Can Online Casinos In the UK Cancel Your Bonuses?

Players love casino bonuses, and generous welcome bonuses are one reason why people sign up in the first place. Bonuses benefit both the players and the casinos, and are a big reason why online casinos have grown in popularity.

With more new users signing up and claiming welcome bonuses, some problems have begun to appear. Sometimes, the bonus offer didn't work, while others were canceled during use. Obviously, this is a disappointing and frustrating situation, which makes many people angry.

Let’s discuss why this happens, if it's legal, and how you can avoid bonus cancellation.

Is it legal for a UK casino to cancel a bonus?

The short answer is yes. Under certain circumstances, an online casino can legally cancel your bonus. It doesn't sound fair, but, according to the rules of the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, it's legal. If a casino adheres to the following rules:

• The Terms and Conditions clearly state all of the reasons why a bonus could be canceled. This includes prohibited patterns of play. However, a casino should not reserve the sole discretion to decide if a pattern of play falls within the following categories. Also, a casino should not include other types of play patterns in its Terms and Conditions.
• The casino terms must relate to prohibitions and sanctions and concerning account fraud, such as using multiple accounts. Other prohibitions permitted include collusion, exploiting loopholes, manipulating software, or other forms of cheating and abuse.
• When a casino decides that a player will lose winnings or be denied a withdrawal as a result of violating promotional play restrictions, the player must be fully informed. The casino must indicate the specific terms the player has violated, leading to the loss of winnings. But, this must be done without violating the General Regulatory Obligations.

Every online casino with a UKGC license must comply with these rules. Keep in mind, not all casinos are licensed by the UKGC. Indeed, the UK Gambling Commission is the most rigorous licensing authority; online casinos licensed by other authorities may not have to adhere to the same rules.

Read the terms, conditions, and promotional rules carefully

It's very important to thoroughly read the Promotional Rules and general Terms and Conditions for every gambling platform you join. Within these legal documents, you should have the information about what is prohibited on the platform.

You cannot sign up at an online casino without checking the box that says you accepted the Terms and Conditions. This is a type of legal contract, indicating you understand, and agree to abide by the terms. If the terms are vague or unfair, you have agreed to those terms, whether you understand them or agree with them.

Legally, a casino can cancel your bonus for any infraction described in their Terms. Once you click “accept”, even if the terms seem unfair, you have agreed to follow their rules.

The fact is, bonus promotions are a great way to attract and retain new players. Casinos are eager to give away as many welcome bonuses as they can. Players also love bonuses, because they get more funds to play with.

However, these bonuses often come with strings attached, such as time limits and high wagering requirements. Ultimately, the casino is not really giving away much, but winning over a new player.

Common reasons why a UK-licensed casino could cancel your bonus

While there are many reasons why an online casino could cancel your bonus, it's generally against their best interest. Canceling bonuses is a good way to earn a bad reputation with online gamblers; they'll only do so when a serious breach of the terms happens.

That being said, some situations force an online casino to cancel a bonus, such as the following:

• Opening multiple accounts at the same casino is a way players can abuse new player promotions. If they discover you have multiple accounts, the casino will close all of them, and you'll lose all bonuses.
• Signs of irregular play could involve placing bets on both sides from multiple accounts; this could be playing against yourself at a poker table from multiple accounts. Every online casino clearly states its definition of irregular play. But, those definitions are usually the same on most platforms.
• Suspicious behavior often means logging in from different devices or IP addresses. It can also mean cashing out funds you deposited without using. Again, this depends on each casino, but most casinos deem the same sorts of behavior as suspicious.
• Using technical errors to your advantage. Like any other website, casinos sometimes have technical errors and glitches that can lead to a game freezing. Somehow using this to your advantage can get your bonuses canceled.
• Hate speech can get your bonus canceled. Being rude or using inappropriate language towards customer service or other players can get you canceled. Offensive jokes or derogatory statements about gender, race or nationality can not only affect your bonuses, but also cancel your account.
• Using a virtual private network can also cancel your bonuses. Every casino has security software to detect VPN software; this is because only people within the UK are allowed to gamble in UK-based casinos. Once a VPN is detected both your bonuses and your account could be gone.
• Each bonus offer has a time limit and wagering requirements. If you do not meet the wagering requirements within the specified time period, the bonus is automatically canceled. Not only that, all winnings resulting from the bonus play are deemed void.

Ways to avoid a canceled bonus

The most important way to avoid any issues with your bonuses or with your account, is to understand and abide by the Terms and Conditions, as well as any Promotional Terms.

The various terms will outline exactly what you are not allowed to do on the platform. Moreover, they will outline what happens if you do engage in prohibited activities.

However, it's pretty easy to play on any casino platform, and keep your bonus safe, as well as avoid account cancellation.

Remember:

• Meet the wagering requirements of the bonus within the set time limit.
• Play through your deposit before cashing out.
• Be polite and courteous to the other players and customer support.
• Avoid changing your game too often while playing, it could look like irregular play.
• Don't log in from multiple IP addresses or devices. It could look like you're sharing your account with other players.
• Don't use a VPN to log into your account to gamble.
• Report any technical errors to support, and do not attempt to use them to your advantage.
• Use your bonuses right away. Stacking them could be seen as bonus abuse or irregular play.

Ultimately, the casino holds all the cards

As you can see, it is entirely legal for a casino to cancel your bonus. Furthermore, they have put it in writing, and you have agreed to their terms once you sign up.

Fortunately, having your bonus canceled is rare. An online casino only resorts to this extreme measure when it's fully warranted by the player's actions. The good news is, that by following the rules, it's easy to avoid a canceled bonus or termination of your account.

Enjoy your bonuses and hopefully, you'll come out a winner. By following the casino's rules, you should avoid any problems with your account or your promotions.