Playnow.com bonus bungle

Ain’t no free rides

You never get something for nothing

If it looks too good to be true…chances are it’s not

Three sayings that encapsulate one of life’s unfortunate truths – very seldom does anyone hand over value to strangers and expect nothing in return.  And online casinos are no exception.

Sure they offer free cash bonuses…some are really quite generous and reach way into £€$ thousands.  But there’s always a hook – times wagered terms.  That is, before you can withdraw the bonus funds as cold hard cash, you’re going to have to turn them over playing the casino’s games…20, 30, 40 times or more depending on the casino.

And this is fair enough really.  I mean if a casino offered, say $100 with no times-wagered terms attached then players could simply sign up, take the bonus, withdraw the cash and close their account.  Word would very soon get out and thrifty bargain hunters the world over would very soon have the casino out of business.

No online casino would be stupid enough to do this.

Well not until now anyway.

Good old Playnow.com – BC, Canada’s government casino have run a promo (ends today) that gives new players $100 with no requirement to turn the bonus over before withdrawal.

Word got out and the deal was posted at bonus hunting and miscellaneous tight-arse hangout websites and before long every man and his dog had signed up and  pocketed the $100.

Playnow.com refuse to admit that they made a mistake and maintain that the deal was a player acquisition strategy.  The British Columbian Lottery Corporation (BCLC) have said that less than 1% of players taking up the offer have closed their accounts.  Of course you don’t have to close your account to withdraw the cash and never play there again…the casino didn’t say how many had mad a withdrawal.

Many in the industry suspect it was another case Playnow bungle – similar to their botched launch attempt.

One saving grace is that the casino only accepts players living in British Columbia, so any fiscal damage done would be far less severe than if they were offering free cash to the wider online casino market.

I can just see the Head of Online Marketing at the BCLC sent to write on the blackboard 100 times…

No more free money

bonuses must have wager terms attached

No more free money

bonuses must have wager terms attached…