A concrete, real-deal online casino games review of bonuses

What to look for in Bonuses?

What we’re really saying is: always be wise and careful with whom, where and how you play, and below we offer a few words of advice that we have seen work through decades. We’ll be looking at, amongst other useful and brilliant things:

• Bonus types
• How casino bonuses work
• Possible games best to start with to gain firm ground
• Finding wagering requirements that are not too high (sometimes nearly impossible) to fill, or too low
• What are casino bonus codes and whether they make sense
• The difference between a deposit- and non-deposit bonuses
• Can you withdraw a casino bonus and when
• Your best choice of strategy (casinos are extremely smart but, like any existing system, they have loopholes, so not impossible to beat)

A casino doesn’t bleed, technically…But you know what we mean. You can play smart, claim your winnings and walk away undefeated. Or, rather, get to the extraction point with all possible speed. GET TO THE CHUUPAH!

Off we go

How casino bonuses work

For anyone new to the business, the puzzle of how the casinos can give out so much money for free, is a mystery wrapped in an enigma revolving around a puzzle. Basically, this money is seen by a casino as a way of attracting customers, much like a company would spend money on advertisement.
Some say the only free cheese is in mousetraps, but lately companies have come into a habit of investing quite a lot of funds into events aimed to attract attention as the industry is becoming more and more competitive. Giving away money at this stage pays off in the long run in terms of attracted regular customers, so, as a rule, there a possibility of gaining capital here.
Of course, bonuses come with certain limitations after all, because otherwise everyone would just withdraw them and the business would go bankrupt in the matter of hours. So a few guidelines: for instance, you can only withdraw certain types of bonuses once you have passed a certain threshold, some bonuses apply only to regular users, and so on. These limitations are usually ok to comply with in order to get the win, but we do ask that you read the Terms and Conditions very carefully. Avoid bonuses that sound completely amazing and are almost impossible to get. That usually means something is a little dicey and probably not worth the risk (watch out for online casino scams).

How to gain and withdraw Casino Bonuses

Now, there is some truth to that only-free-cheese-in-mousetraps adagio, but also, because free bonus money is money thrown at crowds to attract customers, some gain can be made, if you only you watch the size cap and bonus limitations. Sometimes things are easy, like they are with no-deposit bonuses (below) in that all you need to do is register, sometimes on the website, sometimes through email, and you receive the funds (virtual funds that – hypothetically – are withdrawable). Sometimes you have to make a symbolic payment, like with PayPal, to make a withdrawal. Given that wagering req’s are all fulfilled.

One thing to note is that some casinos are tricky, which means they will annul your bonus if you have put in to withdraw and your wagering requirements haven’t been met. A low blow, if you ask us, but still money has to be made.

Online casino bonuses in 2017 also feature two types of bonuses that have to be described separately. There are two types. Some bonuses (called Sticky Type 1) can be used to make money but not to withdraw. For instance, if you use this $50 bonus to make $500, you will technically have $550 in your account, of which $500 you can withdraw, and the bonus itself swiftly disappears forever. Sticky Type 2 bonuses are different from Sticky Type 1 in that after you withdraw they don’t disappear, allowing you to use them to play on. They are stuff of legends and are usually eagerly sought after by users on forums.

Think evil and good twins respectively. Well, ok, they are both good twins, but one is kind of too good and you miss it terribly when it’s gone.

Casinos usually ask for you to withdraw funds using the same method you used to pay the money in for security reasons (e.g. Visa), and this will sometimes carry a transaction fee of a couple of dollars (!). Online casino Paypal, Visa Credit Card, Neteller, Skrill, WebMoney, Bank transfer and others are among the supported currencies.

Casinos that take themselves seriously use SSL encryption to guarantee account data security and usually ask you for detailed documentation like proof of payment ability ad proof of ID, so…if you see that – that’s a good sign.

E-wallets usually do their thing within a flash when it comes to online casino play, while banks and other commercial institutions may take 1-5 days to transfer funds depending on the level of their cooperation.

Also consider this: in some places it is possible to set limits for yourself so your gambling doesn’t get out of hand. That, admittedly, is a nice gesture.

Bonus Codes

Whether you’re playing an online casino for free or not, bonus codes are what is necessary to make it all work. You get bonuses by typing this code in the corresponding field on the Deposit page of the website of a casino. Seems deceptively easy, but remember that bonuses may be online casinos’ only way to get attention in a field of very fierce competition (The likes of Bellagio can show off fantastic interiors and impressive fireworks, etc to impress, but with online casinos this is a lot more difficult).

Different Kinds of Bonuses:

Before you embark on this potentially perilous journey, of course, we once again state the obvious: always read the T+C before you sign up to make sure this particular bonus suits you and that you can get the best value for money for it. Study the subject carefully, and remember that when something sounds too good to be true it usually is.

Online casino welcome bonuses, or Sign-Up Bonuses, are the most famous of them all. This is the cornerstone of casino might. However, watch out: if a casino offers only one Welcome Bonus, trouble. Try to find one that gives you a variety of bonuses scattered across the board.

At the top of this list is the absolutely fantastic life-saver, a Demiurg in a mortal disguise, a stunning Earth-shuddering bountiful goddess of life and a faithful friend, a Cashback Bonus. There’s no point in beating around the bush, so let’s jump straight to never-ending awesomeness mixed with some sugar and spice. A Cashback Bonus sticks with you through thick and thin and bails you out when the worst comes to worst, usually when you lose badly. Here’s how it works – if you lose $1000, you get $200 back if you had a 20% CashBack Bonus. She’s awesome, you choose her and she’s always there for you…Counting her out would definitely be a mistake.

An online casino no-deposit bonus is that short faithful sidekick that admires you, laughs to all your jokes, is never late and loves cooking for you given the opportunity. Memorise this one, or, better yet, write it on a sheet of paper so it’s the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning. Short, sweet and reliable: try casino games for free of charge and even win money with this handy-dandy little guy. Casinos usually see this one as an investment (just like they would invest in property) which will bring them large numbers of players, so some financing goes into these, making it possible to make some money on them. If you’ re smart and you know what you’re doing (and respectively you are and you will be when you’re done reading this).

When you deposit a $100 dollars, a casino offers you another hundred and now you have $200 in total to play with? A Matching Deposit Bonus is your partner, a grizzly, life-worn, ham-and-beans kind of man with just enough soul left in him after the grinder of life to care. He does all the earnest work, gives you a ride to work and if he’s late, he’s probably go a pretty good reason (like saving people from a burning building). Are you singing to yourself so no-one can hear “Partner, don’t let me down?”. Exactly right. Whatever you deposit, your partner matches. No nigh expectations here. Just be you. However, often these bad boys come with a size cap or a withdrawal limit, which you don’t always know about because you haven’t read the fine print. Something like “You can only withdraw after $5 000” usually hits you hard. Make sure you play games that have substance and offer you a real chance of winning (and we don’t mean games where everything depends on chance – in fact, the exact opposite). The more control you have over the proceedings, the better. For online casinos in UK or US and Canada, for instance, with their highly evolved Social Security System – not really a bother. Others? Mmm.

Percentage deposit bonus. This one is pretty much the same as a Matching Deposit Bonus, only less effective. A 50% percentage deposit bonus will add $50 to your 100-dollar investment. Pretty good. Mind-blowingly fantabulous all the way? Not really. Honest, calculating and hard-working? Yes. This one is a firm B. And no, we don’t mean cup sizes, although in a man-suit it’s kind of hard to tell. Go, Amy! This is a hefty little reward, and not at all badly shaped.

A Reload Bonus is more like a drug rather than a person in that it kind of attaches itself to a user (often it is every month), giving the words “regular user” that dodgy scent. They are normally Matching Deposit Bonuses or Percentage Deposit Bonuses. An awesome thrill for the Great Whites of online casino gambling who have been successfully making money for decades, it is not so much a good tool for beginners, because, just like with a back belt in karate, it starts to really pay out after a long while of time and if you really know your way around. Once you have captured what’s really going on here, however, the Deep Blue Sea of online gambling will part around you. These are normally Matching Deposit Bonuses or Percentage Deposit Bonuses and are usually associated with hardcore, regular gamers.

A Loyalty Bonus is basically the same as a Reload Bonus for those players that have advanced through the VIP career ladder far enough to reach a certain stage where they receive more substantial rewards. These are the Megalodons of online casino gambling, and they are this big for a reason. They are veterans. With a Loyalty Program player’s progress is automated at each logon and the points you earn are collected all the way throughout until they reach critical mass and here-we-are…However, all that beauty pales in comparison with its logical extension, a High Roller Bonus with its mastodon benefits for deposits that measure in thousands of dollars.

A Refer-A-Friend Bonus (and we’re not still talking Terry Crews, although he is indeed as massive as a refer) is where you get money for bringing someone else in to play, which is self-explanatory. Much like these two, it goes hand-in-hand with another lightweight, a Free-Trial No Deposit bonus that basically gives you next to nothing because neither the bonus or the winnings can be cashed out. Except for the gaming experience and the chance to make up your mind whether you’re staying with this casino or not.

Attention! Must-Read Bonus Conditions

Just like friendly fire isn’t friendly at all, fine print can be a life-changer. Here are a few things you would highly likely miss because they are normally printed in size 2 Tahoma on the very back, and there is a good reason for it. If you don’t pay attention to one of these fine print points, your experience will be a blast, but not in a nice way. More like completely out of the blue you lose everything when it all blows up in your face because you haven’t read the manual:

Sometimes you will need to complete your Playthrough requirement within a certain time period, otherwise poof! – No winnings and no bonus. Ouch!

Be careful! Typically only one bonus can be activated at any one time.

• Slots staking contribution (ie paythrough fill-up ratio) varies wildly – from 100% on slots to 0% on table games.
• Some games are completely excluded from gameplay with a bonus on your account.
• Some casinos exclude a significant part of the world from being able to receive bonuses. We’ve seen pretty long lists. Make sure your country isn’t on one of them.
• You could even get into trouble and risk all of your online casino games experience and have all your bonuses and winnings removed (including all the future ones) for something as ambivalent as “low-risk gambling to clear wagering”, and the decision, of course, is at discretion of the management.
• Last but not least, remember that some casinos take it to heart if you close your account with them and actually will ban you from creating another account within the same system for hurting their feelings.
• And, of course, normally casinos reserve the right to alter and amend their T+C without prior notice, which means they can do anything they want without your consent.

Stay safe. But not too safe (that’s also bad).

Helen Brown