Bonus Abuse Explained: How to Recognize and Prevent It in 2024
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Did you know that more than 90% of online casino disputes in 2024 are related to bonus abuse? Bonus abuse is the surest way to get blacklisted by an online casino in Ireland. Even worse, your IP address could get banned by a network of online casino sites in your region. This practice violates most online casino terms & conditions and should be avoided. In this blog, we dive into how bonus abuse fraud works and how you can prevent it.
- In-Depth Definition of What is Bonus Abuse
- Tips to Avoid Bonus Abuse Like an Expert
- Best Practices For Claiming a Casino Bonus
- How Does Bonus Abuse Influence Your Gameplay?
- What Types of Bonus Abuse Are There?
- Stay Smart: Avoiding Bonus Abuse at Irish Online Casinos
In-Depth Definition of What is Bonus Abuse
Bonus abuse involves casino players opening new accounts on an online casino to exploit promo incentives and use casino bonuses in ways other than intended by the platform itself. This deceptive activity goes by numerous names, such as promo abuse and bonus hunting.
Bonus abuse tactics mainly revolve around using exploitative tactics to gain an unfair advantage over the online casino and also other players. Many advanced fraudsters create multiple fake identities and use different IP addresses to create numerous new user accounts.
Tips to Avoid Bonus Abuse Like an Expert
Our company has 8+ years of experience working in the online gambling industry. We’ve asked our lead expert, Adina Minculescu, to curate this table of the best tips for avoiding bonus abuse. Follow these simple rules to keep playing since online casinos can ban players. This way, you’ll be sure that after playing through your bonuses, you’ll also have undisputed access to your winnings.
| Expert Tip | How to Use |
|---|---|
| Carefully read and understand the bonus terms & conditions. | Read the full bonus terms to get a clear picture of what counts as bonus abuse. Also, keep an eye on practices players must avoid. |
| Play all games fairly. | Avoid using any tricks that exploit bonus loopholes and give you an unfair advantage over others. |
| Create and use a singular account. | Use just a single account for your casino. Do not create multiple accounts to exploit the signup bonus. |
| Comply with the casino bonus rules. | Respect iGaming operators’ bonus rules. Do not look for methods to outsmart and defraud the system. |
| Know when to walk away from the game. | If you are on a losing streak, it is the best time to walk away from the online casino. Avoid using gambling fraud to become profitable. |
| Bet only in a responsible manner. | Ensure all your bets conform to the best responsible gambling practices. Avoid using low-risk betting tactics. |
| Play to have fun and not always to win. | When you play to have a fun and exciting gambling experience, you reduce your risk of becoming desperate or chasing your loss. |
Best Practices For Claiming a Casino Bonus
- Carry out your research and choose a reputable & licensed new online casino. Our guide on how to play at new online casino sites can also give you valuable insights.
- Understand how the signup promotions and bonuses work (First deposit bonuses are exclusive to new users on a one-time basis)
- Carefully review the bonus terms & conditions associated with the casino bonus. Check for limitations, minimum deposit eligibility, and wagering requirements.
- Confirm if you need to enter a specific bonus code to claim the bonus amount or free spin.
- If the bonus is a deposit bonus, make your first minimum deposit to clear the first eligibility condition.
- Comply with the maximum betting limits and pay attention to the bonus validity period to avoid expiration.
How Does Bonus Abuse Influence Your Gameplay?
iGaming operators take bonus abuse operations very seriously. For example, a player’s online slot winnings will be forfeited if they are confirmed to be involved in bonus fraud. A bonus abuser account instantly gets flagged for investigation, and if the account is found guilty of this abuse strategy, you will lose your bonus and its winnings.
Bonus hunters are punished strongly by gambling operators. They block their IP addresses and share them with their network, which means you could get blocked on not just one but many other online casinos. A blacklist automatically means you can’t gamble on many popular online casinos you may wish to join.
What Types of Bonus Abuse Are There?
Trying to understand what counts as bonus abuse can be a bit tricky. In this section, our CasinoAlpha CEO and casino expert, Tudor Turiceanu, provides a list of bonus abuse types you should be mindful of:
- Creating Multiple Casino Accounts: Bonus abusers create many new accounts to claim welcome bonuses as many times as possible. These fraudsters create multiple accounts using VPNs and other computer tools. Online casinos track IP addresses, and this means if you try to create more than one using a single device, you will likely get flagged as suspicious.
- Arbitraging in sports betting: Arbitrage involves taking advantage of the odd differences in many different sports betting platforms and betting across them to ensure a sure profit, irrespective of the game outcome. This isn’t directly identified as bonus abuse on most betting platforms, but once used with a welcome bonus, it becomes a case of bonus abuse.
- Chip Dumping in Poker: Chip dumping happens in online poker games. In this abuse strategy, a poker player intentionally loses chips to move money. This can be used to meet playthrough requirements, leverage promo offers in an unfair manner or even launder money. For instance, a poker player can use a signup bonus to get chips and dump them on colluding players; this way, the player can meet wagering requirements easily.
- Low-risk Betting: Bonus abusers can place low-risk bets on both outcomes of a game. For instance, a player uses a casino bonus to bet on black and red in a roulette game. This way, the player can meet wagering requirements faster and minimize possible losses.
- Bonus Trading: This involves a group of gamblers sharing information about top promo offers from sports betting platforms and online casinos. They also coordinate their bets using collusion tactics to trigger bonuses effectively and lower potential risks. They ensure profits regardless of a game outcome by betting differently and hedging bets. Once they successfully carry out these gambles, they split profits among themselves. Bonus trading is unethical; players should avoid this unfair practice by all means necessary.
- Saving Bonus Money: Saving your bonus money so you can combine it later with other bonus offers is an abuse of bonus offers. A player might get away with it once, but once there is a repeated pattern of doing this, the platform can flag your account for investigation of bonus abuse.
Stay Smart: Avoiding Bonus Abuse at Irish Online Casinos
To keep your online casino experiences positive, it’s crucial to play by the rules, especially when it comes to bonuses. CasinoAlpha shows you how to enjoy bonuses without crossing into abuse territory. By understanding what counts as abuse and following our straightforward tips, you’ll keep your gaming fair and fun.
Remember, the best part of playing at online casinos is the thrill of the game, not outsmarting the system. Play smart, apply controlled gambling practices, and enjoy the ride.
