More people than ever enjoy a game or two at the casino these days. And with the latest online platforms, it is a hobby that can be enjoyed without having to fly to Vegas or Atlantic City – or even to leave your armchair! More casino brands are appearing all the time, making the marketplace even more crowded, and therefore competitive.
Casinos use bonus offers to tempt us through the doors, and some of them look and sound pretty impressive, with $100 on offer here and 200 free spins there. All that glitters is not gold, however. Here are some things to check before you sign up for that great news casino giveaway.
Deposit or No Deposit
The most common sort of casino bonus is known as a matched deposit bonus. Here, you deposit a sum into your betting account and the casino matches it. Deposit bonuses are sometimes as high as $200, or even more.
Some casinos go a step further and offer a no deposit online casino bonus. As the name implies, this is a sum of money or a quantity of free spins that the casino places into your gambling account without requiring you to put in anything out of your own pocket. In theory, this is a fabulous deal – certainly you can’t lose anything with a no deposit bonus. But surely there must be a catch.
Wagering or no wagering
Every bonus has conditions attached, and the most important is the wagering requirement. If a bonus has a wagering requirement of 10x, it means you must use that bonus money, and whatever winning it generates, 10 times before you can withdraw any winnings. So if you have a $20 bonus, you would have to make $200 of wagers before you can start cashing anything out. Some bonuses have wagering requirements as high as 60x, especially the no deposit bonuses. Clearly, it’s most likely that you will burn it all out before meeting the requirement even if you have a few wins along the way.
Recently, some casinos have started offering free spin bonuses with no wagering requirement. It means you can use your free spins and if you wish, you can withdraw whatever you win as cash and walk away. Now these are usually only deposit bonuses. However, you do occasionally see casinos offering a no deposit bonus with no wagering requirement.
Withdrawal limits
The other condition that can make a big difference to your day is a withdrawal limit. Again, this will be stated in the bonus conditions and will say something like “maximum withdrawal from free spins $50.”
This means that even if you hit the jackpot with your free spins and you work through the wagering requirement, you can’t cash out more than $50. The remaining funds can still be used for more gaming, of course.
The ideal casino bonus would be a no deposit bonus with no wagering requirement and no withdrawal limit. Bonuses like this are not common, but they do come up occasionally, so keep your eyes open and also, monitor casino review sites for the best deals.