Before a player can wager at an online casino he has to accept the Terms & Conditions (T&Cs), which lay down the rules under which the wagering is allowed. Though the agreement is essentially between the player and the online casino, certain rules are country dependent. These fall into two types. In the first type the law of the jurisdiction in which the player resides takes effect and supercedes any conditions to the contrary in the agreement. The second type has different, and usually more stringent, conditions for players from certain countries.
Wagering at online casino is not for minors. However the legal age for gambling varies from country to country and it is the law of the place of residence of the player that applies. It is the responsibility of the player to ascertain what the law is in his country and act according to it. In certain countries this age may be the age of majority as defined in the law. In other countries a higher age may be specified as the legal age for online gambling. Some online casinos specify their own age restrictions but make it clear that whichever is higher from their limitation and that of the player’s country will apply.
Not all countries allow online wagering. In many countries online wagering is illegal. In some countries the legality or otherwise of online gambling varies from state to state. Again, the online casino Terms & Conditions put the responsibility on the player of ascertaining the situation in his place of residence. The player should open a real money account only if online gambling is legal in the jurisdiction where he resides. He can, however, play the games for free even if online gambling is illegal in his place of residence. But he cannot play the online casino games for free if he is not of legal age.
In the above mentioned circumstances the onus is clearly on the player to determine the legal position. This does not mean that the online casino has to accept his decision and allow him to play. If the online casino becomes aware that the player has violated any of the above conditions it will be bound to cancel the player’s account. Not only that, the online casino will void all the winnings of the player and the player will at best get his deposit back. Therefore it is in the interest of the player to carefully check out these two country specific requirements in the Terms & Conditions before accepting them and starting to wager.
The second type of country specific conditions will now be discussed. Historically online casinos have found that players from certain countries tend to more often abuse the facilities provided, particularly in connection with bonuses. Therefore many online casinos have separate conditions for players from these countries. At the outset the online casinos may not accept players from these countries at all. The most common country specific condition however is in bonuses. Some online casinos do not offer bonuses to players from countries with high bonus abuse. Others do offer the bonuses but at doubled wagering requirements. The names of such countries are usually listed in the Bonus Terms & Conditions.
Another country specific condition is the choice of currency in multi currency online casinos. If the online casino offers the currency of the player’s place of residence then it usually makes it mandatory for the player to wager in that currency and also accept promotions and bonuses in that currency.
|
Add Comment
For those of you out there who are from the US it's very important and in fact key to ensure that you read the terms and conditions that are outlined by online casinos. The main reason being that some online casinos although it will say that they fully accept US players may very well only accept players from certain states and not other so this is definitely something that you should look at and be aware of!