Beginner’s Guide to Online Casino Bonuses
Welcome to Gambling City’s explanatory guide to online casino bonuses. In this comprehensive guide, we will teach you everything you need to know about this unique feature of online casinos. Unlike physical casinos such as the ones in Las Vegas or Monaco, online casinos do offer newcomers and frequent costumers lavish bonuses to entice gamblers to play more on their website. It is not unheard of that some casinos even hand out bonuses of several hundreds of pounds, dollars or euros to new registrants! Another common bonus is casinos handing out free spins at their slots to new customers – and of course you can keep your profit if you happen to win something!
Unfortunately, the world of casino bonuses can seem to be a bit overwhelming at times, especially to those who are completely new to the world of online gambling. While online casino bonuses are a real thing with thousands of people across the world using them on a daily basis, there are a number of rules and regulations you need to take into account before you can unlock these bonuses. In this guide, we will show you exactly how these bonuses work, what the differences are between certain bonus categories, how to optimise bonuses, where you can find the highest bonus money as well as all do’s and don’ts when it comes to bonuses.
Why do casinos hand out bonuses?
It might sound odd to those who are new in the world of online gambling that there is such a thing as a casino bonus. Why would the house hand out a free bonus to a player? Is this some kind of a trick or scam? Fortunately for those lovers of casino games, it is neither a trick or a scam. Bonuses are a real thing and are a vital part of the online casino business. There are several reasons why such bonuses exist. Most of it, has to do with the way how online casinos operate and how their business model works – both being vastly different than the world of physical casinos.
If you would compare a physical casino (a casino in a building which you can visit in real time, such as the casinos in Las Vegas for example) with an online casino there are a number of differences. It is often less difficult for a physical casino to attract gamblers than for an online casino. It is often the case that a certain casino might be the only casino available in a vast area of a certain country, which means that if you want to gamble you don’t have much choice to visit this particular casino as the second nearest casino might be hundreds of miles further away. Of course, you will also often find places where there are dozens of casinos located all in the same town competing with each other. Think for example about Las Vegas or Macau in China. Yet casinos in these cities often do not have to try hard to attract gamblers as millions of people make tailor-made holidays to such places just for the sole purpose of placing some bets and having a fun time gambling. These are places which do not really need much PR to begin with to attract people.
The difference between online casinos and physical casinos
When it comes to online casinos, it is a whole different story. Often these casinos have lower name IDs (especially among those who are just discovering the world of online gambling). Even though for example Betsson and Omnislots might be two of the best known and most reputable online casinos, their name ID still pales compared to the Venetian Casino or MGM Grand in Vegas. This is why these online casinos set aside huge sums of money to attract gamblers and to make sure that their customers are not leaving ship by moving their business to a rival casino. Of course, online casinos do also spend a lot of money on common marketing campaigns such as placing ads all over the internet, but the most important aspect of such recruiting attempts to find new players involve handing out free bonuses.
Players who register for a new account (which can always be done for free) will see lucrative bonuses in which a casino promises free spins upon completion of the registration process. It is however the so-called deposit bonus which is the most sought-after bonus. This bonus, which is handed out by almost every online casino, will see the casino giving you free money based on the amount which you deposit to your online casino account. A casino might for example match your deposit. If you deposit 100 dollar to your online account, the casino will put in another 100 dollar for free, allowing you to start gambling with 200 dollar. Such bonuses can easily run as high as a 300 percent deposit bonus. This means that if you deposit let’s say 100 pound, the casino will hand you another 300 pound on top of it for free. What is not to like about this?
Such bonuses are a common occurrence for both new registrants as well as loyal visitors who make frequent deposits to their online casino account. Online casinos have huge budgets set aside for these bonuses. Compared to physical casinos, they do save a lot of money as they are a full online business. They do not have to pay for real estate or the upkeep of a physical building. Salary costs are obviously much lower as well for online casinos as they do not need to pay for hundreds of croupiers, dealers, security personnel, servers and all kind of other functions. They do however often have the same amount of income as a physical casino. All the money that is being saved by online casinos this way, and all the extra profit they make, is commonly used for all these online casino bonuses to make sure that the online casino does have a steady stream of players.
Can every player get an online casino bonus?
Yes, every player who wishes to play at an online casino can get these casino bonuses. All you need to do is to find a reputable online casino, check out their current bonus offers, and register for a new account. Registering with an online casino is always free and can be easily done in just a few minutes. Sometimes, you will get a bonus right after completing and activating your online account. This is the most common with free spins on video slots. However, for registration and deposit bonuses in which a casino offers you free money, you would need to deposit first a certain amount to your online casino account.
It does not matter whether you are completely new to the world of online casinos or might already be gambling at a different online casino. Nor does it matter if you are interested in playing on slots, or might prefer to play table games such as blackjack and craps. It also does not matter whether you plan to gamble just a few euros or if you might be a high stakes gambler who easily puts thousands of euros on the line at a single roulette bet. Neither does it matter if you just plan to gamble once, a few times a year, or perhaps daily. Every single person can get an online casino bonus when they gamble at an online casino bonus. However, there can be differences in bonus size. Of course, those who deposit more money to their online casino account get bigger bonuses than those who deposit just a few euros. The same counts for bonuses for recurring visitors. Those who visit often, let’s say at least once a week, are more likely to get special bonus deals compared to those who might only gamble twice a year. But no matter what kind of gambler you are, there are lots of opportunities in the world of online casino bonuses.
Different kind of bonuses
There is a vast array of different bonuses which might be offered to you by an online casino. Simply put, there are two main categories of bonuses. The first category is called the no-deposit bonus, while the second is named (you probably guessed it right!) the deposit bonus. Of course, the latter entails that you have to make some kind of a deposit first in order to secure the bonus, while the former category describes the variety of bonuses which you can get for free without making a deposit to your online casino account at all.
A non-deposit bonus might initially sound like the better bonus given the fact that you do not need to make a transaction first to an online casino, but this is often not the case. Sure, some non-deposit bonuses are really attractive and sought-after and you would be mad to brush them off. But if you think of it, the best bonuses are not just handed out randomly by a casino. Casino management of course does expect something in return as well from gamblers before handing out free cash. This is why the deposit bonus is the bonus category in which you will find the highest and best bonuses. Of course you need to make a deposit first to a casino before you will receive the bonus money, although the sheer amount and height of the bonus you will receive in return makes up for this.
At Gambling City, we will take a look at both bonus categories and go through all kinds of bonuses which a casino might offer to you. Let’s start with the first category – the no-deposit bonus.
The no-deposit bonus
The no-deposit bonus, often called the non-deposit bonus, is by far the most straightforward bonus category to understand. As a new customer at an online casino, all you need to do is just to make an online casino account, fill in all your details, and confirm your registration. No-deposit bonuses are also often handed out to recurring visitors who often come back to play at the same online casino. If you are such a frequent gambler, you do not really need to do anything specifically to secure a no-deposit bonus, as you will find out that the casino will automatically hand them out.
There can still be a set of conditions or requirements to which you must adhere in order to secure the bonus. These are always explicitly listed in the terms and conditions of the bonus offer. As these terms and conditions can vary wildly between different casino. We do always recommend you to quickly read through the terms and conditions when going for a bonus deal at an online casino so you know what to expect. This is especially the case when it comes to the no-deposit bonus, as often the requirements are more strict than with deposit bonuses. We will get back to the most common requirements and bonus conditions later on in our guide. First, let us have a look at what kinds of bonuses casinos might give to you.
No-deposit bonus for new customers
There are two typical no-deposit bonuses which are handed out by online casinos to newly registered players. These are:
– Money in your online casino account
– Free spins at a slot machine
We have say that the first bonus is quite rare as a no-deposit bonus. Yes, you will often see casinos handing out free money in your online casino account, but this is most often only done if you make a deposit first (and therefore falls in the category of deposit bonuses). That said, there are some casinos which might give you a small amount of cash for free (most often in between 20-50 USD/GBP/EUR) to start your online gambling adventure at a certain online casino.
Free spins bonus
This type of bonus is by far the most common of the no-deposit bonuses offered by online casinos. Indeed, you will find it back at almost every online casino you will come across on the internet! The free spin bonus works simple: you get an amount of free spins in exchange for registering at an online casino. It is one of the most popular of online casino bonuses you will find – and there are plenty of reasons for this! The bonus is however not only offered to newly registered players. Also frequent casino visitors will often see free spins being allotted to their online account. It is not uncommon for online casinos to give dozens of free spins to their best customers on a weekly basis.
Most often you will find your free spins being automatically allocated to your online account, although there are online casinos where you will only receive a voucher code, which you need to enter at a certain slot to get a certain amount of free spins. It is unusual for the free spins to be valid at a slot machine of choice. Most often, you will find that you can use them only at one or a select number of slot machines. There are often slots which the casino wants to promote – for example a completely new slot which just became available at an online casino website. Progressive jackpot slots – those fantastic games where you can win several millions of euros with a single spin – are almost always excluded from free spins offers.
How does the free spin bonus work?
Of course, the answer to this question might be different from casino to casino, but we can outline how it generally should work. Let’s say that a certain online casino offers you 20 free spins upon registration. After you have successfully registered yourself with the online casino, you can then play 20 times for free at one of the casino slots. If you might not win a thing with those 20 spins – bad luck! Don’t despair – look at it from the bright side, you got to try something for free and gained another gambling experience. The chances are however big that you might win at least something during one of these 20 spins. Let’s assume that you have won 50 euro on your third spin and another 150 euro with your tenth spin. In total, you would have won 200 euro in this example. After you exhausted all your free spins, the amount which you won will most often be automatically added to your online casino account.
Free play bonus
Another no-deposit bonus, which is actually a variant of the free spins bonus, is the so-called free play bonus. Although this bonus is also most common for newly registered players, it at times is also given to frequent customers. The free play bonus is often handed out in euros, pounds, dollars or any other currency – although more often than not currencies are disregarded altogether with this bonus and a playing credits system is used instead.
How does the bonus work? It’s very simple! You get a number of playing credits (or an amount in cash) for free – which you can use at a variety of online casino games which have been specifically adjusted for this bonus play. Within a certain time frame, most often between 30 and 60 minutes from the moment that you start, you can use the credits with these games in the hope to win as much as you can. The special bonus play is over once you lost all your bonus credits or when the time has expired. Of course, the nicest aspect of this particular is that you can basically try out a variety of casino games for free – and can keep the profits! Which games are made eligible for this particular bonus depends of course on each individual casino. Most often it is a combination of basic slots and basic table games – with live table games and progressive or jackpot slots being excluded.
Let’s assume in our example that a certain online casino gives 500 free play credits. After an hour of playing, you have won 6,300 credits. The casino in question has published an earnings table in which you can instantly see what the prize is which you won. For example, our casino has winning categories from 1,000 to 2,000, from 2,000 to 3,000, from 3,000 to 4,000, from 4,000 to 5,000, and any score above 5,000. As your score is above 5,000 – you qualify for the highest prize category. Most often you will win cash money being credited to your online casino account which in turn you can use to play for real at any of the games at the online casino in question. In our example, the casino gives you 500 dollar – which in turn is automatically credited to your account and instantly available to continue playing with.
Cashback bonus
This is the final no-deposit bonus which is very common and is therefore a must to explain to you. Unlike the previous examples, this bonus is most often given to frequent players who make repeat visits to casinos, and is not a bonus which you get as a newly registered customer. The bonus is different too in the way that it does not actually give you any money (or spins) from the outset, but rather is meant as a kind of insurance to mitigate any potential losses. Even though it might not sound as exciting as the previous bonus examples – it really is one of the best bonuses you can get, especially if you are serious about gambling and play at regular intervals.
Cashback bonuses can occur as a stand-alone bonus being extraordinarily offered by a casino, but can also be a recurring bonus which the casino offers every single week. It is not uncommon for casinos to offer a cashback bonus to their regular customers when they deposit money to their online casino account. The rules and regulations of cashback bonuses are highly dependent on the casino which is offering them. Most often, there are certain limits to the bonus percentage. Cashback bonuses can also be limited to certain casino games only.
The way the cashback bonus works is simple. An online casino will often list a percentage and a maximum amount of the bonus offer – which are the two most important factors you should look out for. For example, a casino might give you a cashback bonus of 20 percent up to 1,000 EUR over the next week from the moment the offer goes into effect. This basically means that from that moment on, you have an insurance over any potential losses. If for some reasons you have an unfortunate run of bad luck and are only losing money at some casino games, the house will give you back 20 percent of your losses. If you might have lost 1,000 EUR in a day, the casino will credit 200 EUR back to your online casino account. The maximum amount which the casino will give you back is 1,000 EUR – which means that the 20 percent cashback offer is valid up to the moment when you hit 5,000 EUR in losses. After that, no money will be credited back as you have hit the cashback limit.
Of course, this is not as exciting as a casino offering you 1,000 EUR in bonus money to gamble with – but if you are a frequent player a cashback a magnificent bonus offer which will help you go through the weeks in which you might be out of luck. You can save a significant amount of money, which hopefully will be of use when you finally hit a winning streak again.
Deposit bonuses
As we have now explained you the most common no-deposit bonuses, it is time to turn to the deposit bonuses, which form the mainstay of online casino bonuses. These are often the most lucrative casino bonuses as there are casinos which have bonus offers in which they double, triple or even quadruple the deposit you make to your online casino account. Just like with no-deposit bonuses, there are also many different categories of deposit bonuses which we will discuss with you below.
Registration bonus
The most common deposit bonuses are offered to players who register themselves with an online casino for the first time. It does not matter if you might already play at a different online casino. If you have never played before at a particular online casino – you will be eligible for their welcome offer as a new customer. This bonus is known under a wide variety of names such as a registration bonus, sign-up bonus, new player bonus or welcome bonus. Even though different casinos use different names, these bonuses all work the same way and have the same basic rules attached to them.
You will see that a deposit bonus is always given as a percentage or an amount in a certain currency. An online casino will also state a maximum upper limit as how high the bonus can be. The name of this bonus already gives away how it works. You first need to register for a new online casino account. When your account is approved and ready to use, you need to make a qualifying deposit to your online casino account. When the money is received by the casino, your deposited amount is credited to your online casino account together with the bonus money which the casino promised you.
The size of the bonus is dependent on the individual casinos. Some online casinos are known to offer very high deposit bonuses upon registration, while others have significantly lower bonus amounts. At times however even the casinos which are known to have low bonus offers might have the occasional promotion campaign in which they offer a bonus deal substantially higher than their usual bonuses. It pays off to keep a close watch at different online casino pages to check if there might be special offers. Average deposit bonuses for newly registered players are usually between 50 and 200 percent – although higher percentages are not uncommon. We however do advice you to always read the terms and conditions of each bonus offer so you know what to expect. This is especially the case with online casinos giving the highest bonuses. It can easily be that an online casino with a 400% deposit bonus might sound great at first sight, but after reading the rules and regulations you might find out that certain conditions and limitations make it less practical for you than a 200% bonus offer at a different casino. We will explain you more about typical terms and conditions later on.
An example of a deposit bonus
Let’s explain it all a bit better by looking at an example of a deposit bonus. A certain online casino might for example give newly registered customers a deposit bonus of 150 percent up to a maximum amount of 600 GBP. This means very simply that if you deposit 100 GBP, you will get an additional 150 percent over that amount on top of it as a bonus. As 150 percent of 100 GBP is 150 GBP, that means you will get 100 GBP + 150 GBP = 250 GBP on your online casino to start your casino adventure.
Of course, most gamblers try to maximise bonuses. And why wouldn’t you? It is free money which is basically being handed out by the casino. If you have the budget, we always recommend you to go for the maximum amount of bonus money. In our example, it is clear that the maximum amount of bonus money which the casino will give you with this offer is 600 GBP. To get the full amount, you would thus need to deposit 400 GBP to your online casino account, as this way you get a 600 GBP bonus (400 GBP multiplied by 150 percent) and you can start your gambling adventure with a total of 1,000 GBP in your online casino account! Of course, you can deposit more than 400 GBP if you like, but do note that every additional pound over 400 GBP will not be subject to a bonus as you will have reached the maximum amount of the bonus offer.
Match bonus
A match bonus is another form of a deposit bonus. Although the name of it is different, it actually is the same as a 100% deposit bonus as the casino will match the amount you deposit in bonus money. The term match bonus is however most commonly used for bonuses given to loyal customers and is usually not found in bonus offers for newly registered players.
Needless to say, this bonus does work in the same way as a deposit bonus – and is actually fairly simple to comprehend. As we explained, the casino will copy your deposited amount by giving the same amount as a bonus. If you deposit 100 EUR to your online casino account, the casino will match it by crediting another 100 EUR in bonus money to your account. Just like general deposit bonuses, the match bonus is also subject to a maximum amount. A casino might for example give you a match bonus of up to 500 EUR, which means that the highest bonus you can get is 500 EUR. To get the maximum bonus of 500 euro, you would thus need to first deposit 500 EUR from your own pocket to your online casino account. In this example, you would receive a total of 1,000 EUR in your online casino account (500 out of your pocket, 500 as a free gift from the house) to play with.
Match bonuses are common during weekly or monthly promotion campaigns by online casinos. If you do not want to miss out on such a bonus, we recommend you to visit your favourite online casino frequently or perhaps to subscribe to their newsletter. Of course, we at Gambling City also try to keep you up to date about promotional offers, so be sure to visit our website often!
Reload bonus
Another common deposit bonus being offered by online casinos is the reload bonus. This bonus is basically the same as a welcome or registration bonus but instead to newly registered players it is handed out to loyal customers. Reload bonuses can be offered on a monthly or even weekly basis by online casinos.
The bonus works in the exact same way as a deposit bonus for newly registered players. The casino sets a percentage and a maximum amount which you can get in bonus money, for example a reload bonus of 50 percent up to a maximum of 200 EUR. To qualify for the full 200 EUR bonus, you would thus need to deposit (reload) 400 euro to your online casino account.
Reload bonuses are very common and are meant to reward loyal customers and entice them to come back often and to gamble more. If you are playing frequently at online casinos it is best to wait with depositing money until the moment when a casino has a reload bonus offer. Most of the big online casinos have set days in the week when they give this offer. For example, a certain casino might have a reload bonus every week on Monday. In such a case it is of course the best to replenish your online casino account on Monday – as depositing on Sunday or Tuesday would mean you are missing out on free bonus money!
Do keep in mind that reload bonuses are never as high as registration or welcome bonuses. The highest bonuses are always given to newly registered players. Even though you will not easily see reload bonuses of 200 tot 400 percent, a reload bonus can still be a great offer. A 20 to 60 percent reload bonus is a common amount in the online casino world. It is not the size of this bonus that counts, but instead how often it is being offered. Especially if you are a high roller or frequent casino visitor, it can be much more valuable on the long run than a welcome bonus!
Bonus conditions: the wagering requirement
This is perhaps the most important chapter which you should read about bonuses as it will detail the most common terms and conditions as well as other requirements attached to bonus offers. The most common rule which applies to almost all bonuses – whether they are no-deposit bonuses or deposit bonuses – is the wagering requirement.
The wagering requirement basically sets out how many times you have to wage the bonus that has been given to you before you are able to withdraw it. Think of it. If you would instantly be able to cash out a bonus the entire world would register for an online casino account just to take the bonus money with them. To prevent this, the wagering requirement was set in place. It is extremely important that you understand this process so you know what you have to do with bonus money in order to cash it out.
The wagering requirement is often called a ‘play through requirement’ or ‘rollover requirement’ as well with certain online casinos. No matter the name, it all involves the same rules. Of course, the exact rules can slightly differ from casino to casino, so we always advice you to read the bonus terms before you start playing so you will not have any sudden surprises. That said, as wagering requirements almost exclusively follow the same pattern, we can easily explain the process to you with the help of an example.
Example of a wagering requirement
Let’s assume that you signed up for a new online casino account which has a 200 percent bonus offer. After depositing 200 EUR you have been given 400 EUR from the house which is deposited in your online casino account, where you will now have 600 euro in total allocated. You will not be able to cash out the 400 euro instantly and pocket it as winnings. You are however able to use it to gamble online.
The wagering requirement explains when you will be able to cash out the bonus. In our example, the casino has a wagering requirement of 30 times before the bonus can be paid out to your credit card or bank account. It means that you need to make 12,000 EUR worth of bets (400 euro multiplied by 30) before all restrictions are being lifted. How you place these bets is completely up to you of course. It does not matter whether you are putting 12,000 times one single euro in a slot machine, or whether you might play 12 rounds of blackjack for 1,000 EUR per bet. It also does not matter whether you have lost your wager or if you might have something – what counts is the amount which you wage. You can track the process how close you are to reach the wagering requirement on your online casino dashboard.
How difficult is it to reach the wagering requirement?
The amount you have to bet might sound high at first – but once you start playing you realise that it is actually quite easy to reach it. If you are for example playing blackjack, which is famous for having almost even odds to win and thus being one of the games in which the house margin is the lowest, you can easily reach 12,000 EUR worth of bets while breaking about even as in the long run you will about win as many games as you will lose.
Just think of it: a casino does not hand out bonuses to random people who would immediately cash it out. That way the casino would be bankrupt within a week. Bonuses are meant to entice players to gamble – and a casino can afford to pay huge bonuses as it knows that a percentage of all gamblers will lose the bonus money before they have reached the wagering requirement. That said, a lot of players do easily manage to reach the wagering requirement and are able to cash out their bonus. Of course, you can also decide to keep the money on your online casino account as bankroll for further gambling endeavours. And even if you end up losing the bonus money before reaching the wagering requirement – nothing is lost. Always remember, this was just money which the casino gave to you for free! Even if you did not manage to cash it out or get profit out of it, you still managed to have a lot of fun playing with it!
Refusing a bonus
Most casinos do offer the possibility to refuse a bonus offer. If for some reason you do not want to deal with wagering requirements and keeping track of your bonus money, you can just deposit an amount directly to your online casino account without getting an additional bonus credited over it. We would however not recommend this as there is absolutely no reason why you should refuse a bonus. Nothing is lost by getting a bonus – not even if you end up losing the money.
Exceptions to bonus conditions
Sometimes it can be the case that a casino has excluded some games from their bonus offers. Most often they do this by writing in the terms and conditions of the bonus offer that the wagering requirements attached to a certain bonus are not valid with certain games. These can for example be progressive slots in which you can win an astonishing high jackpot. Of course, you can still play these games even if they are excluded from the wagering requirements. It is just the case that all the money you wage in these games are not counted towards your total for the wagering requirement. Make sure that you always read the terms and conditions of each bonus offer so you know not only how high the wagering requirement is, but also if there are any notable exceptions listed.
Cashable bonuses
It is good to note that casinos offer all the bonuses we discussed before in two variants: cashable bonuses and non-cashable bonuses. This is an important distinction to remember as it can impact the total amount you can cash out once you reached the wagering requirement. A fully cashable bonus is when you are able to be convert the entire bonus into ready money or the equivalent, for example by having the casino to cash out your bonus to your bank account or credit card. When you have a non-cashable bonus it means that the bonus money itself can not be paid out.
Let’s explain it a bit better with an example. You have been given a 200 euro bonus by an online casino. You play a few days with the bonus money and at the moment when you hit the wagering requirement you managed to make 1,000 EUR from the initial 200 euro – a 800 euro profit! How much you can now cash out depends on whether the bonus was cashable or non-cashable. If the bonus is cashable, you will be able to cash out the entire 1,000 EUR on your online casino account to your bank account or credit card. If the bonus is however non-cashable, the bonus money will be taken off from your total online casino balance. You will only be able to cash out 800 EUR – the profits which you earned by gambling with the 200 EUR bonus money. The 200 euro bonus in this case will remain on your online casino account and cannot be touched.
Whether or not a bonus is fully cashable is listed in the terms and conditions of each bonus offer. Of course cashable bonuses are better than non-cashable bonuses, so it is best to look out for these. On the other hand, even though a non-cashable bonus might seem unattractive at first, remember that it is still a very good deal. The casino is basically giving you free money to gamble with. You can keep the winnings which you make with it, but cannot cash out the initial money which the casino gave you. But as this is not money which you owned in the first place – it does not really matter too much.
Unlock bonuses through loyalty programmes
Most casinos nowadays have some kind of loyalty programme in which frequent players are rewarded for their loyalty. These schemes are quite similar to frequent flyer programmes of airlines or those of supermarkets. You basically collect points for every pound, dollar or euro which is spent. The more points you have, the higher the level you reach within the programme. Obviously, newly registered gamblers start off at the lowest level, but you can quickly work you way up towards the highest levels where at times lavish rewards can be waiting for you. Participating in these casino loyalty programmes is free. Some casinos even automatically sign you up for it, although other casinos might require you to register separately for an loyalty account after registering with the casino.
Even though it makes sense for everyone to join such loyalty schemes – as no matter how low your wagers are, you will still accumulate points – it does make more sense for high rollers and those who frequently play at online casinos. If you reach a higher level within the casino’s loyalty scheme, you will often find that nice rewards await you. These awards can be monetary prizes or gifts, but also special bonuses. It is quite common for casinos to give their most loyal customers fixed bonuses, such as a guaranteed cashback bonus up to a certain percentage or reload bonuses where you might get double the percentage or amount than other players would receive.
Negotiate
In many cases it is possible to also negotiate better bonus deals if you are a frequent customer with one particular online casino and regularly visits the website to gamble high amounts. Remember that the customer is king and that casino bosses would hate to see you move your business to the casino of a competitor. If you are unhappy with the deals at a casino or feel that your loyalty has not been properly rewarded, it cannot do harm to open a query with casino management. It is easiest to do this by contacting the casino help desk through telephone, online chat or email. If you are a high roller and might have a personal account manager assigned by the casino, you should of course contact this person.
Of course, you should always remain polite and open up the conversation about your unhappiness about bonus deals in a constructive way. Never just threaten to walk out, or launch personal attacks at casino employees who are not personally responsible for your unhappiness. Remain professional, and make a summarised account of what your issue is and how you would like to see it resolved. It cannot do harm to remind a casino how often you play and which amounts you bet weekly – although a casino employee should already have access to such statistics without you needing to mention it.
High roller bonuses
If you are a gambler who is waging around 2,000 to 3,000 EUR/USD/GBP a week, you are considered as a high roller. You might not be a top high roller who plays for tens of thousands of dollars at a time, but still you are a valuable player which any casino would hate to see walking away. If this is the case, you might be able to get improved bonus deals which can be much higher than those officially advertised. We however need to remind you to remain realistic. If you might only spend 50 dollars a month you have no negotiating power to begin with. If you are a high roller, you should also always remain realistic about your wishes. You might be able to receive a 250 percent deposit bonus instead of a 150 percent bonus – but demanding an unrealistic deposit bonus of 800 percent or something similar will get you nowhere and will seriously damage your chances of getting a good deal.
It is however not always needed to negotiate a better deal if you are a real high roller. If you might spend thousands of dollars every single week at a certain casino, you might find that a casino manager will contact you! Casinos are often surprisingly proactive when it comes to client relations. If you get in touch this way with someone at a casino – it means that your business is being highly valued by the casino and that you do have some negotiating power if you would like to get some extra perks. Besides bonuses, high rollers can often also negotiate maximum betting limits being raised if you are the type of player who really prefers high stakes gambling.
Where to start?
After reading this guide you hopefully have a better understanding of the world of casino bonuses. We advise you to have a look at our casino reviews – where we have an unbiased look at the pros and cons of the top online casinos. Of course, we also discuss the current welcome bonuses these casino offer, as well as whether you can expect good bonuses as a returning player afterwards. Do however note that bonuses are just one aspect when it comes to what makes a good online casino. There is no point in playing at an online casino with an amazingly high welcome bonus if the whole casino experience is subpar when it comes to casino games, payments and service!