Make the most of casino bonuses with this simple guide

Gambling companies often offer some sort of deal-sweetener to get you on board if you’re a new customer. While there’s not as much of a market to keep current customers on board, some platforms and bonuses will target repeat customers as a thank-you for their brand loyalty. In today’s piece, we will give you a few tips on how to make the most of casino bonuses.

Casino bonuses remain optimal for providers to attract new customers. Although they have explored several other avenues, operators often combine welcome bonuses and promotions with a multi-faceted approach, ranging from social media advertising to affiliate marketing. Some might even go down the traditional route of TV and radio if they have the budget. 

If you’re in the market for a casino bonus, you won’t have to go far to find a provider offering one. As the online casino industry continues expanding and more countries and territories develop pathways for people to seek services, several subsidiary websites have offered a new angle.

Instead of scouring the internet for hours at a time and dissecting terms and conditions to see if a bonus is worthwhile or if it is too good to be true, NewCasinos.com is one example of how the industry transforms itself and caters to changing customer attitudes and gives people the tools to understand what constitutes a good bonus, and some of the terms to look out for. 

• Matched deposit - usually a percentage of your deposit and capped at X amount. For instance, a 200% matched deposit bonus of up to $100 means you will get $200 in betting bonus credits.
• No deposit bonus - a free bet for signing up. 
• VIP/high-roller - specific to big spenders, usually the top 0.5% depositors on the site.
• Free spins - slot-specific bonuses designed to bring in slot gamers. 
• Referral bonus - if you refer a friend or family member to the site. 

These examples show that while business and innovation ideas might drive new ideas, the tried-and-tested welcome bonuses continue to create the most noise. This is unlikely to change – at least in the foreseeable future.

It can feel overwhelming to trawl through seven or eight pages of tiny terms and conditions in a size eight font. Many contain jargon, complex terms or long, convoluted phrasing that can be difficult to understand. On a more positive note, it’s in the best interests of a casino to get you in as a new customer and retain your custom. 

Some casinos that use bonuses to get people on board promise an attractive offer but when it comes to the crunch, have you jumping through all sorts of hoops. Your reaction would typically be to move on to another provider. They lose the business, so it’s unwise for them to even try pulling the wool over your eyes. Here are the main terms in T&Cs and the terminology we’d advise you to familiarize yourself with.

In our experience, all casino bonuses will have an expiration date, on average, of three to seven days. Some casino bonuses will have very small window in which you can use them – with some only giving you 24 hours. 

If you sign up with a code and deposit and then want to save your spins for a day or two, you might find that your free bet has been withdrawn. Be sure to check this in the terms of any bonus you sign up for.

Any bonus that contains a free spin offer will have a reference to some sort of wagering requirement. Usually, the industry average is around 30x – meaning you have to play through $150 worth of betting credits for a $5 deposit. This can vary from site to site. 

Some bonuses don’t have wagering requirements, whereas others can go up to 60x – again, check the T&Cs for this information so you don’t feel short-changed when claiming potential winnings. 

Free spin offers are usually specific to one or two games; they’ll also have a maximum spin amount. However, some bonuses will offer you a range of games and allow you to check out other parts of the site.

Some bonuses are only valid for specific types of deposits. For example, some bonuses may only be available if you use Apple Pay, which has gone from strength to strength since its launch in the mid-2010s. Again, this will be in the terms – and if you sign up and miss this detail, you might wonder where your bonus is. 

Nothing stops you from shopping around to make the most of casino bonuses. Our only advice on this front is to read the terms and conditions, and maybe opt out of email marketing so that you don’t wake up to 25 emails daily from different casino providers.

Online casino gamers don’t need to overthink this; as long as they know what to look for in T&Cs and understand that they can shop around different platforms, these are the two surefire ways to make the most of casino bonuses: familiarize yourself with the terms we have touched on today and the types of casino bonuses out there, and use this simple guide as part of your broader casino gaming experience.