Casino Bonuses

The world of online casino games is a very competitive one, and in an effort to attract players and encourage long term loyalty, many casinos offer a variety of bonuses and promotions. Whilst you should never base your decision to join any online casino solely on the bonuses that it offers, having an overall idea of the kind of bonuses and promotions that are available will help you to choose between sites that are very similar in all other respects. That said, the most common types of bonuses and promotions offered by online casinos are as follows:

First Deposit Bonus

This bonus is designed to encourage new players to sign up, and adds bonus cash to the amount the player deposits for the first time. For example, a 100% first deposit bonus would give a player depositing £50 a bonus amount of £50 on top. It is important to note that most casinos limit their first deposit bonus to a maximum amount, and that terms and conditions may apply (see last section on this page).

Reload Bonus

The reload bonus is similar to the first deposit bonus, but in this case it awards bonus cash whenever a player “tops up” their casino account. Again, a maximum possible bonus is usually specified, and in many cases players are awarded just one reload bonus in any given month.

Loyalty Schemes

Loyalty schemes usually award points to players for every £10 that they spend at an online casino, win or lose. The points can then be collected and redeemed for bonus cash or in some cases exchanged for tangible goods.

Happy Hours

Happy Hour promotions tend to reward players who play at the casino at a specific time of day. The reward could take the form of extra loyalty points being awarded, or players getting a cash bonus of some sort.

Terms & Conditions

As we mentioned earlier, all bonuses have terms and conditions attached in order to protect the casino from exploitation and abuse. In the case of bonuses, maximum limits are set so that the casino won’t have to give away more than a specified amount to any one player. There may also be restrictions on who qualifies for the bonus (players in certain countries can be exempt from the bonus offer) and rules about how much money has to be played at the casino before the bonus amount can be withdrawn. The latter prevents people from signing up, making a deposit in order to get a cash bonus and then withdrawing the whole amount without even playing.

Loyalty schemes generally have fewer terms and conditions attached to them, but some casinos won’t let you collect loyalty points for indefinite periods of time. Instead they insist that points are redeemed every few months.

Because terms and conditions vary from casino to casino, it is important to check these rather than taking anything for granted and assuming things that might not be accurate.