from simply depositing money, claiming a bonus, and withdrawing immediately. This would not benefit the casino if they allowed players to do this, including a wagering requirement to ensure they are providing a bonus to genuine players. Essentially, the wagering requirement will tell you how much you need to play before you can make a withdrawal. More than likely, you will have to wager the bonus you have claimed a fixed number of times. For example, if the wagering requirement is 10x and you claim £100, you would need to wager £1000 before making a withdrawal from the casino.

Check out the handy video below that explains how wagering requirements work, bare in mind this is a Canadian video, just in case, the currency is confusing.

Before Signing up to an Online Casino

When you’re choosing an online casino, there are so many factors that you should consider before signing up. One of the things you have to think about is which payment method you will be using. This crucial when spending money online, not just at an online casino. The use of reliable payment methods helps to ensure you are spending your money safely and securely. There is such a wide range of different payment methods that you can use nowadays. These include the classic debit and credit cards to more modern methods such as digital wallets and cryptocurrency. It’s reasonable to be hesitant about handing over your personal bank details to an online casino as there are so many new sites out there looking to take advantage of those not in the know. This is where digital wallets such as Paypal come in usefully. These types of platforms give that added peace of mind when making payments to an online casino.

Trust in Online Casinos

Speaking of security, there can be some concern around cybersecurity and online casinos. It is no secret that online gambling is a very lucrative business and have grown massively over the last few years. Experts have predicted that the industry could grow to be worth $92 billion by 2023. This means that there is a lot of money floating around in cyberspace, and sometimes nefarious individuals what in on this pot. Online casinos are in a constant battle to stay ahead of the potential threats.

Hackers are the biggest and most constant threat to any online business as they will search for the smallest weaknesses in the online casino’s armour. The latest in these attacks is a DDoS attack, which can be particularly devastating for an online casino. A DDoS attack will see an online casino’s players’ information stolen, including personal and financial information. An attack like this doesn’t just affect the casino but hurts the players even more.

The other major concern is the integrity of the games that are on the site. Players want the games to be fair. If the games are susceptible to being exploited, the operator will lose their players and have a massively damaged reputation.

The question is, then, how do online casinos prevent breaches in security. SSL encryption is an industry-standard technology that scrambles communication between the player and the site. Even if a hacker gets at this information, all they will get is a string of numbers, symbols and letters and other confusing nonsense.

Licenses for an Online Casino

The other thing that should ease your online security fears is to check that the online casino has a licence with your country’s gambling commission. You should be able to see the casino’s licence number on their site. If you can’t, you should contact customer service, who will provide you with this information to cross-reference with the relevant gambling commission.

Normally, you can click on the number, which will take you to the gambling commission website that issued it. All the casinos that we have here at CasinoRange are licensed, so that saves you time having to look up whether the casino is secure or not. We also have a definitive list of the online casinos that offer you the best welcome bonuses, so you can kill two birds with one stone by using our comprehensive list of online casinos.