What Are The Most Common Types Of Casino Bonuses
If I need to choose between several casinos, I will prefer the one with better bonuses. Such pleasant gifts allow you to play more games and spend less money on them. Do you know how many online casinos are existing now? Hundreds! No, it’s not a weird attempt to switch to another topic. I want you to know that the competition between the gaming sites is crazy high now.
Thus, each of them tries to attract new players with an excellent bonus offer. Inexperienced gamblers go for it and get disappointed because there is no such a thing as a free lunch — they have to follow strict requirements to get possible winnings.
I have been into gambling for more than 7 years. I worked as a casino dealer and manager and learned the casinos from the inside. Believe me, when it comes to choosing a decent bonus, experience matters. My knowledge allowed me to create a reliable strategy for choosing and rating bonuses. In this guide, you will learn it.
There are two main types of bonuses offered by online casinos: for new users and regular players.
Speaking of the bonuses for new players, they can be deposit or no deposit.
- Deposit bonuses are often called welcome packages or sign-up bonuses. A player can get a deposit bonus only once — after registering on the gaming site and making the first deposit. As a rule, a welcome package includes match deposit bonuses or free spins. Many casinos offer both options together.
- Free spins bonuses are the opportunity to spin the reels of online slots without paying for it. Some casinos allow users to spend these bonuses only on certain video machines, while others do not make any limitations.
- Match deposit bonuses increase the amount of your deposit by a certain percentage. As a rule, it is 100-300%, sometimes even more.
- No deposit bonuses, in most cases, come as a part of a welcome package. Nevertheless, such a bonus also can be the only welcome offer. You can usually get some free spins or a little money (about £ 5-10)
- This list would be incomplete if I did not mention the Welcome sports bonus. Many casinos offer players to choose between it and a casino bonus. Bonus money can be used only for sports betting. Wagering requirements, in this case, are usually lower.
You might think that each of the listed offers is a great choice. At this point, you have to remember that all the bonuses always come with specific conditions. If you want to make sure that the casino’s welcome package is precious, read the T&C section of the website. You will find a lot of interesting info that is usually not shown on the Promotions page. Later, I will tell you what you should pay particular attention to when reading the terms and conditions.
Most casinos encourage their users to stay with them for a long time. They award regular players daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
- Reload bonus is a match deposit bonus that some casinos offer to players who have already made deposits before.
- The cashback bonus is a casino’s guarantee to give the player a definite percentage of money back in case of loss.
If you want to know the best reload bonuses and cashback offers today, scroll up the page. The information you will find is regularly updated.
- VIP bonus is for players who are members of a VIP programme. These bonuses are different in every casino. As a rule, they include nice gifts, cashback bonuses, participation in exclusive tournaments, etc. Their main goal is to make VIP gamblers feel special.
How to Find a Bonus That Is Perfect For You
I select bonuses according to my preferences. If you want to get a nice cashback offer or participate in a VIP programme, but my options are not your cup of tea, you can choose a suitable one on your own. Let me show you how.
Choose the most beneficial bonuses
On my website, you can find a filter for sorting all bonuses according to your goal:
- To get the most lucrative offers which you haven’t used before, press Latest bonuses, and see the newest options.
- To get the largest bonus multiplier, sort the bonuses by Top bonus. Pick one of the offers, and you will be able to bet much more money than you deposit.
- To play big and make significant bets, take a look at the bonuses on the list sorted by Biggest bonus value and find the most suitable one for you.
Here are six simple steps which will make it easier for you to find the best bonus:
Some of the points may be confusing so I’m going to describe each of them in detail below.
How to Check the Bonus Conditions: a Step-by-Step Guide

Following all the instructions, you have probably managed to choose a decent bonus. Wait, don’t rush to claim it. Now it’s time to pay most of your attention to the info about free spins and cashback percentage which is written with big colourful letters. However, in Terms & Conditions, there are less noticeable things that you also should consider.
Overall, T&C are very similar in most online casinos, and only details are different. But as we know, that’s where the devil is. You might be wondering why I don’t just make two lists with good and bad bonus conditions. The thing is, one man's treasure is another man's trash. You have to decide on your own whether specific requirements are acceptable for you or not.
1. Check out wagering requirements

The main bonus rule is called wagering requirements (WR). This term means the number of bets you have to make before the casino will allow you to withdraw your winnings. Only after you compleat the WR, bonus money and winnings from them can get to your fund or bonus account (see step 6).
WR can vary from 10 to 70 times. If you got a Welcome package with different types of bonuses, check it for all of them. Bonus money WR are usually lower than Free spins WR but sometimes they are equal.
One more thing: clear up whether wagering requirements refer to the bonus amount or (that is much worse) to the bonus sum plus your deposit sum.
2. Pay attention to the depositing and bet limits

To get a casino bonus, you normally need to deposit a certain amount of money. You don’t have to top up your account with the whole sum announced, but you need to deposit not less than a set minimum. Just remember that the amount of bonus will correspond to your deposit. Simply put, the less you invest, the smaller gift you get.
Speaking of minimum and maximum bets, they can be set as a fixed amount or a percentage of your bonus. In any case, the max bet should not be too low, otherwise wagering big amounts may take long and be boring.
3. Check whether you are going to have any game limitation

Just imagine, you found a casino with your favourite slot and a fantastic free spins bonus. You are already dreaming of playing the game for free and suddenly find out that you can spend the bonus only on two or three video machines that you don’t like much… Such a situation seems to be quite sad, right? To avoid disappointments like that, clear up what entertainments you can use the bonus for before making a deposit.
If you get bonus funds, the list of games for wagering is usually much longer. It can include not only slots but also some live and table games. Remember that most casinos also have lists of games that cannot be played with bonuses.
4. Consider the payment method restrictions

Some casinos do not give their bonuses to the players who deposited via particular banking systems. Usually, the list of ‘non-desired' methods includes e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller, and PayPal.
5. Learn about the time restriction

Most bonus offers are valid only for several days. There are even some that must be wagered within 24 hours. If you don't complete the wagering requirements until the set time expires, you will lose your bonus and winnings.
6. Determine whether the bonus is cashable or non-cashable

You need to find out whether the bonus is cashable or non-cashable. In the first case, you can withdraw all the funds, including your deposit, bonus money, and your wins. In the second case, you can cash out only your deposit and profit. The bonus itself goes to your bonus account and can be used for further gambling.
Only after you took all the listed steps, you can be sure that the chosen casino offer is worth claiming. Learning Terms & Conditions is mandatory because there you will find all the rules for using the bonus. If you break any of them, it can be considered abuse, and, therefore, you can lose your winnings, and even get your account blocked.
How to Claim an Online Casino Bonus
I suppose you have already found and evaluated a bonus. So, the only thing you need to do is to claim it!
Avoid Blacklisted Casinos And Stay Safe
I’m all for risk but playing in blacklisted casinos is not the kind of risk I like. If you don’t want to check every casino’s security, just pick one of the gaming websites from my recommendations list. All the casinos mentioned there are tested by me. Still, prefer choosing a place to play on your own? Remember to:
- make sure it is not blacklisted;
- check it through my guide, which will help you to find out whether it has a wide game variety, a decent mobile version, a high number of payment options, etc.
Conclusion
Getting free stuff is cool! But there are players called bonus hunters. They manage to play in different online casinos using only bonuses and spending a minimum of their own money. What they do is impressive, but bonus hunting is more work than fun.
That’s why I suggest you do not get crazy about casino offers and pick only the ones that suit you the best. In this way, you will get much more pleasure from playing.
Best of luck!
