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Online casino bonus welcome offers
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the welcome offers and bonuses available.
But the biggest offer isn’t always the best. A welcome offer might entice you through the promise of a huge sum in bonus funds. It might sound like an attractive offer, but the terms and conditions may mean it’s hard to access.
We’ll look into what terms and conditions generally mean, as well as wagering requirements and existing customer offers. Match deposit bonuses are the frequent form of welcome offer, and we will take a look at this first.
Best online casino bonus offer types – bet and get offers
Bet and get casino bonus offers are likely to be the most familiar to bettors who have previously taken advantage of free bets from sports betting sites. They tend to look like this:
- Sign up and get £50 bonus when you bet £10
These offers are ideal for a customer if you are not looking to deposit a large amount of money to sample a new online casino. Unlike deposit match offers you will often get bonus funds many times the value of your first deposit.
Best online casino bonus offer types — deposit match bonus
When you’re looking for online casino new customer offers, you might come across something that looks like this:
- Deposit match bonus — 100 per cent up to £100
With such an offer, the operator will match your first deposit amount, up to a total of £100. So, if you make a deposit of £100, you’ll receive an extra £100. Make a deposit of £10, you’ll receive £10. There may also be a code for the offer, such as the bet365 bonus code.
If you make a higher deposit, let’s say £200, you’ll still only receive £100 in bonuses.
The bonus, in these cases, is typically offered as non-withdrawable funds. In other words, your bonus can be used to bet with, but can’t be withdrawn as cash. Winnings made from bonus funds could be subject to wagering requirements, which we’ll come to shortly.
There are variations of this type of bonus. Let’s use another example.
- Deposit match bonus — 50 per cent up to £50
In this example, you can gain an extra £50 in bonus funds on your first deposit.
This promotion states that the online casino will give you 50 per cent of your first deposit as a bonus. The maximum bonus is £50. To claim the full bonus, you would therefore need to make a deposit of £100.
Deposit £50, you’ll receive 50 per cent of this amount, meaning you’ll get £25 in bonus funds.
There tends to be a minimum deposit amount attached to these types of offers. This can vary from operator to operator. In general, though, most deposit match bonus offers require a first deposit of at least £10.
Other terms and conditions also apply. Payment methods and time restrictions will need to be adhered to. We’ll cover basic terms and conditions in greater detail later.
Best online casino bonus offer types - Free Spins/ No wager Free Spins
When you’re looking for online casino new customer offers, you might come across something that looks like this:
- Get 10 no-deposit free spins
These spins are a bonus that are used to play free on various slot games (usually picked by the casino), depending on the specific bookmaker. Some offers can allow the customer to have these free spins without depositing, the only thing you have to do is sign up via your email address. These can be popular as you get to play at a casino with no risk.
- No wager free spins
At times there’ll be free spin bonuses that can require no wagering requirements which despite not being handed out often, can be very popular and good for customers with any winnings made from these spins available to withdraw straight away.
Online casino welcome offers — wagering requirements
Wagering requirements can be a frustrating part of claiming any type of online casino bonus. These requirements have been the subject of much controversy in recent years.
Operators have come under fire for the huge wagering requirements associated with their offers. Most online casinos have responded by lowering these requirements, but they still make up part of most welcome offers.
Let’s take a look at another example. You find an operator that offers bonus funds of £100 for new customers. The terms and conditions state that a 10x wagering requirement applies. What does this mean?
Essentially, you have to deposit and play through 10x your deposit amount before you can withdraw any funds. So, if you deposit £100, you need to deposit and play through £1,000 before you can withdraw any winnings that were earned from the bonus amount.
Sounds complicated, right? It also sounds like a pretty expensive way to claim a bonus. There are a variety of T&Cs that can make these requirements difficult to meet.
Many operators apply a Game Weightings rule. Playing certain games might not go towards meeting these requirements. For instance, for each £10 staked on blackjack could go towards your wagering requirements, but playing on poker might not.
There can also be time restrictions attached. Let’s say the terms and conditions state you need to meet the wagering requirements within seven days of opening your account. For the purposes of our example, this means you will need to stake and play through £1,000 within your first week as a member.
This, for most punters, is very challenging. An added problem is that any winnings you’ve made from your bonus funds will be void if you don’t meet the requirements. Generally, your bonus funds and associated winnings will be kept in a ‘bonus wallet’ until the requirements are met. So, what can you do?
Find an offer where the wagering requirements are easy to meet. While most online casinos in the UK attach wagering requirements to promotions, many now have reasonably lower requirements than they did previously.
Online casino bonus offers — deposits and withdrawals
Deposit amounts will vary, depending on which operator you’re using and the promotion itself. If an offer states that a minimum £10 deposit is required, make sure you transfer this amount. Anything less, you won’t qualify for the offer and you would have missed the chance to claim a welcome bonus.
Minimum and maximum withdrawals can also apply on various offers. Very few promotions require a particular withdrawal amount. In terms of general use of the site, though, most online casinos will ask that you withdraw a minimum amount, which is normally between £5 and £10.
On occasion, you can withdraw less than this amount, but a fee might be charged for doing so. Refer to the terms and conditions of your operator before attempting any funds transfer.
For bonus offers, payment method restrictions can apply. Let’s use another example. We come across a welcome bonus like this:
- Deposit match bonus — 100 per cent up to £100. £10 minimum deposit required. Credit/debit card only.
So, for this offer, you need to make a £10 deposit to start the qualification process. Only deposits made using a credit or debit card will be valid.
This means that you can make a deposit using any accepted method, but in order to claim this bonus, you need to use a card. If you deposit using another method, such as an e-wallet or prepaid voucher, your deposit will be accepted but you can’t claim the available bonus.
Online casino bonus offers — terms and conditions
Always read the terms and conditions of any online casino offer. Attempting to claim an offer, only to realise that you have missed a key term associated with it, can be disappointing.
Significant terms and conditions are, by law, stated in the offer itself. However, full terms and conditions should also be read and understood. They are often found via a link or within the header of an offer.
Let’s say we come across an offer like this:
- Deposit match bonus — 100 per cent up to £100. £10 minimum deposit required. Credit/Debit card only. 25x wagering requirement applies.
So, the essential information is displayed. The bonus is a deposit match up to £100. We need to make a deposit using a credit or debit card of at least £10. We can also see that this offer comes with a 25x wagering requirement.
What else do we need to know? Does a time restriction apply? What about game weightings? Meeting the significant terms doesn’t always mean you can qualify for an offer. This is why you need to read the full terms and conditions.
Online casino bonus offers — free spins/bonus spins/extra spins
Free spins are popular among many UK online casino fans. Generally, a promotion that offers free spins doesn’t require a huge amount in terms of a deposit, nor a wagering requirement.
There are restrictions, though. Most bonus spins offers can only be used on specific games. We could come across an offer like this.
- Deposit £10 and receive 30 free spins. Free spins to be used within 7 days. Game restrictions apply
So, this offer states that if we make a deposit of £10, we will receive 30 free spins to be used on selected games. Remember to check the t’s and c’s, with particular attention to payment methods and games.
In general, your free spins can’t be exchanged for withdrawable cash. Usually, though, any winnings made from free spins will be withdrawable. Once again, refer to the terms and conditions of the specific offer.
Online casino bonus — existing customer offers
Most online casinos offer promotions for existing customers too.
These range from reload offers and free spins to double bonuses and rollovers.
In general, terms and conditions for existing customer promotions are less restrictive than a new customer bonus.
Still, it’s important to read all associated terms and conditions to any existing customer bonus.
Want to find out which is the best online casino site for you?
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