Go online and look for an online casino to join and you will be met by a barrage of casino bonuses that are all doing the same thing, trying to make you the casino’s latest member. It’s a battlefield of advertisement at its most desperate, but are these just mere lures to hook players in, or do the bonuses do as they say and lead to the possibility of giving players x-amount of free spins and x-amount of money to spend?
Here we analyze online casino bonuses down to their terms and conditions. We did all the small print reading, so you don’t have to.
What are casino bonuses?
So, as with any business, you need repetitive customer flow to be able to sustain and succeed. In the world of casinos and the competition that the Internet offers, the battle for attention is paramount. Bonuses are a tool that allows casinos to bring in new members and retain them through their on-going promotional schemes.
This is business practice 101.
For new players that just want to play games regardless, they will tend to opt for the casino presenting the bigger promotional offer. This is known as the welcome bonus. As you can imagine, with well-over 500 online casinos to pick from, these bonuses do not shy away from promising big returns for the player.
But getting them in is not where profit for a casino is made. It’s all about longevity, so internal promotions are created to sustain the customer’s interests and to stop them from looking elsewhere to get their betting kicks.
Are casino bonuses any good?
So, can you really get up to $10,000 through a bonus and 500 free spins if you sign up? Well, yes. It is very easy to be cynical of business nature these days, but if they are selling something, then legally it has to be backed.
Let’s start from the beginning and look at how bonuses are formed.
So, an online casino is a licensed establishment that is approved by governing authorities that set codes of conduct by which all online casinos must abide with. Regulators check frequently to make sure laws and rules are not bent or broken by the services. The codes of conduct are, for a large part, about safety and fairness.
Long story short, if a casino is publishing a bonus online of giving players $1,000 for joining, then they by law must produce this and if found in breach of regulatory rules, they will be met with a very hefty fine.
So, what do those on the inside know about casino bonuses? We got an insider’s view by speaking to the Editor-in-Chief of onlinecasinonewzealand.nz to find out how New Zealand players react to their service of exclusive bonus offers.
“Bonuses are business, there is no denying the interest in them, it’s the very fabric of our service to provide players in New Zealand with the best casino bonuses online. There are players out there that do this almost like a hobby to seek out the top offers, use them, then move on to the next casino and newest offer. It is definitely odd, but different things work for different people. We look to give the best rewards out there and educate players about them also. Not all offers are the same and the finer details are all within the terms and conditions. Unfortunately, not many players read about these before using them.”
Bonus terms and conditions
First, you must always read bonus terms and conditions. Even though we will be telling you a large proportion of what they will say, nevertheless, you must still read them long after you are done with this article.
Bonus terms and conditions point out five key factors:
- Minimum and maximum deposit amount required
- The bonus amount returned
- What games are eligible
- The wagering requirements
- When the bonus expires
If you do not comply with the terms the bonus becomes void, the result of which could lead to you missing out on won money made from the bonus provided.
Most casino bonuses demand that a deposit be made before recouping the offer. This amount varies from casino to casino. Some offers even provide multiple deposits to redeem full values over staggered payments.
The amount you get in return as a total bonus is relative to the amount you deposit. A player putting down the minimum will receive a smaller return than a player paying a higher deposit rate.
Not all bonuses are the same and, therefore, the gaming options will vary against the bonus and specify what games can and what games cannot be used with the offer.
Perhaps the most important fact is the wagering requirement because this refers to how the winnings are eligible for a withdrawal. Yes, you could win one million dollars, but if you didn’t comply with the terms, that million could be lost forever. The wagering requirements tell players how much they need to be paying into the casino before the winnings are released for them to withdraw. An average casino will ask for about 35x the amount of the bonus given. So, if a bonus recouped was $1,000, you will have to pay in 35x this to withdraw any winnings made by that $1,000 bonus. So, unless your winnings are over $35,000 it’s a bonus not worth taking.
The expiry of a bonus will also vary. Some offers will last days, weeks, even months. Always check you have the time to use it and not forgetting to use it whilst it is sat in your account.
Different casino bonuses
There is an array of bonuses that are made available to players old and new within an online casino. Promotions will vary in how they are presented but will invariably form around free spins and cash credit. These are the standard and casinos can’t really go beyond this, unless dealing with special exclusive VIP bonuses that return rewards such as special VIP event tickets, 5-star holidays, and all those fancy kinds of stuff. But our focus is on the standard bonuses that are offered by 99.99% of the casinos online that you can join.
Welcome bonus
The welcome bonus is the first bonus all players will become accustomed to seeing as they are plastered over the homepage of every online casino out there. Welcome bonuses are only eligible to new players and will vary in their offer.
You can find that there is some specialist bitcoin welcome bonuses out there and what is returned from depositing money into your account could be both cash and free spin rewards or one or the other.
Should the casino offer sports betting, then you can most likely expect extra cash allowances to help your sporting predictions.
No deposit bonus
All casino bonuses are deposit-based rewards unless you are able to come across the no deposit bonus. This no-payment offer, is rare and the reward is minimal, but nevertheless, the return still allows you to win real money.
Free spins via a no deposit bonus can range from 5 to 50 spins. If the offer is cash, this can be between $5 and ÂŁ25 in cash to spend on bets inside the casino.
Free spins bonus
Free spin bonuses can be found from welcome offers to VIP bonuses. Spins can be used for slot machines, scratch cards, and virtual table games. They come presented with bonus codes in some of the casinos online and special promotions that highlight new game releases. So, if any new NetEnt games become released or are set as Games of the Week, you will find a small number of free spins to have a go on the game with.
The number of spins rewarded varies. If you are putting a deposit down first to claim the free spins bonus, it can range anywhere from 50 to 500 free spins.
Loyalty bonus
The loyalty bonus is something that randomly drops into your account as a thank you from the casino for your loyalty. Often a bespoke bonus that is tailored to your favorite kind of games. The loyalty is often free, though technically because you’re consistently paying to play and win, the reward isn’t exactly 100% free it’s a nice gesture either way.