Every online casino has two set of Terms and Conditions (T&C's) you will have to make yourself familiar with before you start playing at an online casino; the general Casino Terms and Conditions and the specific Bonus Terms and Conditions. The Casino T&C's are the general guidelines you will have to follow and accept if you want to play at online casinos. Bonus T&C's are specific guidelines you will have to follow and accept in order to play with bonus money at an online casino. The Casino T&C's are also referred to as house rules, while Bonus T&C's are also called bonus rules/policy. In order to have space to discuss both set of T&C's thoroughly, they will be discussed in separate sections. This part of the casino guide will focus on the general Casino T&Cs. The Bonus T&C's will be discussed in the next section.

But what are these Terms and Conditions and why are they so important? An example might help the understanding. When you buy insurance you get in writing what the insurance policy contains, economic details, exceptions to rules and so on. Casino T&C's serve the same purpose. They outline the ground rules for play at the casino and clarify in detail what you can and cannot do at the casino. The T&C's constitute a legally binding agreement between the player and the casino. The casino must honor the agreement and the same goes for the player.

Online casinos will phrase some things differently and maybe use different words, but basicly the Terms and Conditions sections are very similar from casino to casino contentwise. The purpose of this section of the casino guide is to outline the most common T&C's at online casinos and the implications and consequences they have from a player's perspective.

Signup = Acceptance of the Casino T&C's: One of the first thing you will read in the Casino T&C's is something like: "By using the Software and the Service you agree that you have read and understood the terms and conditions and you acknowledge that these terms and conditions shall apply to you." Once you open an account you automatically accept the casino T&C's and you promise the casino that you will comply with these. The T&C's are not open to discussion. They are "Take it or leave it" rules. You have to accept them in full. If you can't, then do not open an account at the casino. Simple as that. So make sure that you read the T&C's and understand them.

Casino play at own risk: Online casinos will also write something like: "Participation at the Casino is at your sole option, discretion and risk." The casinos write this to make sure that you understand and accept that no one else than yourself can be blamed for any losses you might have at the casino. When you opened an account you did so out of your free will. You chose to gamble at a casino where you can win but also lose money. You are as an adult solely responsible for making the choice to gamble. The casino (or anyone else for that matter) cannot be made responsible for negative consequences of your actions.

Your account is your responsibility: The casino will also write something like: "You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account and you have sole responsibility for any and all activities that occur under your account." If you share your password and/or account information so that somebody else can use you casino account then you cannot blame the casino for any losses. It is your own fault. You need to have a good password (one with characters and numbers) and you need to keep it to yourself.

Players must be of legal age and from legal countries: Online casinos will also make you aware that: "You are solely responsible for checking the laws regarding the use of the internet gaming in the jurisdiction in which you are located." and: "You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Services or place bets on the Sites". Not all people are allowed to play at online casinos. Players from some countries are not allowed to play because of laws that explicitly prohibits it. A list of known prohibited jurisdictions will usually be listed on the casino's website, but it is also a good idea to make a google search with words like "gambling law [country's name]" to be sure that you are allowed to play. Additionally you have to be an adult (normally 18 years old, but at some online casinos and in some countries 21 years old) in order to be a legal player. Players that are not legal either because they are underage and from a prohibited jurisdiction are "persona non grata" at online casinos because accepting them as players will be lawbreaking.

Freedom to change T&C's: You can also be sure that the T&C's will include a formulation like this one: "We reserve the right to amend, modify, update and change any of the terms of this agreement at any time". Casinos sometimes have to adopt to new situations or they might just choose to make changes to their T&C's because they feel it is in best interest. It is therefore strongly advised that you regularly check for changes to the T&C's (bookmarking the T&C's page is recommended). Most likely it will be minor changed that are acceptable for you, but if you cannot accept the new terms, you should immediately close your account at the casino.

The player pays the taxes: In the T&C's there will also be written something like: "The player is solely responsible for any applicable taxes on winnings that he collects from the casino". Online casino does not send any information about your winnings to your local tax authorities. It is therefore completely up to you to find out how the tax rules are in your country and to pay taxes of your winnings if you are required to. If you are unsure of if or how much tax you should pay, make a google search on something like: "tax online gambling {your country's name]" or contact your local tax authorities.

Personal information & Identity: In the T&C's you can also read something like: "You agree that you will not provide any information that is untrue, false, incorrect or misleading." and: "Players may be required to submit certain verification documents when withdrawing/depositing at the casino. In order to comply with regulations and gambling laws online casinos make regular checks to ensure that players are who the say they are. To avoid underage gambling, money laundering, identity theft etc.,   online casinos will sometimes ask you to provide a copy of some photo identification usually in the form your driver's license. They can also ask you to send photo copies of documents that prove your address, that you are the owner of the credit card used to deposit and so on. Players should not open casino accounts in any other names than you own and should not use any cards and accounts that does not belong to themselves. Personal information submitted to the casino must be correct and up-to-date.

Software malfunctions: The T&C's will also include something about software and other technical errors. It can be something like: "If you are incorrectly awarded any winnings as a result of (a) any human error on the part of the Service Providers or (b) any bug, defect or error in the Software or (c) the failure of the Games or the Software to operate in accordance with the rules of any of the Games through technical error, fraud or otherwise then the Service Providers will not be liable to pay you any such winnings". Online casinos are powered by casino software which can contain bugs and errors. It is therefore possible that a player gets credited a win by error even though he/she has a losing hand or a winless spin on a slot. Casinos need to protect themselves by having it in their terms that if the software produces obvious mistakes, then they can reclaim the money that was wrongfully credited to the player.

Account Termination: If the Terms and Conditions are not kept it will have serious consequences for the player. You can be sure that all online casino will have something like this in their T&C's: "The casino has the right to terminate Services or suspend your account if you are in breach of the Terms of Service." There will be sanctions to face if you fail to follow the T&C's by letting someone else play with your account, provide false information, play although you are underage etc. The casino can close down your account and in serious cases confiscate the player's money (including winnings) at the casino. Remember to follow the T&C's at all times or face the consequences.

It will take some time to read the T&C's at online casinos, but it is a necessity. It really is. Always read the T&C's from start to end and if you cannot accept one or more terms, DO NOT sign up at the casino. I know I am repeating myself, but this cannot be stressed strongly enough. It is also a good idea to make a print of the T&C's when you signed up at the casino. It might be useful to have at a later point. I can also recommend that you bookmark the T&C's page at the casino(s) where you are playing and check this page regularly for updates.