Online Casino Bonus

The best offers we could find are on the Best Online Casinos page and you can find them by clicking on the link above.

Understanding Casino Bonuses

This can get to be a complicated topic, there are many types of casino bonuses that seem too unbelievable to be true and at the end of the day you might have wished you never took advantage of them because in fact they are too good to be true.

One of the best pieces of advice I can give to any online casino player is to read the Terms and Conditions of any bonus whether it be for $10 or $1000. You might not like what you read but it is a much better alternative to not take a bonus rather than have it haunt you.

Bonuses can be categorised as cashable, non cashable and completely impossible to cashout even when you win on them. Wagering is a huge factor in many aspects of bonuses.

What is Wagering?

Wagering is the accumulation of bets you make whilst playing. For example if you deposit $10 and play on Blackjack and win $10, you have wagered $10 and now have a bankroll of $20. If you then wager $20 on the next hand of blackjack and lose you have wagered $30 but have a bankroll of $0. Once this concept is understood you are now well on your way to understanding how bonus terms are worked out to even things up for a Casino when they give you a bonus.

Types of Bonuses and Why They are Given.

Land based casinos have a huge advantage over online casinos in that they can offer you comps like free hotel rooms, meals, entertainment packages etc. Online casinos have to compete with this by offering bonuses but they also have to be careful about the huge liability caused by bonuses hence the terms and conditions of the bonuses.

Bonus wagering, maximum cashouts and bonuses only allowed to be played on certain games are some of the most popular ways for players to receive the full benefits of bonuses but reduce the online casinos liability. As far as I am concerned all these methods are legitimate to a certain degree but of course many online casinos take it a step further to make their advantage over the player unrealistic, unfair and downright scandalous.

Look carefully at the terms and conditions on bonuses for the following:

1. Wagering amounts - these vary vastly according to the casino and type of bonus given. Generally acceptable is a low wagering bonus of 15 or 20 times the deposit and bonus amount for a non cashable bonus. A non cashable bonus is one that is removed from your withdrawal request. A 20 or 30 times wagering on deposit and bonus is acceptable for a bonus you can withdraw. Beware of anything higher than 30 times the deposit and bonus as they are scandalous and the casino knows that it is almost impossible for you to win from these bonuses before busting out.

2. Excluded games - roulette, baccarat, sic bo and craps is standard as there are ways to reduce the risk of losing whilst wagering and then collecting the bonus or playing on allowed games with low variation. For example, if I receive a bonus of 100% and then add that to my deposit of $100 I have $200 to play with. Great, now I wager $100 on black and $100 on red, only have to pray 0 doesn't come in to ruin my play. If I do this on 20 spins the wagering is complete (200x20 is $4000, which covers the wagering stated in the terms). Now I can play on any game I want including low variation bets on roulette or craps etc. This is why these games are always excluded from bonus wagering. Some other games like video poker, blackjack are also excluded sometimes and the worst part is you never discover this until you have requested a withdrawal and it is promptly declined. So ALWAYS read the terms and conditions of bonuses.

3. Maximum cashouts - this is sometimes frowned upon but I thoroughly understand the casinos wanting to protect themselves from being hit. Just as a land based casino will escort you from the table to the outside if they suspect you might win too much from them. Just bear in mind that they are giving free money away and thus reducing their chances greatly so to cap a win seems like a legitimate request. It might seem shocking if you hit a huge jackpot but this is the reverse side of the coin. Maybe you would not have hit the jackpot without the bonus. But always check what the cap is on the bonus so as not to be so disappointed. This is especially prudent if the casino gives a free bonus with no deposit.

My final piece of advice is to make a screenshot of the terms and conditions page of the casino, especially the bonus terms page. If you have to question how a casino has treated you with regards payments then having a copy could save you if you needed to show them proof.

Check out my list of the best casinos to play at above as there have been no problems I know of with them and they are run by reputable companies.