Confessions of a Bonus Whore

Yes, I did it, and I’m not proud. When I first began to wager online, I went where I thought the money would be the easiest to get. I looked for the bonuses that I thought would quickly fatten my bankroll. I got in, got out, and took my money with me, and went from one sportsbook to another. I found the sportsbooks that made the biggest, grandest promises, but I learned my lesson the hard way.

Because I am willing to share my story, you won’t have to.

You can easily avoid the pitfalls of the bad bonuses and the sportsbooks that seem to promise the moon and don’t deliver the goods. You know the old saying, If it seems too good to be true, it probably is? Well, I’m afraid that is advice is all too accurate. There are great deals to be had out there, however, and there are reliable sportsbooks on the Internet, but there are some you will want to avoid. Perhaps my story will save you some time and more importantly, some money.

Are you new to online wagering? Are you intimidated?

If, like me, you heard how easy it is to bet on sports through the Internet, and you got tired of dealing with local characters that seemed unreliable, and you still wanted to get to where the action is, you don’t have to be afraid of taking a chance with a reputable online sportsbook. Give me a few minutes here, and I will share a few things with you that might save you some time and trouble.

If you log on, type "online sportsbook" on Google, it can quickly become overwhelming. It soon becomes apparent that there are far more sportsbooks online than there are sports. And all of them are promising big bonuses if you just send them your money, right now. These bonuses can range anywhere from 10 to 50%. Each one comes with some limitations, though. That’s the catch. I know, because those catches were constructed to snare people like me.

Sign-up bonuses are common in the world of online betting. Some sportsbooks even have something called a ‘Buddy referral’ plan that awards bonuses to customers that recommend their friends. While this might sound like some sort of pyramid scheme, this can actually be a very good thing for you. More about that later.

It’s good to share business at a solid, reliable sportsbook with your buddies. Why shouldn’t you benefit from your lack of greed? What you do not, under any circumstances want to be, though, is a “Bonus Whore” like I was. Remember the old expression, “One bad apple spoils the bunch?” Believe me, you don’t want to be that apple. The bad apples are the reason that sportsbooks have had to tighten the rules for all of the other players. The well-established, leading online sportsbooks really want you to wager with them. They want to encourage your business. They want to have a relationship. And have you come back, time and time again. And bring your friends. That’s why they offer the special incentives, to reward their returning customers, and keep them happy.

Unfortunately, I got greedy.

The sportsbooks can see the ‘Bonus Whores’ right away. These are the sports wagering fans that approached them the way I did- looking for the best deal, hunting for the free money, and then taking the money and running off to another place. Because of people like me, the sportsbooks have had to implement “rollovers” and reduce the number of withdrawals, to keep the money in the system for a reasonable period of time.

A rollover means that you will be required to wager the amount of the bonus a certain number of times. Some sportsbooks may even have mandatory rules about wagering with your deposit, and your bonus amount, so many times before you can withdraw all of your winnings. If this sounds too tough, don’t be mad at a respectable sportsbook. Be mad at me. It’s guys like me, the ones who abused these systems, that brought the restrictions to the game.

Every time I wanted to wager online, I went to a different sportsbook, searching for a better deal. After I found the largest bonus possible, I deposited my money, made my wagers, and withdrew my money as quickly as I could, when I won a substantial payout. That’s why some sportsbooks now want you to keep an account active for a month or so before you withdraw all of your funds. Every sportsbook has its own rules and systems, for good reason. How solid would a bank be if everyone withdrew cash at one time? Remember the Depression? The sportsbook is also protecting the funds of their customers, too. The company I wager with nowadays, youwager.lv, has a great reputation in online gaming. One of their unofficial slogans is that they ‘pay off like a bank.’ This sportsbook is owned by First Fidelity. It even sounds like a bank, doesn’t it?

A typical bonus at an online sportsbook works this way: Some standard bonuses may range from 10 to 25% of your deposit. If you deposit $500, this means the sportsbook may give you an additional sum to wager with, and it can vary anywhere from $50 to $125. This extra money is added to your account at the sportsbook, but you may have to roll this over for 6 times and not withdraw the entire amount until after 30 days. Generally, the bigger the bonus, the longer you will have to wait to put the dough back in your pocket. If that sounds too restrictive, remember the sportsbook I frequent these days is referred to as a bank. Nothing wrong with leaving money in a bank if it’s a good bank. And it’s only fair to remind you here that if they are giving you money, free, it’s completely understandable that they make the rules, right? The sportsbook wants steady long term customers, not the bonus whores that hit and run.

Maybe you can begin to see how I messed up the game for everyone else.

The rules are also for your protection. A good sportsbook will post the rules where you can easily find them, and have well-instructed customer service people in place to help explain them to you if you have questions.

Some of the substantial bonuses are in reality, Match Plays. A Cash Bonus is just that. When you make a deposit into your account, your reward is real cash that you can wager with. A Match Play is a form of credit. Imagine that someone allowed you to make a wager using that credit, and you only get to keep the money that you won. Then your initial stake goes away and you don’t get to keep it. It’s not a bad deal, really, but in reality, the Match Play is only about as good as half of a Cash Bonus. Credit is credit, and cash is cash.

I can’t say this enough- read the rules. If the restrictions that come with the bonus aren’t to your liking, you can always just refuse it. When you have been wagering on the Internet as I have, for several years, you will discover that a lot of the serious sports wagering fans out there don’t really care that much about bonuses. They are more concerned about doing business with a fine establishment that pays them on time, like a bank, when they win. In my efforts to confess my sins here, and do a little penance, I have neglected to mention something- I do win. A lot. Sure, I was greedy when I first started betting online, but I am good. I understand the games I wager on, and I wager wisely and carefully with my bankroll. And yes, if you are a dependable customer, those bonuses do come in handy. That’s why I have referred my buddies to my favorite sportsbook, and profited from the Buddy Referral program at youwager.lv.

As an example of their straightforward policies, this is how youwager lays it out, in black and white, for their customers, when it comes to fees and bonuses:

FEES REGULATIONS

Your deposit, plus the value of the fee that we paid for your incoming transaction must remain in your account until the rollover is met. Anything above this amount can be withdrawn instantly. However, if the rollover is not met, the fee will be reversed.

Here’s their rollover policy on these:

7 DAYS AND 3 X

After seven days, and three times, you can withdraw your winnings anytime you wish.

This means that your deposit, plus at least half of the value of the free play they gave you, must remain in your account until the rollover is met. Again, anything above and beyond this amount can be withdrawn anytime. But if you don’t meet the rollover requirements, the bonus goes away.

Here’s an example:

As you can see on their chart, once you meet the 3X rollover requirement, and your money stays in your account for more than 7 days, you can take it all out. It’s yours to keep.

**They also cover all of your transfer fees for amounts of $300 or more.

Their Bonus regulations can be very specific about the types of wagers you place. A “Free Play’ is the term for the bonus money in your account.

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BONUS REGULATIONS

Free Plays can only be used on straight bets, and moneyline wagers up to +150.

To make it even clearer, they are saying that they will not tolerate any ‘horseplay’ around the pool, so no one gets injured. Meaning, no double-teaming them. One person, one account. Cheaters hurt everyone, in the long run. And that means you and me. So they are adamant about it, with language like this:

“Only ONE account is allowed per person. Management reserves the right to make final decisions regarding bonuses. Valid identification may be required to claim bonuses in order to prevent abuse of the bonus system.”

BONUS ROLLOVER POLICY

30 days and 4.5 x

Then you can withdraw your winnings at any time.

This means that your deposit, plus half the value of the free play, must remain in your account until the rollover requirement is met. Any amount above this can be accessed at anytime. If the rollover requirement is not met, however, the bonus will be reversed.

Here’s how it works:

You deposit $1000 *

You get a $350 Free Play Bonus **

Your Money Transfer fees are $60

What this means, is that any amount above $1235 can be withdraw at ANY TIME. How did they come up with $1235?

It's like this:

$1000

$175 (half the value of the free play)

$60 (fees)

_______

$1235

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After you have met the 4.5X rollover requirement, and your money has been in your account for 30 days, you are able to withdraw the entire amount.

Disclaimers to note here:

* Deposit Bonuses are only for Customers from North America.

**If you are depositing by Money Transfer, please note: Bonuses are only given for deposits of $100 and over.

At a quality online sportsbook, any time you have questions about wagering on sports, or bonus policies, just ask. A proper establishment has proper rules. These are in place to protect you, really. It’s not just for their safety. The rules, you see, force everyone to play nice. The best ones eliminate the Bonus Whores. One true measure of great customer service is the response time, or the time it takes them to get back to you with an answer. My ‘book’ has customer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you do want to benefit from the bonuses, you have to play by the rules.

For example, youwager’s Buddy Referrals must have verifiable account information for both accounts. Simultaneous wagering activity must occur in both accounts in order for you to get the Buddy referral bonus.

When it comes to dealing with Bonus Whores, they are fairly strict:

“Customers deemed to be bonus abusers will not be eligible for bonuses in the future. However, you may be welcome to play at youwager.lv without a bonus. Customers deemed to be bonus abusers are not eligible for special promos or poker tournament bonuses as well.”

Fortunately, I had already learned my lesson, the hard way, before I started playing with youwager on a regular basis. Over the years, I have benefited from their Buddy Referrals and even gotten some nice Loyalty Rewards for being a regular customer. One of the more interesting incentive programs that youwager offers, is their Gamblers Insurance program. With this, the sportsbook will even reimburse a percentage of what you have wager if you happen to lose.

Yes, you read that right.

If you meet the requirements, they will actually reimburse you with a percentage of your bankroll. The requirements are not in fine print, either. In fact, they typically send me emails reminding me the necessary steps to meet those requirements, as the football wagering season comes to an end. No traditional bank will give you any type of return on a mistaken investment. See why I wager with youwager.lv?

To sum it all up, I urge you to take my advice:

Find a good quality online sportsbook, with nice bonuses

Avoid any sportsbooks that promise the moon and the stars.

Read the rules thoroughly and be sure you understand them.

Wager well, and read all of the latest info on every game.

Play wisely with your bankroll.

And whatever you do, DON’T be a Bonus Whore!

Don’t do what I did. It took me a while to figure it all out. To settle down, go straight, and get smart. If you get too greedy, looking for the best deal, instead of the best sportsbook, you will only wind up with frustration. The most ridiculous incentive programs often have ridiculous restrictions, and you will only be stuck somewhere, playing with a sportsbook that you don’t like. That’s the worst penalty, believe me.

When you do sign up, with a well-established sportsbook, remember that sign-up bonuses, reload bonuses, and other rewards may have expiration dates.

The bottom line here, may be that the best bonus you can truly have in any online wagering situation, is a great sportsbook. One that you can count on. Treat them right, and they will treat you right. How you play the game really does matter. I know.

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