UA
RU
ENHunting vs abuse
| Bonus hunting | Bonus abuse | |
|---|---|---|
| Rules | followed | broken |
| Accounts | one, their own | multi-accounts, someone else's details |
| Operator response | change the terms and targeting | void under a clause in the terms |
Signs of a hunter: deposits only while an offer is active and exactly at the bonus minimum, a withdrawal right after wagering, almost no play without a bonus. In betting, the hunter takes free bets and boosts and hedges the qualifying bet at another bookmaker. Schemes that break the rules are covered in the article on bonus abuse.
In slot streams, a bonus hunt means something else: the player collects bonus rounds in different slots and opens them one after another.
Segment economics
The cost is taken from what became real money, not what was credited: more in the article on bonus cost. Calculate it separately by segment and by offer: in an overall number, loss-making hunters hide behind profitable players. And a hunter is not always loss-making: if part of the segment starts playing without offers over time, cohorts will show it.
What to do
- Terms: wagering requirement, max cashout, max bet, game contribution. Recalculate the price of the offer on hunters' real behaviour.
- Targeting: big offers go to players whose behaviour a bonus changes. Give hunters smaller offers, or cashback instead of a deposit bonus: it only pays out on losses.
- Frequency: a cap on offers per player per period, for example one reload bonus a week instead of a bonus on every deposit.
- New terms only for new offers. An activated bonus is wagered under the terms the player saw at activation.
Common mistakes
- Voiding winnings for play within the rules. The hunter played under terms the operator wrote. Without a clause the player saw at activation, voiding means a complaint and a hit to reputation.
- Blocking everyone who withdrew after a bonus. Regular players withdraw too, and blocking on a single sign loses a valuable part of the base.
- Measuring offers without a control group. High activation among hunters looks like campaign success. A control group shows how much NGR the offer brought on top of what there would have been without it.