Understanding the relevance of free casino chips needs to be put in its proper context: are free chip offers coming from honest online casinos?
The first online casinos opened 10 years ago, and there are now hundreds to be found online. Estimates vary as to the number of people who play online, but recent estimates suggest that a figure of around seven million worldwide would not be too far off. Taking that into account, and with an additional estimate of over $12 billion spent at online casinos alone (not including brick-and-mortar land-based casinos), the free casino chip offerings can understandably be seen as a drop in the ocean.
Add to that the question of whether or not honest online casinos offer these free chips, and we enter an area worth serious study or investigation.
Let’s first consider the real value of these free casino chips to the individual online casino player. Free casino chips are of four main types:
No deposit bonus. This is just free money. Honest online casinos will offer free casino chips with no strings attached, simply to entice people to play at their virtual tables. Sometimes there will be minor strings attached. For example, the casino may request credit card details in advance. Always read the terms.
Matching deposit bonuses. This is where the house will match your deposit. Often this is done in multiples. For example, a 200% bonus will mean that if you deposit $100, the casino will add $200 in free casino chips to your account. Very nice! Especially useful for new players starting out.
Non-exchangeable bonus. This is the so-called ‘sticky’ bonus. This can never be cashed out, but its usefulness lies in the fact that it stays in your account and allows you to use the bonus account to “leverage” higher bets. These free casino chips sit dormant in your account simply to allow you to do things you otherwise couldn’t.
Loyalty bonuses. This is exactly what it sounds like. All honest online casinos, and offline ones too, want to keep their good returning customers and as a result they will offer loyalty bonuses including free casino chips.
Remember that online casinos can afford to do this because they simply don’t have the overhead that their traditional brick-and-mortar counterparts do. Also, there is no excuse for an online casino NOT to be honest for the exact same reason. They can offer free casino chips AND be an honest online casino in circumstances where their physical equivalents would find the financial burden impossible.
So how do we go about identifying which are honest online casinos and which are not? Well, a lot has changed since the first online casinos set up shop in their overseas locations in 1996. Self-regulation (dubious at best) led to the accreditation of bodies like ECOGRA (E-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance). Also keep an eye out for evidence of good customer support, positive feedback from online casino forum members, and decent helpline facilities. The most honest online casinos will offer (actively brag) 24 hour live chat and live email support as well as free phone help. Do you have a mailing list you can join to stay in touch with the latest tournaments and special offers? Trust is at the heart of any signup process (or people won’t sign up), so in itself it’s a good indicator of an honest online casino.
The transparency of accounting systems is another good indicator of honest online casinos. When posting testimonials, make sure it’s from more than one set of initials and make sure they have a state or country. Free casino chips may be ‘virtual’ in concept, but they are used by real people!
But the best indicator of an honest online casino is personal recommendation. This also includes the affiliation of said casinos to reliable casino websites and portals. If an offer of free casino chips [http://www.gamble-on-the-internet.com/free-casino-chips-and-honest-online-casinos.htm] is made by an online casino on said site, then it can probably be trusted.
