What are player's club cards - and should you apply for them?

If you’re considering playing the pokies the very first time, you may be a little confused about certain aspects of how these Australian businesses operate. You want to learn as much as you can. It's easy enough to insert money into the machine and then press the button to spin the reels, but what you may not know is that you can get money back on every dollar that you spend.

Utilizing the players club card whenever you play begins an opportunity for you to accumulate points or dollars that you can use on other things. This guide will explain everything you need to know about the players club card and why you must have one.

The Club Offers Free Play

Every time you spend money in the pokies, the casino’s system keeps track of what you are spending as long as the card is in the machine. Each casino has their own rules and regulations as far as what percentage of that money you will get back in free play. Just as an example, if you spend $500, the casino will give you $25 back to play any way you like within their building, or via their online website.

It is important to understand that this money is to be used for gameplay only. You cannot cash out the money and take it home, you, you cannot spend it in the shop or for any dining experiences or shows. In fact, many of these establishments do not make this money available to you until a couple days after you have visited. This is their way of offering you an incentive to come back to try your luck again.

If you live nearby, this may be a good opportunity for you. However, if you're on holiday. you may never be able to use the funds because most casinos set an expiration dates on the free play funds.

The Club Offers Comp Dollars

It is important to not confuse comp dollars with free play. Many players clubs will not only give you money back in free play, but at the same time, they will give you points that accumulate over time, and then you can parlay those points into a free dinner, show or use them in the shops that the facility has.

When using these comp dollars online, you do have the opportunity to turn those into free play dollars if you want, but it is usually only a percentage of what you would normally get. Often times, the online casinos offer merchandise or other opportunities to utilize comp dollars.

The Club Card Can Link to a Precommitment Card

If you are going to be trying Australia’s new precommitment card program during play, you can set that up so that it links to your players’ club card. You cannot transfer funds that you have coming to you from the players’ club card to the precommitment card, but the amount you committed to will count as dollars spent in the machines toward free play and comp dollars.

The precommitment card is being tested to see if it can help people cub their spending habits, and the government hopes that this will curtail gambling addictions. It is only being tested a few facilities, but it may be implemented in every casino in Australia.

Those in charge of the program, hope that the precommitment cards will one day link every casino together. It will prevent players who may have a problem from using their limit in one casino and then going to another casino to use their limit again. This is a one and done shot. After you have spent your money on the precommitment card, you do not have any other funds to use.

The Club Card Makes Keeping Track of Spending Easy

The excitement of winning, and sometimes devastating effects of losing, can sometimes prevent you from knowing exactly how much money you are spending. The players’ club card allows you to login from your computer, tablet, or smartphone to see exactly how much money you have spent and how much you have won.

If you set a budget for your session, you can simply login onto your account on your phone to see how much money you have left within the budget, or how much you've gone over.

You can also log into your account to see what types of offers you have coming to you, in addition to the comp dollars and free play. If you are hoping to get involved in special drawings that the club is offering, you'll be able to see how many entries you have because these too are based on how much money you spend.

The Club Card Helps You Know How Much You’ll Pay in Taxes

No matter what you're doing in life, taxes always plays a role. Depending upon where you live, you may have to pay taxes on any money you win, whether online or at a brick and mortar casino. The players’ club card allows you to see what your net profit is, so that you will know how much money you will be expected to claim as income and then pay taxes.

It is important to keep in mind that many countries do not expect you to pay taxes on income from the pokies if there is no profit involved. Sometimes, a person can win the jackpot, albeit small, and still not have to pay taxes because the amount of money that they played over the course of the year is more than what they won. In these cases, the majority of the time, no taxes on that income is owed.

One of the biggest ways to become successful at not spending too much on your gambling adventures is to obtain a players’ card. The only thing you need to do is stop by the players club desk at the casino you are at and sign-up for card. If you are playing online, simply visit the cashier or customer service section of the website and fill in all of the details. When you are online, you will not get a card per se, but any time you login, you will be earning comp dollars and free play.