What is a Casino Bonus?
A casino bonus is a promotion that you can claim in order to extend your bankroll and get more out of playing at an online casino. Plainly, it's bonus money you can play for real.
- Promotional Tool: They may take many forms, but a casino bonus is simply an incentive that casinos offer players for signing on with them and sticking around to play.
- Specific Game Requirements: There are many different kinds of bonuses available; some are specifically for new players, while others only apply to certain casino games.
- Rewards for Play: Overall, they are one of the most direct ways that an online casino delivers value to a player.
Why Casinos Offer Bonuses
While casinos are incredibly fun to play at, they are also entities that need to make money to stay in business. If they're always giving out a ton of casino bonus codes and offering incentives to players, how are they making money?
- Pay Back Loyal Players: The old adage "you need to spend money to make money" is very much the case when it comes to gambling sites. Casino bonuses are a great way to get players in the door and interested in everything on offer. They encourage new users to sign up and build stronger relationships with existing players.
- Betting Variance: When someone claims a bonus, they're making an investment in the casino; since no one can win every casino game all of the time, the amount that they pay will differ from the amount that they ultimately take out.
- Updated Bonus Offers: Depending on how frequently bonuses are updated, they can be a great way to keep players coming back and playing.
- Featured Slots: A casino bonus is a great way to highlight new titles from trusted partners or providers. Some casinos offer free spins bonuses on new slot machines to encourage people to try different games.
How to Redeem a Casino Bonus
Claiming a casino bonus is a simple and straightforward process.
- Sign Up or Log In: Sign up for a casino, or log into your account.
- Visit the Cashier Page: When you visit the Cashier to make a deposit using one of their casino banking methods, you may be asked to input casino bonus codes, or choose the bonus you wish to claim from a dropdown menu.
- Claim a Bonus: Depending on the casino and the type of bonus, you may be able to claim a bonus more than once.
- One Bonus at a Time: However, casinos generally don't allow you to stack bonuses on top of each other; you'll have to claim them and use just one at a time.
- Minimum Deposits: Since bonuses involve depositing money of your own, they are only available at real money casinos, including low deposit casinos. They can be claimed both on desktop and at mobile casinos.
How are Online Casino Bonuses Calculated?
Most bonuses work on a percentage of the amount you deposited. For instance, a 100% bonus means you receive $1 in bonus cash for every dollar you deposited. A 150% bonus means you get a $1.50 for every $1 deposited, while a 50% means you get $0.50 in bonus cash for every $1 deposited.
Let's look at an example. You encounter a 100%, $1000 bonus offer. You decide to deposit $300. Because it's 100%, you would receive $300 in bonus cash. If you deposited $1000 instead, the bonus amount would be $1000. (If you deposited $1500, the bonus still would be $1000, because $1000 is the maximum bonus.)
Casino Bonus Types
Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus is typically the first casino bonus that a player will claim.
- The Biggest Bonus: Usually the largest bonus that a casino offers, it's meant to encourage players to sign up at a casino and start playing.
- Match Bonus: The majority of welcome bonuses are match bonuses, meaning that their value depends on how much you choose to deposit. Due to this, it's not unusual to see casinos offering welcome bonuses up to hundreds or thousands of dollars.
- Multiple Deposits: Welcome bonuses may also have other conditions applied to them, such as being broken up over a certain number of deposits
- Expiration Date: The funds available through them having an expiry date. Since they are meant to start new players off on the right foot at a casino, they can only be claimed once.
Free Spins Bonus
Another incredibly common type of casino bonus is the free spins bonus.
- Free Spins on Slots: Claiming one of these bonuses will earn you a certain amount of free spins on specific online slots. Sometimes, you may be able to choose from a small group of machines to use your free spins on.
- Wide Range of Deposits: Similar to match bonuses, these bonuses can scale up; for a higher deposit, a greater number of free spins might be available.
- Featured Slots: Offers with free spins are a great value, and they have the added advantage of letting you try out new games. However, they're not particularly useful if you don't play or are not interested in slots.
No Deposit Bonus
The rarest of the casino bonuses, no deposit bonuses are bonuses that you don't have to make a deposit to claim.
- Signup Bonuses: They are typically used as an incentive to draw players into a casino, or as a reward for long-time players. While not having to make a deposit – effectively receiving free money to play – sounds like a good deal, there are quite a few strings attached.
- Small Bonus Offers: No deposit bonuses are never for a large amount of money, usually being offered somewhere around $50.
- Max Cashout Terms: They also typically have withdrawal limits applied to them, being that there is a limit to how much you can withdraw from your bonus winnings in total. Even if you win $150 with a no-deposit bonus, you may only be able to withdraw $100.
- Rare Offers in 2023: While they certainly can be a nice extra, no deposit bonuses shouldn't particularly be counted on, given that they are offered incredibly irregularly, and may not even be offered by all casinos.
High Roller Bonuses and VIP Promotions
If you’re a high roller or VIP player, you should be entitled to special treatment. Online casinos go out of their way to show high rollers and VIPs a good time.
- Exclusive Bonus Offers: In many cases, this means access to exclusive perks that aren’t available for other players.
- VIP Perks and Comps: These perks often include invitations to special tournaments, VIP events, and shows. They could also include trip vouchers, gift cards, and other great gifts.
- High-Roller Club: Check out the VIP section of the casino’s website for more information and to see if you qualify.
Game-Specific Bonuses
Sometimes casino bonuses focus on a specific game. Players who have strong preferences in the games they play seek out their offers, whether they focus on slots or table games.
- Slot Bonuses: The most common offers are those for online slots. Sometimes, these include online scratch cards and Keno, because they also have a high house edge.
- Table Games Bonuses: Many players covet table game bonuses, because they give casino bonuses to those who prefer blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat, and table poker.
- Live Casino Bonuses: Even rarer, these offers provide free-play cash to those who play live dealer games. Most standard casino bonuses don't allow live dealer games to satisfy the wagering requirement.
What Games are Eligible for a Casino Bonus?
In most cases, casinos only offer bonuses on specific games. The free spins associated with a welcome bonus are usually only available to use on a limited number of slots in their catalog or sometimes even a specific slot game.
- The Best Online Slots: Not to worry, however. The slots they choose to offer free spins on are usually top-rated games.
- Wagering Requirements: That’s not all. In order to withdraw any winnings you earn from bonus funds, you will have to satisfy the casino’s wagering requirements. This is where it gets a bit tricky.
- Game Contribution Rates: Most casinos only allow you to fulfill their wagering requirements on specific types of games — usually slots and hardly ever on live dealer games.
- Tip When Using Casino Bonuses: definitely something you want to look into before you sign up to claim a bonus. We have more on wagering requirements further down the page.
About Casino Bonus Codes
Sometimes a casino will ask you to input a bonus code to unlock a specific bonus. This is simply an easy way for casinos to see which bonuses are the most popular.
In some cases the bonus codes are available on the website, but you’ll want to sign up for your casino’s newsletter. Most times casino bonus codes are sent to existing players by email.
Casino Loyalty Programs
On top of the bonuses that they offer, many online casinos have VIP programs to allow players to earn extra rewards and stay engaged.
- Player Clubs: Some casinos offer traditional VIP programs for select players, but others provide hybrid loyalty/VIP programs that anyone can join, regardless of tenure or status.
- Loyalty Programs: Many casino loyalty programs use a tier-based model. The higher tier that you've reached, the more casino comps/complementary offers you'll receive, and the larger the value of those offers will be.
- Multiple Tiers: A new player just reaching the first tier of a loyalty program may be rewarded with five free spins, while an experienced player on the seventh may be offered free spins, cash chips, and a cashback bonus.
- Comp Points: Players can earn comp points by making bets on casino games. However, some games allow you to accumulate points faster than others. A $10 bet on slots may be worth one comp point, but the same casino might ask you to bet $30 on table games for one comp point.
- Cashback Offers: Further, some casinos allow you to exchange your comp points for real money, with higher VIP program tiers offering better exchange rates. This is a nice bonus that can add up over time, though you'll still need to bet a lot to earn back even smaller amounts of cash.
- VIP Clubs for High Rollers: Traditional VIP programs offer many of the same perks as loyalty programs, with the exception being that they're only for the highest tier of casino players.
- Invitation Only and VIP Hosts: A casino may extend an invitation to you so that you can join, or you may have to inquire yourself. The biggest difference between traditional VIP programs and loyalty programs is that the former has a few more perks, such as faster withdrawal times and dedicated VIP hosts, but both are excellent ways to get the most out of your casino experience.
Terms and Conditions
Whenever you claim a casino bonus, you'll need to abide by the stated bonus terms and conditions.
- Terms of Use: These are a set of conditions that dictate how you can use the bonus, if there are limits on what you can win or withdraw from the bonus, and how much you'll need to bet to withdraw anything you've won.
- Bonus Terms: Casino bonus terms and conditions can be a bit restrictive, but they are put in place to prevent bad actors from exploiting promotions.
- Rollover Requirements: The two major terms and conditions that you need to agree to before you can claim a casino bonus are wagering requirements and wagering contributions, though there may also be bet and withdrawal limits.
Wagering Requirements
Whether you claim a casino bonus in the USA or anywhere around the world, there's going to be an associated wagering requirement.
- What is a Wagering Requirement?: As the name suggests, a wagering requirement is an amount that you have to bet at the casino before you can withdraw anything that you may have won using a claimed bonus.
- How Rollover Works: Anywhere between 30 and 50 times the amount of the initial bonus is reasonable, though it may be higher or lower depending on the type of bonus you've claimed.
- No-Deposit Bonuses' Requirements: When you use no-deposit bonus codes, the attached wagering requirement might be as high as 60 times the amount of the bonus.
Wagering Contributions
Wagering contributions are another factor to think about when you claim a casino bonus.
Bet Limits
Certain types of casino bonuses may also limit the amount that you're able to bet on a game at a time, typically lower than the maximum bet the game is capable of. This is done in part to prevent a casino from losing money on promotions since maximum bets can result in very high payouts.
Tips for Spotting the Biggest Casino Bonuses
Here are some expert tips on how to find the biggest casino bonuses:
- Read the reviews. Our experts scour the internet to find the best casinos with the biggest casino bonuses. Our staff are players, too, so we’re always on the lookout for a great deal.
- Visit the casino’s website. Promotions and bonuses change all the time. A great way to find a good bonus is by going to the casino site directly. Their bonuses and promotions page will have the scoop on all bonuses they’re currently offering.
- Sign up for newsletters. Often, casinos will send perks and promo codes via email. If you’re a serious bonus hunter, you want to stay in the know and this is the quickest way to get info about new promos.
- Don’t get blinded by the dollar signs. When you sign up for a casino bonus there will be wagering requirements to fulfil. It’s great to see a bonus of up to $1000, $2000 and even $5000 dollars, but if the wagering requirements are 30x or higher it could be an expensive proposition. Know your limits before you sign up.
How Can I Make Sure a Casino Bonus is Not a Scam?
In a world full of scammers and spammers, it's natural to wonder if your bonus offer is a scam. For those who are not certain an offer is on the up and up, here is a guide to spotting casino bonus scams.
- Read the Bonus Terms: Casino bonuses aren't legit if they don't have clear terms of use. Anytime you see a casino bonus, click on "Read More" or "Terms" to see the full terms and conditions. If these are not available, be suspicious.
- Promotions Page: Many casino sites have a Promotions page, which offers a big list of general promotions that players can use. These pages often have general bonus terms on them.
- Terms of Use Page: Sometimes, the general bonus terms exist under the "Terms and Conditions" or "Terms of Use" page. Even if the bonus has its terms, this page is helpful for learning more information.
- Use the FAQ Page: If you haven't found the terms of use anywhere else, see if the casino includes it on their FAQ page.
- Live Chat: Ask follow-up questions with the customer support staff via the "Live Chat" feature. This is usually found at the bottom of any page of the site. If you still have questions, it's best to deposit your money elsewhere.
- Read Reviews: If you find terms that are vague or confusing, get another perspective. Read expert review sites like our own, or visit a player forum to learn about feedback and common complaints from other players.