How does free money or a free bet sound?
Awesome, right?
Who doesn’t love free money? Probably no one.
The online gambling industry is extremely competitive. You can play at thousands of online casinos. With that amount of competition, each casino has to find a way to stand out in order to attract new customers. Like any type of business, the best way of standing out is to offer something more appealing than the competitors. When it comes to online gambling, one of the best ways to stand out is by offering unique and appealing bonuses.
Bonuses come in various forms and differ from site to site. Before you join any online gambling site, it’s essential to know which bonuses are offered to you. You may be required to enter a bonus code at the time of your deposit in order to receive the bonus. Let’s take a look at the different bonuses offered at many online casinos.
Top Casinos
Deposit Match Bonus
Nearly every online casino offers some sort of match or partial match bonus on your initial deposit. How this works is you make a deposit, say $500, and receive a free $500. However, you won’t receive that money right away. You have to earn it, or “play through”. What that means if you have to bet enough to receive the free cash. You won’t be able to just make a deposit, get free money, and then cash out. You can usually play with the bonus while you clear it though.
Deposit bonuses, on most of the best sites, are matched at 100%, but there are some online casinos that only match at 50%. The bonus amount you can receive is capped out at a certain amount, which varies from casino to casino.
Reload Match Bonus
Should you have a bad run of luck after signing up for an online gambling site, many of the sites will give you some incentive to give it another try. That incentive comes in the way of another match bonus.
On your next deposit, assuming you’re playing on a site that offers this type of promotion, by entering a certain code, your deposit will be matched up to a specified maximum amount.
Similar to the initial deposit bonus, the reload bonus will have play through requirements. This bonus will be available if you lose all the money from your initial deposit or if you cashed out your winnings and are making a new deposit.
Refer-A-Friend Bonus
Have any friends that love to gamble online? Then refer them to the online casino you play at and you may be eligible for a bonus. This bonus will come in the form of either free cash or a free play.
If you have friends that gamble online, take advantage of this type of bonus. Check with your online casino to see if they offer a refer-a-friend bonus. If they do and you don’t take advantage of it, you’ll be losing out on free money.
Loyalty Bonus
Online casinos love to reward players for their loyalty, and why wouldn’t they? You’ll likely be automatically enrolled in a loyalty program from the moment you sign-up, but if you’re not check with the support department to see what they have to offer.
As you wager more and more over the days, months, and years, the casino will give you more and more free money, free bets, entries into slot and blackjack tournaments, free gifts, and other cool offers. That’s why it’s a smart idea to pick one or two online casinos and stick with them instead of jumping from casino to casino.
High Roller Bonus
Online casinos usually cap the maximum amount a player can receive on their initial deposit bonus. That is, of course, unless you are a high roller. They give high rollers an extra incentive to join their site by paying them in the form of a percentage bonus. The high roller will receive a set percentage of their deposit in free money.
Cash Back Bonus
This is one of the most popular and beneficial bonuses online casinos give out. A cash back bonus pays players back part of their losses.
This type of bonus doesn’t apply to gamblers that have won money. How it works is, let’s say you lose $1,000 over time. If you’re on a 10% cash back program, you’ll receive $100. Every online gambling site pays back players differently. Some pay back a higher percentage than others. If you play luck games such as slot machines where your expected profit over time is negative, a cash back bonus will help your bankroll.
No Deposit Bonus
You can find certain online casinos that don’t even require players to make a deposit in order to get started playing. On these sites, you can test out the games and maybe even make some money by gambling with house money.
With this type of bonus, you’re required to bet enough to complete the trial period before you’re eligible to cash out your winnings. If, after the trial period, you don’t have money left, you’ll need to make a deposit in order to continue playing.
Understanding Play Through Requirements
Unfortunately, online casinos won’t just give you free money. You first have to earn it like you would in a live casino to get those free drinks and hotel rooms. The more you play, the more you will receive and be able to cash out. Play through means you have wagered enough to receive your bonus money. To receive your cash, you have to wager an agreed upon amount based on your deposit.
The set amount is based on a deposit multiplier. For example, if your online casino requires you to play through 10x the amount of your deposit prior to receiving all of your bonus money and you deposit $50 and get a $50 bonus, you’ll need to wager $1,000 ($50 plus $50 = $100 X 10) before getting the money. That doesn’t mean you have to bet $1,000 on one hand of blackjack or one spin of a slot machine. It means the total amount of your wagers, over time, must exceed $1,000 before you can cash out the money.