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Exclusive Report: Players Reveal Their Secrets to Claiming the Most Lucrative Casino Bonuses

Over the past several years, online casino gambling has skyrocketed, most notably after COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns saw people spending most of their time at home. And where brick-and-mortar casinos were once the most popular place to gamble, internet-based play has begun to replace trips to our favorite land-based casinos, largely due to convenience and lucrative casino bonuses.

According to reputable data-gathering firms, before pandemic-related closures began in 2020, global revenue for the whole of the gambling industry was USD 45.7 billion in 2019. A year later, as COVID restrictions began to loosen, that number grew to USD 55.1 billion. According to a market analysis report from Grand View Research, in 2022, the global online gambling market size was valued at USD 63.53 billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7 percent from 2023 to 2030.

So what is it that makes web-based gambling so popular beyond the obvious convenience of being able to play pretty much anytime anywhere? And what makes some online casinos so much more attractive to users than others?

Casino Bonuses

Major drivers of traffic to online casinos include game selection, which often surpass the number of games found in land-based casinos, and bonuses and promotions. Many web-based casinos offer some of the best bonuses, ones that traditional casinos are not able offer. These bonuses often help players make the most of their gambling experience and money. Moreover, they just make good business sense as they attract new players and retain regular players.

A recent insightful report from CasinoAlpha revealed that out of all of the most popular casino bonuses, free promotions such as no deposit bonuses and free spins or welcome bonuses, are what users usually pick. Choosing this type of bonus allows the player to test-drive the game before making a deposit.

Here we will briefly explain the various online casino bonuses available to players.

Welcome Bonus

Sometime referred to as a new player bonus or a sign-up bonus, the welcome bonus is the most common type of bonus and is offered by an online casino when you sign-up to become a member for the first time. It is for the most part a combination of free spins and a deposit bonus. Welcome bonuses, like other bonuses come with wagering requirements, where it needs to be wagered a specific number of times before you’re able to withdraw it.

Deposit Bonus

A deposit bonus or reload bonus is basically a bonus that players receive after depositing a specified amount of money. This bonus is typically in addition to the welcome bonus as part of a promotion. Deposit bonuses usually come with a set of conditions. So you’ll want to read the T&Cs  (terms and conditions) before using the bonus and withdrawing the money you earn from it.

No Deposit Bonus

With a no deposit bonus, players are not required to deposit their own money before gambling. This type of bonus is attractive to players as it allows them to try a new game without any risk. It is generally used as a welcome to new players to an online casino or a way to reward players for continuing to gamble at a site.

Free spins

Many online casinos are generous with free spins, offering 5, 10, 15 or sometimes more than 100 spins. These slot spins can be offered on bonus rounds, specific games or from certain game developers. However, be sure to read the T&Cs carefully, as the majority of these “free spins” come with wagering requirements or a “use by” date.

Cashback Bonus

This type of bonus is offered by many online casinos and can cover a portion of your losses, if any. Cashback bonuses are given out daily, weekly or monthly. And while they can’t cover all your losses, they may still account for 20 to 30 percent of your losses. Again, make sure you read the T&Cs carefully.

Loyalty Bonus / VIP Bonus

If you’re a regular player at an online casino, you may have the opportunity to join a VIP club. Theses loyalty/VIP bonuses are bigger and better than other bonuses available at other online casinos. Additionally, these bonuses typically have lower wagering requirements. That means you can collect your winnings sooner.

And there you have it! These are some of the most popular types of online casino bonuses you will come across. They are useful tools in attracting players to online casinos. They can also be useful to players as long as they are familiar with the  T&Cs attached to offers.

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Playboy Club Casino Dancer Hired by Sketchy Lawyer Receives Damages

A former dancer at London’s Playboy Club Casino was recruited as a legal secretary by a male lawyer who was a patron at the venue.

Playboy Club Casino, London
A dancer at London’s Playboy Club Casino (not pictured) was told she was “an obedient little slave creature” by a patron who hired her as a legal secretary. (Image: Inside Hook)

But the woman, who had been working at the casino while studying for a post-graduate diploma in Law, was never paid for her subsequent work. Instead, she was told her new employer was “God” and that she was an “obedient little slave creature,” according to tribunal filings. Employment Judge Anne Martin described the case as “extraordinary.”

The woman, referred to only as “BR” during the tribunal, has been awarded £18K (US$23k) compensation for injury to feelings, nearly £5K (US$6K) in unpaid wages, plus £5K interest.

High-End Law Firm

BR was approached by the now-deceased lawyer, referred to in filings only as “AD,” at the Playboy Club. He invited her to work as his own personal secretary at Eldwick Law, a London-based boutique disputes law firm that deals with high-end clients. At the time, AD was a consultant lawyer at Eldwick.

BR claimed she was offered a base salary of £14K (US$18K) per year for four days a week, plus a bonus of 10% of everything she billed and received, plus 5% of what AD billed and received.

AD told her that her background in London nightlife would be an asset as she would be able to entertain and work alongside high net-worth clients and accompany them to swanky restaurants and bars.

He made the “God” and “slave” comment via a WhatsApp message, explaining that it was the only way she could “fulfill her potential.”

The tribunal heard that after researching Eldwick, BR was excited about the possibility of working with them.

But on her first day, as she headed to Eldwick’s offices, AD called her and told her to come to his house instead. Subsequently, she either worked there or from home.

Harassment and Victimization

Ultimately, BR never went to the firm’s offices, met any of its employees, or received a contract from Eldwick. An earlier tribunal ruled that she had never been employed by Eldwick and therefore was not liable for any compensation from the firm. Instead, she worked for AD, although she did not receive any payment from him.

BR accepted that she had been “rather naïve” throughout the process.

The tribunal found the deceased lawyer to have been in breach of contract, in breach of his duty to provide a written statement of employment, and was guilty of sexual harassment and victimization.

Ultimately, AD was arrested by police after he went to BR’s house and assaulted her and her four-year-old son, according to tribunal filings.

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Taylor Swift Effect: Kelce TD Most Bet Super Bowl Prop at DraftKings Except in Illinois

Taylor Swift might be having an impact on Super Bowl betting trends. As of Friday afternoon, the most wagered on Super Bowl proposition bet among DraftKings clients is Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — Swift’s boyfriend — to score the first touchdown.

Super Bowl odds Chiefs 49ers
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop star Taylor Swift. She might be stirring interest in Super Bowl prop bets tied to the star tight end. (Image: Getty Images)

The caveat is that Illinois is the exception. Still, it’s an impressive anecdote because DraftKings offers mobile sports wagering in 24 states, including Illinois. It’s not immediately clear why bettors in the Land of Lincoln haven’t made the Kelce to score the first touchdown the top prop bet for the big game, but there’s speculation it’s because bettors there are heavily including that wager as a leg in same-game parlays (SGPs).

At this writing, DraftKings is offering the Kelce to score the first touchdown prop bet at +700 (bet $100 to win $700). That’s longer than the +600 offered by the sportsbook earlier today.

This year marks the fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years by the Chiefs, with Kelce on the roster for all those games. In the team’s 2020, 2021, and 2023 showings in the big game, in which it won two, the tight combined for 22 receptions on 27 targets for 257 yards and two touchdowns — one apiece in the 2020 and 2023 Super Bowls.

Kelce TD Prop Bet No Sure Thing

In the world of sports betting, there’s no such thing as a “lock,” and that’s certainly true of the Kelce prop bet. Hence, sportsbook operators such as DraftKings are offering long odds to entice bettors to embrace what’s essentially a long shot.

The potential success of the bet isn’t about Kelce or Swift. He’s widely regarded as one of the best tight ends of all-time and is viewed as being on the position’s “Mt. Rushmore” along with Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski, and Shannon Sharpe.

Rather, the long odds on the Kelce prop wager may be attributable to the first quarter of Super Bowls being equivalent to the first rounds of heavyweight title weights, with the teams feeling each other out rather than attempting to land haymakers.

As a result, the first quarter in a Super Bowl isn’t always conducive to scoring touchdowns. In the first seven Super Bowls played this century, six featured no first-quarter touchdowns. The same is true of another six editions of the big game this century.

Swift Has Enhanced Popularity of Kelce Props

Swift will attend the Super Bowl, jetting to Las Vegas from a concert in Tokyo the night before, but she won’t be performing.

Owing to state-level regulations in the US, there will be no prop bets specific to the music star, but DraftKings and other sportsbooks are offering prop wagers inspired by Swift. In fact, DraftKings has a lengthy menu of such bets, each named after one of her hit singles, but the bets pertain to on-the-field action.

As the Kelce/Swift romance flourished during the regular season with her attending more Chiefs games, some gaming companies noted that they experienced an elevated handle on Kelce prop bets.

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FanDuel to Alter ‘Kick of Destiny’ Commercials Following Death of Carl Weathers

FanDuel will make changes to the “Kick of Destiny” commercials that featured actor Carl Weathers who passed away earlier today at the age of 76.

Carl Weathers
Actor Carl Weathers (driver) and retired NFL star Rob Gronkowski in a FanDuel commercial. Weathers died earlier Friday. (Image: FanDuel)

The largest online sportsbook had been running advertisement featuring Weathers and former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski in the run-up to the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. This year’s spots were framed as a sequel to a 2023 campaign in which Gronkowski missed a 25-yard field goal.

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Carl Weathers,” FanDuel said in a statement provided to Casino.org. “Throughout his life, Carl was an iconic talent who had a profound impact on the people he worked with on and off the screen. FanDuel was fortunate to have had an opportunity to work with him during our Super Bowl campaign. We are adjusting our campaign accordingly out of respect for the family during their time of grief.”

The gaming company, which is a unit of Dublin-based Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), said that is the entirety of the information they’ll be sharing at this time.

FanDuel Framed Weathers in Appropriate Light

Born in New Orleans, Weathers is most remembered for his role as Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky movies, but his career spanned decades and included appearances in television shows and music videos as well as big roles in movies such as Predator and Happy Gilmore.

In the FanDuel commercials, Weathers was framed as a coach of sorts to Gronkowski. The gaming company was right to position Weathers in such a light because that was similar to the role he played in Rocky III and as Chubbs in Happy Gilmore.

Weathers’ appearances in the “Kick of Destiny” commercials was pertinent for another reason. He had direct football ties as he was a linebacker for two years at San Diego State before joining the Oakland Raiders. He helped the team to its first ever AFC title game appearance in 1970 and was released in September 1971.

From there, he went to the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) where he appeared in 18 games over three seasons. He also did narration for NFL Films and participated in coverage of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Fate of ‘Kick of Destiny’ Commercials TBD

As noted above, FanDuel will be adjusting the “Kick of Destiny” ads that featured Weathers. Whether the spots are pulled outright or are changed to acknowledge the actor’s passing remains to be seen.

The sportsbook operator did not mention whether or not the halftime promotion will proceed or how its Super Bowl advertising plans are affected by the death of Weathers, if at all.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, FanDuel said the “Kick of Destiny 2” press conference is scheduled for Feb. 7 in Las Vegas.

“Rob Gronkowski will be holding a press conference, moderated by Kay Adams, from the FanDuel set that will air on FanDuel TV, FanDuel TV+ and stream live on FanDuel’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, February 7 at 10:30 AM PT,” according to the operator.

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French Regulator ANJ Warns About Illegal Gambling Sites

french_regulator_issues_warning_over_illegal_online_casinos_on_facebook_2L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), a gambling regulator from France, works hard to prevent illegal gambling in the country. The regulator recently warned all players about the fraud that is occurring in the industry: various illegal gambling operators use the brands of popular licensed operators to advertise their services on social media platforms, especially Facebook.

Risks for players

That way, even those looking to gamble legally can be tricked into placing illegal bets. Now, the regulator has joined forces with Meta to monitor and resolve the issue.

So far, ANJ has found about 400 illegal websites, which resulted in 137 user accounts on Facebook being blocked. The main operators that were used for illegal operations were Barrière and JOA groups. The profiles of these operators have been created and their brand image was used to attract potential customers to the illegal website. They also created mobile apps that players were led to from Facebook images.

Online casinos aren’t legalized in France. However, some operators are allowed to offer online sports betting and horse racing betting services to French players. Also, land-based casinos that have appropriate licenses are also legal.

According to ANJ, players are at huge risk due to betting on illegal sites. They risk not being paid when they win, as well as various payment frauds and the risk of stealing personal data.

The regulator commented: “If in doubt about the legality of the gambling site on which you are about to bet, consult the list of sites approved by the ANJ. You can also consult the blacklist of sites that have been administratively blocked by the ANJ. We invite anyone who notices the presence of fake advertisements to report them.”

Worth of illegal betting market

In December 2023, ANJ said that the illegal betting market in France was worth up to €1.50 billion (£1.28bn/$1.62bn), which is more than 10% higher than the wagered amount in the country on a yearly basis.

According to research conducted by ANJ, 510 illegal websites are active. About 60% of all traffic comes from 21 of them.

PwC published a study with concerning data: the gross gaming revenue illegal casinos earned is somewhere between €748m and €1.5bn, which is between 5% and 10% of total gambling in France. The record was set in 2022 when it was €12.9 billion.

Source:

“French regulator issues warning over illegal online casinos on Facebook”, igamingbusiness.com, January 31, 2023.

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