In the online casino world, bonuses are a great way for casino operators to engage players. Over the years, bonuses and promotions have become increasingly competitive, offering players bigger and better cash rewards for playing at a particular online casino.
The most common type of casino bonus known in the online casino universe is the welcome bonus. Almost all casinos have them, but they are referred to by different names, including “Sign-Up Bonus” and “New Player Bonus”. These bonuses often provide players with the chance to double their first deposit by matching however much money they put into their online casino account.
Players can also take advantage of reload bonuses, which operate in the same way as welcome bonuses. Players are provided with a match bonus; however, it may be less than 100%. They are often around 50%.
Sometimes, casino operators offer a Preferred Deposit Bonus, which are awarded to players who use a particular deposit method. A casino will often have a deal with certain payment processors, so in order to get more players to use that method, a bonus is usually offered. These are normally less, about 10% or 15% match bonuses, but they do make a difference.
Loyalty programs are another popular way for players to earn bonus cash. When a player takes part in this type of program, they are awarded points every time they play casino games. These points can then be accumulated and cashed in for other prizes. Loyalty members can also take part in a wide range of exclusive tournaments, promotions, and bonuses.
Casino Bonus Types
Casinos have so many different ways to pull in the masses and there is no doubt that there is a large number of people out there that are attracted to the glittering casino scene. Live casinos have their luxury establishments with high-class restaurants, boutique bar areas, free drinks and superb customer service. In addition, multi-colored lighting, smooth carpets and the sound of coins, cheers and light chatter all add to the attraction, and hence places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Monte Carlo and Macau are major getaway destinations.
One thing the live casinos don’t do so well is offer great casino bonus codes. Usually you will get a free chip here and there; while you also build up VIP points, but in general, the offers coming from the brick and mortar casino scene are somewhat limited.
As for the online casinos, the plush carpets and the bar are non-existent, but the live casinos’ virtual competitors online still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
Online Casino Bonus Types
Alternative casino entertainment via online play gives players far more value for their money. Firstly, you save the expense of traveling to the casino and other related expenditure, and secondly, you can play online casinos anywhere at any time via your mobile device or at home on your laptop or desktop. Through these devices, you can connect to thousands of reputable online casinos and take advantage of their casino bonuses.
Welcome Bonuses and Wagering Rules
When you first become a member of a casino you should receive a sign-up bonus. This is to give you more value for your money. After you are a member, you’ll be exposed to a variety of daily, weekly, monthly and also seasonal offers that are incentives for you to take advantage of so you then get even more for your money.
The idea is you make a deposit for X amount, but you will receive an additional X amount on top as added value rewarded for patronage.
You’ll come across welcome bonuses and match deposit bonuses, no deposit bonuses, loyalty reward bonuses; high roller, payment method bonuses, reload bonuses, selected game, insurance bonuses and payment methods.
The Sign-Up Bonus – Welcome Bonuses
When you first sign up with an online casino, usually your first deposit is automatically matched with a percentage bonus. This is either an automatic addition to your initial real money deposit, or you need to use a bonus code to claim the bonus. Nearly every online casino comes with a welcome bonus aimed at attracting new members to join their casino, and every bonus has been angled at adding additional cash on top of your deposit.
Some of these match bonuses will only be given on your first deposit; while, some online casinos will giveaway multiple deposit matches. Multiple welcome bonuses come in milestones; for instance, there can be a 1st deposit match, 2nd deposit match and 3rd deposit match, which in this case you receive 3 welcome bonuses for your first 3 deposits made.
Lastly, some welcome bonuses can come as a package deal with deposit matches, free chips, free spins and other incentives.
Match Deposit Bonuses
The most common deposit match bonus is the widespread use of the 100% deposit match bonus. This casino incentive always comes with a limit minimum/maximum deposit amount and is available as both a regular bonus offer and as a one-off welcome bonus. The welcome bonuses nearly always come with a higher maximum than the regular member bonuses.
How does a deposit match bonus work?
A 100% deposit match bonus that offers up to a maximum of $500 will mean that any amount deposited above $500 on your first deposit will not be applicable to a percentage match. However, in the very same case, the first $500 deposit will be matched 100%, so the player will receive $1,000.
If you deposit $600 ($100 above the maximum), you will get $1,100 in your account because the $100 over the $500 maximum will be excluded.
On the lower end of the scale, if you deposit just $200, then you will have a $200 100% match providing you with $400 in your casino account to start your new online casino experience.
There are also some variations of welcome bonuses that come with matches that reach up to and over 200% or they can go as low as 50% deposit matches. Higher percentage deposit match bonuses are often applied to only welcome bonuses or when the bonus cash is part of a regular bonus code that is restricted to play on certain games such as Roulette, slots or blackjack games.
Deposit match bonuses are a very common type of bonus found in the regular weekly, monthly and seasonal promotional deals such as 100% match Mondays. Many casinos like to liven up people’s Mondays by offering a regular bonus code deposit that offers a 100% deposit match up to $50 at any time of the day.
No Deposit Bonuses
This is probably one of the most self-explanatory bonus codes out there and is essentially used to give new members a free trial on the real money games. Just note that no deposit bonuses are only available if you have signed up to the online casino as a member; a process that is totally free.
In case you were unaware, anybody above the legal age to gamble can become a member of an online casino without having to make a deposit – this means as a member you get access to all the free play games, which are basically free money versions of the real money games anyway.
With your new and free of charge account, you can get a taste of the real money action using a no deposit bonus that is instantly awarded upon completion of your account registration – which does not include the need to hand over any credit card details as this is something that is only required should you choose to play the real money games when you can then claim your welcome bonus.
Loyalty Reward Bonuses
VIP loyalty programs are rewards given to players for being regular and loyal customers to the casino. Each time you place a bet at the casino, you earn loyalty points. Usually, this is set at around 1 point for every $10 wagered. This could be a single bet or for multiple bets over a period of time that soon adds up to $10 at which point the casino will reward you with 1 VIP point.
Once you have collected enough VIP points, they can be exchanged for cash or merchandise. Plus, if you become a frequent visitor to the casino, you may as well save your VIP points so you can increase your VIP level. Consequently, increasing your VIP status means you will be given additional privileges such as VIP support, extra bonuses on your birthday or on the date of your membership anniversary, and with some VIP loyalty programs you are even given discounts on your lost bets at the end of the day.
A quick example of VIP levels would be as follows:
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
High Roller Bonuses
Any casino land-based or online loves their high rollers; as after all, they do spend a lot of cash. One high roller can make up for as much cash as 10 to 20 average member accounts and sometimes even more, so it is no wonder the casinos offer entirely different sets of bonuses and deposit codes for their affluent visitors willing to gamble on the high stakes tables.
High roller bonuses can vary from anything from high-end deposit match bonuses giving away $1,000 to $5,000 in free bonus cash all the way to offering additional high roller bonuses, personal managers, and other VIP treatment. In addition, insurance on their losses can be very high (see insurance bonus codes below).
Being a high roller also comes with other privileges as high rollers often build up their VIP status very quickly and get tons of additional support and extras from the casino.
Payment Method Bonuses
As the internet grows, so does the number of payment methods available to players. Some casinos prefer certain payment methods because they do not charge the casino processing fees to fulfill the transaction. As the online casino prefers players to use methods such as Skrill or Neteller, preferential bonuses are offered to those carrying transactions using these types of financial methods.
Reload bonuses
A Reload Bonus is almost the same as a deposit match bonus. Either every month you may be offered a deposit match for reloading their account with cash, or if you have made a deposit and you want to make a second deposit within a certain time frame after your first deposit, the casino will offer you a reload match bonus.
Selected Game Bonuses
If you are a fan of a particular type of game, and that game has a selected game bonus, then you are about to get real value for your money. This is because the casino will be offering a bonus whereby the cash provided can only be used to play on that particular game or a selected set of games.
VIP Selected Game Bonuses
On a given day or date the casino will offer a cash reward for playing selected games and building up a certain amount of VIP points. For example, this could be a slots bonus where you build up 100 VIP points in the given time period and you are rewarded a cash prize.
Insurance Bonuses
Probably the most popular bonus out there is the discount or insurance bonus, so we have saved the best for last. This is the golden gem of all gamblers’ bonuses because it considerably reduces the odds of the house on any game. Let’s explain this a little further.
You could enter the bonus code of ‘insurance’ let’s say this is because it is Insurance Thursday at the online casino. The deal is that you are allowed to claim back 10% of any losses at the end of your session – that is should you lose. This loss return will, of course, come with a limit as to how much of your losses the casino is willing to return.
In this example, we can say the loss return limit set by the casino is $300. So at the end of the night, if you happen to lose $4,000, you will get $300 returned despite 10% is $400 because the limit was already set at $300. On the other hand, if you lost just a $100, then you at least get $10 back.
Now if you consider that some Baccarat games come with a 99% rate of return in your favor, then the risk is just 1%, so many players as a strategy will visit higher stakes tables instead of their usual lower stake tables.
Summary
As with anything that comes for free, it is always good to do your research before jumping in head first into an attractive looking bonus.
Bonuses certainly add value to your game and your overall casino experience, but sometimes when you win you may not be able to withdraw all that money out as cash until you have reached a certain ‘play through’ amount. That means to be able to turn your bonus cash into real money, you need to have wagered a certain percentage of cash. This is to protect the casino from people signing up for bonuses and immediately withdrawing the bonus as cash.
For these reasons, make sure you check the terms and conditions of every bonus just to be on the safe side. As a result, good research will ensure that you get the most out of your online casino because you know what you already know what your expectations are.
