Steven Jacobs is a popular online gambling analyst, writer and consultant. He’s best known for online casino reviews, which have earned him the trust of both novice and experienced gamblers.
Contrary to popular belief among online gamblers, bonus size doesn’t really matter.
“Huh? Did I just read that right? How BIG a free cash hand-out is, doesn’t matter, you say?”
Precisely. Unless of course you’re only into gambling for short-term gains, that is until you hit the mega-million jackpot which should take no more than say a few weeks… months at tops.
The fact of the gambling matter is – and any successful gambler will concur – that if you’re looking to gambling not only as a means of pleasure and excitement, but as source of income as well, then you’d better be planning for the long run because that what it’s gonna take to come out ahead financially, along with savvy playing skills and regular laptop dances with Lady Luck.
True, the bonuses being offered by the 2,000+ online casinos and poker rooms are indeed getting bigger, better and more tantalizing by the day. This trend is also certainly expected to continue as the competition among casino and poker room operators to attract new players continues to heat up all across the global playing field. But could there possibly be more to the big picture than meets the eye?
The name of the gamin’ game is…
Although the online gambling biz has only been in existence for a mere 15 years or so, what history does teach us thus far is that, more than how beefy a bonus promotion may appear to be, the real meat which determines whether a particular online casino is a leader or a loser lies in Customer Support. “Huh?” again you mumble. That’s right; customer support, customer service, customer care; whatever you – “the customer” – wants to call it. Sure we can list a number of reasons why, again in the long run, you’re better off passing up the humongous bonuses and investing in those online casinos known to be providing the highest level of support, be it by phone, email, fax or increasingly more via online chat. But the number one reason why superior Customer Support translates into greater overall winnings and more fun for players is that these same online gambling firms are also the most successful at what they do. Hence, they can much better afford to provide better services including not only better games, but higher payout percentages and faster cash outs. While new online gamers may be swiftly and easily taken in by those ubiquitous bogus bonus offers, the rest of us (and we number in the millions) “won’t get fooled again,” to quote the Prophet Pete Townsend. Who?
Bonuses! Bonuses! Bonuses!
These bonuses, in case you’re new to the iGaming scene, begin with what have become affectionately known as either ‘Match Bonuses’ or ‘Sign-up Bonuses,’ that is to say, a free cash awarded to a new player registering with an online gaming website and depositing funds to be used for future wagers. Basically how they work is this: A player depositing $100 for example with an online casino offering a 100% match bonus up to say $300, will in turn receive $200 worth of credit in their new casino account. There are always terms and conditions attached to these freebies, such as a minimum number of hands or rounds you must play through in order to reap your reward, so buyer beware.
Additional bonuses are also awarded by online casinos and the like to players making subsequent deposits, depositing funds by various preferred payment methods, turning friends on to gambling websites, as well as other bonuses to be bagged. And yes, we can all look forward to a number of very original and highly creative perks designed especially to lure in new gamblers game on gaming… and keep them coming back for amour.
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