Betting has always been a popular pastime and catering to it as a pastime has never been easier. The advent of online betting has brought more customers in. Customers who are attracted to the design of the apps, the colours and the visuals. The sheer amount of clickable buttons, in addition to the fact that you can pile up your wins and look at your account grow, goes some way towards gamifying the experience. Having said that, gambling is already gamified to an extent. You’re assessing the likelihood of an event happening and staking money on your prediction skill. It’s you against the alternative.
Every punter must know this before they wager. It’s part and parcel of the experience. And bookmakers want as many people as possible to partake in the experience. One way they acquire new customers is through betting offers. A percentage of these offers are only available to new customers, usually billed as welcome offers. These offers can vary in terms of both generosity and feasibility.
It can be difficult to tell whether a welcome offer is worth taking. Sites like Sporty Trader are dedicated to evaluating this with extensive reporting, breaking down the minutiae of each one. Perhaps you have been thinking about creating an account with a bookmaker but you’re waiting for said bookie to offer the right bonus. This isn’t silly. After all, you can only receive the welcome bonus once, as is implicit in the offer.
The competition is fierce among bookmakers and that has created a healthy market with offers that could be exploited by a cunning punter. Typically, the offer is one of the following: A free bet or doubling a deposit. These offers can be very tempting and that’s the point. Bookmakers aren’t too frightened about you earning a profit of the offer so long as you stick around and continue betting. They know that it’s extremely likely that your apparent win is, in fact, a loan. Your beginner’s luck will run out.
Even the most generous offers are extended in the hope that you’ll fail. A qualifying bet is usually conditional for the free bet to be unlocked. The doubling of the deposit has a maximum limit that you’re told about in big and bold type. This is done to create a figure in your head attached to the premise of an offer. The idea they’re trying to plant is that you could swindle them out of this much money.
If you take the bait, the likelihood is that they will in fact swindle you. Let’s go back to the gamifying idea quickly. Betting apps are designed to show you what you could bet on now. They want to make you aware that there are always competitions that you can bet on. To a susceptible, impulsive gambler, this could be dangerous. It’s important to think through selections. Make sure you’re not being conditioned to bet impulsively and look at the relevant statistics and data before making decisions. Follow the guides and never believe bookmakers are your friends. Remember, this is a game – and you want to win.