rsCatFace
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7 September 2010 - 8:50am

Bonus banned countries - what's up with that?

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Many, many of us who play at online casinos sometimes end up running into a casino which promotes a good bonus and then when we try to register we either cannot find our country in the Countries menu, or we don't find the bonus. When we go to the casino customer support, we are just told that our country is bonus banned, or entirely banned from the casino.

In those cases we start wondering - what makes a nation undesirable to place its money in a casino? I understand that casinos have to ban people who take advantage of them, but an entire nation? Isn't that too harsh? And how many people from the nation need to be abusive to earn their nation such a bad reputation? Or is it just easier for a casino to ban an entire nation instead of taking the time to review their players?

Any thoughts about this?

gbdanniboi889
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7 September 2010 - 10:10am
#1

they are probably running out of money so just telling you there are no bonuses so that you cant win anything from a free chip..

mezuga
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7 September 2010 - 11:10am
#2

One of the main reasons for this is the "bonus abuse" from certain countries.

IMO there r two type of players that use bonuses. The first group are so called "advantage players" , bonus hunters or bonus whores. They take bonuses so they can try to flip the house advantage to their favour and win money. Its fully legit to do so, as they act according to casino T&Cs. Casinos know this and they try to fight such players, by bonus banning certain countries or increasing the wagering requirements for all , or sometimes just for certain regions. Also by excluding the BJ from the wagering or adding the term where BJ counts only 10% towards the WR or so...

The 2nd group are the players who use these bonuses to increase their play time. These r "regular" gamblers and casinos have no problem with this type of players.

Although its quite possible to get bonus banned coz you won more then u lost to casino, even though you may not be an "advantage player".

Ive seen many times casinos bonus ban such players who were just lucky enough to win some. And IMO in such cases casinos r shooting themselves in the foot by bonus banning these players. If they hope to win that money back , bonus banning is certainly not doing them a favour. It will just push away the player and stop them from making any further deposits.

auCL-Ed
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7 September 2010 - 1:54pm
#3

zuga got it in one - its al because of "bonus abusers". What can happen is that a large group of players from one country can hit a casino all at the same time and the casinos don't like it. So its easier for them to just ban everyone from the country than to try to work out who is who.

It sucks but its the casino's right to do it - if you don't like it then vote with your wallet and play somewhere else!

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gbdanniboi889
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7 September 2010 - 2:51pm
#4

ie people who use ip hiders... if every1 uses the same one most have a set amount of ips

gbdanniboi889
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7 September 2010 - 2:54pm
#5

would be another suggestion..

usUsne
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8 September 2010 - 2:02pm
#6

I am not entirely sure that using a program to hide your IP is all that effective at a lot of the casinos. I think that the player is tagged by their computer as well. So if the casino doesn't recognize your IP they will recognize your unique computer ID.

Usne

auCL-Ed
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8 September 2010 - 11:22pm
#7

The other thing is that eventually you will have to supply some valid ID if you want to make a withdrawal, and that is most probably going to reveal where you live.

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gbdanniboi889
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9 September 2010 - 9:30am
#8

maybe not on casino i no it does on sportsbook though lol

ushighroller
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1 October 2010 - 2:18pm
#9

Catface - I know it sucks to be painted with the same brush as bonus abusers...but realistically a casino is a business like any other...they are there to make a profit.
If a country takes up too much of companies resoures then they simply ban it....and thats no different than mcdonalds taking an item off the menu that doesnt sell well....you may enjoy the item...but if they cant make money with it....poof its gone...
To be honest bonus abusers and fraud artists really get my goat....they make playing harder for people that really just want to gamble from the comfort and safety of there own home.

Cheers,
H

auCL-Ed
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3 October 2010 - 9:42pm
#10

highroller you raise a good point - people trying to fraudulently claim bonuses do make it worse for legitimate players. It is a little bit like shoplifting which makes prices of items in the store higher for everyone.

I have said a few times before that there is probably a spot in the market for a casino that specifically does not offer bonuses at all. If they advertised the benefits - i.e. no restrictions on when you can withdraw, play any games you like etc. Then maybe increase the comp points rate a little, and back it up with good service and fast payments and I think they would build a loyal bunch of customers.

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rsCatFace
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5 October 2010 - 9:01am
#11

I agree, as I believe that this system's just not fair to those who just want to play fair and place their money in exchange for a bit of fun.

I also agree and understand the point about business profits, but there's another thing to it - banning an entire country does relieve you of bonus abusers, but also deprives you of good players, and creates a rather uncomfortable feeling in those who play fair. If casinos throw people from the same countries in the same basket, the next thing they may come up with is that they should ban people according to their age group and gender (it's well known that most abusers are young males, under 30 years of age). That's why I said that they should review their players individually (as some casinos actually do), rather than judge them by their nationality, gender, age, or any other trait that may cover a great number of people. Or just quit giving bonuses, as Ed suggested. 🙂

usUsne
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4 October 2010 - 5:58pm
#12

With no deposit chip almost becoming obsolete, i think these casinos should have a better grip on abusers. As far as a deposit bonus abuser i think that is just down right ridiculous they ban them. They should offer perks of some kind just like a land casino does. To me that is just shady practice and if they did ban me then they have done me a favor.

Usne

rsCatFace
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6 October 2010 - 11:17am
#13

Thanks Usne, that's a great point you made here!

mezuga
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6 October 2010 - 12:19pm
#14

you have a point there Ed. Casinos dont have to offer bonus, but setting up some kind of loyalty program, comp points as you mentioned, or maybe some prizes or good cashbacks would do the thing for some players ( along with other things u've mentioned)

But this is a very competitive market, and offering bonuses is what keeps them in business and its attracting new customers.

Yes there is a lot of fraud involved, and yes theres a lot of players who dont want to play without an bonus. But bonus banning players just for winning, and following T&Cs , without any evidence about fraudulent behaviour is just wrong and stupid move IMO. Casinos who do this are shooting themselves in the foot. If you bonus ban a player, how do you expect that player to come back and eventually lose more money than what they originally made. We all know casinos will always win in the long run. House edge is a house edge.

Yes there is type of players who whore these bonuses, and once they cashout they never come back. They just move to another casino. But being that BJ is now excluded from wagering requirements ( or it only counts small % toward meeting the WR ), casino achieved their goal to reduce the number of so called bonus abusers.

And how can you abuse slots bonuses? They are almost always EV negative. :\

usUsne
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6 October 2010 - 3:50pm
#15

Exactly Zuga i couldn't agree with you more. Especially about the slot bonuses. I mean lets get real what are the odds of a a player winning off a free chip? And if they do, considering the fortune these casinos are making is it going to dent their pockets? I highly doubt it.

I do understand the casinos perception when it come's to want to prevent abuse. All in all a player that opens a ton of accts to claim a free chip should be banned. If i owned a casino i would kick them right out the front door too. But to ban an entire country or a player who may have 2 accts to be banned just doesn't make sense to me.

In all reality i think a player who has two accounts may have honestly made an innocent error. I know it has happened to me. To completely remove deposit bonuses or free chips and rely on loyalty chips and cash back is not the answer either.

Lets face it the very thing that draws any player in for the first time to a casino is the freebies and promos.

Usne