The online casinos are well-known for being extremely generous with their bonus offers. There is not a single online casino in the world you can visit, where you won’t find a throng of bonuses waiting for you. There are so many different types of casino bonuses, that we felt compelled to create this guide to introduce the newer players to some of their options. Mind you, there is so much detail in each division, that all we have done here is give you a general overview of the types of online casino bonuses you may encounter on your e-gaming journey. There are separate guides detailing each of those bonuses further and in much more depth.
Types of online casino bonuses
Below you will find the outline of the land of casino bonuses. We have tried to both separate and at the same time group the bonuses into different categories, based on the criteria used to distinguish one type of bonus from another.
The fact is that many categories will overlap, for example, a no deposit bonus which is offered to new players only could show in two different categories – based on deposit and based on availability to the customers. We have a whole guide underlining the difference between a deposit and no deposit bonuses, if you want to go down that rabbit hole, as well. But in general we have tried to create a contrast based on the most common scenarios people would encounter at the online casino.
No Deposit Bonuses
The no deposit bonuses are the primary goal of our website – finding the best offers and presenting them in a simple and easy to use format. The no-deposit bonus at the casino is exactly what it sounds – you will get free chips or free spins from the casino without having to risk any of your money. Naturally, no deposit is required in order to redeem this type of casino bonus, and, yes, your winnings are in real money and can be withdrawn, up to an amount predetermined in the terms and conditions of the bonus.
The no deposit casino bonus often comes in two varieties itself: free spins or free chips.
The free spins will be tied to a particular vide slot, where you will get a certain number of free spins with the bet amount per spin predetermined and locked in. Once you’ve played the free spins, you are free to take all of the winnings to a different slot machine or even a different casino game.
The free chips is an offer of basically free money which, unlike the free spins, the players can gamble at any of the games the casino offers. You are not tied to one specific slot nor are you limited on how much you can wager per spin.
The Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus is a type of match-based bonus, available only to new players of the casino. It is by far one of the largest free money bonus you can get from the online casinos. It takes the form of a match-bonus based on your (usually) first deposit you make at the casino. The online casinos use this bonus to compete with each other, some going as far as offering 400% or more for first time players.
We highly recommend that a player who is new to the casino take advantage of this one-time offer and lock in as much bonus money as possible. Sure, the casino websites offer other deposit-based bonuses all the time to their existing customers, but nothing beats the size of the welcome bonus.
Things to watch out for: Some online casinos will advertise the free signup bonus as one lump sum, while in reality it would be a total of multiple bonuses in a row. Some people don’t like that, while others prefer it, since it gives you the chance to both claim a good size welcome bonus, yet you don’t have to necessary deposit a lot of money in order to max out each offer, while in the end, it all works out to the same total amount advertised.
Match Bonuses
Under match bonuses we lump almost all other bonuses which require a deposit, excluding the welcome bonus and the others listed further down. These are your typical online casino bonuses and will vary from casino to casino. They are typically promotional deposit match bonuses which the casinos will publish once or twice a month and will be available to existing players only.
The match bonuses are plentiful and generally generous. Oftentimes they will be in the 150% to 250% of a deposit you make, they will have average wagering requirements and most often than not – will carry no max cashout limit. Unlike the reload bonuses (see below), they can be claimed only once, although the casino will usually have plenty of them to keep people happy.
They could be part of the casino’s weekly rotation of bonus offers, for example, 200% match on Monday, 150% on Tuesday, 250% on Wednesday, etc. Or they could simply be available for redemption at any point, within a certain time period, for example, from the 1st of the month until the 15th.
The Reload Bonus
This type of casino bonus may sound very similar to the regular match bonus (see above), and it is, but with a few major differences.
The reload bonus is a match offer which the player can claim anytime they make a deposit, unlimited number of times. They tend to be smaller than the typical match bonus, oftentimes around 100% of your deposit in free money, which is not too bad, but not amazing either. They are usually geared towards people who’ve already redeemed all the available standard match bonuses, but still want to play with more than they deposit.
Most online casinos which offer reload bonuses will usually have the standard wager requirements although some of them may end up having a max cashout limitation, as well. So make sure that you read the terms and conditions of the reload bonus, rather than just assume it is a match bonus and end up with an unfortunate surprise at cashout time.
And finally, not all online casinos will offer reload bonuses. Check with your casino of choice if those are available.
Cashback Bonuses
The final major type of online casino bonuses is the cashback bonus. As the name suggests, it is free money the casino will give you, based on a percentage of your losses within certain time. It is quite similar to how cashback works with credit cards, for example, so there is really nothing more to explain about how its mechanics work.
Just like the reload bonus, however, the cashback bonus is not available at all online casinos. When it is, expect to be able to get somewhere in the range of 30% – 35% of your weekly losses in cashback chips, unless the casino is running a special cashback promotion. If this is the case, some online casinos are known for running 50% and even 100% cashback on your loss, but it would be for just one deposit, rather than, let’s say, your total weekly losses.
Another requirement you may watch out for at some casinos is that you would need to request a cashback bonus within 48 hours of your deposit. Keep an eye for such stipulations and be mindful if they do exist at your casino.
Conclusion: Other types of casino bonuses
The types we’ve reviewed above are but the few major types of bonuses you can get at the online casino. As mentioned in the beginning, you can create countless types of bonuses, it all depends on the criteria one uses to separate them. For example, you can have “new player” bonuses and “existing players” bonuses. We won’t go much into it at this time, but you can guess that with the exception of the welcome bonus, all other bonuses could be available to both new and existing players.
All these things should show you that regardless of which type of bonus you plan to redeem, you should always read its terms and conditions. There is no excuse for anyone to skip over this important step in claiming a bonus, considering the casinos are (thankfully) very succinct with those rules. You don’t have to scroll through pages of “legaleeze” in order to claim the bonus. On the contrary, in a few sentences you will be presented with everything you need to know about that bonus. So don’t skip this final step to any type of bonus you want to redeem!
