Archive for July, 2006
(ie rewarding not just NEW account holders)
For those of you who like to have a favourite casino or to play specific casino games rather than ‘casino-hop’, a monthly reload bonus is often great incentive to stay on at a particular casino.
Here’s 3 reputable casinos that offer good rewards & bonuses to existing account holders (and not just through Loyalty Points that can be more confusing that rewarding…)
1. BetFred Casino – get up to GBP 50 (or currency equivalent) each month – a 25% match on the first deposit you make each calendar month. BetFred Casino is Playtech based and seriously sharp! (read our full BetFred Casino review HERE)
>2. 32Red Casino – these guys run a $50 (or EURO 50 or GBP 50) monthly match bonus. It’s by invitation only – they’ll send you an email when you’ve met the play criteria (wagering $100 on 20+ bets). Once invited you’re eligible for one $50 deposit match bonus each month until further notice. 32Red Casino runs on the industry-leading Microgaming software. (read our 32Red Casino review HERE)
>3. Canbet Casino – a never ending reload runs at Canbet where you can chose between a 20% macth bonus each month on mixed casino games or a 30% match bonus on slots only play. The maximum bonus for each offer is $1000 (or currency equivalent). Canbet Casino is based on Real Time Gaming (RTG) software. (read our review of Canbet Casino HERE).
July 21st, 2006
In case you’ve not seen them here are images of the latest slots games at Spin Palace Casino (the flagship Casino of the Palace Group owned by Fairground Gaming plc). Spin Palace Casino in our view has THE best SLOTS games on the net. They release a couple of new ones each month and al;ready offer ~200 games – log on to play for real or for free today. These are Microgaming ultra-quality slots.
Mad Hatters – a 5-reel video slot with 30 paylines – offers you a potential 100,000 EURO JACKPOT!! The 3 stupid giggly hat wearers are somehow more out of ‘red neck America’ than my image of the Mad Hatter’s tea party, buy hey, it’s a fun slot with a bunny bonus, a cuckoo clock bonus game and plenty of opportunities for Free Spins with multiplers.
StarScape – is another new 5 reel bonus video slot has a Jackpot of up to 70,000 EURO. Very cruisy ambiant sound on this one but a bit slow to play even in expert multi spin mode though.
The Palace Group – an exclusive slot (only found at Palace Group’s own casinos rather than all Microgaming sites so Spin Palace Casino can offer the stunning Jackpot of 140,000 EURO – go tiger!) 5-reel, 25 payline.
July 20th, 2006
Well we’ve been wondering about MANSION after their last month’s mega bonus but their Casino and Poker bonus just announced today exceeds all expectations.
If you’re looking for a change from the classy Microgaming graphics at Spin Palace Casino (or even Playtech’s sleek look & feel at Bet365 Casino) have a look at MANSION Casino. It is based on Chartwell software and offers something quite different – and with stunning joining bonuses.
Have a look at our MANSION Casino review for more info, but in summary:
For all new Accounts at MANSION Casino (or MANSION Poker) they’ll match your first deposit 100% up to $1000 (or currency equivalent). Then they’ll match your second and third deposits 50% up to $500 each deposit – so – that’s potentially an extra $2000 you can play with. A X10 Playthrough applies (and you can’t play Blackjack or Baccarat – but you can play Poker at the new MANSION Poker site – with your poker rake adding to your bonus release!)
July 20th, 2006
The team at CasinoLabRat.com assessed 65 online casinos in June. BIG JOB – especially when you see our evaluation criteria & method!!
At times there are very dramatic differences between online casino bonuses from site to site – and often in real terms it comes down to the achieveability of a casino bonus rather than the “up to” amount advertised. In general “up to” values should be considered eye candy until you’ve digested the fine print.
‘Team Labrat’ never encourages players to join a casino just for the bonus anyway, but some casinos have ‘spun out’ & introduced crazy wagering requirements that are confusing, unecessarily complex, sheer bloody minded and in some instances bordering on ‘misleading advertising…’
(and, while we’re on it don’t get me started on crazy-complex casino “loyalty points” schemes – subject for another blog…)
A number of factors up the ante on you achieving a bonus payout . Here’s some major ones:
- the wagering requirement or ‘playthrough’ (eg x15)
- the time alloted for you to achieve the playthrough (eg 45 days)
- the games you can / can’t play during your ‘playthrough’ period (eg ‘Slots only’ bonus)
- any payout ‘at the casino’s discretion’ statement
Have a look HERE for CasinoLabRat’s latest casino bonus comparisons (recommended casinos only not all 65 we assessed).
Some online casinos have been hit so hard by Bonus hunters able to do better math than their own in-house marketing teams that they ban whole countries from bonus eligibility (“no Danish, Chinese need apply” type statements just crack me up!).
Other casinos demonstrate their utter inability to understand their target market by rapidly & randomly cycling bonus values, eligibility criteria and bonus codes hoping we all just sod off (affiliates included). Talk about experimental marketing!
Enough of a rant – there’s got to be better ways to to incentivise players to join and stay loyal.
Business transparency usually works for me. At CasinoLabRat we only recommend casinos we play ourselves – but the main criteria for me is I need to be able to trust them to professionally manage my account. I also like casinos to openly disclose audited payout rates, house edge, etc. and give easy access to game rules (like how many damned decks are in this Blackjack game – and without having to do research on the casino software manufacturers site!).
Another nice-to-have is the ‘personal touch’ – web based businesses that are ‘anonymous’ often are ‘Ma & Pa’ garage-based operations. Name your Directors, Managers & contact people – that’s what they’re paid for isn’t it? (And no, I don’t just mean smarmy marketing blurb featuring the Ed Ware’s (of 32Red) or the Fred Done’s of BetFred… real grass-roots people who I might actually wish to ask questions of.
In summary… online casinos hiding behind unrealisic or miserly bonuses with ‘lawyer required’ fine print are NEVER going to instill a sense of confidence and ‘good times ahead’…
PS: We’re happy to give any casino site specific feedback based on our analysis – just contact us via our ‘contact us’ link on the main CasinoLabRat.com page.
July 18th, 2006
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