When you join and play at an online casino you will get a bonus (free gift) for joining. These bonuses are usually only available for playing online slots.
Online casinos give so many different kinds of bonuses to players and the choice can be quite baffling. So what exactly is a bonus?
The first type of bonus you will be introduced to is the Welcome Bonus. Online casinos give a welcome bonus to entice you to play at their casinos. This welcome bonus can be a free gift with no purchase (deposit) necessary, but more often than not it requires you to make a minimum deposit of usually around 20, when you make that deposit you will get a percentage bonus of anything between 50% and 300%. It therefore goes to show that you more you deposit the more bonus cash you will get.
Often casinos only give you a bonus on your first deposit. But some give bonuses on second, third and even fourth deposits. You will have to check the welcome bonus at the casino to be sure of what you are entitled to. Other casinos have big campaigns stating $10,000 welome bonus or similar. Read the small print because this possibly means that they will give you 50% bonus on each of your first 200 deposits up to a maximum of $50 each time, so to get the $10,000 FREE you need to deposit $20,000 with them. Not so good is it.
However, it is not that bad either. If you are an occasional online casino player and make small deposits every now and again it is good to get a bonus on this deposit. If you make a deposit of $100 once a month and you know that with this you will be given another $50 free than that is good. And you know that you will get this every time that you make a deposit. When you have a 100% bonus up to $5000 on your first deposit, this is good for high rollers who are going to deposit $5000 in one hit, but not so good for general everyday casino players who want to deposit $50, get a 100% bonus on first deposit and get $100 free, fine, but when you come to make your 2nd and 3rd deposits you get nothing.
Thatīs why it is always good to check the full terms and conditions of any bonus before you decide to take the plunge and make a deposit.
Another item to be aware of with online casino bonuses is the game restrictions. Many casinos only allow you to use bonus cash that they have given free on certain games. If you have accepted a bonus on your deposit that sometimes also means that you cannot claim any winnings that you have from games like roulette or blackjack. If you do play roulette or blackjack or craps (or any prohibited game) you may find that any winnings you have accumulated are taken from you. This is all in the terms and conditions of your welcome bonus.
There is also something in the online casino world called "wagering requirements". This refers to the value of bets you must place before you can make a withdrawal. This is common and is there for a reason. Land based casinos do not give cash bonuses but if you are playing the casino games they are happy to provide you with free alcohol. Online casinos cannot provide free alcohol do they give you free money instead. But you must bet with it, or make a minimum amount of bets, before you can walk away. Of course you dont have to accept a bonus and in which case there is no minimum wagering requirement, you can deposit, play and withdraw as much and as often as you would like.
If you do accept a bonus the wagering requirements will be stipulated when you accept the bonus. Often the wagering (or play through) requirement will be 30x deposit plus bonus, so for a $50 deposit with $50 (100%) welcome bonus the wagering requirement will be 30x $100, i.e. $3,000. So before you can make any withdrawal you need to place $3,000 worth of bets. If you play invalid games or do not follow the terms then all winnings could be forfeited.
Another type of bonus that you will find is the FREE SPINS bonus. Some casinos will give up to 1500 free spins on a slot machine game , or allow you to play free for a day. When you sign up you will be given $1,500 in a free spins account. you spin the reels of your favourite online slots until the original free $1,500 has been played. Once you have done this any winnings (up to a maximum amount) will be given as a bonus when you make your first deposit at the casino.
All in all, if you enjoy playing slots then you are sure to be able to get a good bonus from an online casino. Check for slots friendly casinos, and those that give ongoing rewards, or give at least something everytime you make a deposit. Check your deposit method. When you use Neteller, Moneybooker or Ukash for your deposits you are often entitled to an extra bonus of up to 25%.
We list some of the best casino bonuses for online slots players below. This should make things a little easier for you.
