After playing at different casinos for a while, you’ll start to notice how most casinos offer the same games to their players. Since it is difficult to stand out when offering the same products, online casinos try to attract players with free play, free spins, or deposit bonuses.
As new online casinos are putting bigger bonuses on the table, many players are collecting welcome bonuses from more than one online casino. This is perfectly acceptable and, as far as we are concerned, even desirable. Before we start, we want to give you a gift from us with a list of handpicked bonuses! You can claim all the casino bonuses here.
Online casinos offer numerous bonuses and benefits for new players
Welcome bonuses at online casinos usually include deposit bonuses, free spins or free play money. Sometimes casino bonuses may include as many as all of these. Most casino bonuses are only given to players after they have made a deposit, but there are also some online casinos that offer casino bonuses without a deposit.
Deposit bonuses
The deposit bonus is the most common casino bonus. These bonuses give the player extra play money, the amount of which is calculated in proportion to the amount deposited. Deposit bonuses always have a maximum limit, which is usually a few hundred dollars. For example, a 100% deposit bonus up to $200 is a very common welcome offer. So, by claiming the example offer, you will receive $50 extra bonus money for a deposit of $50 and $200 bonus money for a deposit of $200. On the other hand, if you make a deposit of $300, you will only get $200 bonus money, as the bonus cap will be reached.
Deposit bonuses are just regular play money that you can use on any game you find in the casino. However, players must meet a wagering requirement before any winnings from the bonus money can be withdrawn.
Some online casinos offer deposit bonuses for the first few deposits. In many cases, the best deposit bonus is given for the first deposit, after that the player can claim a few smaller bonuses and the last bonus in the bonus series is almost the same as the first deposit bonus. The system is designed to encourage players to claim small interim bonuses as well, so that they can claim a better bonus. Players are therefore advised to claim the mid-round bonuses with as small a deposit as possible, in order to get the most out of the final bonus.
Free money
Free play money is a so-called “no deposit” bonus, which can be claimed without making a deposit. Very few online casinos nowadays offer free play money without a deposit, but you might find a couple of them on our list. Free money offers are not only very rare, they usually come with very strict conditions. For example, casino offers that give out free play money may have a higher wagering requirement than usual. In many cases, these bonuses also have a payout cap, which ensures that no more than a few tens of dollars can be won without a deposit.
Free spins
Many online casinos also give out free spins as an additional bonus on top of the deposit bonus. Free spins allow you to play a specific slot game for free. Free spins are usually played with the lowest minimum bet allowed by the game. Recently, however, online casinos have appeared online that offer free spins with a higher stake than usual. These free spins are sometimes called super spins. The winnings from minimum bet free spins are modest at best, so super spins are a welcome addition to the bonus repertoire of online casinos. You can play Super Spins at Rizk, for example.
Casino bonuses for old customers
After opening an account and claiming your new player bonus, you will usually start receiving either weekly or monthly offers by email, if you have opted in to receive them. The offers are linked to the size of your deposit and are calculated based on your previous deposit history. As you continue to deposit, casinos will start treating you as an active player who is encouraged to move up in the game with bonuses towards VIP levels and wagering rewards.
Have you been playing at casinos for so long that you’ve become accustomed to the promotions of your favourite casino? Or are you the “bonus hunter” that casinos fear, a customer who creates new accounts and tries to take advantage of as many casino bonuses from as many casinos as possible? It is not in the casinos’ own interest to send bad offers to good players and great offers to bad players. So casinos divide players into different castes every week. Which fork your player account falls into depends on how good a customer you have been at the casino in question.
Forfeitable casino bonuses
Before claiming your deposit bonus, you should also find out whether the casino bonus is “forfeitable”. Forfeiting a bonus may sound like a ridiculous idea at first, because why on earth would anyone want to throw away free play money? However, giving up bonuses is a perfectly sensible gaming strategy that is worth using in some situations.
Normally, casino bonuses require the customer to first wager the funds deposited, after which the bonus money is activated for use. With a bit of luck, a player can hit the jackpot before they have even touched the bonus money. If the deposit bonus is non-depositable, the player will in this situation have to meet a wagering requirement before they can withdraw their winnings. The forfeitable bonus may be void in this situation if the player has not used any of the bonus money. In this case, the player can withdraw his/her winnings without wagering. Sometimes the forfeitable bonus is called a non-sticky bonus.
No deposit bonuses
No deposit bonuses (or bonus without deposit) refer to bonuses that can be accessed simply by opening an account at the casino that has made the offer. These casino bonuses are usually very small in amount. At best, a player can expect to receive between $5 and $10 in play money or a few funny free spins. Nevertheless, no deposit bonuses are definitely worth grabbing, as there is no risk of losing money when playing with them. Even in the worst case scenario, all you lose is a few minutes of your time. In the best case, you could leave the casino a few tens or hundreds richer.
From an online casino perspective, these casino bonuses carry a very high risk of abuse, so you’ll probably have to prove your identity before you can cash out your winnings, even if it’s only a few tens.
VIP bonuses for real players
VIPs, whose designation varies from casino to casino, are the most valuable players in casinos, having been loyal and frequent players. VIPs are often offered higher than usual deposit bonuses. Ordinary players can only dream of a 200% deposit bonus, but for VIPs such bonuses are commonplace. Keep in mind, however, that VIP bonuses are also often limited on withdrawals, so we recommend you read the fine print on these bonuses.
In order to get into the core group of players at an online casino, you need to be a better player than others at that online casino. It can be easier to get into a small casino’s vip programme than the big giants like Betsson. The advantage of a VIP club for customers is that as a member of the club you can get bigger bonuses, more free spins or other prizes. Other prizes can include exotic trips to the South, tickets to events or a trip to the World Cup of Hockey, for example. Invitations to limited tournaments are particularly valued by most bettors. Tournaments are only announced to members of the loyalty club, with a much smaller number of players sharing the prize pool.
Compare those bonuses on different online casinos
Online casinos change their promotions from time to time, so it’s a good idea to compare the different offers and create an account with several casinos. This will help you make the most of your casino bonuses. Once you create a player account and remember to accept email marketing when you sign up, you’ll soon start receiving weekly or monthly newsletters. Keep an eye out for these newsletters, as they usually come with some great bonus offers.
Casino bonuses and wagering requirements
How can an online casino give out deposit bonuses of several hundred dollars? Shouldn’t such offers drive a casino out of business? The answer to these questions can be found in the magic word ‘wagering requirement’. With wagering requirements, online casinos ensure that all customers who have claimed an offer play at the casino for a long enough period of time to ensure that, on average, most of the winnings from the bonus money are wagered back into the casino. Please note that this does not mean that playing with free spins or bonus money does not have the potential to win big. With tens or hundreds of thousands of players playing at online casinos, casinos can estimate average payouts very accurately based on expected values. Differences between individuals are lost in the shuffle. Instead, an individual player may even manage to increase his winnings during the spin.
How to calculate the wagering requirement?
The wagering requirement is simply the number of times the bonus money must be played through before the winnings can be withdrawn. For example, take a 100% deposit bonus up to $100. By making a deposit of $100, you can use another $100 of bonus money. The wagering requirement for the example offer is 30x. In this case, you have to play 100 x 30 = $3 000 before you can claim your winnings.
It may sound like a lot at first, but it adds up surprisingly quickly. Typically, the payback percentage for video slots played at online casinos is around 94 – 97%. If you play a video slot with a 95% return on a bet of one dollar, you’ll win an average of 95 cents every time you play. When you accumulate a wagering requirement, you only play the money you have already won back into the slot machine until the wagering requirement is successfully met.
You can calculate the remaining bonus balance after wagering using the formula bonus amount times the return percentage ^ wagering requirement. So the mathematical expectation of a deposit bonus of $100 with a 30x wagering requirement and 95% return rate is 100 x 0.95^30 = $21.
The payback percentages for slot games have a significant impact on the remaining payout balance after a spin. As a result, online casinos have limited the games in which casino bonuses can be wagered. So you cannot meet the wagering requirement by playing roulette and betting on both red and black on each spin. Usually, wagering is restricted on all table and card games, video poker, and some specific video slots. In the bonus terms and conditions, you will always find a clear mention of the games in which casino bonuses can be wagered.
Some online casinos also allow bonuses to be wagered on table games, but limit the wagering requirement when playing these games. Blackjack and roulette, for example, may only accumulate a wagering requirement of 20% of the amount wagered. This makes playing traditional casino games the least attractive option for wagering casino bonuses, even though they have slightly higher return rates than video slots.