Let’s talk about bonuses. A bonus is how an online casino earns your business. There’s a lot of competition in the online casino industry and it is fierce competition at that. As a prospective player, it can be hard to decide which sites are worth your money and which ones should be passed over. It can even be hard to tell them apart!
For example, if you’re looking for quality slot games, you don’t have to look very hard. Many casinos offer the same libraries of slots because they all come from prominent software providers like Microgaming and NetEnt. There are also dozens, if not hundreds, of fantastic live casinos thanks to companies like Evolution Gaming. What if you’re looking for a solid mobile experience? The good news is that it’s 2020 and many online casinos have made mobile gaming a priority, so there’s no shortage of excellent mobile casinos. The bad news, with all of this, is it’s harder than ever to pick one casino over the other.
This is why the welcome bonus is so important. A good welcome bonus can really give a casino a leg up over its competition. On the other hand, a bad welcome bonus can ensure that nobody plays at your casino. Think of it as a bribe. If you play here, this is the free stuff that we’ll give you. Not all free stuff is equal, though. Here’s a breakdown of the different kinds of bonuses that you’ll likely encounter and how to get them.
No Deposit Welcome Bonus
This is the best kind of bonus you can get. If you’re accustomed to gambling online, you’re probably familiar with the no deposit welcome bonus, or you’ve at least heard the term. Those four words can stop an online gambler in their tracks. The idea behind the no deposit welcome bonus is that you get it without even making a deposit. This is something you get simply for signing up for an account at the casino. That means you have the chance of winning money before you even touch your own. This bonus is almost always a free spin bonus. It can’t be a deposit match, because you haven’t made a deposit yet.
Reload Bonus
The great thing about reload bonuses is that you don’t have to be a new player to get them. A lot of companies in general, not just casinos, offer better incentives to new customers rather than existing customers. Everybody knows this. The customers want to lure in new business. Reload bonuses, however, are granted when players make a qualifying “reload” deposit. That is to say, a deposit that isn’t their first deposit. That’s why they’re open to everyone. They’re usually given out on certain days if a player deposits a certain amount.
Loyalty Bonus
This is more or less the polar opposite of a welcome bonus. Instead of rewarding new players for signing up, loyalty bonuses are given to players who have been around for a while and spent a certain amount of money. The requirements are different at every casino. Some require you to be a member for a certain length of time (and give out different bonuses depending on that timeline), while others are strictly based on how much you’ve spent. With the latter, you could theoretically get the bonus after a year or even after a month. It just depends on if you’re a high roller or not.
Free Spins
Who doesn’t love free spins? Slot games are the most popular games at any casino. There are plenty of card sharks out there who live for games like blackjack and Texas hold’em. However, slot machines are both iconic and accessible. On top of that, they’re themed, so players can often find games based on their favorite movies, music, and television shows. Free spins are self-explanatory, but they’re given out differently. Some casinos let players spin whatever slots they want, while others restrict the spins to certain games, which gives the casino a chance to show off their more popular slots. And some casinos give all of the spins at once, while others hand them out over a week or so, to ensure that the player comes back every day to claim their spins.
Deposit Match
This is arguably the most common form of bonus, though free spins aren’t far behind. A deposit match bonus is one where the casino matches all or a portion of the player’s deposit in house money. Most initial deposit matches will match the first deposit 100%, and always up to a certain cap. So if the player deposits $500, the casino will give $500 in house money, so the player has $1000 to play with. Casinos will often give deposit bonuses on the first two, three, or even four or five deposits. In these cases, though, it will often start at out at 100%, while the later deposits will get 50% or 25% bonuses. If you’re interested in reading more about bonuses for New Zealand online casinos, here is a comprehensive list of some of the best NZ casino bonuses right now.
Risk-Free Bet
The risk-free bet bonus is almost exclusively used by sports betting websites. When the casino grants this type of bonus, it gives the player wiggle room with their first bet by promising to pay back a portion of their initial losses. For example, if the player gets a $200 risk-free bonus, that means that if they’re in the hole after the first day or so, the casino will give them up to $200 in house money. It doesn’t mean that they’ll automatically refund a certain bet. If a player wins $200 but then loses $100, the casino will not give any house money because that player will still technically be up $100.
Wagering Requirements
Now that we’ve talked about the various kinds of bonuses players encounter (keeping in mind that some casinos will offer their own unique bonuses or twists), it’s important to know about wagering requirements. When you first get a deposit bonus or win money off of some free spins, you’re not able to cash out. It’s technically all house money until you meet the wagering requirements, which means you’ve bet a certain amount of money. Once you hit that, you’re then able to cash out whatever you have. So if the wagering requirement is 25x and you win $100 off of free spins, you need to bet a grand total of $2,500 before you can cash out.
This is why most people never actually profit off of bonuses. As unfortunate as that is, it simply means that deposit bonuses and free spins are better seen as ways of trying out a casino rather than a way to make money.
