Understanding How Casino Bonuses Work
Casino bonuses come hand in hand with online casinos these days and are one of the first things that any player will look for before deciding on which online casino to join. Online casinos know that if they’re to attract new players, they have to create casino bonuses that appeal and are lucrative for their potential new players.
In the early years of online casinos, these bonuses were not always as appealing as they are today, simply because they would have tricky conditions and playthrough requirements. That meant that it was close to impossible for players to get their hands on any winnings. Thankfully this has all changed in the last decade or so due to licensing bodies pushing for fairer practices and the tougher competition that each casino now has.
Nowadays, it is not too hard to find good bonuses with achievable playthrough requirements for players to take advantage of. In fact, some of these bonuses are extremely lucrative, and this is why so many players will essentially choose their next online casino purely based on the bonuses that they can get for themselves.
How Do Casino Bonuses Work?
Bonuses at online casinos are there for two reasons, to reward players and to attract more players. Players can get rewarded for everything from opening an account at a casino to depositing money, to playing regularly enough and referring friends. These bonuses keep the players happy as they feel they are getting a good deal, and the casinos know that their bonuses will also attract new players to their door.
Bonuses will have conditions and requirements attached to them so that players cannot simply take the money and run, but these are not as difficult to fulfill as they once were. There are actually many players that go bonus hunting to capitalize as much as possible from the many bonuses that the different online casinos offer.
Types of Casino Bonuses
There are numerous types of casino bonuses for players to take advantage of and below we have listed some of the more common ones that you will see:
Welcome Bonuses
The first and probably the most lucrative bonus that you will find at an online casino is that of their welcome bonus. The welcome bonus is the bonus that a casino will use to attract new players – which would explain why it is the most lucrative as they gain a new player that will potentially keep playing at their casino.
Most of these welcome bonuses will be a match deposit bonus of a certain percentage. This could be a 100%, 200%, or even right up to a 500% match deposit bonus. The casino will match your first deposit with the percentage stated, meaning that at a minimum, you’re going to get double the amount of your first deposit.
Example on how a Welcome Bonus Could look like:
Nearly all online casinos have welcome bonuses, but here is a list of some popular one:
VegasParadise.com Get Bonus Here 100% Welcome Bonus up to $£€200 t&c apply 18+ begambleaware.org
Casumo Casino Get Bonus Here 100% Welcome Bonus of up to $€£300 plus 20 Free Spins t&c apply 18+
Deposit Bonuses
These are essentially the same thing as what you might expect for a welcome bonus at a casino. However, these bonuses are not restricted to new players only, and thus, anyone can take advantage of them. Generally speaking, you will not get as good a deal as you might with a welcome bonus, but you can still find deposit bonuses of up to 200%.
With bonuses like this, it is always important to read through the wagering requirements and the maximum withdrawal limits. This is because you will need to know how much money you will have to wager before you’re able to withdraw any winnings earned from your free bonus money.
No Deposit Bonuses
Another type of bonus is that of the no deposit bonus, a bonus that is basically free money in exchange for creating an account at an online casino. There is no need for a player to deposit any of their own money in order to claim the no deposit bonus.
These bonuses are generally quite small, so do not expect much more than an amount between $5 and $20 at most. Additionally, you need to make sure you understand the conditions of these kinds of bonuses as it is not always easy to get your hands on any winnings. You may have to eventually deposit some money and meet some playthrough requirements before you can withdraw any winnings.
Reload Bonuses
Many online casinos also offer their players reload bonuses on certain days of the week. These are again usually similar to deposit bonuses, whereby you will be given a bit more on top of your deposit amount. You will not get a percentage anywhere near that of a welcome bonus, but who are we to turn our nose up when it is free money to play with?
Free Spins
Another very common type of bonus you will find offered at online casinos is that of free spins. Sometimes these will be given alongside a match deposit bonus in a welcome bonus, but other times a casino may just offer them up to their loyal players.
Free spins are what you might think they are. They are a set amount of free spins that can be used on a group or a specific online slot. As with any other bonus, however, it is essential to read the conditions and learn of any playthrough requirements that you might have to meet to unlock any winnings accrued.
Some Online Casinos with Free Spins:
CloudCasino.com Get Free Spins HERE – 10 Free Spins On Starburst No Deposit Needed t&c apply 18+ Only begambleaware.org
Casumo Get Free Spins HERE 20 Free Spins No Deposit Needed t&c apply 18+
Loyalty Bonuses
Most online casinos will also offer a loyalty program for their players to keep rewarding them the longer they stay and the more that they play. Each of these schemes will differ from casino to casino, but generally, you will be able to pick up reward points, which can then be used to claim a variety of bonuses.
Those bonuses could be anything from free spins, deposit bonuses, entries into leagues or competitions, or even prizes such as vacations. We suggest you read up about exactly what you can get before deciding on an online casino to use for their loyalty bonuses.
Cashback
Sometimes you will also find online casinos that are a little more creative with their bonuses. Cashback bonuses for one are something a little out of the ordinary that is now starting to pop up at online casinos around the world.
Cashback work by giving players a percentage back of their losses at the casino over a set period of time. Sometimes these will be daily losses, weekly losses, or even monthly losses. Once calculated, the percentage of losses accrued will be returned to the player’s account.
VIP & High Roller Bonuses
While the majority of us are happy enough to gamble for small amounts at an online casino, there are some that have the budget and capabilities to wager a lot more. These players are known as high rollers and these guys are not going to be content with a small $200 bonus that most of us would be more than happy with.
This is why many casinos will create high roller bonuses that are catered for their bigger spending players. These bonuses will differ from casino to casino, so if you’re a high roller, make sure you do your research on this type of bonus before deciding which to use.
Some High Roller Casino Bonuses:
Golden Tiger Casino Get The Bonus HERE $£€1500 Bonus
Leo Vegas Get The Bonus HERE £$€ 1500 Bonus
Casumo Casino Get The Bonus HERE $£€ 1200 Bonus
Refer-a-Friend Bonuses
Online casinos are always looking for new players as you might expect, and they know that gamblers will always have other friends that like to gamble as well. For that reason, many put together special bonuses for anyone that recommends a friend and brings them some more custom.
You might be rewarded with some free money to play with, some free spins, or something else of good value to you as a player if you were to bring a new player into the casino. Your prizes will often get better the more people that you bring in too.
Insurance Bets
These kinds of bonuses will be used in the sportsbook area of an online casino if they were to have one. Not all online casinos have a sportsbook, but there are plenty that does. Insurance bets are basically given to players that make a deposit (usually their first deposit only), and a bet up to a certain value will be protected by insurance.
What this means is that your first bet up to a certain value will be returned to you if it doesn’t win – so that you can have another try.
Matching Bet Bonuses
Another sportsbook only bonus is that of matching bet bonuses. You might be able to figure out how these work by the name alone, but if not, we will fill you in. Essentially, with this type of bonus, any bet that you place up to a certain amount will be matched by the sportsbook. This means a bet of $40 on your favorite football team to win will now become a bet of $80.
Bonus Conditions
We touched upon playthrough requirements and conditions that many bonuses will have above, but here we will take you through what these are in more detail. These conditions and wagering requirements are put in place to protect the casino and to ensure that players stay around long enough to potentially deposit some more money.
Generally speaking, a bonus will require a player to play and wager a certain amount before they can withdraw any winnings that we earned using bonus money. As for conditions, these are there for the benefit of the casino and will go a long way to stop players from trying to cheat their way to some free money.
Among the conditions that you’re likely to see include the following:
- One bonus per person
Online casinos do not allow players to have multiple accounts, as this would be seen as an attempt to take advantage of a generous bonus more than once. In fact, most casinos will limit a single household or Ip address to a single account, which would mean that friends or relatives living in the same place would risk your account being suspended if they were to also open an account.
- Account verification
Casinos will also require you to verify your identity before you are allowed to withdraw any winnings/funds. This means it is important to use your real personal information when creating an account. You will have to prove that this information is correct by sending in ID and other documents. Depending on the casino, this can take as long as weeks for your identity to be verified, which is why we suggest starting the process long before you need to make a withdrawal.
- You have to meet wagering requirements
Requirements will change from casino to casino, but a player will always have to meet a set amount of wagering before they can withdraw bonus winnings. An example would be if the bonus had playthrough requirements of 30 and your bonus amount was $100. This would mean that you would have to wager 30x $100 at the casino before you would be qualified to withdraw the winnings. This is $3,000 in total, a number that is purposely quite big as the casino hopes you will lose those winnings before you can withdraw them.
- Some games are restricted for use with the bonuses
It is important to read the conditions on which games are permitted to be played with your bonus funds. Some games will have higher payouts and will, therefore, be restricted as part of the bonus.
- Withdrawal limits
This is a condition that is extremely unpopular with players. Some bonuses will come with a maximum withdrawal limit attached, which means that any winnings above this limit will be voided. An example would be winning $500 and then finding out that the maximum withdrawal limit is $200. Not good, we’re sure that you agree.
Be Wary About Some Bonuses
While most online casinos out there these days are fair and will honor their side of the deal; there are others that will do whatever they can to avoid paying out winnings from bonuses. For this reason, you should always take the time to do a lot of research before choosing an online casino.
You want to ensure that your potential casino has a good reputation, and this can be done by using the search engines. Just google the casino name with scam next to it and see what comes up. All casinos will have some complaints, but the truly untrustworthy ones will have hundreds of them – so avoid those ones at all costs.
Among the practices that untrustworthy casinos will try and pull is accusing a player that is trying to withdraw a bonus of abusing a bonus. They are covered with terms in their conditions, and there really is very little that you can do in this situation. If a casino does not want to pay out a bonus, it will look at any angle possible to ensure that it doesn’t have to.
For that reason, you should always read as many reviews of online casinos as possible and get the opinion of any other players before signing up. It is better to put in the work beforehand rather than wasting your time with a bonus that you’re never going to get despite wasting your time working through the wagering requirements.
