A Player’s Guide to Casino Bonuses
The Player’s Guide to Casino Bonuses is a resource for players interested in learning more about the subject of casino bonuses.
Bonuses are an important marketing strategy for any aspiring or established online casino, and a good reason. Nothing can entice a new player more than the idea of getting more value for their money, whether in the form of a welcome bonus, loyalty programs, cashback offers, or simply free spins.
Casino incentives benefit both the casino and the new player. The casino recruits new customers, and the new customers receive an immediate incentive for their loyalty. On the other hand, each new bonus comes with its own set of regulations and criteria that must be met before you can fully enjoy its benefits. As a result, each new player should become familiar with the many bonuses available and what is expected of them to withdraw any potential winnings.
What types of wagering requirements must be fulfilled? Is the bonus time-limited? Is there a maximum bet? Is the premium only applied to particular games? Is there a sticky or non-sticky bonus? If you don’t know the answers before you deposit, you can end up with a prize that hinders rather than assists your growth.
Types of bonuses
As previously indicated, bonuses come in several forms, and most casinos give at least one. In the next section, we’ll look at the most popular bonuses offered by online casinos.
There is no requirement for a deposit.
No deposit bonuses are available to play immediately after registering with the casino and without the need to deposit any funds. They usually come as cash or free spins.
Sign up for free money.
Certain websites provide no-deposit cash incentives that are free. In such circumstances, simply signing up as a player qualifies you for the ‘free money.’ However, the terms for converting such bonuses into cash that you can withdraw are usually fairly tight.
The renowned “$88 Free” offered by 888Casino in some jurisdictions is a classic example of a no deposit sign-up bonus. Although you are given $88 in free play, you can only convert your free play earnings to actual cash if you win one of the site’s progressive jackpots (which is extremely rare).
Furthermore, the $88 in free play money must be wagered 50 times (for a total of $4,400 in wagers) before you can get your hands on it – and that’s if you’re only playing slots. If craps are your choice, you’ll need to wager a whopping $88,000 before you can convert any wins, as only 5% of craps earnings count toward the wagering requirements.
Most bonuses have a time limit attached to them, such as “all wagering requirements must be satisfied within 90 days of claiming the bonus.” It is also very uncommon for players who choose the no deposit incentive to do so at the expense of other, potentially more lucrative welcome bonuses.
Free spins with no deposit
No deposit free spins bonuses usually consist of a modest number of free spins to be played at the minimum bet value on a certain slot (or a small selection of places). You may withdraw any earnings from no deposit-free spins without any restrictions on sites like Leo Vegas. Many no deposit free spin offers, on the other hand, demand you to bet any winnings multiple times before the money is truly yours. In addition, many sites that provide no deposit free spins will limit the number of winnings you can convert to real money. You’ll notice that the casinos that give the freest spins are also the ones with the most restrictions.
Cashback
The most popular perks are cashback bonuses. Cashback incentives compensate players with cash reimbursements equivalent to a proportion of any losses they may have experienced over a set period. These bonuses are particularly popular because they do not involve any wagering.
Cashback is typically paid as a percentage of a player’s net deposit losses, ranging from 10% to 20%. Some casinos only offer cashback on a player’s first deposit, while others provide frequent, intermittent cashback promos, and yet others provide a weekly cashback program.
While there are general cashback programs available to all players, many casinos also have their loyalty or VIP schemes that reward high-volume players, which frequently include bigger cashback and discretionary bonuses.
A nice example of a cashback bonus may be found at the ironically named No Bonus Casino, which offers a constant 10% payback on all lost deposits, given daily. They can refund 10% of all players’ losing deposits as long as they play at the casino because they do not provide any additional promotions.
Bonuses on deposits
When considering joining a new casino, a new player would normally seek welcome deposit incentives first. That’s because this will almost always be the site’s single most valuable extra.
Although rates vary, the most frequent initial deposit incentive is a 100 percent match on a player’s first deposit. While still being qualified for the bonus, the full warranty you may make varies greatly depending on the casino and jurisdiction.
In addition to the initial deposit bonus, many casinos provide deposit bonuses for the second and even third deposits, albeit these are usually limited to a 50% rather than a 100% match. Many casinos reward loyal players with discretionary reload bonuses from time to time, commonly known as reload bonuses.
Although most casinos give a 100 percent or less initial deposit bonus, certain casinos offer 500 percent or even 750 percent first deposit bonuses. Big deposit bonuses like these are usually sticky bonuses, meaning that both the deposit and the deposit bonus must meet the wagering requirement. However, the larger the bonus, the higher the wagering requirements are likely to be. Deposit bonuses have a time limit that begins when the money is deposited, so keep track of it.
Spins for free
Free spins are frequently included in welcome packages, along with a deposit match bonus. Free spins with such offers are usually granted at, or close to, the minimum bet size, like no deposit free spins. Although some casinos do not impose a wagering requirement on any winnings from free spins, the majority of them do. However, the wagering requirement is usually much smaller than for deposit bonuses, ranging between 1x and 10x the value of the winnings.