Bonuses are one of the greatest things to come out of online casinos. Promotions and rewards are routinely offered by online casinos, and picking the right bonuses is a fantastic way to make the most out of your casino experience. There are some truly lucrative bonuses on offer across the online gambling world, but not every reward on offer is necessarily right for you.
Below, we explore what the different kinds of bonuses are, as well as how to go about making sure you pick the best bonus to liven up your casino experience.
What bonuses are on offer?
Each casino site will have different kinds of bonuses on offer, but broadly, all of them fall into the following categories.
- Free spins: Free spins are one of the greatest bonuses for fans of slots. They allow players to spin specific slots free of charge.
- No deposit bonus: This is a type of bonus that players can access without having to make a deposit on the site.
- Reload bonus: Reloads are rewards to returning customers for topping up their accounts, and can include free spins, bonus funds or other fun options.
- Tiered bonus: A lot of welcome and loyalty schemes are organized into tiered systems, where you have to reach certain milestones to unlock different parts of the bonus.
How to choose the right bonus?
Now you know what options there are, but it can be difficult to know which to choose out of all the rewards on offer. So, let’s look at some ways to narrow the field. You can also get a good overview of each casino’s selection on review sites like this Leo Vegas online casino review, to make it easier to compare.
Terms and conditions
The first step is to take a magnifying glass to the terms and conditions of both the bonus on offer and the casino itself. There are often a few tricky aspects tucked away in the T&Cs, but you also want to make sure that the terms of the bonus won’t clash with your gaming habits. The casino may have maximum bets or time restrictions on the promotion that aren’t immediately obvious.
It’s good to look at a casino’s policies anyway – any reputable site will have a solid privacy policy and other regulations.
For a bonus, a lot of the points you want to look out for in the terms are covered below.
Check wagering requirements
Sometimes, the rewards of that glitzy bonus you have your eye on aren’t going to materialize straight away. Casinos offer their bonuses to attract and retain players, so they often have minimum wagering requirements in place on their rewards. This means you must play a certain number of times before the casino will release the money you’ve earned. Make sure the reward is worth your required input.
Other terms to know include conversion caps and game bonus conversions. The caps will limit what you can turn into real cash from the bonus – the rest must be spent in-game. A game bonus conversion is assigned to a given casino game, stipulating how much it can count towards the wagering requirement.
Consider the validity period
It’s no good going for a bonus with a long string of requirements that you have no chance of completing on time. Lots of bonuses have a limited validity period, either on completing the milestones to earn the reward, using the reward in-game or converting it to cash.
A number of casinos set short validity periods to encourage you to play a lot in a limited period, but don’t let the lure of an offer force you to overspend. Choose a bonus that has a validity period that aligns with your overall gambling habits.
Check security and licensing details
Sometimes the best offers are just too good to be true. One of the most important things to do before joining a new casino is to check their licensing status. Look for casinos that comply with the regulations of some of the strictest gambling regulatory authorities, such as the Malta Gambling Authority or the UK Gambling Commission. It’s safe to assume that any bonus offered by casinos licensed by these bodies is legitimate.
Choose the best games
Finally, make sure your bonus is valid for games you enjoy! While bonuses can be a good way to introduce new games, gambling is supposed to be entertainment, and the best way to have fun and relax is by playing your favorite casino games. Flashy bonuses can tempt you into playing games you dislike or you’re not very good at, and this can make earning the rewards a drudge – or just plain impossible.