Different online casino bonus type
When it comes to bonus offers, you can pretty much divide them into two basic types. On the on hand you have offers which require you to make a deposit first, and on the other hand are so-called ‘no deposit’ offers, which you can use without spending any money first. More often than not, especially for sign-up or ‘welcome’ offers, you’ll find casinos offering a hybrid mix of the two – like a multi-part offer which gives you a small number of free spins with no deposit, but where you have to make a minimum deposit to use the other parts. For example, you might get a €10 no deposit bonus, followed by a 200% bonus on your first deposit of at least €50, and then more free spins, and then a different deposit match. It has to be said, some can get rather complicated, so make sure you fully understand them before making a deposit.
Also be aware that free spins offers are usually limited to a certain selection of slot games, so even if two bonus offers are virtually identical sounding, if you check the small print you might find one offers the spins on games you already know you like, so it might be the better option for you. Again, spending a bit of time, and having patience, can end up paying dividends, both in terms of the value of the bonuses you get, and sheer enjoyment. Think of it all like checking out a restaurant menu – there are many steakhouses or pizza places, but we all have our particular favourite combination.
Full or partial deposit match casino bonuses
No deposit free spin offers can be cool, and a bit of fun, especially for casual players, but the real value in bonus offers can be unlocked from the deposit match offers at most casinos. These all work on the same principal, in that the casino will match your deposit up to a certain amount, by a certain percentage; for example, 100% up to €500, or 50% up to €1000. They are often in multi-parts, and you need to pay attention to the percentages and limits to ensure you get the maximum value.
These kinds of offers usually pay the bonus in special bonus funds, rather than withdrawable cash, and come with time limited wagering requirements, so again it won’t always be the best idea to go for the biggest headline offer. If you only intend on spending €100 over a month, there’s no point in going for an offer that will effectively encourage you to spend more than that. Likewise, don’t do yourself out of free money by going for a small offer if you are perfectly prepared to splash the cash and play frequently – you will end up kicking yourself. Think about your budget, how often you play, and then pick the offer accordingly. The key is in balancing getting the biggest bonus that will be actually useful to you.
Also, although all decent casinos will have a full breakdown of any deposit match bonus offer, sometimes they will combine the maximum possible achievable from a multi-part offer, into a single headline. For example, a casino will try to lure new players by saying “up to €5000 bonus” – but when you look in detail it is a four-part offer, and the 5K is only achievable if you deposit the highest amounts possible for each stage. Obviously, this kind of advertising can be frustrating, and is trying to get players to keep making multiple visits and deposits with the casino, but as long as you keep a cool head and carefully read through all the information provided on the casino offer page, you should be ok. Again though, this shows that sometimes it can actually be the less flashy sounding offers that actually turn out to be better.
Deposit bonus & reload offers
These are pretty simple and offered by many online casinos – again, often as part of bigger, multi-stage offers, especially welcome packages. An example would be a player being offered a 50 bonus when they make a first deposit worth a minimum amount, say 30. Of course, the trick with these kinds of offers is to make sure you don’t deposit more than you need to in order to qualify for that deal. In example given, say you’ve budgeted 90, you’d be better off depositing 30 with this particular offer, and then say 30 and 20 and 20 with others, rather than just making a bigger deposit on the first one – because you won’t get any more bonus for depositing 60 in one go than you do for 30. Again though, this sounds simple, but when it is part of a more complicated offer, it’s easy to make the wrong move and waste money – so we would always advise you to note it down as you are comparing offers. Many casinos offer deposit bonus promotions regularly, as so-called reload bonuses to encourage players to top up their accounts, or to try and reactivate dormant players. Again, they work the same way, and can be a pleasant way to make your bankroll stretch that bit further.
Casino loyalty bonuses
Many casinos will offer players loyalty bonuses at certain times, and they work pretty much the same as first deposit bonuses. As the name suggests, they are designed to encourage loyalty to the particular casino brand, and you are likely to be offered them on special occasions, like your anniversary of signing up, or when you reach set deposit totals – especially if you are a regular player. This kind of bonus is especially nice in that it normally comes to, rather than you having to sniff it out.
Needless to say, VIP players and high rollers are likely to get offered more, and bigger, loyalty bonuses than small spending casual players. You’ll find the same in land-based casinos around the world, from Las Vegas to Monaco, with VIP rooms and special perks for the big spenders. In fact, it’s the same in most industries – think about frequent flyers and high-end retail loyalty cards, or even platinum credit cards. In the capitalist world, the more money you spend, the more perks you get from businesses. In fact, just as with high-end credit cards and frequent flyer rewards, many online casinos offer the VIPs cashback, exclusive gifts, and even real-life trips to events and parties. But, for the vast majority of normal players, just like in the land-based casinos on the Vegas Strip, the VIP rooms will remain out of reach.
Other online casino rewards and bonuses
In addition to the major types of bonuses like no deposit free spins and deposit match, online casinos sometimes offer other benefits to regular players too. Sometimes, a casino will be trying to promote a specific alternative payment method, that may cost them less to process than a standard debit or credit card, so you’ll be able to get a small bonus for using a specified payment method, like Skrill, PayPal, or another online payment service. Of course, casinos also want to make it easy for players to keep spending, so be careful with these offers, and always make sure you can afford what you are gambling, no matter which source of funds you use. It’s all your money after all!
Increasingly, online casinos are also running referral programs, where they will pay you a commission in the form of a bonus for both yourself and any friends you refer – subject to minimum deposit conditions. It’s great advertising for them, and a fantastic way to get yet another bonus for yourself – just remember, if you want to keep your friends, only refer them to casinos you trust. And, please, always be careful who you refer – only do that if you know they are a responsible gambler, after all you wouldn’t recommend a bar to someone you knew was a recovering alcoholic.
Sticky and non-sticky bonuses
Finally, there’s the so-called “sticky bonus” variety. With normal, or “non-sticky” bonuses, once you’ve fulfilled any wagering requirements you’re permitted to withdraw your winnings along with whatever is still remaining of your initial deposit bonus. However, sticky bonuses are different in that they will be removed before any winnings can be claimed. In practice, this means that stick bonuses allow players to start with what is in effect a bigger (often much bigger) bankroll. Obviously, this allows for the possibility of much bigger winnings. But it can also mean you can lose more than you win. Always make sure you understand if a bonus is sticky or non-sticky. A sticky bonus isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but they are more suited to those with bigger pockets and a bigger appetite for risk.
Terms & conditions, and all the small print
Ok, let’s admit it, we all skip over terms & conditions all the time, right? It seems everything these days has a wall of small print associated with it, from the side of a soda can to the warranty form for a new toaster, and it’s true, most of the time it’s never going to really have much impact on your life if you don’t read them. However, when it comes to online casino offers, you really do need to read them, thoroughly. Imagine how you’d feel if you took up some welcome bonus deal at a new casino, struck it lucky, won a huge jackpot and thought you were set for life, but then found out you’d not complied with some specific term or condition, and the casino voided the win? You’d probably have a pretty bad day! Plus, it’s always good to know your rights, because sometimes, very occasionally, someone at a casino’s customer support might not fully understand the offer correctly and they might have it wrong.
So, first thing is first, let’s keep in mind why a casino will be running a bonus offer in the first place, i.e. to get as many new players to sign-up and play, while spending the minimum amount possible. It’s marketing, pure and simple, a “sprat to catch a mackerel,” if you will. Given this, you should always expect any offer to be carefully designed with these goals in mind – and remember, online casino marketing teams will have put together plenty of these types of bonus offers, so they know what they are doing!
The trick to remember is to look past the headline. Sure, it’s easy to make a headline sound impressive, because it provides precious little information, and will have been written by a marketing expert to draw you in. Again, this isn’t peculiar to casinos or gambling – it happens with all advertising – but, when you are in an excited mood and there’s the possibility of winning big money involved, it can be easy to let your guard down. Basically, if the bonus sounds too good to be true, if you check out the small print, you’ll most likely find it is.
Woah, hold up. No need to get despondent. None of this means you can’t find genuinely fantastic casino bonuses out there (and especially here at GamblerAdvisors), but it just means be careful – and use guides and recommendations like those you will find right here. Remember, if you’re dealing with a licensed gambling operator, they will be legally obliged to honour the terms of every bonus offer – including things like minimum deposits, wagering requirements, time restrictions, or any limits regarding the use of the bonus. So, read the T&Cs carefully, and then choose the offers that suit how you are going to realistically play. Make sure the minimum deposit is affordable to you, and you will be able to meet the requirements in the time given.
Here’s some specific terms to pay close attention to:
Time limited offers
As with almost all special offers in any walk of life, casino bonuses usually come with time limits. Often these are perfectly reasonable, but if you lead a busy life, it’s easy to forget about them and not realise you’re out of time. That can be incredibly frustrating, and the casino is very unlikely to be moved by sob stories and excuses, no matter how genuine they are. Specifically, you will likely have to make a minimum deposit within an allotted time from the moment you register an account to qualify for a first deposit bonus. After that, you will probably need to use such a bonus within a certain amount of time from when it is credited. Fail to do so, and you will forfeit it. Also, bear in mind that it’s probably not a good idea to be rushed into taking up an offer because it is only available for a limited time – there will always be more offers, so don’t sweat.
Time limits can get more complicated and confusing with multi-part offers. These can see things like one-day expiries on bonus funds that are credited in chunks. They are designed to keep you playing, which is fair enough, but they are sometimes something of a trap, because if you miss one of the expiry dates you may end up losing the whole bonus – not always, but it’s another reason to check the T&Cs before playing.
Wagering requirements – the hidden weapon of casinos
Well, ok, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but it’s true that wagering requirements are something that trips up many new online casino players. Before you use any offer, it is absolutely critical to understand what wagering requirements are, and how they will actually play out if you use the offer. Put simply, wagering requirements are a rule that means the casino will require the player to make further wagers on games, to a specified amount, before they are allowed to withdraw them. There’s a growing number of casinos that have either scrapped wagering requirements altogether, or massively reduced them, which is fantastic news for players, but many still set them as high as 30x or more. The cold reality of 30x wagering requirements is that, if you want to withdraw your prize money you will need to place bets worth 30x the original bonus before you can do so.
Needless to say, this can end up in players being pressured into spending way, way more than they originally planned. For example, say you have a 100 bonus as part of a deposit match offer (it doesn’t matter what the currency is, it could be euros, dollars, pounds, or anything), if the wagering requirements were 30X, you would have to make bets worth an eye watering 3,000 before you could withdraw winnings.
Further complicating things, the wagering requirement could be based on solely the deposit amount, or just the bonus amount, or only the winnings – or, in some cases, a combination of all of them. Adding to the minefield, often times a casino will specify that only money wagered on particular games counts towards meeting the requirements (sometimes, although they do count, certain games will only contribute at a lower rate – for example 20% or 50%). If it sounds a little scary, it should do. It’s very easy to be caught out by wagering requirements, and it can leave a very bad taste in the mouth. High wagering requirements can also encourage problem gambling, because they encourage players to spend more than they intended, give more opportunity to lose, and so can cause players to chase their losses, which is always a bad idea.
As a rule, the best offers are wagering requirement-free, but if you can’t find those, then look for low wagering requirements. 30x is pretty much the standard for most of the industry, so don’t necessarily avoid those, rather just make sure you work out what you will actually have to spend, in total, to withdraw winnings before getting committed. Anything with higher wagering requirements should probably be avoided.
Offers limited to specific games
You’ve probably already seen loads of Free Spins offers at casinos, right? They look great, and often are, but just make sure you check which games the spins will be available on first. Most such offers will be restricted to one or two slots – no bad thing if they are games you enjoy or want to try, but most frustrating if they are ones you don’t like. Again, remember, a casino is very unlikely to offer Free Spins on a big money game – don’t fool yourself with dreams you’re going to win a million on a free spin. Still, Free Spins are a great way to have a bit of fun, try a new game, and even build up your balance through wins, without breaking into your own bankroll.
Also, remember that leaderboard competitions and tournaments, which often offer nice cash prizes (or more free spins), are always limited to a certain selection of games – often with a specific theme, or from a specific provider. And, again, because we can’t stress this enough, always figure out which games contribute to meeting wagering requirements, before taking advantage of any bonus offer subject to such wagering requirements.
Limits on wins
“Holy crap!” we hear you say, “win limits, can they do that?” Unfortunately, yes, they can. Again, because casinos are businesses and don’t want to bankrupt themselves due to an insanely lucky winner using a bonus offer, many offers will include an upper limit on what you can win when using a specific promotional offer. Again, this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to win a nice amount, but it probably means that even if you hit a jackpot or have a run of unbeatable blackjack hands, you’ll probably not win as much as you hoped – but rather just the maximum allowed by the specific offer rules. Obviously, casinos aren’t going to put these limits in a prominent place, and normally you’ll have to dig a little into the small print, but if you want to avoid premature aging through earth-shattering disappointment of thing you’re set for life, only to find out you’ve won a week’s wage instead, check the T&Cs first!
These limits are also a reason you shouldn’t skip over the smaller bonus offers. Sure, they might sound less impressive at first, but logically they are more likely to have more relaxed rules and require less money to be spent. Taking advantage of many smaller offers, with less risk, can often be a goodway to maximise the value of your play, and give yourself more winning opportunities without so much stress, and critically, it means you can avoid getting entangled in wagering requirement nightmares.
All things considered, are casino bonuses worth it?
After reading this, you’re most likely thinking, “what the hell, why would I even bother with bonus offers?” That’s perfectly understandable, but really, the point of it was not to put you off, far from it in fact – it was to educate and make you aware. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to get a good deal and use casino bonuses to get more value and more chances to win.
The reason for the lengthy text is simply because there are waaaaaaaaaay more things to know about casino bonus promotions than most players realise. It’s a lot to take in, and it can seem daunting – but, it is well worth taking note. Understanding wagering requirements, paying attention to win limits, being aware of time limits, and noting game limits, can mean the difference between a terrible experience, where you feel like you’ve been scammed, and a fantastic experience in which you get loads of free play, some nice winnings, and begin a long and trusting relationship with a casino that you will play at for years to come.
Like we’ve said a few times, online casino bonuses and promotional offers are, in many ways, like all other such offers we deal with in life. The difference is just that they are often potentially worth more, can include terms new players aren’t familiar with, and have more detailed terms and conditions attached. If you stay alert, and use resources like reviews and educational articles, plus keep your wits about you and take extravagant claims with a pinch of salt, then you won’t get suckered, and you’ll find bonus offers can be the perfect way to find out what a casino is really like to play at, or how specific games behave, and if they are worth spending your time and money on.
At the end of the day, if you use casino bonuses intelligently, you can get genuinely free play, you can make your money go further. But, conversely, if you rush and don’t take time to do the research, you can easily trip up. Our advice; use casino bonuses to find a few casinos you like and feel comfortable at, and then stick with them for a while. If you get bored, you can always look for more offers and new casinos. But, try to avoid being dazzled by the mirage of only ever playing with bonuses and simply bouncing from one casino to the other – it will be draining, you’ll probably burn out without winning much.
Also be aware that free spins offers are usually limited to a certain selection of slot games, so even if two bonus offers are virtually identical sounding, if you check the small print you might find one offers the spins on games you already know you like, so it might be the better option for you. Again, spending a bit of time, and having patience, can end up paying dividends, both in terms of the value of the bonuses you get, and sheer enjoyment. Think of it all like checking out a restaurant menu – there are many steakhouses or pizza places, but we all have our particular favourite combination.
Full or partial deposit match casino bonuses
No deposit free spin offers can be cool, and a bit of fun, especially for casual players, but the real value in bonus offers can be unlocked from the deposit match offers at most casinos. These all work on the same principal, in that the casino will match your deposit up to a certain amount, by a certain percentage; for example, 100% up to €500, or 50% up to €1000. They are often in multi-parts, and you need to pay attention to the percentages and limits to ensure you get the maximum value.
These kinds of offers usually pay the bonus in special bonus funds, rather than withdrawable cash, and come with time limited wagering requirements, so again it won’t always be the best idea to go for the biggest headline offer. If you only intend on spending €100 over a month, there’s no point in going for an offer that will effectively encourage you to spend more than that. Likewise, don’t do yourself out of free money by going for a small offer if you are perfectly prepared to splash the cash and play frequently – you will end up kicking yourself. Think about your budget, how often you play, and then pick the offer accordingly. The key is in balancing getting the biggest bonus that will be actually useful to you.
Also, although all decent casinos will have a full breakdown of any deposit match bonus offer, sometimes they will combine the maximum possible achievable from a multi-part offer, into a single headline. For example, a casino will try to lure new players by saying “up to €5000 bonus” – but when you look in detail it is a four-part offer, and the 5K is only achievable if you deposit the highest amounts possible for each stage. Obviously, this kind of advertising can be frustrating, and is trying to get players to keep making multiple visits and deposits with the casino, but as long as you keep a cool head and carefully read through all the information provided on the casino offer page, you should be ok. Again though, this shows that sometimes it can actually be the less flashy sounding offers that actually turn out to be better.
