Online Casino Bonuses Explained

Online Casino Signup Bonuses. Getting free casino bonus money to play your favorite slot games can be a lot of fun but if you don't understand the terms and conditions you can easily forfeit your casino winnings. Typical casino bonuses include the signup or welcome bonus, no deposit bonus, cashback bonus, free spin bonus and the retention bonus. First deposit bonus, 2nd deposit bonus, new deposit bonus, reload bonus, campaign bonus, etc. The list goes on and on. If you are new to online gambling, there can be so much information available that it feels quite overwhelming at times.

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A Guide to Casino Bonuses

Casino bonuses are promotions that allow you to earn free money, cryptocurrency or free spins in some of the world’s best online casinos.

Casino bonuses are also a popular methodology of user-attraction that online casinos have been using very actively in recent years. Most of these bonuses consist of gifts that the casinos make to new (or constant) users, which are often tied to other conditions.

Furthermore, casinos tend to offer a wide variety of bonuses. It all depends on which offer you’re presented with, but in most cases, new users are welcomed to online casinos with the option to play free slots in the virtual machines.

Before withdrawing your earnings from the online casino, you’re likely going to need to spend a few of your own euros before. This is a methodology used by the casino to ensure that you’re committed to their site, but it also means that you might lose the earnings from your bonus before you’re able to withdraw them.

This will happen unless you claim bonuses that are proven to be fair and withdrawals.

Keeping all of this in mind, is it worth it using the free cash and spins that you get in a casino bonus? Or are you better off playing freely with your own money, without the restraints that come with the bonus?

What is a Casino Bonus?

A casino bonus can be seen in many ways. Generally, a casino bonus is a free offer that a casino makes to a user in exchange for their commitment to their website. As such, casino bonuses are tied to terms and conditions which might be similar in some casinos, but all have different exceptions that make some bonuses more worth it than others.

In fact, most casino bonuses are optional. Since you’re getting a series of conditions to go along with your free money, that means you can select not to be part of these conditions at any given time. Some of these conditions might mean that you won’t be able to cash out money before spending a certain amount on the casino.

In any case, most casinos offer you the chance to take their bonuses and then opt out of the offer whenever you want. These offers vary from deposit bonuses (you might get over 100% of your deposit in free cash) to slot spins in other casino games.

How to Get a Casino Bonus?

Earning a casino bonus is the easiest way to the path that leads to free money. Most casinos offer you the chance to get free deposit bonuses, free spins in their slot games, and many other features by simply creating an account. That’s it. You’ll be eligible to receive the bonus as long as the casino supports the service in your country.

There are some rules that you have to respect before receiving it, though. For example, most casinos allow just one household to partake in their bonuses. If you use a VPN to avoid detection or if you try to bypass their conditions and you get found out, the casino will most likely block your bonus and close your account.

The most popular type of casino bonus is what’s referred to as a Welcome Bonus. Welcome bonuses are special offers that casinos have to encourage new players to join their services. A welcome bonus is offered by almost every single online casino in existence, thus making it the most popular kind of reward.

Regardless, there are also promotional bonuses that can be obtained by meeting certain criteria within the casino website. These types of bonuses often share some similarities with regular welcome bonuses, but they have different conditions attached to claiming them.

Online casinos offer different bonuses, with each bonus being different to claim. N1 Casino gives weekly rewards, for example, whilst the BitStarz Casino gives some awesome bitcoin rewards that make it a fan-favorite for the cryptocurrency gambler. Some online casinos understand the importance of weekly rewards and offer bonuses like the Midweek Madness at the mBitCasino.

Types of Casino Bonuses

Welcome bonuses, no deposit bonuses, free spin bonuses, and exclusive bonuses can be presented in different ways. The conditions that you must meet for each of them are different, and so are the rewards that they offer. To get a better understanding of how casino bonuses work, check out our guide of types of casino bonuses.

Deposit Bonuses

A deposit bonus is an extra money reward that gets credited to your account with your first deposit. Most of the times, deposit bonuses are accompanied by other spicy rewards, such as spin bonuses and other types of free stuff.

Deposit bonuses are often given depending on the amount of money that you put into the site – you’ll rarely see a website offering a given amount of money as a reward. Thus, you’re likely to encounter a 50% deposit bonus, for example, which means that if you deposit €100 to the site, you’ll be getting an extra €50 as a reward.

There’s usually a limit tied to these bonuses (most casinos set the maximum bonus amount to €200). You’ll also have to bet a certain amount of your own money on the website before being able to withdraw your bonus earnings.

No Deposit Bonus

Often known as the most difficult types of bonuses to cash out, no deposit bonuses are free spins or a small amount of credit cash that you get in any casino site without having to commit financially to the service. Even though these bonuses are free, meeting the required criteria to be able to cash them out is very difficult.

Most of the times, you’ll have to spend at least 30 times the amount of your earnings in other bets before being able to withdraw your earnings from the site.

Free Spin Bonus

Free spin bonuses have become extremely popular in recent times, mainly because the casino doesn’t give you a determined amount or percentage of money, but instead provides you with the opportunity to play their popular slot games with no strings attached.

Depending on the money you make from these free spins, you’ll have to spend a certain amount of your own cash before being able to withdraw it.

Some online casinos give you free spins after making your first deposit, in which case you’ll have to meet fewer criteria than you would have to if the spins were given out for free. There are some other websites that offer you 10 or 20 free spins, for example, but you’ll have to wager a lot of money before collecting the profits.

Loyalty Bonuses

Loyalty bonuses are part of most online casino’s loyalty programs. You can find the best loyalty bonuses within the best VIP programs on the internet.

Most casinos hold special contests for their long-term players. These are usually the most beneficial bonuses, but as such are also the hardest ones to obtain. You might need to be part of an online casino for a period of over a year before being able to benefit from a loyalty bonus, or you might need to wager a certain amount of money first.

These bonuses are also not limited to a certain type of reward. Furthermore, they can be seen in various forms depending on what the casino has to offer. We’ve seen plenty of casinos offer special prizes in loyalty competitions where players get the chance to earn a free trip around the world, or paid vacations in luxury hotels.

Some loyalty bonuses aren’t tied to high-wagering or long-term customers. At times, you may qualify for a loyalty bonus after playing in a casino for just a few months. Some of the benefits you might get are lower withdrawal limits or even higher bonuses in certain slots games.

However, given that these bonuses are tied to what each casino wants to offer, you’ll have to find out for yourself which casino offers the best loyalty bonuses and what are the conditions related to each of them.

Cashback bonuses

Cashback bonuses are offered by casinos as a way to ensure users that they would get some of their money back, should they lose it while betting in any of their games. Most of the times, casinos tend to offer cashback bonuses by giving users bonus credit on their site, allowing them to continue playing without depositing additional funds to their accounts.

Likewise, other casinos like to compensate their players with a straight-up cash payment. For example, after you’ve lost a certain amount of money in an online casino, you might be entitled to receive some of your lost funds back if they are offering such a service.

These bonuses are dependent on how much cash you’ve lost by betting on any given casino and are less beneficial than no deposit bonuses. Regardless, they’re seen as a nice one for casinos to recognize their player base even when they’re on a bad streak.

Why Do Casinos Give Bonuses?

To put it in a few words, casinos offer bonuses to encourage you to spend more money on their site. At times, you might find that you’ll have to spend more money to claim what you’ve earned through the bonus – when this happens, just be sure not to be at a loss. If you see that you’re starting to lose your potential profits from the bonus, opt out of it.

The best way to see a casino bonus is as if it was a marketing stunt. You might earn a ton of money out of your bonus (you might also lose as well), but the casino will always see it as a way to attract new customers or keep a hold of long-term members of their community.

Say, for example, that you earn a couple thousand euros by betting on any given online casino with free rewards. You’re highly likely to keep betting on the same website, which increases the casino’s chances of making some of the money back, and you’re also way more likely to tell your friends or family about the site, which increases their player base.

To make the best of an online casino bonus, it’s important that you follow our list of actionable tips to improve your odds of winning while iGaming.

Using Bonuses in the Best Casino Games

At The Casino Wizard, we’ve created countless lists of the best games of the best casinos in the world. Using them will allow you to select the right games to spend your bonus money at, which will, in turn, allow you to maximize the profit that you can make with the bonus cash. The best games of the N1 Casino, the best features of Mr Green and the Casino Extra, or the most lucrative games at the Casumo Casino; you’ll know what to do regardless of the site that you decide to visit.

We have managed to compile a list of the most lucrative NetEnt games in the world, which you can use to maximize your gains with all casino bonuses in Netent Casinos!

Clash swords and try your luck at the Spartacus Slot, discover the magic of playing Monopoly Live, try out the Golden Cryptex slot, take a trip to your childhood days with the Gremlins game, taste the Royal Mint slot, or use our Ultimate Texas Hold’Em guide to always win at poker. Regardless of what you choose to do, remember that we’re here to help you maximize the amount of money that you can win with any casino bonus!

Calculating Your Profit & Loss Margins – Are Casino Bonuses Worth It?

There is no universal answer to this question – each casino offers different bonuses, and each of them comes attached to different conditions. A casino bonus will be worth it depending on whether these conditions play in benefit of the player, or if they do so in benefit of the casino instead.

At the end of the day, you have to understand that online casinos are businesses and, as such, they always aim to make a profit. The difference always falls on whether they aim to make a profit directly from their bonuses or if they want you to stay playing with them for a long time.

Take into consideration the odds that the casino games offer before opting for a casino bonus. If you see that the conditions that come with the bonus are fair, you might want to select it. On the other hand, if you see that the casino will give you too much hassle before being able to withdraw your earnings, you might want to move on to another casino altogether.

Thankfully, there are ways in which you can quickly fulfill wagering requirements to make the best of an online casino bonus.

Understanding Casinos Bonus Terms & Conditions

The bonus terms attached to each bonus vary a lot, but some are very basic and similar in every online casino. We’ve made a list with some of the most basic guidelines that you’ll have to follow when opting to earn a casino bonus.

• Casino bonuses need to be withdrawn after betting a given amount of real money, which is set depending on your bonus earnings. For example, if you earn €50, you might need to bet up to €1500 before cashing out your price
• Casino bonuses are restricted to certain games
• Always use your real information when registering to a casino website, otherwise you risk legal action taken against you – try not to use VPNs to earn the same bonus multiple times
• Some bonuses have a pre-established max withdrawal amount, which means you won’t be able to take out more than a given amount of money even if you’ve earned it with your bonus spins or credits

The Importance of VIP Programs

Whenever you visit an online casino, you will be greeted with a plethora of rewards that can be claimed as soon as you register on the casino. However, there are many other types of bonuses that you’ll be able to claim as time goes on at the casino of your choice. VIP bonuses tend to be some of the most lucrative and fairest on each website, but they’re the hardest to claim.

In any case, VIP Schemes provide players with a reason to stay playing in the same online casino for a long time. The more time and money they spend at any given casino, the higher their chances of earning world-class rewards. These are the main reasons why online casinos offer VIP bonuses and why we think they are so good.

Some of the best VIP programs in the world, such as the SlotsMagic loyalty program, the Wildz loyalty rewards, the LeoVegas VIP Experience, or the Betsson loyalty rewards, will boost your account’s balance with thousands of euros worth of rewards!

They Give You a Reason to Stay

The first and most important reason why we love VIP rewards is that they encourage you to stay playing at the same casino. If you find an online casino that you like, there shouldn’t be any reason for you to leave it. However, if there’s also no incentive for you to stay, you might as well go look for another site that gives you better rewards. NetEnt Casinos, for example, offer amazing bonuses and world-class promotions that keep every player hooked for years, combined with amazing NetEnt games to go alongside them.

They Award You for Your Time and Money

Playing in an online casino is not only a choice; it’s also a way for users to commit some of their time and money on a single website. In many cases, players lose a lot of cash when playing online. When you’re a member of a VIP scheme, it doesn’t matter as much, or even hurt as badly, when you lose money playing online.

You won’t be putting your money on the line thanks to the VIP rewards. Sites like the 7Bit casino have amazing VIP programs and even world-class games at which you’ll be able to spend your loyalty bonuses!

You Get to Claim Better Bonuses than the Average Joe

Most online casinos tend to have some very solid bonus schemes. In fact, we’ve ranked some of the best bonuses in the world right here, at The Casino Wizard. However, these bonuses tend to be available for every player to claim.

VIP bonuses, on the other hand, are world-class rewards with an added touch of exclusivity that makes them fantastic choices for you to claim. They are far better bonuses than anything else that the website of your choice is offering its general player base, so you’ll have access to fantastic rewards by simply playing in your favorite online casino.

You Get to Feel Like a True VIP

Even though this might sound like a small point, VIP rewards also have a psychological factor that a player cannot deny. Whenever you become part of an online casino’s VIP program, you’ll get to feel like an important member of the website. In fact, you are!

If you’re constantly playing at the site, then you’re very valuable for the online casino. This will be shown with the rewards that you’ll get as a consequence of this.

Land-Based Casino Bonuses vs Online Casino Bonuses

Many online casino players often wonder whether they’re making the right choice in claiming a welcome bonus (or any deposit bonus, for that matter) in an online casino. Land-based casinos also offer certain types of bonuses, but they aren’t nearly as good as they are in an online casino. We’ve gone into detail before explaining why online casinos are better than land-based casinos.

Here, we’ll break down the reason why online casino bonuses are far superior in every sense.

You Can Claim Them Wherever You Are

Online casino bonuses are free to claim for all players regardless of where they are. You can claim bonuses using your mobile phone, you can claim them using your computer, or you can get those sweet rewards from your tablet. It all comes down to having an internet connection and a mobile browser. You don’t really need anything other than that to get your bonuses sorted.

Land-based casino bonuses not only require you to be at the online casino itself to claim them, but they’re also far scarcer and more limited to be used in certain areas of the said casino. Why claim limited bonuses when you could access a world of rewards using any device of your choice?

Online Bonuses are Far More Profitable

Whenever you visit a land-based casino, you might be greeted with a few chips that you can spend in some games that the establishment has to offer. However, this might be limited to €10 or €20 tops. In online casinos, you can be greeted with bonuses that are worth twice or even triple the amount of whichever sum of cash you intend to spend at the casino.

Sure, these might come with a few attachments and requirements that you’ll have to comply with before claiming it. However, chances are that you’ll end up with a significant sum of cash much larger than whichever amount you would’ve made in a land-based casino with a small bonus of €10.

Superior VIP Programs

Sure, some land-based casinos do have some absolutely fantastic VIP programs that you can enjoy. As a VIP player in a land-based casino, you can claim some fantastic rewards and the casino is likely going to offer you a ton of stuff for free which ranges from food and drinks to seats in exclusive tables.

However, online casinos offer much more variety and better rewards in their VIP programs. For example, an online VIP scheme could net you rewards worth thousands of dollars in tangible and intangible prizes. Cars, trips, custom-made bonuses, and more.

Online casinos offer much better VIP programs than their land-based counterparts, which is why many people prefer to sacrifice the experience of visiting a physical establishment in favor of staying at home and playing their favorite games.

Unlimited Supply of Games

Even though this isn’t part of a bonus per se, the number of games available at a casino will determine how much fun you can actually have with the bonus cash. Online casinos provide players with an endless stream of games that often reaches thousands of titles in numbers. You can access thousands of online slots, dozens of table games, and the best live dealer games on the planet.

Can you imagine being presented with a majestic gallery of online casino games and having the option to play them all using free cash? Well, you don’t really need to. Just visit the best online casinos in the world and discover a supply of games to be played with the best bonuses on the internet.

Hundreds of Bonuses Within Your Reach

Even if your local casino offers fantastic rewards, that’s only a single place in which you can claim bonuses. The only exception to this would be if you lived in a city where gambling was prominent and there were casinos around every corner. In that case, you could argue that going on a spree to find the best bonuses might be worth it.

However, when you’re claiming online casino bonuses, things are much different. You can hop from site to site any time that you want, claiming all bonuses that you deem appropriate for you and ignoring the ones you dislike.

This practice could yield some absolutely fantastic results. You could end up with hundreds and even thousands of euros worth of bonuses on a single night. You only need to be sure that you’ll have enough time to comply with all of those wagering requirements!

Do keep in mind, however, that some bonuses are limited to be claimed in certain countries. The Netherlands access to world-class games and bonuses that turn your iGaming experience into what we all picture when we think of the best one we can have.

Many More Options Online – Bonuses Galore

As we said, whenever you play in online casinos, you will have access to more bonuses. However, it’s not all about quantity; you also want quality as well as variety in the types of bonuses that you’ll find. Online casinos provide you with a large plethora of bonus types, ranging from basic deposit bonuses to intricate rewards that can be claimed by participating in tournaments.

If you’re a fan of spicing things up when playing online, then online casino bonuses are the best types of bonuses that you can claim. You’ll be encouraged to try out new things, play with different rewards, and discover an exclusive world of activities that you might not even know right now.

The Best Online Casinos to Claim Bonuses – How to Find Them?

All of the best online casinos in the world have fantastic bonuses that you can claim. However, finding the right online casino to enjoy can prove to be quite challenging. Some sites offer bonuses that might trick you into thinking that they’re world-class, while in reality, they are nothing more than small scams to lure people into betting money in their services.

As casino reviewers, we’ve learned a few tips that helped us determine which online casinos you need to avoid – even when the bonuses that they offer are seemingly world-class. Remember not to get carried away while looking for the best bonus out there and keep and read between the liens when checking out terms and conditions!

Use Our List of the Best Online Casino Bonuses

The best way for you to determine which are the best online casinos in the world that provide you with the classiest bonuses is to just check out our bonus section here at The Casino Wizard. We’ve filtered hundreds of online casinos and we’ve managed to determine sites that simply aren’t good enough from sites that are must-visits in your time as an iGamer.

Why waste time looking for world-class online casinos when we’ve already done that for you? Just head straight to the tip of this very same page, click on the “Bonuses” tab, and select the option to display the best casino bonuses. Click on whichever bonus you like the most and you’ll be good to go!

Check Out the Terms and Conditions

If you’re going to embark on a search on your own, then the first thing you’ll want to check out from a bonus is the terms and conditions that oversee it. Make sure that the bonus offer that you want to claim has fair bonus terms which allow you to eventually claim the bonus money, even if it is a bit difficult to do.

If you read the bonus terms of a bonus and you think they’re fair, then that’s a good sign that you might want to claim that offer. However, if they seem a bit sketchy to you, it might be better if you just move on to find another bonus.

One of the best things about iGaming bonuses is that you can simply move on to another website if you don’t like them. There are plenty of options out there – no need to get stuck at one that doesn’t feel fair!

Look for Lucrative yet Realistic Bonuses

It’s always very tempting to read about an online casino offer and see just how fantastic it seems to be. A simple €100 in exchange for 1000 free spins and €1,000 in bonus cash? Everybody would love that!

However, the first thing you need to do when you see a bonus as lucrative as the one that we just mentioned is to check out the website that offers it as well as the rules that supposedly oversee the bonus itself.

Furthermore, remember to visit online casinos that offer exactly what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for something specific, like the best mobile casinos to play blackjack, you can rest assured that we have an article for it.

Always look at lucrative promotions with eyes of skepticism. Try to look for hints that the offer might be a scam and be sure that the website that you visit is legit. Remember: online casinos always have the intention of making a profit, so don’t expect them to give you money that easily.

Avoid Unlicensed Websites

Every online casino, in order to operate legally, must have a license of some sort. The best online casinos in the world have been licensed by regulatory entities that ensure a safe gambling environment for every player. Thus, the best thing you can do when looking for an online casino that offers legitimate bonuses is to look for sites that hold a reputable online casino license.

If you want to check out a list of the best and most reputable licensing authorities from all over the world to help you get a better idea of which online casinos are the most legitimate ones.

Don’t Fall for Empty Promises

Online casino owners want you to play on their websites. Therefore, they will go as far as offering you things that simply aren’t feasible, but you might believe them and you might fall victim to a scam. Empty promises mean little to all of us, regardless of whether an online casino bonus might end up paying good money in the end. If it’s based on an empty promise, you’ll be smart to avoid it instead.

Being on the lookout for empty promises will play in favor of your own interests. If you want to go bonus-hunting on your own, keep your eyes open!

Casino Bonus Terminology – What Does This Mean?

There are many words that you will often see in an online casino bonus and that you, as a beginner, might not be too sure about their meaning. Most of the terms used are actually pretty simple, but newcomers to the online gambling scene can struggle to determine their true meanings if they’re just reading the terms for the first time.

As such, we’ve compiled a list of exclusive bonus words that make up the terminology of online casino bonuses. Understanding these terms will play a crucial role in you getting to enjoy each bonus to the fullest.

Wagering Requirements

The wagering requirements of a bonus are the total number of times which you’ll have to bet your money if you want to claim it as your own. In most cases, you should come across wagering requirements that don’t need you to bet your money more than 50 times. Bonuses above 50 tend to be difficult to claim if they’re possible at all.

However, every bonus on the planet comes attached to some sort of wagering requirements; in most cases, at least. Some bonuses that give you just small sums of money can indeed come wager-free, but that rarely tends to be the case.

The wagering requirements of a bonus are always based on how much money you’ve deposited on the site. For example, with a bonus requirement of x40, you would have to wager 40 times the amount of money that you got from the bonus.

If you made a deposit of €200 and got a reward of €300 (which can happen with a 150% deposit bonus), you would have to wager €300 x 40, unless otherwise stated in the terms and conditions.

There are times on which online casinos actually require you to wager your deposit instead of the bonus amount. However, the default rule is that the bonus amount itself is that you need to wager.

Welcome Bonus

Welcome bonuses are offers that are given to players as part of programs that welcome them to the site. They vary in their shape and form, but whenever you see a promotion called a “welcome bonus”, it’s always safe to assume that they offer will only be available during your first few weeks or days at the online casino upon which the promotion is being offered.

You’ll be able to see welcome bonuses that give you free spins, free money, and other rewards. However, the most important thing for you to know is that they expire. If you make a deposit and don’t claim it (in case the bonus requires you to opt-in to claim it), you will, most likely, lose the chance to claim your first deposit bonus.

Welcome bonuses consist of various bonuses as well. You’ll see welcome bonuses that can rewards you for your first, second, third, and even fourth deposits. All of these bonuses form the welcome bonus itself. These are massive offers that could see players rewarded with hundreds of euros depending on the conditions of the online casino!

First Deposit

Whenever you see the term “first deposit” being used, it means that the reward is only available whenever you make your first deposit. Unless otherwise stated, a first deposit bonus will not be able to be claimed after the first deposit is made. You can check out the terms and conditions of the offer to make sure that this is the rule for your preferred online casino.

In any case, first deposit bonuses or rewards only apply for the first deposit that you make on the site. If the offer requires you to opt-in in order to claim it, please be sure to do so. Failing to click the option to claim the bonus upon depositing could mean that you will never be able to claim it again.

If there are any doubts regarding this topic, contact the online casino staff.

Loyalty Rewards

In most cases, online casinos offer loyalty rewards to every player. Every online casino in our list of the top 15 best online casinos in the world has loyalty rewards of some sort. Whenever you see the word “loyalty” being used, chances are that the bonus is being directed to players that have been long-term members of the casinos or that, otherwise, have spent a lot of money on the site.

Loyalty rewards are, often, bonuses on their own. They can be free spins, free money, or even free playtime that you spend on any given online casino. The terms and conditions of loyalty rewards tend to be far more lenient than those found in any other bonus, as they’re being given to players that have already proven their worth to an online casino.

Loyalty rewards must not be mistaken with wager-free rewards. Loyalty bonuses still require players to fulfill wagering requirements unless otherwise stated by the online casinos of your choice.

KYC Demands

KYC demands are often made by online casinos if you happen to fulfill the wagering requirements of one of their bonuses. KYC stands for “Know Your Customer”. These types of demands are made for players to provide additional information whenever they claim or win a bonus in an online casino.

The online casino does this to ensure that a player is a real person and not just someone who already had an account on the site and created a new one to claim the bonus. It’s a way for the online casino to make sure that you’re not exploiting the rewards and to be sure that the money is actually being received by you and not by someone else.

Some of these KYC demands might seem a bit over the top at times. Some online casinos get really picky when it comes to allowing players to claim bonus money. However, given how many people exploit bonuses, it’s understandable that such practices have become the norm in the modern industry.

General Terms and Conditions

Whenever you’re reading the bonus terms and conditions of an offer, you will often find that some bonuses say that the offer is also subjected to the General Terms and Conditions of the website. That means that the bonus terms that you’re reading, even though they do apply for the bonus and make it legitimate, also require you to abide by the websites; general terms.

In fact, some specific bonuses that have their own terms might even have something written that says that its terms are also subjected to the “general bonus terms and conditions” of the website. This is very common, as most bonuses tend to have their own rules but the website also has some regulations regarding bonuses.

The best thing you can do, when something like this happens, is to read both the terms of the offer as well as the general terms upon which this phrase is referring to.

Disposable Email Address

A very common phrase that you’ll often come across while claiming bonuses is the infamous “disposable email address” disclaimer. Many offers have a rule that says that you cannot claim a bonus with disposable email addresses, which are emails that you can create and use as burner accounts.

Basically, disposable email addresses get automatically deleted as time goes by, and they can be created within seconds. This makes them ideal addresses to be used by players who want to exploit a bonus with multiple accounts.

You’ll often see that online casinos will be reluctant to pay you any bonus money that you’ve earned if you’ve used a disposable email address for the creation of your online casino account. Avoid doing so as to now get in any sort of trouble.

Account Verification

Draftkings Deposit

One of the main terms that you’ll see when claiming a bonus is “account verification”. This means that an account must be manually verified by you, its owner, in order to make a bonus valid. Some bonuses even get activated as soon as you verify your account, like free spin rewards or no deposit bonuses that aren’t tied to a monetary transaction on your part.

In most cases, the process of account verification is easy and can be done by simply checking the email address that you’ve used to register your account on the casino and click the email that you’ve received. There, you will have the option to click a verification link, which will validate your account and, most likely, give you any rewards that might await after the process.

Account verification is a crucial part of the process of claiming bonuses as well. Most bonuses require players to verify their accounts – even if they still have to make a deposit afterward.

Country Eligibility

Country eligibility has always been an issue in the online casino industry, but that’s not going to go away anytime soon. Whenever you see a text saying that “the bonus is available in the following countries…” or “the following list of countries is not eligible to participate in the bonus”, you’re going to have to read it and see if you can play or participate in the offer.

Bonus regulations are different in every country, which is why online casinos operate in one location and offer their services all over the world. Some countries simply don’t allow gamers to claim bonuses, whilst some don’t allow people to visit online casino whatsoever.

Country eligibility is, therefore, a crucial part of the bonus process.

Bonus Code

Bonus codes are often required for a player to participate in a certain offer. Whenever you see that a promotion is claimed by using any sort of “bonus code”, that means that you’ll have to enter a specific code in order to activate the bonus and have it claimed to your online casino account.

For example, some of the best free spin bonuses need the player to enter a code that can be found in different parts depending on what the casino is looking to offer.

There are times in which these bonus codes are mailed to players via their email addresses. Online casinos often do this to make sure that the player’s email is active and to reward them with some money as part of the process. At other times, online casinos give these promo codes to sites that promote iGaming.

Regardless of how bonus codes work, online casinos always tend to have some sort of bonus code offer that allows players to claim extra rewards by simply entering a small code.

Opt-In or Opt-Out

Both of these terms are equally common in the world of online casino bonuses, and understandably so. Opt-in or opt-out offers are bonuses that allow the player to decide whether they want to claim it or not.

Opt-in bonuses are rewards that simply need you to click a button or perform a series of steps before the reward is given to you.

On the contrary, when an offer says that you need to manually opt-out of it, that means that you will be given the bonus (or signed up for participating in the offer) by default, and you have to manually opt-out of the offer if you don’t want to claim it.

Both of these practices are common, so be sure to properly read the terms and conditions of a bonus before you try to claim it.

Bonus Forfeit

Every online casino bonus can, in one way or another, be forfeited. Whenever you forfeit a bonus, you most likely won’t ever be able to claim it again. Be sure that you really don’t want the bonus before choosing the option to forfeit it, as this often means that you’ll be opting out of any rewards that you can get out of the bonus.

Forfeiting a bonus will strip you from the bonus itself, regardless of what it might be. If you had claimed free spins and you already spent them, then the bonus money that you’ve managed to earn with the free spins will be taken away. If you’ve managed to claim some cash and you still haven’t fulfilled the wagering requirements, the cash will be removed as well.

Not all forfeits are manual, either. Sometimes, online casinos will forcefully make you forfeit your money if you fail to comply with the wagering requirements within the given timeframe of the promotion.

Bonus Timeline

The bonus timeframe or bonus timeline is the given amount of time that an online casino puts in place in order for players to comply with the wagering requirements or simply fulfill any conditions that the offer might have. The bonus timeline length varies depending on the conditions of each online casino, as well as the rules of each promotion.

In most cases, welcome bonus packages tend to give you a bonus timeframe of at least two weeks. Some of the best bonuses that we’ve reviewed on The Casino Wizard have low wagering requirements plus a timeframe of one month, which is the ideal length for any bonus on the industry.

In any case, checking the bonus timeline of any given offer will play a crucial role in determining whether you’ll be able to comply with its conditions in time or if you might be better off leaving the offer alone. Your time, your rules – that’s the way it works!

Internal Audits

Most online casinos are known to host large internal audits to make sure that players are legit and that they have claimed the bonus money of an offer by complying with the rules. There are players who use illegitimate strategies to ensure that they will never lose money while playing with a bonus. These strategies are deemed as bonus abuse by the casino, and they are not allowed.

To prevent players from engaging in these sorts of irregular activities, online casinos conduct audits before paying a player the money that they’ve earned with a promotion.

There’s nothing to fear if you’ve never broken any rules, though. However, if you have engaged in shady practices to comply with the bonus requirements of an offer, chances are that you’ll lose your money and the casino won’t pay you out.

Promotion Abuse

Promotion abuse is, sadly, more common than you think. That’s why so many online casinos have had to include special clauses within their bonus terms that specifically warn players against abusing online casino bonuses. Strategies are valid, but strategies that exploit the bonus directly by placing certain types of bets in which the player doesn’t lose money can get you in trouble.

There are multiple ways in which users could perform promotion abuse, though. For example, creating multiple accounts with different email addresses to claim as much money as possible could get the player in serious trouble. You can get your money completely removed from your account as well as all bonus winnings voided.

Engaging in promotion abuse is one of the most frowned-upon practices in the online casino industry and one that you’ll want to avoid if you don’t want to get in trouble while playing online.

Minimal Risk Bets

“Minimal risk bets” is a phrase that you’ll often see in combination with the aforementioned promotional abuse. In fact, minimal risk bets are part of what constitutes promotional abuse in an online casino. Betting on red and black in roulette, for example, is a practice that constitutes minimal risk betting.

That’s why so many online casinos simply give away bonuses that can be claimed by playing online slots. There’s no way to cheat in these games. Even though minimal risk bets are not considered cheating, online casinos won’t allow you to put them in practice when you’re playing with free bonus cash or money generated with free spins.

If you intend to use minimal risk bets to play in an online casino, you’ll want to avoid the bonuses altogether.

Betting Patterns

Betting patterns are frowned-upon by online casinos if you’re on the process of claiming the benefits of an online casino bonus. Betting patterns are all different, though, and they can be used in various types of games. An online casino can determine whether you used betting patterns or not whenever they make an internal audit to check out your account.

In most cases, betting patterns are harmless and they don’t really make any difference on whether you win or lose money unless luck is involved. However, online casinos use “betting patterns” as a reason to void casino bonuses. Be sure not to use them to prevent getting in trouble unnecessarily.

Stake Weights

Stake weights are common in all online casino bonuses. In fact, one could argue that no online casino bonus is free from being subjected to stake weights when it comes to fulfilling its bonuses. A stake weight is the amount of money that playing a certain game will contribute towards the wagering requirements of your bonus.

For example, let’s imagine that you have a welcome bonus with a wagering requirement of 20x the amount of money for the bonus. The stake weight of the bonus is 100% for slot games, but 50% for table games.

In that case, that means that €100 wagered on slots would contribute €100 towards the completion of the 20x wagering requirement, whilst €100 wagered on table games would only count as €50.

This is a method that online casinos tend to use very commonly as to encourage players to use the money in online casino slots. You can also ignore the stake weights and wager the money in any way that you prefer, but chances are that you’ll be more likely to complete the requirements by playing games with a 100% contribution rate.

Bonus Fund Usage

Even though some online casinos allow you to use the bonus funds in order to comply with the requirements of an offer, it is likely that you’ll also encounter some issues when it comes to this. That’s why it’s important to read the rules of a bonus.

For example, some bonus might give you €500 for free after making a €500 deposit yourself. However, the bonus money will remain locked until its wagering requirements are completed.

That means that you’ll have to use your own €500 in order to fulfill the wagering requirements of the offer. That can prove to be quite inconvenient.

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Many bonuses work this way, though. It’s not something that you should be discouraged for. You just need to keep in mind that sometimes your money will be locked until the bonus is earned. In some cases, you will not be able to make withdrawals unless you’re willing to forfeit the bonus cash locked in your account.

Again, these are just activities that online casinos have grown accustomed to. It keeps players from cheating their way into claiming bonuses with ease.

Credited in Increments

It is very common for online casinos to give away bonuses (especially free spin bonuses) in what they call “increments”. For example, when you first make a deposit to claim a bonus of 200 free spins, it’s likely that you will be given a portion of those free spins as soon as the deposit is made, with the rest of the free spin being credited to your account at later dates.

Many online casinos divide the free spin rewards into various stages. You can get 20 free spins the day in which you made the deposit and get more and more free spins as time goes on. Each day you’ll get an extra 20 free spins until all 200 spins have been credited to your account.

Be sure to read the rules of offers that are credited in increments to make sure that you don’t have to comply with the wagering requirements of each set of free spins individually. Ideally, you should be able to claim 20 free spins each day, spend them, and then keep the money until you’ve spent all spins. Then, you should be able to comply with all the requirements independently.

Minimum Deposit & Limits

Every online casino requires players to deposit a minimum amount of money whenever they’re going to claim a deposit bonus of any sort. In most cases, online casinos require a minimum deposit of €10 or €20 (or its equivalent in other currencies) for players to be able to claim their rewards. The amount of money that you’ll receive from an offer is often tied to how much you deposit.

A 200% match deposit bonus with a minimum deposit of €20 just means that you’ll get double the amount of money of your deposit in bonus cash, provided that your deposit is worth €20 at least. In that case, a €20 deposit will grant you an extra €40 in free bonus money!

Minimum deposits are also accompanied by bonus deposit limits. The casino will let you know of the minimum sum of money that you need to deposit in order to claim the rewards as well as the maximum sum of cash allowed for you to deposit and claim the offer.

Final Thoughts

Casino bonuses s are not as straightforward as a lot of people think. They come in different types and terms, and it can be challenging to find the best one to suit your needs. If you’re looking to play in a new online casino, you might want to see which bonuses they have available before you sign up for their site. We recommend looking for casino bonuses that give you the chance to play for free whichever game you like the most. Here are some of our top recommendations:

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If you are a casino newbie looking to step your toes in the world of online gambling, you most probably have a lot of questions before you dive into your casino experience. How do I choose the right online casino for me? What shall I look out for when I visit a casino site? Which casino bonuses would work best for me?

As a casino affiliate program representing three reputable online gambling brands, we try to answer all these questions in our blog. And while it’s impossible to give you all the answers you are looking for within a single article, we have tried to create a comprehensive guide with real examples to help you get a better understanding of casino bonuses.

Therefore, in this article, we will answer some frequently asked questions about online casino offers, such as:

— what are the wagering requirements, and how do they work,

— which bonus types you can find across various online casino sites,

— and which terms should someone focus their attention on when they evaluate a casino offer

Let’s get to it by first clarifying what the wagering requirements are all about. Understanding this concept will make it easier for you to comprehend the various types of bonuses that players can stumble upon while looking for a casino site.

Understating the wagering requirements behind online casino bonuses

A wagering requirement refers to the amount of money that players have to bet before they are able to withdraw any of their winnings that come from a bonus.

It is important to understand that wagering requirements occur to protect the online casinos from giving out cash prizes to players for 'nothing.' An online casino is a business, and, as we all know, money making is their primary goal. Therefore, no casino can afford to generously hand out bonuses here and there without securing themselves by using the protective shield of the wagering requirements.

But what does a wagering requirement mean in practice?

Let's take the first deposit bonus at SlotV Casino as an example. You will read on SlotV's website that newly-registered players can qualify for a 150% bonus up to 500 euros and 50 free spins for their first deposit at SlotV Casino (that, if they meet the minimum deposit criteria). The bonus rules also state that you'd have to wager the bonus and the deposit 27 times for the balance to become withdrawable.

Now let's assume that you've decided to deposit 100 euros at SlotV, and consequently, you've received 150 euros in bonus funds (150% of the deposit amount) from the casino. Therefore, you will now have 250 euros in total to play with, which consists of your deposit amount and the bonus amount that you've received from SlotV.

In this case, 'wagering requirement: 27x' means that you will have to wager the total amount you're playing with twenty-seven times before your winnings become withdrawable. In practice, this means that you would have to place 6,750 euros worth of bets (250 x 27 = 6,750).

In some cases, the operator might decide to only apply the wagering requirements to the bonus amount instead of asking users to wager the bonus and the deposit sum. Therefore, if SlotV only wanted their players to wager the bonus amount twenty-seven times, you would have to place 4,050 euros worth of bets (150 x 27) to withdraw the winnings from your casino account.

Something that players will definitely need to keep in mind as they examine the wagering requirements behind each casino offer is which casino games, either online slots or live casino games, qualify for the wagering requirements. It is very common for casinos to exclude certain types of games, and therefore, if you place bets on a game that does not contribute towards the wagering requirements, you would be in for a disappointment. This information is typically specified in the relevant bonus terms or in the General Bonus Terms & Conditions available on the site.

According to the above, a bonus is a reward that you receive from the online casino when you decide to register and make your first deposit. However, as explained, players will have to place bets as defined by the wagering requirements to withdraw their winnings.

Types of Casino Bonuses: Deposit bonus, no deposit bonus, and free spins

Now that you have got to understand what the wagering requirements are all about, it is time to examine the various types of bonuses that are available on casino sites. In this article, we will walk you through the three most common types: deposit bonus, no deposit bonuses, and free spins.

• Deposit bonuses — deposit and get a bonus

A deposit bonus is a bonus you receive when you deposit at a casino. It can refer to the first deposit that you make as a player to receive the welcome bonus on the casino site that you register on or any other bonus that the operator offers should the player make the required deposit.

It could be that a casino offers you a 150% bonus on your first deposit. This means that if you make a qualifying deposit, the casino will give you a bonus worth 150% of the deposit amount. Therefore, if you had deposited 100 euros in total, the casino would grant you another 150 euros, and you would have a total of 250 euros to play with.

Let's take Frank Casino's first deposit bonus as an example. Players have two options for their first deposit. They can choose to make a minimum deposit of 10 euros and opt for a 150% deposit up to 750 euros, or they can decide to make a deposit that is higher than 100 euros and get a 150% bonus and 20 free spins on top of that.

There are some things that players would need to check before making the deposit, such as what are the minimum deposit requirements to get the bonus. If the player chose to deposit 5 euros in Frank Casino, they would not qualify for the welcome offer, as the minimum threshold is set to 10 euros. They will also have to check the wagering requirements for the specific deposit bonus and decide whether they are reasonable compared to other operators.

Other things that players will have to look at are related to the time frame that the casino gives them to wager the bonus. For instance, at Frank Casino, the welcome bonus is only available during the first thirty days upon their registration. Moreover, upon claiming the bonus, they have seven days to fulfil the wagering requirements defined in the terms and conditions.

You should also be aware that deposit bonuses may vary depending on your country of residence. Therefore, you should always make sure that you are checking the information related to your country. Finnish players have a different welcome bonus available to them at Frank Casino, for example.

• No deposit bonuses — yes, no deposit required!

As the title indicates, players are not required to deposit a certain amount to get a bonus from the casino that offers a no deposit bonus. Not all online casinos offer this option, but some offer free signup bonuses as a sign of appreciation. These no deposit bonuses give players the chance to “test” the casino before committing to making a deposit.

However, this is not the only occasion where players might be offered the sought-after no deposit bonus. Some casinos offer them to the players who signed up a while ago but didn’t show any signs of activity throughout a specific time frame (depends on the casino). In this case, these deposit bonuses serve as a reminder that the user has an account at the casino in question and that they can use this bonus to remember why they had chosen this casino when they had registered.

Bear in mind that it is not necessary for the no deposit bonus to come in the form of a cash bonus. It could be that the casino chooses to hand out free spins that don’t require the user to deposit a certain amount to receive them. We will dive into the concept of free spins in our next section.

• Free Spins — spinning it for free!

A free spin is an opportunity to play a free round in a casino slot game without having to bet your own money on it.

Therefore, free spins allow players to test certain casino games without having to spend their own money. The best part about such free spins is that during the free rounds, players might stumble upon a bonus feature within the slot game and get even more chances to win without any charges to their player account. However, before hitting the reels, players should make sure that they check the terms and conditions that come with the free spins bonus.

First of all, typically, these free spins would only qualify for one (or more) specific slot game only, and therefore, if you choose any other game, you will discover that the amounts you bet are taken out of your personal account. Moreover, players will have to understand that they will only be able to see the winnings (if any) on their player account when they have fulfilled all the wagering requirements. As explained above, wagering requirements are there to ensure that the casino is also protected from their end. If they just give you a certain amount of free spins, and you end up hitting a big win, it would create a situation where the casino suffers a loss.

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Let’s go through an illustrative example to get a better understanding of what the free spins are all about. Suppose you received twenty (20) free spins at Mr Bit casino, and you managed to win 100 euros by playing these 20 rounds at the game chosen by Mr Bit. Suppose the wagering requirement is ten times the amount won (10x). This would mean that you would have to place bets worth one thousand euros (100x20) to be able to withdraw your winnings.

Final thoughts

Before you opt-in to receive an online casino bonus, make sure to check the terms and conditions and find out whether the chosen casino has set some specific time limits for wagering the bonus. If the casino only gives you a particular time frame to complete the wagering requirements, and you failed to wager the bonus within the given time frame, your bonus money will be lost.

Moreover, please remember to read beyond the line that indicates the percentage of the bonus or the number of free spins that you are about to receive. Always check the wagering requirements, the casino games you’re allowed to wager them on, and other terms that would help you decide on whether a specific bonus is a good fit.

The list of the types of casino bonuses mentioned above is by no means exhaustive. However, we hope that if you’re an individual who wants to understand more about casino bonuses before creating your account and depositing your funds at a casino, we managed to give you a more precise understanding of how casino bonuses work.

Casinos With No Deposit Bonus

In addition to this, you can read our article on how to choose the right online casino for you, and maybe one of the casinos, SlotV, Frank Casino, and Mr Bit, that our affiliate program represents, end up being a good fit for you!