Very often, a casino will refuse to pay out winnings, and lock a player's account, with the stated reason that he is a "bonus abuser". It is a very convenient term for a casino which doesn't want to pay because it means absolutely nothing -- while, at the same time, meaning everything -- at least everything that the casino wants it to.
The first time that I saw this term used was several years ago. The Golden Palace group of casinos refused to pay out winnings to those people it felt only played when they were offered bonuses. The Golden Palace did not claim that they had violated its Terms & Conditions, or had cheated in any way -- simply that they did not play when no bonus was being offered. Gambling Grumbles did not accept this at all and within days all of the gambling forums were full of furious posts condemning the Golden Palace and its subsidiary casinos. It was pointed out that if the Golden Palace did not want a particular player to get a bonus, it simply should not have sent him an e-mail offering it to him. A few other groups tried to follow Golden Palace's lead but soon backed down. I may be wrong, but I don't believe that Golden Palace ever did.
The Golden Palace's definition of "bonus abuser" may have been the original one, but it is far from the only one. Some casinos have refused to pay players, calling them bonus abusers, by saying that they have gone from casino to casino collecting bonuses and playing with them. Of course, there is nothing in any casino's T&Cs which says that if you collected bonuses from other casinos you can't collect one from it, but that didn't stop less scrupulous casinos from refusing to pay out.
Other casinos will deem you to be a bonus abuser if you use your bonus in the manner which gives you the best chance of winning -- even if that way of playing is not in violation of its T&Cs. In other words, if you don't play foolishly, you are abusing the bonus.
Still others will put this tag on you if they feel that you are part of a group playing in the same way. This, of course, makes no sense at all. Casinos want you to play -- that is why they offer bonuses. They should be thrilled if you spread the word about a bonus they are offering to a group of other players -- in fact, the more the merrier. It is free advertising for the casino. And, of course, if you are going to tell your friends (either real life friends or virtual ones on a bulletin board) about the bonus, you should be free to give them your advice on how to best play with it. It is up to them if they want to heed what you are saying or not.
It seems that, in reality, to casinos without ethics, "bonus abuser" means only one thing: "You won".
Edited by moderator Wednesday, May 26, 2010 9:47:59 AM(UTC)
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