How Free Bets Have Impacted the Online Casino Industry

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The gambling and online casino industry is one which is always evolving and changing, with new technology coming onto the market all the time to give customers a better experience. Online casinos vary considerably – after all, if they were all alike, there’d be no way of customers choosing between them. And where customers choose to gamble depends on how much they want to spend. One way in which gambling companies have enticed new customers to their sites is through free bets when customers sign up – bonuses that customers can use to place a bet either in part or full. Free bets should theoretically be just that, but the reality is that they are more complicated, with terms that vary depending on the bookmaker’s offers.

Opportunities to Win without the Risk

Free bets are popular because they give bookmakers the opportunity to lure in customers, while also providing gamblers the chance to win some real cash without any initial risk. But because they provide such a good offer, they can be an expensive promotion for bookmakers to run, so they can be few and far between and often are limited to just a short period of time. What’s more, the industry has come under fire in recent years for not making their terms and conditions around free bets clear. So, while they can serve as a great way to get one over on the bookies, companies need to explain exactly what they’re offering in order for punters not to get caught out.

Changes to the Industry

Free bet offers were initially brought in to attract players for casino-style games like roulette or poker, providing them with bonus funds when they put in their own money. Advertising teams for these companies have also found ways of approaching their target demographic, using what’s known as dynamic retargeting, whereby they single out people who haven’t gambled in a while to encourage them back through free bets which many firms have found to be an effective way of bringing more people to their sites. One way they achieve this is through offering increasing amounts of free bets each week.

But changes to the industry will mean that bookies will no longer be able to promote free bets without being clearer about what the associated terms are, and big firms such as Ladbrokes and William Hill have agreed to change their terms regarding these promotions. The online casino industry has found plenty of ways over the years to grab the punters’ attention, from innovative apps to great offers and deals. Free bets have been one way in which they’ve managed to entice people to use their services, but without being careful of how they promote those offers, it could be disastrous for the betting firms. Customers need to feel as though they have control of their situation and without proper cautioning of what free bet offers entail, they could find themselves caught out and trapped into betting for longer than they expected.

By Jack Carter

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