What makes online casinos more attractive than land-based ones is the availability of welcome bonuses they offer. The latter is often the main single reason for a player to prefer one online gaming hub over the other. Here we are going to take a closer look at welcome bonuses in online casinos. We will also outline the different types. What is important is to choose one that fits your style of play. For this purpose, you should be informed about the diverse welcome offers and their requirements.
Every online casino has Terms and Conditions (T&C) which is often written in fine print that can spoil your fun. But it is necessary to read it to the end and know what you are signing for. Otherwise, it would be very easy for players to abuse the promo treats. They would add free cash without limits and without having to adhere to any rules. If you can’t find the T&C you have probably come upon a scam casino and you should better leave it. Such casinos offer appealing bonuses which gradually turn into a nightmare.
We recommend you to check the casino you decide to play in first and choose only reputable and proven ones. So let’s get started with all the information you need about welcome bonuses!
Make sure you know how and when to use the welcome bonuses and get the most of them to avoid later disappointments. You can do this by familiarizing with their rules. Offering promo deals is a way for online casinos to greet you at its entrance. They celebrate your singing in their websites and your first deposits. The competition between online casinos is very fierce. The wealthy welcome bonus packages and deals are some of the ways to attract new customers. Thus, both sides win.
Online gambling hubs try to offer the best deals to gain more players. Gamers, on the other side, can take advantage of this and boost their account well. It would be unusual for a casino not to have a welcome package for newly registered players. You can encounter these promo offers as sign-up bonuses and as first deposit bonuses as well. These are given as gifts to gamblers to motivate them and keep them playing in the same casino.
It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned or a new player. In both cases welcome bonuses let you get familiar with the terms and offers of the casino. Building a bankroll may take a while. By adding more play cash into your casino account through these promos you boost it faster. Especially if you find a nice bonus or a whole welcome package covering several consecutive deposits. Thus, you can double and triple your deposit and boost your bankroll. Always check the Terms and Conditions before adding a bonus to avoid further disappointments.
There are several types of welcome bonuses although the offers for newly registered players are plenty. Here are the main ones:
Match Deposit Bonuses give you a percentage of the sum you transferred into your account. These are capped at a definite amount. If you are being offered a 100% match deposit promo up to £500 you will receive double the money you transfer. In this case, the maximum you will get for from the casino is £500. Let’s suppose you fund your account with £250, the casino will give you £250 and you will have £500 to play with as a result. If you put £500 into your balance, you will get £500 for free, which are subject to roll-over.
But if you transfer £600, £700 or any sum higher than £500, you will still get £500 for free from the house to play with. This is because of the rules of the bonus stating up to £500 – the maximal sum you can get for free from the gaming hub. These free money are not exactly free. To become cashable they are subject to wagering requirements. The latter is one of the most important things you should check before signing in for a bonus.
All casinos have wagering requirements – the number of times you have to play the bonus they give you. Usually, you will be required to roll over the sum they give you as a prize from 25 to 40 times. But there are higher requirements in some of the online casinos. You may come upon bonuses with 70 times roll-over. Another thing you need to check is whether the casino states that you should play through only the winnings from the bonus. Or you may need to roll over the bonus plus the winnings from it a certain number of times.
To illustrate that let’s say the casino offers 100% match bonus capped at £500. And it has roll-over of 30 times the bonus and its winnings. To use it to the limit you can transfer £500 and get £500 for free. To make the £500 promo cashable you need to play it through 30 times. This means 500 x 30 = £15,000 you should roll over before withdrawing from it.
The casino lists how each type of game contributes towards the wagering requirements. This they show usually with a table with the game types and a percentage next to each one. In most cases, slots contribute 100% towards the playthrough. While most types of table games with 0%. So, make sure you check the wagering requirements and the contribution of each game. Also, read whether the match bonus must be used on certain games only.
Welcome Bonus Packages consist of match deposit bonuses plus a certain number of Free Spins. You will often find a 100% match, but the offers in iGaming range between 50% to 200% and sometimes even 500% match. Several of the explained above match bonuses are on offer in the welcome package. Besides them, you win free spins. They are applicable on certain games as a part of the welcome promo from the gambling hub. It states on which games you can use the spins and in most cases, these are selected few. Some casinos give players larger flexibility to use their free spins the way they like.
You should read the T&C to check what is the max bet you are allowed to play with during those free spins. It is normal to be from £5 to £7. After using these rounds, you will have the freedom to set you bet size the way you like it. Many casinos would include wagering requirements to the winnings from the free spins of the welcome bonus package. Make sure you have checked them in advance.
Be aware that many brands have limits stating how much you can cash out of the winnings from your free spins. So, in case you attempt to withdraw more than the set limit you won’t succeed. If a casino has a max cash-out of £100 and you try to withdraw £120 you won’t be able to take the £20.
No Deposit Bonuses are the sweetest and the most desired of the welcome promo offers by players. They don’t require you to make any transfers into your casino account as their name suggests. Still, you need to check its wagering requirements to convert it into cash before you opt in it. We also recommend you to check the highest amount of winnings you can withdraw from the no deposit promo.
The Wager Free Bonus is almost as attractive as the no deposit type. The number of casinos with bonuses that don’t need playthrough grows along with their popularity. This is easy to understand. No one wants to end up with empty hands while trying to meet the wagering requirements before making a bonus withdrawable. These promos are given often in the form of free spins with no wagering attached. The casino motivates you to deposit into your account by giving you 1 Free spin for each £1 that you transfer. The no wager bonus is yours once you opt in it and make your first deposit.
There are special bonus offers for VIP players and High rollers. Usually, a designated casino team looks after the accounts of these privileged players. It keeps monitoring their deposits and sending them special welcome offers. The latter exceeds the standard offers for casual players which won’t please high rollers. VIP members and high rollers win and lose huge amounts of money in online casinos. They would find a £100 bonus offer absurd for their standards.
Mobile Bonuses stimulate the players to use the designated casino apps. You may find £5 no deposit promos or such with small sums for giveaway when downloading the app of a casino brand. Generally, the bonuses offered at the casino site are the same you can get if you play from a mobile phone or tablet. Most of the games in the online casinos are optimized for instant play from browsers. There may be an app as well available to download. It’s a matter of choice whether you prefer to play from a desktop or mobiles.
It is useful to learn to distinguish cashable from non-cashable promo offers. The non-cashable ones you can also find as sticky bonuses. These you can use to play many games specified by the house. What you won’t be able to do is withdraw the sticky bonus. Even so, you can cash out the winnings you created using it. The bonus sticks to your account. In the T&C is usually stated that it is for playing purposes only and you can’t withdraw from it.
Let’s suppose you add a £100 sticky bonus and deposit initially £100 to play with. After you play the games you end up with £400 – £100 sticky gift + £100 deposit + £200 winnings. You can withdraw £300 (£200 winnings + £100 your deposit) but not the £100 non-cashable bonus you were given.
The cashable welcome offers let you increase your bankroll. You can withdraw them along with the winnings they brought you. This is possible after fulfilling the playthrough requirements. You may have to play through the bonus and the winnings from it. Or only the bonus 10, 30 or more times before you can withdraw. If we use the example above, you can cash out the full amount of the £400 you end up with after meeting the roll-over requirements. This is the main difference between cashable and sticky bonuses.
To choose between the two you should know the differences between them. The First Deposit Bonus is a one time match of the first sum you have transferred after you created a casino account. It is in the form of a match of a certain percentage of your deposit – for example, 100% match up to £100. The money you can get here is usually more than in the match-ups from the welcome packages. But you will receive it one time and that’s it.
With the Welcome Package, you get a larger total sum. It is distributed over smaller ones in several deposits. You get a match of your first 3-5 or more deposits plus Free Spins to use on specific games or game types. Again, in the rules is written how much you can get as a maximum from each deposit. To sum up, bonus packages offer more free money plus free spins than first deposit match-ups. This makes them better. They are more flexible as well but it all depends on the players’ preferences. We highly recommend you to make sure you get well informed about the T&C before you decide to add any promo at all.
Other things you should take into account before choosing a welcome bonus are:
Players are different, have specific needs and preferences. That’s why there are so many and diverse promotions for newly registered. The online casinos are also many and new ones appear at a fast pace. Before you select a welcome bonus, check the casino well to make sure it is eligible, accredited, and licensed. On our website, you will find only casinos that are being checked regularly. They use the services of strict regulating organisations so, they are proven and safe.
Also, make sure you have read all the Terms and Conditions of each bonus offer and understand them well. Don’t skip the fine print as this is exactly what scam casinos expect you to do. Otherwise, you will find yourself in many unpleasant situations. If the T&C are unclear and somehow vague you better search for another online gambling provider.
You can compare the different promo offers of online casinos and choose the ones that suit you best. Take the time to research more about the brands you have decided to go with. Always go for proven and big names with an excellent reputation. These are will not deceive you but ensure you entertaining and safe gameplay with chances for large wins.
