Understanding Online Casino Bonuses

It seems that new online casinos are entering the market almost every day, and the competition to attract new players is fierce. Almost no online casino can compete these days without offering large signup bonuses to new players. This is great for us gamblers.

However, to protect themselves from people who may have no real interest in gambling, online casinos have to attach a number of terms and conditions to the bonuses they offer. These terms and conditions can often be somewhat complicated, especially to newcomers to online gaming. It’s very important to understand the terminology online casinos use in their terms and conditions, otherwise it’s easy to make mistakes and find that your winnings

CasinoRoom $100 bonus

may not be valid.

Terminology and Explanations:

Bonus Maximum Limit – Almost all online casinos will limit or play a maximum amount on the bonus you can receive. So if the bonus states 100% to $100, this means the maximum bonus you can receive is $100 (if you deposit $100). You can deposit $20 if you like, but you will only receive 100% of your deposit, so only $20 in bonus money.

Type of Bonus

No-Deposit Bonus – Some online casinos offer no-deposit bonuses to new players. These bonuses are great as you don’t need to risk your own money to play at these online casinos. However, you will usually be required to make a deposit if you win and want to cashout your winnings.

Pure Bonus – Some online casinos offer pure bonuses to their players. A pure bonus is one you can withdraw in its entirety once you have completed the wagering requirement. So if you are offered a 100% to $100 pure bonus, you deposit $100, play with $200 and, once you have completed the wagering requirement, you can withdraw the whole $200 and your winnings. If the bonus terms don’t use words like Play Money Bonus or don’t specifically state that the bonus cannot be withdrawn, then you can be assured that the bonus is one you can withdraw completely after you have completed the wagering requirement.

Play Bonus – Many online casinos offer play bonuses. A play bonus is a bonus you can use to win with, but you cannot withdraw the actual bonus. After you have finished the wagering requirement, you can withdraw your deposit and your winnings, but the play bonus will be removed from your account whenyou make your withdrawal. Some casinos return the play bonus to your account and you can keep on winning with it until you lose it, but you can never withdraw the actual play bonus.

Wagering Requirement – This is the amount you have to wager or playthrough before you can withdraw your winnings. Online casinos place wagering requirements on their bonuses to make sure that new customers don’t just cash out their bonuses. It’s a fair requirement in exchange for receiving a great bonus. You can always find out what the wagering requirement is in the terms and conditions of the bonus. For example, if you are offered a 100% to $100 bonus, the terms might state that you need to wager 8 times your deposit plus bonus before withdrawing. If you deposited $100 to get the max bonus (recommended), your wagering requirement would be [(100 + 100) x 8 = 1600]. You would need to place $1600 worth of bets. This might seem a lot more than it really is. For example, if you play three $20 hands of blackjack and win one, lose one and push one, your balance is the same, but you have wagered $60 towards your playthrough requirement. Some online casinos will state that you only need to wager the bonus a certain number of times. So, for the example we’ve been using, you would deposit $100, get the $100 bonus, but only need to playthrough $800 worth of wagers if it’s 8x the bonus.

Excluded Games – Some online casinos will state that, to receive the bonus, you can’t play certain games until you have completed the wagering requirements. The terms and conditions will always state which games are excluded. You can play these games after you have completed the required playthrough in exchange for receiving the bonus.

Playing Currency – Many online casinos offer their games to the world and offer many different kinds of currencies you can play in. You can choose whichever currency you like, however, as the Great British Pound (GBP) is worth almost twice as much as the US dollar, online casinos will usually state that if you wish to get the bonus, you can only play in the currency of the country you live in. In addition, some online casinos will place extra wagering restrictions on anyone who chooses to play in GBP.

Summary

Almost all of the bonuses offered by online casinos are great value for players and there is nothing wrong with trying out all the online casinos and taking advantage of their bonuses offers. In fact, this is the best way to find out which online casinos are suitable for you, and you can make a lot of money with all the large bonuses. Just make sure you read the Terms and Conditions for each bonus before depositing. If you don’t fully understand the terms of the bonus, you can always check with the online casino support team first and they are almost always friendly and helpful. They realize that the terms are often complicated and they’ll do their very best to explain them simply. Before long, you’ll understand everything there is to know about online casino bonuses and, if you like extra value like I do, you’ll soon grow to love the bonuses! Ed note: Grab a 100% to $200 Pure Bonus at Casino-On-Net (888) or get a massive 300% to $300 Play Bonus at Golden Palace Casino!