About Online Casino Bonuses
Casino bonuses are rife. Most major casinos have them and they are constantly competing with one another to offer bigger and better bonuses. This is great news for players, as they are the ones benefiting from this rampant competition, and it also gives newer and smaller casinos a platform from which they can launch their business.
But with so many different types of online casino bonus available, it’s hard to know which one is best, and even you eventually find one that works for you, there’s still the matter of wagering requirements, limits, and restrictions to get your head around.
It can all be a little confusing, but in this guide, we’ll address each of these issues in turn. By the end, you will know how to find top casino bonuses and use them in a way that benefits you and not the casino.
What You Need to Know About Casino Bonuses
Casino bonuses have a few terms you need to pay close attention to. Misreading these terms could lead to a lot of frustration and potentially deplete your bankroll. The terms you need to look out for include:
Activation Requirements
Casino bonuses are at the heart of many online casino complaints. Players join solely to collect these bonuses and if they are not released, they feel cheated and are quick to vent their anger.
Top casino bonuses will be released as soon as you join and don’t require any kind of specific activity on your part. However, some casinos require you to do one of the following things:
- Input a specific promotion code
- Select “opt in” on a specific bonus page
- Speak to the customer support team through Live Chat
- Send an email with specific details
Furthermore, many casinos will refuse bonuses to players who use specific payment methods, including Skrill and Neteller, while others limit their bonuses to players from specific regions. You can find more information about these terms in the casino’s terms and conditions.
Wagering Requirements
Casinos don’t want you to withdraw your bonus as soon as you receive it. They also know that the more games you play, the more the laws of probability will tilt in their favor. As a result, all welcome bonuses, no deposit bonuses, and free spins use something known as a wagering requirement or playthrough rate.
Typically listed as a multiple, such as “25x” or “50x”, it describes how many times you need to risk the money before it can be withdrawn. For instance, if the wagering requirement is 25x and you have a bonus of €100, you will need to wager €2,500.
You can find the wagering requirements in the bonus terms and conditions. It’s important to look at these closely, as there are a couple of other specific details to note, including:
- Bonus or Deposit: Some casinos tie the wagering requirements to your deposit amount, others fix it to the bonus, while for others these requirements are tied to both amounts.
- Game Limits: In most cases, every cent you spend on slots will count 100% towards your playthrough rate but table games count for just 10% or less.
We highly recommend reading our article about how to beat wagering requirements. It will reveal useful tricks on how to save your money and probably win more while using online casino offers as well as some very good low wagering casino bonuses.
Deposit and Win Limits
One of the great things about casino bonuses is that you get more spins at your favorite slots, more hands of your favorite card games, and more chances to win big. However, many bonuses limit the amount that you can win on a single game and this greatly reduces the benefits of the bonus and your chances of securing a return.
The limits you need to look for include:
- Minimum Deposit: The minimum amount that you need to deposit to qualify for a bonus, typically fixed at between €10 and €20.
- Win Limit: The maximum amount of money that you can win with a single free spin or a bonus amount.
- Cash-Out Limit: The maximum that you can cash out following a bonus win.
All casinos have a minimum deposit limit but the better ones don’t have win limits or cash out limits and are therefore more preferable.
All casinos have a minimum deposit limit but the better ones don’t have win limits or cash out limits and are therefore more preferable.
How to Use Casino Bonuses
Struggling to get the most out of online casino bonuses? Keep the following tips in mind:
- Go Big: The bigger, the better. A no deposit bonus might seem tempting, but not when you’re limited to how much you can win, how many games you can play, and how much money you will receive. Instead, opt for the matched deposit bonus and look for one that is at least 100%.
- Look for Limits: Wagering requirements are key, but they are also unavoidable, and you shouldn’t get too caught up in them. Instead, focus on the limits. As noted above, some casino bonuses will prevent you from winning too much and these need to be avoided.
- Aim for Jackpots: Turning €100 into €200 is great at any other time, but not when you’re collecting a bonus. By the time you play through the wagering requirements, that €200 may disappear. Instead, focus your attention on slots with big jackpots and aim high. In this way, a bonus basically doubles your chances of securing a life-changing sum of money.
- Focus on High Volatility and High RTP Slots: When clearing your wagering requirements, it’s important to stick with high RTP slots, as these will give you the best chance of winning and will ensure all money goes towards the wagering requirement. At the same time, you should stick with high volatility slots, as these pay large amounts infrequently and are therefore suited to extended play.
- Collect: As soon as the wagering requirements are over and you have a profit, cash out. If you have €500 from a €100 deposit, it’s easy to convince yourself to gamble €400. That way, the worst that can happen is that you break even. But when that €400 disappears, you’ll convince yourself to take a chance with the rest and will have nothing before you know it. Cash some profits as soon as you can so that you’ll always be in profit regardless of what happens.
- Don’t Forget the Loyalty Scheme: A loyalty scheme is one of the most important and underrated bonuses. If you gamble large sums of money over an extended period and break-even at the end, loyalty points can push you into a profit. Always look for a generous loyalty scheme but don’t risk money just for the sake of increasing your point balance.
Loyalty Schemes
One of the better online casino bonuses, a loyalty scheme promotes regular play and ensures that players stick around long after they have finished with their welcome bonus.
Generally, a loyalty scheme will give you loyalty points every time you play. These points can then be exchanged for rewards such as cash, bonuses, and gifts. The more points you earn, the faster you will climb through the levels and the higher your rate of rewards will be.
The best loyalty schemes offer advanced rewards (including VIP event tickets, birthday gifts, and unique bonuses) for those who make it to the elite levels.
How Can Casinos Afford to Give Away Money?
Online casinos are not in the business of giving away free money. It may seem like that, but everything they do is carefully measured and designed to promote profits and increase player number.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t secure a profit by properly utilizing these bonuses.
To understand this, you need to know how casinos operate. The goal of a casino is not to win every game and beat every player. It’s true that the “house always wins”, but only when accounting for all players, all games, and all sessions.
A single player can bet €1, win a €100,000 jackpot, and then never gamble again. But a casino doesn’t care, because the next 10,001 players may lose €10 each, putting the house back in the black.
Casino bonuses work in much the same way. If you deposit €100, get a free €100 and then win €200 by the time you meet the wagering requirements, the casino has just lost a couple of hundred Euros, but in the grand scheme of things, more players will lose in the long run. More importantly, bonuses are a valuable tool for attracting new players, which means they save on marketing costs, increase player numbers, and improve their bottom line.
Finding the Best Casino Bonuses
Now that you know all about casino bonuses, there’s only one thing left: Where can you find the best casino bonuses?
The problem is the best bonus for you may not be the best bonus for the next person. It all comes down to your stake level and level of activity.
If, for instance, you are a small stake player who gambles infrequently, you should probably focus on no deposit bonuses. However, if you’re a medium to high stakes player who gambles multiple times a week, it’s highly unlikely that these bonuses will appeal to you. Instead, you should look for large matched deposit bonuses.
High-stake players should also look for big matched deposit bonuses, as they can collect the highest amounts from these bonuses. They should also look for loyalty schemes. These schemes are designed to benefit all players as the points and rewards are relative to their deposit amounts and playing styles. But loyalty schemes work better for high stake players and give them far greater rewards overall.
Whatever you choose, make sure you consider all of the information in this guide to get the most out of your bonus.
