The great thing about the gambling market from a punter?s viewpoint is just how competitive it?s becoming ? and particularly online. It seems there?s just no end to the bonuses on offer and the amount of free bets.

Of course, this is great news for us and leaves the market open to the possibilities of a kind of ?stoozing?; opening new accounts continually to maximize the bonuses on offer. The drawback with this is there?s no such thing as a ?free lunch?. In other words, nothing much in life is free and we have to deposit our own cash (most usually in equal measure with the site?s) to take advantage of the really big bonuses around. Then we also usually have to play out a certain number of games, or a certain level of stakes, before we?re free to do what we like with our resulting cash balances.

So this presents something of a challenge, but it?s one most definitely worth taking up, particularly with the big boys. If we take the Betway Casino as an example, then the potential bonuses here are absolutely huge. With this online bookmaker and casino site, it?s possible to bag a free ?1,000.

All new players to the site can qualify for the Betway offer. If you?re new to the site and register to play, then the site will immediately double your stake up to a maximum value of ?250. You can then make a second deposit and the site will match this with a 25% bonus up to the same maximum value. And finally, with your third deposit, you can pocket a further 50% bonus up to a maximum value of ?500.

Now to most online gamblers, these are significant sums and if you play your cards right and as carefully as possible, always choosing those games with the best potential returns such as roulette and a basic blackjack strategy etc., then it?s perfectly possible to end up with a very generous lump sum. But this all depends on your skill, judgement and a large dollop of luck, of course.

And the luck element is vital to remember with any casino whether real or virtual ? and no matter how welcome the bonuses are. That?s because if you play on long enough, the house will win as this is a matter of mathematical probabilities and the house always has the edge ? however small that edge may be as with games like roulette etc.

It?s all a question of playing the numbers as carefully as you can to our own advantage and being very self-disciplined in your approach. In particular, never gamble with more than you can afford to lose comfortably ? but do try and take full advantage of the competitiveness of the online gambling market; it?s as close as most of us will ever get to a free lunch!