Monthly Archives: August 2022

Birmingham, Energy, News

More families to get energy bill support after campaign by company

A company which called for action after finding that thousands of families would miss out on the £400 energy bill discount have welcomed the news that all customers will now be eligible for the support package.

Ginger Energy director Lisa Gregory said: “We are delighted that our calls for all customers to be treated equally have been listened to. It’s great news that everyone will now get some support.”

Lisa had discovered many families were classed as commercial rather than domestic customers because they live in apartments or other accommodation supplied by a private supply meter.

These customers were not initially eligible for the £400 payment. This was on top of them facing bigger than average bill rises because they are also not protected by the price cap.

Birmingham-based Ginger Energy had called on Ofgem and the Government to review the position on these customers and to make sure they were treated fairly.

The Government has now announced details of how people will get the discount, part of the Energy Bill Support Scheme, and said those who did not fall into the ‘domestic’ category would also now get support.

The announcement stated: “Approximately one per cent of UK households are currently ineligible to receive Energy Bills discount as they do not have a domestic electricity meter and a direct relationship with an electricity supplier.

“The government has confirmed that further funding will be available to provide equivalent support of £400 for energy bills for the one per cent of households who will not be reached through the Energy Bills discount. An announcement with details on how and when these households across Great Britain can access this support will be made this Autumn.”

Lisa said: “It’s still a little vague but it’s definitely a move in the right direction. It was so unjust that these people were missing out on this payment. Not only were they not protected by the price cap, but they were also not eligible for support.

“We urged the government to review its position regarding private supply electricity consumers, and we are so pleased to hear that this is now being addressed.”

Stephen Knight, director of Heat Trust, the national consumer champion for heat networks, said: “I am delighted that the Government has listened to calls from Heat Trust, Ginger Energy and others and accepted that those who do not receive their energy in traditional ways are also in desperate need of support at this time of spiralling prices.

“There was a real danger that a large number of families in the most need were going to be overlooked and locked out of this scheme. We are delighted they will be able to access the £400 support, and we look forward to hearing details on how this will be delivered to these households.

“Heat Trust will continue to provide a voice for those living on heat networks. Currently people on heat networks fall outside of Ofgem’s price cap, leaving many facing 300-400 per cent increases in their heating bills as gas prices continue to rise. It is vital we ensure that families get the help they need, and we will be working closely with Government and the industry to ensure this happens.”

Ginger Energy had already launched a campaign calling for the price cap to be extended to include those families not classed as ‘domestic’ customers.

To sign its  petition, go to https://www.change.org/Gingerenergy

Investment News, News

$100 Million Financing from LEGO Owner KIRKBI and Others values Medical-Fish-Skin Company Kerecis at $620 million

The investment in environmentally sustainable technology will help thousands more patients with burned or damaged skin tissue

Reykjavik, Iceland, Billund, Denmark and Arlington, Virginia — August 1, 2022 — Kerecis® today announced that it completed its $100 million Series D financing that was led by KIRKBI, the family holding and investment company behind the LEGO Group. Kerecis is the company pioneering the use of sustainably sourced fish skin and fatty acids in cellular therapy and tissue regeneration and protection globally. The funding round was supported by several existing shareholders, including Silicon Valley’s Emerson Collective and the Icelandic pension funds BRU and LSV. The funding round also included conversion of existing convertible debt to equity and new and extended debt facilities.

The funding round will accelerate the company’s growth and development of the next generations of its patented medical-fish-skin products sourced from sustainable fishing grounds near the Arctic Circle. KIRKBI, a first-time investor in Kerecis, invested $40 million in cash in exchange for newly issued Kerecis shares. Co-investors contributed an additional $20 million in cash for newly issued shares; $10 million of existing convertible promissory notes were converted into equity; and Silicon Valley Bank provided an extension and increase of the company´s existing revolving credit facility to $30 million. Following the investment round, the valuation of Kerecis is US$620 million.

“Kerecis is a highly innovative company that has built a successful business transforming waste material into unique medical products,” said Niklas Sjöblom, Senior Director, Long-Term Equity, KIRKBI. “We are particularly inspired by the company’s approach to sustainability, as we are responsible investors and owners. We are excited to support the company’s continued growth and strategic objectives to improve patient outcomes”.

“This funding and new partnership with KIRKBI is a great step forward for Kerecis, and we are truly motivated by the investment KIRKBI and the other participants are making,” said Fertram Sigurjonsson, Founder and CEO of Kerecis. “As we continue to grow, we will be able to help thousands more patients around the world with our sustainably sourced products. It is our mission to become the world leader in tissue regeneration by sustainably harnessing nature’s own remedies,” he added.

Kerecis’s year-over-year growth has been exceptional in recent years, with revenues doubling annually. The company’s revenue in calendar year 2021 was $35 million, and this year’s revenue is expected to be more than twice that. The company’s medical-fish-skin products have proven crucial in improving patients’ well-being and quality of life. Revenue derives mainly from sales in three distinct market segments: private offices and wound centers that treat diabetic and other chronic wounds, burn centers, and hospital operating rooms. Sales across all three segments have increased over the past year with new product offerings, increased demand, and strategic sales efforts.

Logistics, Logistics Tech, News, Telematics

Ctrack Becomes Inseego As Part Of Expansion Plans For The Telematics Business

Ctrack, the leading provider of fleet telematics, asset tracking and vehicle camera systems, has rebranded as Inseego. The name change is part of the relaunch of the business in the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand and represents an important part of the ongoing strategy of parent company, Inseego Corp, to focus on target markets closely aligned with its 5G and enterprise initiatives. This will include an expansion of the telematics offering with the introduction of advanced fleet solutions that combine artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G to deliver business intelligence at the edge.

“As we continue to focus on the global growth of our 5G business, the evolution of this business unit is core to our strategy, particularly for enterprise initiatives. It sets the stage for the introduction of innovative solutions, to be powered by our new 5G Intelligent Edge SaaS platform, which is slated to launch later this year,” said John Weldon, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Intelligent Edge Solutions.

The current intelligent edge portfolio includes telematics solutions spanning fleet visibility, asset management, driver monitoring and management, as well as video AI and dashcams. These connected smart solutions allow businesses to streamline operations by increasing efficiency, safety, and savings. With the capability to support thousands of vehicles, assets and personnel, they cover all types of vehicles and equipment across a range of industries including fleet, construction, road transport and logistics, government, and natural resources.

The forthcoming 5G Intelligent Edge SaaS offering will leverage the power of 5G with video, AI, and Inseego’s established telematics business to provide actionable insights at the edge. This will help transform how enterprises across the globe improve operating outcomes to create sustained value for themselves and their customers.

Having originally joined Inseego in 2016, and being most recently known as Ctrack by Inseego, the business has over 35 years of telematics experience. With Inseego Corp’s existing strength in 5G, this latest development will not only help differentiate the business within the telematics marketplace but also deliver new opportunities to existing customers and extend its capacity to service new ones.

Healthcare Tech, News

Making APIs in healthcare more secure

Written by Filip Verloy, Technical Evangelist EMEA, Noname Security

Demand for healthcare services continues to accelerate at pace, heightened in the last two years by the pandemic and the knock-on effect of delayed operations and treatments, all of which is challenging the NHS. Healthcare technology innovation and the digitisation of worldwide healthcare services is seen as the way to overcome many of these challenges. Consequently, the UK Government is investing in growing capabilities in areas such as AI, machine learning, and more broadly around data-driven healthcare to make it more accessible, affordable and sustainable.

However, with patients’ increasing expectations around the quality and safety of such services, and ever-growing complex regulations that demand stricter governance, this is no easy task.

 

Protecting sensitive data

While digitising services and sharing data across health systems is the way forward, personal identifiable information (PII) is incredibly sensitive, and when it comes to disclosing healthcare records, this data must be treated appropriately. Today, NHS Trusts have a multitude of medical systems sharing information within hospitals, as well as connecting to external healthcare providers. Combine this with the demand for personal health and wellbeing devices, whereby citizens have the ability to add data to their own personal health profile, and you can see how growth in health data is exploding.

However, the increase in health trackers that monitor fitness, sleep patterns, heart rate, respiration, as well as other vital signs of health status, have resulted in a fragmented view of consumer data. Additionally, acquired data can be used in a variety of ways: privately; to contribute to clinical databases; or for research. This not only introduces additional complexity in data aggregation but also in how data is accessed, stored and secured.

Interoperability is the key and has become the watchword as the industry coordinates care for patients across a large and growing subset of players. This is where Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have become a critical component, allowing systems to communicate with each other, closing the gap on how information is utilised. The philosophy being that all systems are integrated, work together in a compliant way, and any sensitive data is secure, in the event of a breach.

 

Challenges include custom-built APIs and siloed technologies

Unfortunately, due to a multitude of technological gaps, this is not always the case. Likewise, there has been a lack of data standards across the sector and multiple siloed technologies. This means custom APIs must be created to accommodate the needs of the service it is providing for each system, which is time-consuming because API management is onerous as systems are upgraded and replaced.

As a result, the number and complexity of APIs continues to grow. Analyst firm Gartner predicts that APIs will become the most common attack vector in 2022. According to 451 Research’s 2022 API Security Trends Report, 41% of the organisations represented by survey respondents had an API security incident in the last 12 months; 63% of those noted that the incident involved a data breach or data loss.

The good news is that today there are several global open healthcare standards; Health Level Seven (HL7®), Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM®). FHIR is an API-focused standard used to represent how healthcare information can be exchanged between different systems regardless of how it is stored in those systems. HL7 is a set of international standards for the transfer of clinical and administrative data between software applications used by various healthcare providers. DICOM is the standard for the communication and management of medical imaging information and related data. All of these standards help to ensure data privacy and security within strict healthcare and compliance boundaries.

 

Updates to FHIR help to facilitate interoperability with legacy systems

The most recent version of FHIR builds on previous data format standards from HL7, but it is easier to implement as it uses a modern web-based suite of API technology. One of its goals is to facilitate interoperability between legacy healthcare systems, to make it easier to share healthcare information across a wide variety of devices. This allows third-party application developers to provide medical applications which can be easily integrated into existing systems.

This addresses another important challenge across the sector, whereby many organisations are still using older technology that is not API-enabled. It is imperative that the industry moves away from local-only installed on-premises environments to more of a cloud-based model, where the health tech industry can enable APIs. Public cloud providers, such as Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, are successfully enabling healthcare organisations to rapidly build healthcare solutions in the cloud, transforming the old way of working, enabling easy and standardised data exchange between healthcare applications and solutions. This has allowed data sitting in legacy systems to be utilised by healthcare professionals. It enables highly scalable, enterprise-grade development environments for building clinical and analytics solutions securely in the cloud.

That said, the transition from on-premises to the cloud won’t ever involve the entire healthcare sector. There are many stringent regulatory requirements that mean that PII data must be kept on certain systems or that some legacy systems are just not viable from a cost perspective to migrate from on-premises.

 

API security has become a priority

What this does mean is that API security has emerged as a key priority for protecting vital healthcare systems. However, it is also an area where many companies lack expertise. API security testing in healthcare is challenging because, as we know, organisations are required to work in a confined box and a heavily regulated environment.

This means everything has to be thoroughly tested with strict controls in place. Questions need to be asked around what data is being exposed, and what the healthcare provider is planning to do with the data. Of course, the provider is dealing with the same type of technical challenges every enterprise faces, but the impact is much more severe because of the sensitivity of the data, the fines involved, but most importantly the impact this might have on someone’s health.

 

Understanding the use case for the API informs the testing

As requirements for health data grow, providers must prioritise API security and data privacy to prevent threat actors from easily manipulating APIs. This is where discovery is imperative and finding specific datatypes in API requests and responses is critical to understand what type of data is being transferred, how this is being done, and whether the process is authenticated and secure. Providers also need to understand whether the appropriate API testing is being carried out as the use-case for the API informs the testing.

Healthcare organisations must maintain accurate API inventories and ensure authentication is in place. Inventories should go well beyond a count of APIs and should start to include security characteristics of APIs, notably which APIs return sensitive data. Security teams should also conduct testing in systems with protected health information (PHI). To be effective such testing should include collaboration between AppSec and DevOps teams, integrating testing capabilities in developer tools in as frictionless way as possible. Likewise, organisations should prioritise patching systems quickly to avoid exploitation.

 

New advancements in healthcare technology will drive more data points

The UK government has committed to building 48 new hospitals by 2030 and to drive transformation and new advancements in healthcare technology. Interoperability, with all data accessible from one place in real-time, is central to achieving these transformation goals, delivering more facts per patient per decision. To put this into context, in 1980 a healthcare professional had about 10 facts per patient per decision, in 2020 this rose to about 1,000 facts per patient per decision. APIs will be critical to delivering the interoperability that will power this data-driven decision-making, but more importantly, API security will be key to keeping patient data safe.

Law, News, Tech

Acuity Law becomes member of Legal Technology Association

Leading commercial law firm Acuity Law has joined the prestigious Legal Technology Association.

The UKLTA’s mission is to build a community where legal professionals, technology providers and consumers of legal services can collaborate to help shape the future of the delivery of legal services.

Acuity Law which has offices in Cardiff, Swansea, London and most recently Bristol, is an instinctively commercial team of market leading professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit and an appetite for a better legal service to revolutionise the legal industry.

It offers a high spec client-only online portal and on becoming a member of UKLTA, Adele Carter, Commercial Director, said: “Acuity Law is delighted to join the UKLTA and the community of legal professionals that share our passion for shaping the future of legal services. We’re very excited about what the future has in store and being a part of this pioneering journey.”

Established in 1999, the Acuity team has grown to more than 100 exceptional and industry leading commercial lawyers working throughout the UK, including 25 consultants shaping the business’ growing consultant community, Acuity Consult.

It is this record number of consultancy hires across the region and Acuity Law’s ambition to increase growth by a further 50% in 2022, that prompted the firm’s Bristol launch.

For further information on Acuity Law’s full-service offering, see www.acuitylaw.com

For details on The LegalTech Association for the UK, see: www.uklta.org.uk

Finance and Banking, News

Wealthify joins the Chamber as Corporate Partner

Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid has welcomed Wealthify as a Corporate Partner.

Wealthify is an award-winning, simple and affordable investment service based in Penarth, South Wales. The growing Fintech is owned and backed by Aviva – one of the UK’s largest financial services institutions with a 300-year heritage.

As a Corporate Partner, Wealthify will work closely with the Chamber and its members to both strengthen and stimulate Welsh business. Wealthify is also offering educational resources and investment services for employees at member companies who want to improve their financial wellbeing.

Andy Russell, CEO at Wealthify, said: “We’re excited to join the Chamber and continue supporting our local business community. Having been a part of the Welsh Fintech scene since launch over six years ago, we know from experience how valuable connections between local businesses can be. We look forward to meeting the many businesses that help Wales to thrive.”

Paul Slevin, President of Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid, said: “Wealthify is a strong character in the Welsh business landscape as they continue to change the way we view investment opportunities, and we are delighted to welcome them as Corporate Partners.

“This partnership demonstrates their commitment to supporting our members and businesses across Wales and we look forward to working with them as they continue to grow.”

Health, Law, News

Acuity Law Announces Healthcare Team Success

Leading commercial law firm Acuity Law has announced a significant milestone for its healthcare team.

Acuity Law operates in all areas of the healthcare sector, with specific expertise in dental practices, care homes, housing with care and pharmacies.

Led by Partner Jon Lawley, the eleven-strong healthcare team has completed on the sale or purchase of 150 dental practices across the UK. In total, the deals have a value in excess of £250 million.

Jon Lawley, Partner at Acuity Law, said: “Despite ongoing uncertainties around the future of NHS dentistry, we are seeing that activity in the M&A market in the dental sector is going from strength to strength. An increased demand for cosmetic treatments and a fragmented market dominated by independent practitioners makes the sector an attractive prospect for investors.

“Our team is recognised nationally for its expertise in the healthcare sector and is known for its solid understanding of the dental market which has helped us achieve this milestone.

“It is testament to the hard work and unrivalled skills of our dedicated healthcare team that our clients choose to put their trust in us time and time again.”

Since 2016, Acuity Law’s healthcare team has grown to become recognised specialists. It offers a full range of legal services and support to enable businesses operating in the healthcare sector realise their growth ambitions and address their legal needs in a proactive and cost-effective manner.

Established in 1999, the Acuity team has grown to more than 100 exceptional and instinctively commercial lawyers working throughout the UK, including 25 consultants shaping the business’ growing consultant community.

The top law firm has offices in Cardiff, Swansea, London and most recently Bristol.

For further information on Acuity Law’s full-service offering, see www.acuitylaw.com

News

Jobs and skills programme for vulnerable and disadvantaged rolled out across North Wales

A SKILLS and support project for vulnerable and often disadvantaged young people will be rolled out across North Wales.

Aimed at 16 to 25 year olds, the WeMindTheGap WeDiscover programme had a positive impact on participants in Conwy county.

As a result, the scheme will now also be available to applicants who are NEET (not in Education, Employment or Training) in Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, and Anglesey.

Run in partnership with Conwy Employment Hub – which oversees the successful Communities for Work, Communities for Work Plus, and PaCE initiatives – it is supported by Conwy County Council and other funders.

Participants praised mentors for changing their lives and giving them the confidence to capitalise on post-pandemic opportunities.

Among them was MJ, a young carer who struggled with mental health issues and admitted to joining WeDiscover for “something to do” having lacked motivation on leaving school.

“I wasn’t doing much besides playing video games and doing art from time to time, though I was losing my passion for it,” they said.

“My sister found the course online and I originally didn’t think I would do it, or maybe go for one day, but I stayed and am so glad I did because it was an incredible experience.”

MJ added: “The WeDiscover team were so supportive, helping me with my artwork and to be honest if it weren’t for them, I’d probably still be stuck in the house

“The mentors were nice and kind and whenever I needed to talk, they were there for me; it’s been an amazing journey and I feel like a completely different person.

“I love art and am very creative so the virtual and in person sessions gave me a boost, so much so that I plan to start selling my artwork and will take it forward as a business.”

As well as access to IT equipment and presentations by guest speakers such as MMA fighter Aaron Aby and a zookeeper from Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay, those taking part enjoyed days out, helped with community events and received prizes for engagement – MJ’s progress and commitment was rewarded with a voucher for art equipment.

WeDiscover programme lead Laura Columbine was delighted with the feedback and pleased they will have a platform to support even more young people across the region when the next cohort joins in September.

“We will now work with local agencies, families, charities and organisations to seek referrals and demonstrate the value of taking this project forward,” she said.

“One of the new partnerships forged in past months was with the Marine Conservation Society, and we will be looking to add more to have a lasting, sustainable effect on the environment, the economy and importantly the futures of the young people involved.”

Libby Duo, Strategic Manager for Conwy Employment Service, added: “To hear what a difference WeDiscover made to the life of MJ and others is so heartening and testament to the hard work and care of everyone involved.

“We now have an opportunity to do even more, targeting other areas of North Wales to make a real, lasting difference after what has been a challenging couple of years.

“We encourage more families and agencies to get in touch because this is a chance to do something special, to help young people take that first step on the path to their future career, to overcome adversity and lay the foundations for a brighter future.”

The scheme has been a major success in Wales and the North West, and since programmes began in 2014 they have changed the lives of up to 250 young people, delivering more than £5.5m in social value and over £2.5m in public savings.

Rachel Clacher CBE, Chair and Founder of WeMindTheGap, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Conwy County Council again in delivering our unique digital programme for underserved young adults.

“The impact of Covid-19 and ongoing restrictions have disproportionately affected our young people. By delivering a programme with love and meaningful opportunities we aim to support young people to transform their own lives and take the next step into the wider world.”

WeDiscover taster sessions will be taking place from September 19, before the programme begins October 3. To sign up for the WeDiscover programme and for more information, email laura@wemindthegap.org.uk or call 0333 939 8818. Visit www.wemindthegap.org.uk and watch a video about WeDiscover here: We Discover | WeMindTheGap

Visit www.conwy.gov.uk/conwyemploymenthub for more on Conwy Employment Hub.

Human Resources, News

Arctic Shores partners with Teamtailor to redefine candidate experience and help businesses scrap the CV

  • Behaviour based assessment pioneer integrates with Teamtailor to empower businesses to assess candidates on their true potential

London, UK; 1st August 2022: Psychometric assessment pioneer, Arctic Shores, today announced that it has integrated with Teamtailor, the recruitment and employer branding applicant tracking system (ATS), to help businesses see more in candidates.

The integration will empower hiring managers using Teamtailor to add the Arctic Shores assessment as a stage in the recruitment process. This provides greater insight into candidate potential, without the need to switch between platforms.

Arctic Shores’ behaviour-based assessments measure candidates on their natural strengths and potential. An overall score of the candidate’s fit against the key success criteria for that role (on the candidate card in Teamtailor this score is then converted into a score out of a 100) will then be shared with hiring managers, who can then progress candidates to the next stage of the process.

Nathan McLaughlin, Partnerships Manager at Teamtailor commented: “Our integration with Arctic Shores will make the hiring process seamless and efficient, but also ensure that every candidate has an equal chance in the process. We know that the work Arctic Shores is doing is going a long way in improving diversity and recognising the potential of each individual. We’re proud to be working with the team bringing its assessment to our platform.”

Grant Jackson, Recruitment Lead at Simply Conveyancing added: “Arctic Shores and Teamtailor are revolutionary platforms in their own right, but the new integration has dramatically enhanced our hiring process. In terms of efficiency, we no longer need to switch between platforms, and the success scores allow us to make informed and fair decisions about candidates. We’re proud to be prioritising potential and creating more diverse teams across the business.”

Claire Jaques, Chief Product Officer at Arctic Shores, said: “Teamtailor and Arctic Shores both place the candidate experience at the heart of what we do. Our unbiased, scientifically backed assessment gives you insights you can trust – packaged in a format that candidates love. And with our Teamtailor integration, recruiters can finally leave behind manual CV screening, and say hello to more meaningful work.”

Gambling

How Casino Bonuses Helped The Gambling Industry Grow

Casinos have always looked for ways to attract more players. When traditional physical settings were the in-thing, they focused on the aesthetics of the casinos. They would invest heavily in décor, good music, excellent staff, and more to make the players feel welcome. They even had dress codes that aligned with the vibe they wanted to induce for their players. But when online casinos started and seemed to be sprouting everywhere, they had to be fast on their feet. How could they attract players who wanted to play virtually? – Players who were less interested in aesthetics and more grounded in the playing experience. It took a while, but they finally got it right through casino bonuses. We look at what they are and why they are so crucial to the growth of casinos to date:

 

What Are Casino Bonuses?

Bonuses, as the name implies, are offers made by the casinos to existing and potential clients. These are incentives to play or keep playing with the given site. And if you look at the best bookies sign up offers, you will realize there are many types of bonuses. They include:

  • Deposit Bonuses: These apply to people who deposit money into the casino. For example, a casino can offer players a fixed amount or a percentage bonus. E.g., if you deposit money, you will get up to 50% in bonuses up to a limit of £200. And a player who thus invests £100 gets an additional £50 to use in the game.
  • No Deposit Bonuses: These incentives are hard to come by because they do not require players to deposit any money. For example, a casino can offer a bonus of £50 to every new player. And the player would thus be privy to the offer regardless of if they deposited money on the site.
  • Free Spins: Some casinos allow players to try their hand at games that require spins. And instead of paying for the spins, the players use the ones accorded to them in the form of credit. This offer is typical in games like slots and spin the wheel.
  • Loyalty Promotions: Casinos know that retaining clients is good for them in the long run. Plus, it is much cheaper than converting leads into clients. So, they spend considerable money to retain the people who play with them. And they do this by offering them loyalty bonuses – these can be free spins, deposit bonuses, trips, etc. There are many ways to keep clients happy, and most sites enjoy using such tactics to stay on top of their game.

Additionally, some sites use what is known as a cashback, which allows players to get some of their money back after losing a wager. For example, if you spend £100 on a wager and lose, the site may offer you £20 to help you play another game. This incentive enables players to hedge their risk when playing as they consider it some form of insurance.

 

Are There Conditions to the Bonuses?

Of course! Casinos know that players can try to use loopholes in the bonuses to benefit and leave them without using their money. So, they come up with a set of rules tied to each bonus, enabling them to force players to play with real money or play several times before they can cash out their winnings. Also, some require players to identify themselves to keep the same user from opening different accounts to take up bonuses. It’s important to note that the requirements tied to each bonus differ based on the site.

 

Why Are Bonuses Such a Hit?

Bonuses started slow and soon became the thing most gamblers consider when choosing an online casino. Why is that?

  1. The appeal of free money: How many people would say no to the chance to save money? Most people take up bonuses because they do not have a big gambling budget and want to use the offer to increase their stakes. Plus, the aspect of free money is quite attractive as it has less danger tied to it.
  2. They increase the gambling capital: Suppose a player has £100 and gets a bonus of £30. They now have £130 to use in games. And this allows them to place more or bigger wagers than they would have if they did not have access to the extra money.
  3. They reduce the gambling risk: Some people shy away from placing bets because they do not want to lose money. But with bonuses, this risk reduces because players can use the offers to place wagers and avoid putting their money on the line. This perk is especially true when it comes to the no deposit bonuses. A player can profit from winning a wager without using a single coin.
  4. They increase the profit levels: If a player has £500 to use in a game and gets a bonus that raises this amount to £600, their possible win also increases. So, players can use the extra cash as leverage and make more money in a shorter while.
  5. They make players feel lucky: Gambling is all about trying your luck. And securing a bonus even before one has played a game ties in well with the gambling concept. Many players thus take up the incentives, believing they are lucky enough to secure such a deal. Interestingly, newbies who have not had such deals before think their luck will expire if they do not grab them. And this pushes them to sign up to sites without researching what other options are available to them.

Should players keep taking up bonuses? Sure – a helping hand is always a nice touch to the game. But before signing up for anything, players should get to review their options based on:

  • The reputation of the sites,
  • The customer service, and
  • The variety of games.

They should also perform enough due diligence to know what conditions await them.