Online Casino Conditions >>> Best Casino Bonuses
          

If you already know a thing or two about casino bonuses and are simply searching for the best online casino bonus offers from credible and trusted online casinos, please see our corresponding casino bonus charts below:

Welcome Bonuses | Percentage Bonus | Match Bonuses | No-Deposit Bonus
Preferred Deposit Bonuses | High Roller Bonus | Reload Bonuses | Loyalty Bonus

For new and seasoned gamblers who would like to know more about bonus offers, including the different types, Wagering and Game Requirements and General Terms and Conditions, we strongly advise to read on further to find the casino bonus offer most suited to your bankroll and playing style. Remember, online casino bonuses are like credit cards in the sense that if one does not read all the fine print, the luxury of the credit can end up biting you back in the long run. There are all kinds of bonuses available on the Web. By becoming familiar with online casino bonuses ahead of time you won't be hit with anything unexpected.

According to the 2006 eCOGRA Global Online Gambler Report, 76% of surveyed online gamblers say that when searching for an online casino to play they primarily look for bonus offerings. And while we all know that casino bonuses should not be the sole consideration for choosing a gaming host (please see our online casino reviews page for more information on choosing a trustworthy and credible online casino), the fact of the matter is that bonuses are a major concern for players that factor heavily into choosing a casino host to open an account with. In addition to the fact that player's love the idea of getting free money, bonuses allow gamblers to extend the life of their bankroll, thus prolonging their chances of hitting the big one and even getting the Casinos Edge down. Indeed, a player who uses bonus money solely for making bets at blackjack - with proper strategy - will give themselves a positive value expected return. This is precisely why most bonuses do not allow bets at the blackjack tables to be used in meeting the bonus cash-out requirements...More on that later. But first, let's talk about the different types of bonuses found at online casinos, beginning with the free sign-up casino bonus:

Welcome Bonuses - Also called a Signup Bonus or New Player Bonus, this is the most common type of free cash online casino bonus found on the Web. Welcome Bonuses range in amount, yet a safe average is in the neighborhood of $100. They are given to players as an incentive for opening a new account and making a first-time, real money deposit. They usually just cover a player's first deposit, however, some welcome bonuses may be applied to future deposits as well. For instance, a casino may advertise a bonus for $1,200 Free. In the fine print, however, will be revealed that this bonus is broken down into twelve $100 bonuses spanning the next twelve monthly deposits. Welcome bonuses will either be either a Match Bonus or Percentage Bonus, as explained below.

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Percentage Bonuses - Percentage Bonuses are contingent upon the amount of one's deposit, and usually range from 50% to 450% at online casinos. The most common percent bonuses are 50%, 100% (match) and 200%. The percentage of the bonus determines how much of one's initial deposit will be awarded in bonus money. Of course, this is in addition to the deposit itself. For instance, a 200% bonus for a $50 deposit would amount to a $100 bonus, giving the player a total of $150 to gamble with.

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Match Bonuses - Match bonuses are the same as 100% bonuses. In other words, for every $1 deposited, there will be a matching $1 given in free bonus money. A casino that advertises a 50% Match Bonus is mistaken, for a 50% bonus awards $.50 in bonus money for every $1 deposited. Match Bonuses are the most common type of bonus on the Web, whether it be for a Welcome Bonus or reload bonus. They usually award up to $100 Free, although this amount can be much higher for some of the more competitive match bonus offers out there.

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No Deposit Bonuses - As the name implies, this type of bonus does not require a player to deposit any money of their own in order to receive it, as is the case with most bonuses. The only requirement is that the player open a real money gaming account. These bonuses will always be smaller than deposit bonuses, and normally do not exceed $10.

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Reload Bonuses - While a Welcome Bonus gives player's incentive to open a new account at an online casino, reload bonuses offer incentive for players to stick around and keep gambling. The best reload bonuses are welcome bonuses in themselves. Reload bonuses usually have the same terms and conditions as welcome bonuses, but it is not uncommon for them to have slightly better terms with lower wager requirements. A good solid reload bonus would be a 100% Match Bonus up to $100 Free.

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Preferred Deposit Bonuses - Preferred deposit bonuses are given on deposits made with third-party eWallet's which the casino encourages players to use. Usually ranging from 5% to 15%, many players will end up using these deposit methods anyways. Preferred deposit bonuses at online casinos are usually given on all deposits a player makes, and cannot be used in conjunction with a Welcome Bonus. It is not uncommon to find 15% bonuses for using payment methods like Neteller or Click2Pay. These bonuses usually have high monthly limits (up to $3,000 free), which casinos love to advertise. However, unless you are a high roller with a very large bankroll, you will probably not even come close to hitting these limits.  To get $3,000 free in a single month from 15% bonuses, one would need to make $20,000 in deposits.

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High Roller Bonuses - As the name implies, high roller online casino bonuses are larger than normal bonuses, often ranging from $500 to $1,000 and above. High roller bonuses can be had as a welcome bonus, and usually come in the form of 50% bonuses with slightly lower wager requirements than other bonuses offered at the same casino. For instance, a common high roller bonus could be a 50% bonus up to $500 Free. A player would need to deposit $1,000 and would have $1,500 to gamble with on this particular bonus.

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Loyalty Bonuses - For players who have achieved different status levels in an online casinos Loyalty/Rewards Program, they will be eligible to receive loyalty bonuses. These types of free cash bonuses correspond to a players VIP status, and are more favorable than other bonuses in terms of maximum bonus amount and wagering requirements. Sometimes they are randomly offered to VIP players, while some online casinos offer them as part of a regular weekly/monthly loyalty program.

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Bonus Terms & Conditions....

The T&C's of bonuses and promotions should always be fully read over by a player because this is where any limitations and exclusions on how the bonus is used and cashed out will be revealed in writing. Over the years, Bonus T&C's have increasingly become more demanding, largely due to intentional and unintentional bonus abuse. The two main ways that bonuses are "abused", which ultimately leads to one's bonus money being seized, are preemptive cash-outs and claiming multiple bonuses (at the same time or the same bonus twice). Whether a player has intentionally claimed the same bonus twice under two accounts with different names at a single casino, or, claimed the same bonus twice at two casinos within the same VIP network, online casinos will not tolerate any violations of their bonus terms and conditions. Bonus abuse had become such a problem in the past that players from certain jurisdictions known for high rates of bonus abuse, such as countries in Eastern Europe, would either be forced to accept steeper wager requirements than other players or be exempt from receiving bonuses altogether. If you have accepted a welcome bonus at an online casino that is owned and operated by the same company or shares a Rewards Program with other online casinos, always check to verify that any prior claimed bonuses will not exempt you from claiming and cashing out any future bonuses. Also, if you reside with someone else who gambles online, there is a good chance they will need to claim a bonus elsewhere, for most online casinos only allow one bonus per household, bank account, email address or credit card number. Again, all this will be posted in the bonus terms and conditions. Players should read them over from beginning to end - for all bonuses being offered. This way, if any bonuses clash with one another, a player will know ahead of time they will have to make a choice between bonuses. For instance, online casinos usually allow new account holders to claim either a Welcome Bonus, a No-Deposit Bonus or a Preferred Deposit Method Bonus on the player's initial deposit - not all three at the same time.

After choosing a bonus to receive, one should check the terms and conditions for any instructions on how to specifically claim the bonus. It is imperative that players do not make any deposit before claiming the bonus first. While players are usually encouraged to make a deposit right from the start, many casinos these days either require players to directly contact them first, or, to log into the software platform to obtain the corresponding bonus code before making their initial deposit and claiming the online casino bonus. Again, this is a bonus abuse prevention protocol that allows casinos to screen players first. It also gives the player a chance to review the bonus and make certain it is one he or she would still like to claim. At some casinos, once a bonus has been deposited into a player's account, the bonus cannot be removed. If you are ever unclear on how to go about claiming a bonus, always contact customer service to verify the exact procedure before making a deposit.

Bonuses are usually available within hours of having been claimed. Once the bonus is in your account, it's time to put it into action and meet the wager requirement. Then and only then can the bonus money be cashed out. For beginner's information on claiming bonuses, please read our page on Wager Requirements. Otherwise, please read on for more detailed information.

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Wager Requirements (Play-through) & Game Exclusions....

These are the two most important factors to look for in choosing a bonus. Understandably, free cash bonuses are really only conditionally free. In order to get one's hands on the actual cash, players must first wager the amount of the bonus and/or corresponding deposit a certain number of times over. This number usually ranges from 8x to 50x, and more often than not falls somewhere in between. For instance, in order to cash out a $50 bonus that comes with a $50 deposit, and has a 10x wager requirement on both the deposit and bonus, a player will need to make $1,000 in wagers ($100 x 10). For a wager requirement only imposed on the bonus money, only $5,000 in wagers would be needed.

As the wager requirement is progressively met, the bonus money, which is deposited into a separate bonus account that the player can view within the cashier or banking section of the software, becomes correspondingly eligible for withdrawal.  For instance, if a player had met 10% of the wager requirement on a $100 bonus, $10 would be available for withdrawal in addition to the initial deposit and any winnings. In this case, $90 of the bonus would still be unavailable for withdrawal. Keep in mind that most online casinos will consider the bonus null and void after a withdrawal has been made on any winnings whatsoever while the wager requirement is still being met.  Depending on the specific bonus terms and conditions, if a player tries to cash out any money during this time, the withdrawal will either be capped like in the above example, or, the entire bonus will be taken away and the player will only receive a withdrawal up to the total of their initial deposited funds. Keep in mind that in addition to a wager requirement, the bonus may require a minimum number of bets to be made. Also, some bonuses require the initial deposit to be played through one full time before any bonus money is deposited into a players bonus account to be used for betting. In essence, this equates to an additional 1x on the wager requirement.

While the wager requirement is being met, the funds in a players bonus money account are used for placing stakes. Only when a player has run out of money in their bonus money account will funds from one's balance account be used to place stakes. All winnings are deposited into a player's balance account as long as the bonus account still has funds equal to the original bonus. If the bonus account has a dent in it, then winnings will go into the bonus account until it reaches the amount of the original bonus. Remember, making a withdrawal before the wager requirement is met will result in a forfeiture of the rest of the bonus and possibly any winnings derived from the bonus. At any time while logged into the software, a player can view their bonus account to see how much of the wager requirement has been met for the bonus (this will be updated in real time).

Players must also keep in mind that there will almost certainly be game restrictions on meeting a casino bonuses wager requirement. These will be found in the bonus terms and conditions as well. It is a common practice by many casinos to only allow traditionally non-strategic games, such as slots and keno, to meet the wager requirement. Many times, bonuses will not allow wagers at strategic games like blackjack, craps, roulette and video poker to count towards meeting the wager requirement. If they do, it will normally count only partially. For instance, some bonuses will state in their T&C's that games of blackjack and craps only count 10% toward the wager requirement (often, it is around 2% for games of strategy). In other words, if a player were only to play games of craps and blackjack for meeting the wager requirement, they would have to make ten times as much wagers. Using our example of a $50 bonus/$50 deposit that must be wagered 10 times over ($1,000) before it can be cashed out, this same bonus would need to be wagered 10 times over yet again ($10,000) using only games of blackjack and craps to meet the wager requirement. In other words, a $1 wager at a slot machine will count 100% wager-for-wager toward meeting the 10x wager requirement of this bonus. This amounts to $1,000 as we explained earlier. A $1 wager at craps (which only counts 10% toward meeting the wager requirement) will only have $.10 of it go towards the wager requirement. Considering that $1,000 in wagers must be made before cashing out this bonus, $10,000 wagers in craps would be required ($1,000 ÷ $.10 = $10,000).

This is important to know. For a player who is only planning to play blackjack or craps, they will not want to take a free cash bonus that can only be cashed out playing slots. It simply serves them no good unless they also plan to play the slots. Now, a bonus that permits all games to help meet the wager requirement - just contributing different percentages to doing so - is more of a viable option in this case. While the vast majority of bonuses could be classified as Slots and Keno Bonuses, Table Game Bonuses do exist.

Another bonus condition that players should look for or ask about are limitations on winnings from bonus money. Not all casinos have these. Those that do usually give away lots of bonuses, and may very well likely have lower wager requirements than other casinos. Understandably, a casino giving away lots of bonus money and multiple bonuses to every player who opens an account have to put a cap on winnings directly obtained from the bonus money itself - since that money is easier to cash out by the player. A common cap on bonus winnings is for 10x the bonus amount, which is not bad at all. For a $100 bonus, this would mean the max withdrawal upon meeting the wager requirement would be for $1,000. Lastly, players need to be aware of any time constraints on the bonus. For instance, some casinos may require that the wager requirement be met within a certain number of days, especially for monthly reload bonuses.

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The Bottom Line...

The bottom line is that players need to know the games offered in the casino and any corresponding strategies to get the most use out of free cash bonuses. For instance, there are several good bonuses out there that do not allow wagers at blackjack, craps, roulette or video poker to contribute to the wager requirement. However, these bonuses often allow other games like Caribbean Stud and Three-Card Poker to contribute to the play-through. For players who know their games well, there is plenty of free money to be taken advantage of. Even for players who are out for entertainment (and that is the vast majority of online gamblers), a large slots-only bonus is an excellent way to extend one's playing time.

One of the biggest mistakes that players make with bonuses is that they do not read the Terms and Conditions in their entirety. A common clause these days - thanks to bonus abusers - is that if wagers have been made at games which are excluded from meeting the play-through, the entire bonus may be exempt from being cashed. In other word's do not play games which are prohibited from contributing to the casino bonus wager requirement before you have met the wager requirement or you have lost all your bonus money. Some casinos are more lenient and will simply give a low cap on the amount of maximum winnings earned from the bonus if ineligible games are played. Don't take your chances though. There are more player complaints about frozen and seized bonus money than any other type of complaint. Read through all the online casino bonuses terms and conditions and don't take chances on anything that is unclear. Email customer support and get an answer to your questions in writing. Write up an email template asking any or all of following questions at a minimum:

What is the wager requirement? Is the wager requirement on just the bonus amount or on the deposit and bonus combined? If I make a withdrawal before meeting the wager requirement, will winnings be voided? If I place bets at games not eligible for meeting the wager requirement, will the bonus be voided? Are there any game restrictions on the online casino bonus? Time constraints? Is this bonus ineligible with any other bonus offers? Is this bonus ineligible with bonuses from other casinos? Can the same bonus be claimed from two different account holders living in the same household or sharing the same bank account/credit card?

Ultimately, you should have an idea of what you want to use your bonus for ahead of time and to verify if those uses are feasible within the constraints of the bonus terms and conditions.

If not, reassess your options. There are literally thousands of bonus offers on the Web these days. We have taken it upon ourselves to help you weed through these offers and present to you the best bonuses offered at the best online casinos on the Web today in the bonus charts at the top of this page. Click on the bonus type below to see its corresponding chart of offers. Happy Bonus Hunting!

Welcome Bonuses | Percentage Bonuses | Match Bonuses | No-Deposit Bonuses
Preferred Deposit Bonuses | High Roller Bonuses | Reload Bonuses

Additional Tips and Information About Casino Bonuses:

• Look for More Than Just a Large Bonus

• Super Fine Print of Casino Bonus Conditions

• Reading the Fine Print in Casino Bonuses

• What You Need to Know About Wagering Requirements

• Best Casino Deposit Bonuses & Promotions

• Casino Bonuses - Assessing Bonus Size and More

• Meeting the Play-Through on Casino Promotions

• Understanding the Online Casino Reload Bonus

• Common Game Restrictions for Online Casino Bonuses

• Things to Know Before Making Your First Online Deposit

• Choose an Online Casino for More Than the Bonus

• Three Good Reasons Why Players Seek Casino Bonuses

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