With the proliferation of online casinos for a wide range of gaming experiences, there is, without a doubt, a lot of competition in the industry. In order not to be one of the unlucky casinos that loses out, modern online casinos therefore need to be offering all that they can to potential players. When you have the option to take your custom to a different place, you will do it unless there is an incentive not to. This, in a roundabout way, is why online casinos offer you bonuses such as free spins and matched deposits for your use on casino games.
Now, before we go any further, let’s make one thing absolutely clear: any bonus is better than no bonus. As there is no law saying that casinos have to make bonuses available, they are giving these bonuses of their own free will. They may have their reasons for offering them, but they are offering them, and that’s the main thing. But all casino bonuses are not created equal, and when it comes to playing casino games, some bonuses are definitely better than others. Below, we’ll look at how to pick out the best ones from the crowd.
Wagering requirements
When it comes to online casino bonuses, this is the big caveat. It is the one that experienced casino players look for first when they read about a great new offer. You will be delighted to see that a casino is offering you a bonus of $200 on your first deposit of $100; that’s an amazing offer on the face of it. However, the terms and conditions will generally include a few words about “playthrough” or wagering requirements. This means you will need to re-bet any winnings you make from the bonus a certain number of times. The lower this number is, the better, because if you win $30 from your bonus betting, playthrough requirements of x60 would mean you’ll need to bet $1800 before you can withdraw what you’ve won.
Time limits
A casino bonus will usually come with a specified time limit – essentially, you use it or you lose it. This could be seven days, or thirty days, or whatever the casino decides it should be. Once that time period elapses, the online casino software takes the bonus amount away – along with any money you may have won while using the bonus. The big sticking point here is that if you have a week to bet your way through $1000, that means you’re going to be doing little more than spinning reels or hitting the tables.
This leaves little time for pausing, strategizing and thinking about anything that isn’t betting. You’re more likely to make mistakes if you’re pressed for time, and may even run into internet throttling issues, so favor the offers that have more generous time limits.
Limits on which games you can use with the offer
If you’re excited about gaming at a specific casino and enjoying its wide range of games, then a hefty chunk of bonus cash can make that prospect even more exciting. It is worth, however, reading those terms and conditions once again. Often, they will make clear that there are only certain games on which you can play with bonus cash. The offer may be limited entirely to slots, which have the highest house edge, or it may be the case that only a certain amount of what you bet on baccarat or blackjack counts towards those playthrough requirements. In the case of free spins, they may only be for use on a specific slot – in which case it’s worth checking the RTP% of said slot.
Again, the point of this is not to trash any of the offers provided by online casinos – they could simply not offer you any bonus at all, so any bonus is better than nothing. However, if you have a choice of a few casinos to play at, a certain amount of bankroll cash and limited time, it is best to play on the casino whose offers give you the most bang for your buck. And as you can see above, that’s not just the casino that offers the most money as a bonus.
