Gambling Guide
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Getting Started with Online Gambling
Introduction
For many years until just prior to the September 2014 sale of this website, and the associated Forums, www.wizardofvegas.com to latestcasinobonuses.com, the exclusive advertiser and affiliate casino to this site was Bovada.
This site now has a number of advertisers, and many of them come with the, "Wizard of Odds Approved," endorsement. What this means for you, the player, is that such endorsed casinos have the same quality, fairness, customer service and integrity for which Wizard guaranteed of Bovada Casino, our previous exclusive advertiser and for whom we still advertise.
That means that you can go to any of this Approved Casinos and any of such will have the following guarantee:
Wizard Advertising Policy: "With any casino we promote, if you click through an ad on this site, which leads to opening an account, as evidenced by an affiliate code in the link to the casino, then we will stand behind you. If you ever have a dispute with a casino and are a confirmed "Wizard" player, then we will try to help. We do ask that you try to work out the problem yourself first, and only request assistance from us as a last resort."
While many casinos are now advertised, the Wizard's rigorous standards to be, "Approved," are the same as those to which our previous exclusive advertiser was held. If you are interested in gambling online and have any concerns with the quality or service of the product, we strongly recommend that you begin with using our, "Approved," casinos.
For those of you who may wish to branch out into other casinos, for one reason or another, we recommend that you pay a visit to our parent site, LatestCasinoBonuses.com While many of the affiliate casinos on that site might not have the Wizard's Seal of Approval, there is a comprehensive and extensive Review list of online casinos, and a Forum, so you can read, firsthand, the experiences that many of their Members have had with different online casinos.
Promotions:
Many of the casinos in Las Vegas and, indeed, around the world compete with one another by offering attractive rooms, concert events, elaborate shows, new player promotions, free drinks and scantily clad cocktail waitresses. While online casinos do not offer most of these things, (though it would be nice if they could send a personal cocktail waitress to your house, wouldn't it?) they do have to differentiate themselves from the others in one way or another.
In addition to perhaps the most powerful differentiation of all, being a, "Wizard of Odds Approved," casino, most online casinos (including those that do not have this highly reputable distinction) promote themselves by way of having very aggressive promotions for new and returning players alike. It is highly advisable that an online player make sure to try to take advantage of these promotions, particularly the new member ones, while looking for an online casino that they like.
At the time of this writing, for example, Wizard of Odds Approved Lucky Red casino is offering a 400% Deposit Bonus for new players who use our affiliate link. What that means is that players will be able to deposit up to $4000 and will be given an additional 400% of that amount to play. The Terms of this promotion state that the games are limited to slots, keno and scratch cards and that you must wager the sum of the deposit and bonuses 30x before you may cashout.
Sometimes the Rules of promotions can be ambiguous, however, if you do not understand the terms of a promotion, most casinos have a, "Live Chat," for which you can request a transcript, and any reputable casino will honor what their agent said. For the purposes of this writing, I asked some questions of a friendly, courteous and professional Lucky Red Casino representative, and the transcript is as follows:
Live Chat
(The transcript has been edited to conceal my name and any other identifying information)
info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.
info: You are now chatting with 'Ola'
Ola: Hi (Omitted), hope you are doing well
Me: Hello, Ola, how are you today?
Me: I am well, thank you.
Ola: I am very well, thank you so much for asking :)
Me: You're welcome.
Ola: What can I do for you today (omitted)?
Me: I was considering either using the LuckyRed400 or LuckyRed100 Deposit Bonus. My question is that the first one is up to $4000 and the second is up to $1000, does that mean that is the maximum amount of the bonus or that you can deposit $4000 and get a $16000 bonus?
Ola: Firstly I would like to personally welcome you to our casino! Could you please confirm your date of birth, email address, full home address and your phone number please? Just for a security purpose.
(Omitted)
Ola: Well, further to your question I am afraid the max you will be able to deposit will be $500 as your acct is not verified yet
Ola: $500 is the max limit for a new players who has not verified their accts
Me: It's a new player bonus, can I wait until after I verify the account?
Ola: That should be fine. Are you aware what kind of docs we will need from you (omitted)?
Me: I am. Anyway, with that deposit being, "Up to $4000," does that mean I deposit $4000 and get a $16000 bonus, or that the maximum of the bonus itself is $4000 and I should only deposit $1000?
Ola: The terms state that you can depoit up to $4000 and receive 400% match
Ola: $4000 + 400% = $20,000.00 in total but you should be aware, that the playtrough x30 will give you $600,000.00 wagering requirement
Me: Excellent.
Me: Thank you for stating that upfront. Is there a certain matter of time within which that requirement must be met, or can it be any length of time?
Ola: This means you will have to wager $600,000.00 before cashout is permitted
Ola: There is no time limitation to complete the playthrough
Me: Excellent, thank you very much for that information.
Ola: You are more than welcome and if you need any further assistance we are here 24/7 for you!:)
Me: Finally, some online casinos have had certain wagering guidelines, such as you can't bet more than a certain amount and then drop your bets down, do you have the same terms or can you wager whatever amount you like on a bonus?
Me: I did have that last question, please.
Me: I mean, some say you void it by betting too much and then reducing your bets, can you bet however you like on this bonus?
Ola: You can wager whatever amount you like - some games will allow you a higher amounts some games lower
Ola: The best for you in my opinion is check them just on a fun mode
Me: Excellent. If I want to look over the games, do I have a certain amount of time to verify my account and get the bonus, or can I do it whenever I like?
Ola: Whenever you like (omitted). But if you would like to deposit amount over $500 acct needs to be verified first of all
Me: Very good. That's all I need. Thank you for your time, Ola, and I hope you have a pleasant rest of your shift.
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to (omitted) at the end of your chat.
Ola: It was my pleasure to assist you (omitted) and I hope you will enjoy playing with us very soon! :)
Me: Thank you!
Ola: Your most welcome
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to (omitted) at the end of your chat.
The first thing I want to point out is that I did not, "Cherry-Pick," this chat and Lucky Red Casino had no idea I was chatting with them for this purpose.
The second thing I really liked about this chat was that Ola made me quite aware of the cash amount needing to be wagered to complete the bonus without my even asking, and furthermore, she actually encouraged me to look around the casino in, "Fun Mode," before attempting to play the bonus.
I wouldn't necessarily want to do the 400% promotion because it is only good on Slots, Keno and Pull Tabs and I'd have to look over the games first. However, the 100% (up to $1000) might be a decent promotion because I can play Video Poker. The Terms and Conditions, however, clearly state that Video Poker only contributes 20 cents on the dollar to the wagering requirement. Therefore, with this being a 30x promotion, I could deposit $1000, get the $1000 bonus, and would have to play through (2000 * 30 * 5) = $300000 through to complete the bonus.
Anyway, we strongly recommend that, if you are interesting in getting started with online gambling, that you start out at one of our, "Wizard of Odds Approved," casinos, and then, when you're familiar with the process, perhaps branch out onto latestcasinobonuses.com and see if there are any casinos listed on that site that appear to be reputable and may have a bonus you would like to try.
Wizard of Odds approved casinos
Written by: Brandon James
