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Casinos use a combination of means to entice gamblers and the most common examples are free meals, drinks, hotel stays, and more. Brick-and-mortar casinos also use a number of complimentary passes to lure players. Free Play is a highly-effective promotional tool in that regard.
However, casinos can’t just issue complimentary play at will as states often put a limit on how often these benefits can be offered. Before delving into the details let’s quickly recapitulate the basics of free play. But if you’d like to head straight to the table, here’s a link to the best online casinos in SA.
What is Free Play?
Land-based casinos generally entice players to put some money down for every game. Whether you look at slot machines or table games, they all have one thing in common, a betting range.
However, casinos will often offer a bunch of complimentary benefits to the new players to keep their interest peaking, and here is an example of how things work.
- You receive a $25 casino voucher for blackjack.
- You decide to take advantage of the deal and show up at the casino.
- You exchange the voucher for an equivalent amount in chips.
The $25 gives you an opportunity to have fun for a single day, and even if you don’t win anything, you get to experience the thrill of gambling for free and might decide to return soon. This patronage is what the casino seeks, which brings us to our next point.
Why Do Casinos Offer Free Play?
While the act of giving away complimentary benefits might seem counterproductive to the casino’s business policy, the operators stand a lot more to gain from the process. For starters, these offers are mainly targeted towards potential customers and existing patrons that haven’t returned for a while.
The way this works is, you get a $25 complimentary voucher in your mail and decide to show up at the casino. You spin the reels for 25 minutes and exhaust your balance. But, since you’re already at the casino after ages, you decide to buy $25 worth of chips and wager it all away in the next hour. The casino just made $25 off of your visit!
Why do Most States Limit Free Play?
Most states have a strict guideline on the maximum number of complimentary vouchers a casino can offer in a week, month, or even a year. Furthermore, only certain employees are permitted to give away these vouchers. There are multiple reasons for the seemingly drastic measure. Let’s discuss a few in detail.
- Prevent Employee Fraud – Nefarious employees with access to the casino’s complimentary vouchers could run a scam operation. A group could easily pull off a scam and share the profits later if not for the cap.
- Promote Responsible Gambling – Casinos need to bar such offers from being sent out to people on their self-exclusion list. The authorities cannot just allow casinos to hysterically mail complimentary vouchers to every citizen around the state. Hence, the restrictions.
