Casino bonuses are most commonly offered as welcome incentives to attract new players or as ongoing promotions to reward those who’ve stuck around. They can be used to stretch your bankroll further or play an exciting slot game with free spins. We take a look at these and various other types of bonus players are likely to encounter throughout their casino journey.
Welcome Offers
When you first join a casino, you’ll be presented with a Welcome Bonus as a way to boost your starting balance. Although not compulsory, they’re extremely popular due to their generous nature and can increase your first deposit by values of up to 200% or even higher - this means an initial payment of €100 would increase your overall play money to €300. Other Welcome Offers throw in additional free spins on the casino’s most popular slots.
Deposit Match Bonus
As an existing customer of an online casino, you’re likely to encounter a match bonus at some point. The offer is linked to the value of your deposit, increasing its value by anything from 50% up to 100% and sometimes even more. Your account balance will be credited with this extra bonus cash to play with on eligible casino games and live casino.
Deposit Free Spin Bonus
In a similar fashion, a qualifying deposit can trigger a select number of free spins on either an individual slot or collection of slots. The number of free spins credited depends on the promotion but it’s not uncommon for the casino to offer them in batches from 10 anywhere up to 100.
No Deposit Bonus
An online casino no deposit bonus allows you to play without any financial risk involved. Gifted as a complete freebie by the casino, you’ll either receive bonus cash or free spins to play on eligible slots. Free bonuses are rarely awarded to new players and instead given as a treat to existing customers – in some cases as a nice birthday gift or part of a loyalty program.
Cashback
On some occasions, the casino will offer you insurance on potential losses within a certain time period. Known as a cashback reward, it will be credited as a set percentage of your negative revenue and capped at a specific value. They allow you to play with more confidence knowing a portion of your losses will be returned either as real or bonus cash.
Loyalty Rewards
Many casinos offer a loyalty scheme for players who stick around on a long-term basis. The more you deposit and/or wager, the higher up the loyalty ladder you will progress. Rewards will vary along the way, from weekly free spins and extra bonus cash up to exclusive VIP offers which can be highly lucrative.
How to Claim an Online Casino Bonus
You can become eligible for a casino bonus by receiving SMS/email marketing communication or via an on-site banner. In the vast majority of cases, players will be required to enter a promo code or ‘opt-in’ to the promotion by clicking a particular link. By doing so, this informs the casino you have read the terms and conditions which will be displayed on the same page. It is highly recommended to understand each of the major terms before claiming a bonus, which include:
Minimum Deposit
Should the promotion require a deposit, make sure to double check the minimum value required to activate the offer. Remember, a single deposit of the amount stated will be required and cumulative deposits worth the same figure will not trigger the bonus. For example, a required deposit of €20 will not trigger the bonus upon two separate payments of €10 each.
Deposit Wager
In most cases, the casino will ask players to wager their deposit through once in order to trigger the bonus. By doing so, it negates the risk of players simply claiming the bonus reward and immediately withdrawing their deposit. Before opting in, check first if wagering is needed on a specific type of game for it to be counted.
Validity
Every casino promotion will have a validity period attached, both in order to initially claim the offer and also to unlock the bonus by completing wagering requirements. These validity periods will be clearly stated within the promo terms so be sure to opt-in and play through the bonus before the stated time and date expires.
Wagering Requirements
The majority of casino bonuses will come with a wagering requirement, or in other words, the amount of times you must play through the bonus value in the casino. For example, with a €10 bonus and 30x wagering, this means you must wager a total of €300 on eligible games to convert the bonus into real money.
Eligible Games
Some games will be excluded when you’re trying to complete the wagering requirements, meaning playing them with an active bonus will see your winnings forfeited. It’s crucial that you check for this list within the terms before starting to wager, but if unsure, contact customer support directly to clarify this requirement.
Game Weighting
Whilst trying to convert your bonus cash into real money, playing on certain games will count less towards the wagering requirements compared to others. For example, playing an animated blackjack table game may only contribute 50% towards the target, thus meaning a €5 bet is only counted as a €2.50 wager.
Claiming an online casino bonus is a great way to boost your bankroll and effectively play more games for less outlay. Likewise, you could test how a brand new slot plays out or try a new betting strategy on the roulette table. But don’t forget, bonuses can also be turned into real cash profit with some disciplined play and a bit of luck thrown in too. Just make sure to read the offer terms and conditions before opting in to ensure no crucial clauses have been overlooked.