How Bonuses Аre Changing in the World of iGaming?

Posted by Harry Kane on Monday, May 6, 2019

If you cast your minds’ back a few years, there were two things you could guarantee from online casino welcome bonuses. Firstly, they used to be ubiquitous, meaning that every virtual casino would offer a welcome bonus that was similar in term of its value and structure.

You can also bet your bottom dollar that these welcome offers will have been extremely lucrative, with deposit matches of up to 400% made available to players online. In some instances, operators have even offered deposit matches of up to 800%, in a bid to compete more aggressively with their rivals and command a larger market share.

In this post, we’ll review how bonus offers have changed through the ages, whilst asking what we should expect from the future?

A Brief History of Bonus Offers

Whilst most online casinos continue to offer welcome bonuses to new players (and additional promotions for existing customers), the value of these has decreased on average throughout the last few years.

We’ve also seen a marginal decline in the number of no-deposit bonuses provided by operators, with these promotions afforded to players from the moment that they register for an account.

On average, most brands provide a deposit match of up to 200% in the current marketplace, with this type offer typically available up to the value of £100 or £200. This may be augmented with a number of complimentary spins, which can usually be deployed across a select range of slots (or in some instances, a single title such as Starburst).

Modern packages may also be spread across a new player’s first three deposits, with variable deposit matches offered for each one. Further free spins may also be made available as part of this multi-leg bonus, and this has become an extremely cost-effective way of engaging players and affording them a higher value incentive.

At the same time, some operators are also adopting an increasingly innovative approach to cultivating desirable bonus packages. We’ll touch on this further below, as we consider how this market is likely to evolve in the future.

Terms, Conditions and an Increasingly Stringent Regulator

Historically, all bonus offers have been underpinned by strict and occasionally controversial terms and conditions, and this remains a fundamental reason for the ways in which the market has changed of late.

The most important of these is the so-called ‘wagering requirement’, which can be applied to either the full value of a bonus offer or any winnings that are earned as a result. These requirements create a financial sum that must be wagered before you can withdraw any winnings associated with your bonus, and this has been a source of huge controversy in the sector.

The industry standard has seen promotional offers unpinned by wagering requirements of 30-times the total value of the bonus. So, if you credit your account with £10 to access a 100% deposit match, you’ll have to wager 35-times the value of £20 (£750) before you can withdraw the fruits of your labour.

As if this isn’t enough, some operators got into the habit of obscuring this and similar conditions pertaining to the bonus, creating a surge in consumer complaints and forcing the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to investigate the issue.

Ultimately, the regulator released a report in conjunction with the Competition and Markets Authority, and this urged operators to make any restrictions 100% to players from the outset.

Not only this, but firms were prohibited from applying wagering requirements to players who wanted to withdraw their own cash, although many continue to leverage similar conditions for the bonus cash that they offer.

This is indicative of the increasingly stringent approach taken by the regulator, as it looks to safeguard online players as part of its core strategic objectives through 2021. The Commission has also imposed sanctions on operators who fail to comply or at least run their welcome bonuses completely by the book.

How the Changing Regulatory Tide Has Impacted on Bonuses?

With the Commission increasingly likely to review bonus offers and sanction operators, the majority of operators have taken the proactive step of revisiting their promotional strategies.

This outlook has manifested itself in various forms, as whilst some brands have improved the transparency of their bonuses, others have ceased to offer any kind of financial incentive at all. Others have even looked to blaze a trail for others by providing new and unique bonuses, and we’ll cover these in a little more detail later on in the piece.

A few universal trends have emerged, however, particularly in relation to the transparency of offers and how they’re marketed to players. It’s also hard to argue with the notion that the average value of bonus packages has declined as the regulatory guidelines have evolved, as operators look to create more balanced promotions that adequately safeguard players.

As for the select few brands that have looked to stop offering bonuses entirely, these entities are striving to avoid the risk of being hit with substantial financial sections and uphold their reputation in a volatile marketplace.

What’s the Future for Welcome Bonuses?

While the value of offers may have declined on average, there’s no doubt that increased regulations surrounding bonus packages have enhanced the typical user experience online.

After all, players can now rely on fair and transparent bonuses that meet their initial expectations, whilst measuring the value of a particular offer against the advertised wagering requirements.

Whilst this trend will continue into the future, we also see a few innovative brands develop more creative bonus packages. Take PlayOJO, for example, who currently provide a free spin for every £1 spent on the site up to the value of £50, whilst ensuring that this bonus is entirely free from any wagering requirements.

This is setting a trend that other brands are likely to follow, as the concept of value is redefined according to the new guidelines surrounding welcome bonuses. We should certainly expect to see wagering requirements become a thing of the past over time, as operators to create compliant promotions that also offer superior value to players.