Types of Casino Bonuses
There are a lot of different kinds of bonuses. All casinos don´t offer all of them, but here we list the most common varieties.
Welcome Bonus
The Welcome bonus is any bonus given players making their first deposit at a casino. Generally, a welcome bonus will be larger than the bonus a casino may give an existing customer.
Match Bonus
A match Bonus is when the casino will match your deposit dollar for dollar. Sometimes a casino will give you a large bonus but split it over several deposits. So, the first bonus they will match 100%, the second maybe 50% and the third and or forth will usually be around 25%.
For example, a 100% casino bonus up to C$200 means that the casino will double your first deposit up to C$200. Usually there is also a minimum deposit of 10 or 20 dollars. So simply but, in this case, if you deposit C$20, you’ll get C$40 to gamble with, and if you deposit C$200 you’ll end up with a hefty bankroll of C$400.
Free Spins
Free spins are usually given out as an extra bonus, often in combination with the Welcome bonus. So when you make your first deposit you may also get a certain amount of free spins on one or more of the casino’s most popular slot machines. This gives you an extra chance to win without risking your own money, although the free spins are usually given away with a low wager set.
Free spins however, are also sometimes given away when a casino wants to introduce a newly released slot game, or as a way to celebrate holydays or reward their loyal players.
Refill Bonus
Refill bonuses are directed towards current players, as a way to keep them coming back and rewarding their loyalty. They are usually deposit bonuses of the same type as a Welcome Bonus, but with a lower percentage. For instance, you may get a 50% bonus up to C€100 on your next deposit. This means that you will get half of the deposited sum as bonus money. In order to get the full C$100 bonus in this case, you need to deposit C$200.
Tournament Bonuses
Tournament bonuses are really cash prizes for Casino Tournaments. In a casino tournament you compete with the other players in the casino on a specific game (usually a slot machine) during a fixed time frame. The results are presented on a leader board, and at the end of the tournament, cash prizes, bonuses or free spins are awarded to the top players.
Deposit Bonus
Deposit bonuses are the kind of bonus that requires the gambler to make a real money deposit before the bonus money is awarded, as discussed above concerning Welcome and Refill bonuses.
No Deposit Bonus
A no deposit bonus is a bonus that doesn’t require you to make a previous money deposit. No deposit bonuses are usually low, often around C$20, and often include a cap on winnings, such as C$50. No deposit bonuses are good to help you try out a casino without having to risk any money.
Free Money
Some casinos refer to bonuses as “free money”. Usually they are talking about the no deposit bonuses we just discussed, but some casinos also refer to deposit bonuses as “free money”. This however, is misleading. There is no such thing as free money in the casino industry, as we will explain below under the headline “Bonus terms and conditions”.
Refer a Friend
The refer a friend bonus is used to get you to tell your friends about the casino. The bonuses are usually quite low. all they need to do for you to receive a bonus is open an account and make a deposit.
Loyalty/VIP Bonuses
Most online casinos have a loyalty program. This means that the more you play, whether you lose or win, you collect loyalty points. Loyalty points can be exchanged for cash. If you are a high roller, these points will give you access to the casino’s VIP Club with even greater perks and bonuses. including lottery tickets for offline activities such as cruises, trips and sporting events.
Bonus Terms and Conditions
As the saying goes, there are no free lunches, and this goes for bonuses as well. It is important that you read the fine print before accepting any bonus. Below we explain the most common terms and conditions.
Wagering Requirement
All casino bonuses have a wagering requirement, sometimes called a playthrough requirement. This is the amount of times you must bet your bonus amount before you can withdraw any bonus money winnings.
For example, if you’ve taken a bonus of C$100, with a wagering requirement of 50x, you need to bet C$5000. Only after meeting the playthrough demand can you withdraw any winnings made with the bonus money.
Important! Certain casinos don’t base their wagering requirement on the bonus sum, but on “deposit + bonus”. This in one fell swoop doubles the wagering requirement. A 35x “bonus + deposit” wagering requirement equals a 70x bonus sum requirement. So look out for this when reading the bonus terms and conditions.
Wagering Requirement Game Percentages
When it comes to the Wagering requirements It’s also important to know that different casino games contribute differently. Pure games of luck such as slot machines and scratch cards always contribute 100% to the playthrough demand. Table games and games of skill such as Roulette, Blackjack and Video Poker, contribute a lot less. Usually games of skill contribute between 0%/-15% to the requirement.
In short, online casino bonuses are geared towards slots players. If you know that you are primarily into table games, you should consider skipping the bonus.
Time Limit
Another thing to consider is that casino bonuses almost always have a time limit. The standard time limit is one month, but certain casinos will only give you a week.
How to Choose the Best Casino Bonuses
So, what is a good bonus? It’s easy to think that the higher the better, but that is not the case. A good bonus should have 4 things:
- clear and easily understood terms and conditions
- Low wagering requirement
- Plenty of time to fulfill the playthrough demand
- no cap on winnings
If you prefer not to do the research feel free to pick from the casinos listed in the table above. Click here to see a list of all our casinos and the Bonuses they offer new players
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