Casino bonuses are one of the biggest benefits to playing online, but do you understand the differences between the different types available?
Let’s take a closer look at each one and discover exactly what each entails and what you as a player stand to gain in each case.
No Deposit Bonuses
No deposit casino bonuses are exactly what the name implies – free casino cash with no deposit required.
You will usually find these to be less in terms of sheer amount than deposit bonuses since obviously, the casino can’t afford to rain money on players willy nilly.
A normal no deposit bonus would be something between $/€/￡10 and $/€/￡50. You might find you are limited to specific games with this type of bonus, although most casinos will give you a good selection to play on so as every type of player is happy.
No deposit bonuses are no-brainers. Take them wherever you find them because you can play real money casino games for free and literally can not lose.
First Deposit Bonuses
A first deposit bonus aims to give you an amount up to 100% on whatever you deposit as a new player.
These bonuses vary from casino to casino and may be less than 100% in some cases, although this is the most common type.
There will also be both a minimum deposit to be eligible and an upper limit on how much you can claim. A casino definitely won’t give you an extra $/€/￡ 1,000,000, but they might give you an extra $/€/￡ 1,000 and in some cases will do so multiple times.
Deposit bonuses are basically double your money, in cases where you get 100% on your first deposit. You will have to bet the bonus amount a certain number of times before you can withdraw it (called wagering requirements), but who’s complaining? This is free casino cash to play with and therefore by extension double your chance of hitting a jackpot.
Reload Bonuses
A casino reload bonus is designed to keep you interested after the initial deposit bonus has been played through, and many of the best casinos offer multiple reload bonuses in a row.
If you see a casino welcome package advertised as ‘worth $/€/￡900’, this could mean a single deposit bonus worth up to $/€/￡900, or could also mean a first deposit bonus and two reload bonuses worth to $/€/￡300 each.
Reload bonuses come after the first deposit bonus has been used up. If you haven’t hit a massive progressive jackpot first time around, they give you another chance (or two) to play on the house.
Free Spins Bonuses
Slots players are the beneficiaries of casino free spins bonuses, and as the name suggests you will be playing free slots for real money when you take these.
There are actually two kinds of free spins bonus. No deposit free spins require nothing from you and are sometimes offered as a reward for simply registering, while there are other free spins bonus offers which are part and parcel of a larger overall welcome bonus and come when you make your first deposit.
For example, you might see a welcome bonus of 100% up to $/€/￡100 and 100 free spins. In this case, you will have to make a deposit to trigger the free spins, and they might be distributed over a certain number of days.
Free spins bonuses are definitely what you want if spinning slots online is your thing.
Cashback Bonuses
Casino cashback bonuses are sometimes called second chance bonuses because you get a percentage of your losses back in the form of a bonus to play again with.
We have seen a lot of these pop up in live casinos recently, and they do seem to be mostly related to table and card games.
An example of a cashback bonus in an online casino is 10% back on everything you have lost in the live casino in the previous week. Second chance bonuses allow you to claw back some of your losses, and since there is nothing casino players love to do more than that, they are increasing in popularity across the web.
Payment Method Bonuses
Payment method bonuses are still relatively rare at online casinos, but we have encountered a few of them recently.
Every deposit and withdrawal method has fees associated with it, both for you and the casino. The casino, therefore, has its preferred payment methods, and those are naturally the ones that save them money.
E-wallets like Neteller and Skrill tend to be the most common preferred payment methods. An example of a payment method bonus is 15% extra on your first deposit bonus for using a given payment method.
Loyalty Bonuses
Casino loyalty bonuses come in all forms, but the common thread is you have played regularly and either built up a certain number of points which you can now trade in for an extra bonus or have been noticed by your account manager, who wants to reward you for loyal play.
Loyalty bonuses could be free spins on slots, extra bonus cash, or a certain number of free blackjack or baccarat hands. Every casino has its own loyalty program, and you will have to check out each one individually.
Casino Bonus Common Terms and Conditions
Every bonus found at an online casino will also come with certain terms and conditions. The casinos can’t just hand out cash left and right and let you walk away with it, so they put these in place to protect themselves.
While every bonus will be different from others, if you understand these key bonus terms you will be able to make sense of casino bonuses much more easily.
Game Weighting – If you are totally new to casino bonuses, skip ahead and read the definition of wagering requirements first, as you will need to understand them to understand game weighting. Basically, each game carries a different ‘weight’ when it comes to meeting wagering requirements. For example, slots will usually be 100% while table and card games could be as low as 10%. This means that for every $/€/￡100 you bet on slots, $/€/￡100 counts towards wagering, whereas only $/€/￡ 10 would count if you played blackjack.
Maximum Amount – The maximum amount is self-explanatory. There is an upper limit to how much you can claim in every casino, and this is it.
Minimum Deposit – Every bonus requires you to make a minimum deposit to be eligible. This will typically be as low as $/€/￡10.
Restricted Countries – Most casinos have restricted countries which for legal reasons they can not offer services to. There may also be some countries which, while players from them can play in the casino generally, they can not take part in a specific promotion.
Wagering Requirements – The casino won’t just dish out cash, let you withdraw it, and take a loss. Most bonuses will ask you to ‘wager’ the bonus amount, which means bet it a certain number of times before withdrawing it. This can range from x10 to x60, depending on the casino.
Withdrawal Limits – Some bonuses come with an upper limit to how much you can withdraw as winnings, period. It would be very depressing to hit a multi-million progressive jackpot and find out you could only withdraw $/€/￡1,000 of it, so be sure to check this before taking a bonus.
