I think that you’re absolutely right BB1webs.
There is no magic number, the source of the funds doesn’t make it special, generally when a person has met the wagering requirement then they should be free to go about their gambling business – withdraw – carry on gambling – or even deposit some more – whatever.
That would obviously be the simpliest way to administer this, easy to promote, and great for affiliates and players.
However ….
I do see this $15 no deposit being a nightmare for casinos that offer it, as gambling theory on simple games like blackjack, baccarat and roulette show that “lucky streaks” can run into major wins.
Not the first time, not the 10th time, or even the 100th time, but without some sort of upper limit a lucky run and aggressive staking strategy could run into a HUGE loss.
And if these offers are taken up aggressively by affiliates, and the number of no deposit players significantly outnumber players investing their own cash then this sort of offer becomes a markedly negative proposition (IMO).
So I understand where John is coming from too – but as you’ve pointed out the implementation of the rule is so poor that it’s effectively going to cause more grief than glee and no-one is going to be happy.
A bonus whore might be carefully monitoring turnover spend and comparing it to requirements, but few genuine players think that.
So what is the no deposit bonus trying to achieve ?
I assumed that the whole point of the no deposit bonus is to allow a customer to try the experience – win a little – lose a little – and get “hooked” on the site. And let’s face it – the players who are most hooked are those that have a winning experience.
IF/when these people have a good first run (perhaps over the $150 limit) and run into cash handling problems when trying to withdraw a portion of it them you’ve lost a potential depositing customer for good.
Where am I at?
I understand John (and Rival Casinos in general) trying to limit exposure to freeloaders – but this implementation is not the best way of doing it.