What is the Best Way to Find Good Online Casino Bonuses?
All of the top online casinos are keen to offer a range of promotions and bonuses as a good incentive to encourage new players to register with their site as well as to persuade existing players to continue playing with them. As you would expect, there are many different types of offer that can be an advantage to both new and regular players, including such popular offerings as the welcome bonus given to newly signed up players and other one-off deals like free spins or reload bonuses, generally given to existing players in an attempt to persuade them to stay loyal to their brand. While there are many considerations to bear in mind when selecting an online casino, one of the things that lots of people pay attention to is seeking out the best casino bonuses for them, so that they can maximise any winnings that they may make. While it is often asked which is the best casino bonus, there is no single way to answer this question. Indeed different bonuses and promotions are best suited to different players, depending on their preferences, style and amount spent. There are some casinos which will offer specific bonuses to those players who enjoy playing a particular game type, often slots, and others that will organise promotions specifically for those who use one type of payment method, often a e-Wallet option like PayPal, Skrill or Neteller. You should look for the casinos that offer the right bonuses to match your own preference. While benefiting from a good welcome bonus is nice, it also makes sense to pay attention to the kinds of promotion your chosen online casino offers to existing players as well as those who are newly signed up. You will want to be sure that you are selecting an operator that will still have plenty to offer you after you have already taken advantage of a welcome bonus deal. The top rated online casinos will always be sure to extend promotions to loyal players either through regular bonuses or loyalty programmes.
What are the Different Types of Online Casino Bonuses?
While all casino operators will offer a range of promotions and bonuses to both new and existing players, there are some that are commonly found across the board. These are some of the most commonly found offerings that are some of the best casino bonuses you can find from the major operators.
Welcome Bonuses
The welcome bonus is perhaps the most common of all the bonus types. Designed to encourage new players to sign up with the online casino, a sign up or welcome bonus is generally given to all newly registered players as soon as they open a gaming account with an online casino and deposit their first sum of money ready to play. Often, a welcome bonus takes the form of a deposit match up to a set sum of money. This means that however much you decide to place in your account as an initial deposit, the casino will give you an equal amount with which to play. Of course they will generally place a cap on the amount, however this could be as high as £500. If the casino does not offer a 100% deposit match, it may instead give you a percentage of your deposit total as a bonus offering.
No Deposit Bonuses
A no deposit bonus is often considered to be the best casino bonus out there as it allows new players to try out the gaming facilities for free. A player does not even need to make a deposit into their gaming account, they simply sign up and then receive a sum of money forwarded to them by the casino with which to start play. This amount may be as little as $5 or as much as $50 depending on the casino’s policies, however as you would expect it is rare to get something for nothing, and this type of bonus promotion generally comes with a lot of strings attached so you should always check the fine print to avoid disappointment when signing up for a deal of this nature.
Bonus Types
Daily, Weekly or Monthly Bonuses
Lots of top rated online casinos offer players frequent opportunities to benefit from promotions, and these are often on a regular basis such as every Friday, Wednesday, or once a month. There are even sometimes daily promotions at a particular time every day. These bonuses can come in various forms, such as reload bonuses or free spins, but the intention is always the same, to hold the interest of regular players and to persuade them to keep coming back to play again and to spend more.
Holiday Offers
As you would expect at the best online casinos, there are frequently limited time bonus offers during holidays like Easter, Christmas and New Year. There are other events or occasions all year long that are used as targets for promotional offers and these may include sporting events like the Olympics or the World Cup, or even other popular holidays like St Patrick’s Day.
Real World Prizes
Everyone knows that online casinos specialise in cash prizes, however one of the other main draws for new and existing players alike is the possibility of winning real world prizes in special promotional deals. The kind of prizes that may be won vary from gadgets like tablets and iPods to laptops or event tickets, or even major expensive prizes like cars and holidays. Although these deals do not crop up too often, they attract a lot of attention when they do show up.
High Roller Promotions
High rolling players are always on the hunt for the best casino bonuses for them, and many casinos offer VIPs, their highest rolling players, a host of special offers and tailored bonus packages to reward their loyalty. These kinds of promotions are generally more attractive than those offered to mainstream players, such as 50% added bonus on top of an existing offer, or special tournaments organised especially for these high spending players.
Tournaments
While tournaments are not really promotions, they are a good way of persuading new players to sign up and of encouraging existing players to continue to use their gaming accounts and spend more money. Places are limited and tournaments are very popular, so it is sensible to sign up early to try your hand at winning the jackpots and prizes on offer.
Loyalty Schemes
Most of the top online casinos offer loyalty programmes for existing players, usually giving credits for each wager that they place which then mounts up and can be exchanged for free games in the casino. There are also loyalty schemes aimed specifically at high rolling players.
What Do I Need to Know About Finding the Best Casino Bonus?
It is very easy to forget to pay close attention when seeking the best casino bonus, and sometimes you may get carried away if you spot something that looks like a fantastic offer. However you should always take care to read all the small print before you sign up to any promotion or offer as there is almost always strings attached. You may sometimes find that your wonderful bonus is not as good a deal as you first thought, and it may not even be applicable to you. How useful a promotion is, and how lucrative it might be, depends on many different factors, so you should ensure that you check all the terms and conditions. These are some commonly found terms and conditions applying to the best casino bonuses.
Wager Requirement
Frequently, a casino will issue a requirement that a certain sum must be wagered before any winnings gained using the bonus money can be withdrawn from your account. This amount can vary but could be as much as 30 x your bonus amount, or possibly more, so always ensure you are prepared to wager a sum of this size before you register.
Time Restriction
You will often find bonuses are time limited, and if this period elapses and you have not yet spent the bonus or met the wager requirements, your offer will be voided.
Withdrawal Limits
Commonly found in bonus terms and conditions is a cap on withdrawal limits. While some top online casinos place restrictions on how much money can be withdrawn from any player’s account during the course of a month, many also place withdrawal limits on bonuses. This means that there will be a cap on winning limits, and you can therefore only withdraw the amount stated in the terms, even if you have won more than this sum. This is particularly common on no deposit bonus offers, so always check for caps on winning limits if you want to avoid being disappointed.
With a good understanding of all the different types of online casino bonuses and promotions, and an awareness of all the pitfalls that you may find in the terms and conditions regarding such offers, you will be in a good position to be able to decide on which is the best casino bonus to meet your needs. You should also remember, however, that no matter how good a one-off welcome bonus might be, you should always bear in mind the whole user experience of your chosen casino before making your final decision.