Your Comprehensive Guide to Online Casino Bonuses

You only need to spend a few minutes looking at the various pages here at Casino Mentor to realize there are dozens of options available for people wanting to play casino games online. Each online casino has plus points and negatives associated with its brand, so how do you choose one to play at? 

Players often base their choices on the bonuses offered, so you must know as much information as possible about the bonuses you can claim. This article will teach you to make an informed choice before you part company with your hard-earned cash.

Why Do Online Casinos Offer Bonuses?

Competition among online casinos is fierce. Players have a massive selection, so companies do everything they can to stand out from the crowd. The online world is unlike the brick-and-mortar casino industry, where people naturally flock to iconic venues like Caesars Palace or the Bellagio.

Online casinos need to lure in fresh faces, and what better way to grab a potential customer’s attention than by offering them free cash to join their site? You will often see a Las Vegas online casino offering a potentially lucrative welcome bonus designed to get you clambering for your mouse and creating an account, but what do all the different phrases, terms, and conditions mean? Keep reading to find out.

What is a Welcome or Deposit Bonus?

Welcome bonuses are exactly what they sound like: a bonus awarded to new customers, a way of welcoming them to the site. These bonuses are the largest an online casino offers during a player’s journey, so take full advantage of them.

First deposit bonuses are another way of saying welcome bonus and relate to your first deposit into your account. Sometimes, bonuses are awarded when you make a second or third deposit, too.

You will find welcome and first deposit bonuses state facts such as 100% up to $1,000. This shows you the bonus you can get your hands on. In this example, your initial deposit is matched 100% up to a maximum bonus of $1,000. Depositing $250 would grant you a $250 bonus, while making a $1,000 deposit would yield the maximum $1,000 bonus amount. However, if you deposited $2,000, you would only receive a $1,000 bonus. Hopefully, that makes sense!

What is a Reload Bonus?

Reload bonuses are for customers who already have an online casino account or have previously deposited into their account. These bonuses reward players’ loyalty or mark the start of promotional periods. For example, it is common for a site to offer reload bonuses as the weekend approaches, during Halloween or Christmas, or when a major sporting event occurs.

Reload bonuses tend to be smaller than first deposit bonuses, but claiming them is still worthwhile. A reload bonus offering a 50% match up to $500 means your next deposit comes with a bonus that is 50% of its size. For example, reloading $500 would attract a $250 bonus. A $1,000 deposit would be required to obtain the maximum $500 reload bonus.

What is a No-Deposit Bonus?

No-deposit bonuses are the Holy Grail of online casino bonuses, although rarer than hen’s teeth. As their name suggests, no-deposit bonuses award you bonus funds without you needing to deposit onto the site. 

Unsurprisingly, no-deposit bonuses are always the smallest bonus a casino offers, often around $10-$20. These bonuses are perfect for trying out a new casino without risking any of your bankroll. Taking advantage of no-deposit bonuses is usually an excellent idea because they are not available often.

What Are Wagering Requirements?

Online casinos, like most other businesses, are there to make money. They would remain in business for long if they constantly gave away stacks of free cash to anyone willing to create an account on their website. Casinos place wagering or playthrough requirements on the bonuses they offer to ensure players do not make a deposit, claim a chunky bonus, and then withdraw their deposited funds along with the bonus cash. They would go bust in mere minutes.

You will see bonuses with wagering requirements like 30x the bonus amount or 20x the deposit and bonus amount. Those terms and conditions mean you must place wagers worth 30x the bonus received or 20x the deposit you made and the bonus you received before you can withdraw the bonus money.

Let’s use the first example of having wagering requirements of 30x the bonus amount. Claiming a $100 bonus would require placing wagers totaling $3,000 before the bonus money is treated like your deposited funds. 

In the second example, a $100 deposit resulting in a $100 bonus would require $4,000 worth of wagers (20x the $100 deposit and 20x the $100 bonus) before you can withdraw the bonus funds.

Wagering requirements almost always come with a time limit. Depending on the casino, that time limit may be 15, 30, 60, or 90 days. Any unreleased bonus funds are forfeited once the time limit is reached.

Are There Any Other Restrictions?

In addition to wagering requirements and time limits, online casinos usually restrict your bet size or the types of games you can play while attempting to release a bonus. Usually, slots contribute 100% to the wagering requirements, but blackjack may only contribute 10%. In this example, wagering $1 on slots would count as $1 towards your playthrough obligations, but a $1 blackjack wager would only count as $0.10.

Ensure you check the terms and conditions for any bet size limits because you could find the bonus is removed from your account if you break the casino’s rules.

How to Choose the Best Online Casino Bonus?

The best online casino bonus for you will not necessarily be the biggest on offer or a bonus your friend claimed; it is down to your preferences, risk appetite, and the time you have available to play.

Go through the bonus terms and conditions with a fine-toothed comb so that you are not met with any unpleasant surprises. While getting your hands on $5,000 in bonus money sounds appealing, having 50x wagering requirements that must be met within 30 days using a $2 maximum bet makes it challenging to release into your account entirely. 

It is sometimes best to claim a smaller yet achievable bonus. Getting your hands on 100% of a $250 welcome bonus is a far better scenario than capturing 5% of a $2,500 bonus. Good luck, and happy bonus hunting!