How bonus offers from online casinos or sports betting providers work

Bonus offers or competitions, free bets and similar promotions or prizes can bring nice benefits: An extra 100 euros to get you started, the chance to win higher odds, a bet with a lower risk and sometimes even the chance to win a little more. High bonuses are also possible if they are within the legal framework. But what actually makes such deals so psychologically attractive?

Bonus offers such as prize draws, deposit bonuses and other promotions are a powerful driver of user retention and acquisition in the world of casino games and sports betting. They not only act as an incentive for new customers, but also strengthen the loyalty of existing users. Especially in highly competitive markets or during high-profile events or seasonal occasions such as the Football World Cup, the Champions League, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc., such offers are of immense strategic importance.

Conventional deals may provide a few hundred euros or free tips - other offers are in much higher spheres. Not all bonuses are the same: And what applies to the promised benefits of the promotions and their conditions also applies to the corresponding psychological effects.

How do different bonuses work on a psychological level?

Sure, bonuses initially offer extra money or other benefits for which you apparently don't have to do much - and that makes them very desirable for many people on the surface. But what is behind it all, how do the promises made by online casinos or bookmakers have a psychological effect on customers with the individual types of offers?

Basically, bonuses often focus on fundamental human behavioural patterns and psychological principles that can lead to increased commitment and more impulsive decisions.

• Welcome bonus: This bonus is primarily aimed at new customers and utilises the ‘foot-in-the-door’ effect, a psychological principle that states that people are more willing to take bigger steps after a small initial commitment. The customer feels encouraged by the initial advantage to continue playing and possibly stake more money. The ‘welcome gift’ also conveys the impression of generosity on the part of the provider, which strengthens trust.
• Reload bonuses: Reload offers aim to strengthen loyalty to the casino or betting provider. They utilise the ‘recency effect’, whereby people react positively to recently received rewards and project this expectation onto future interactions. The regular recurrence of such deals gives the user the feeling of receiving a continuous reward, which leads to an increase in long-term loyalty.
• Free spins or free bets: These bonuses entice users with the promise of being able to win real money without wagering. On a psychological level, they have a similar effect to lottery tickets: they appeal to the human hope of winning big even without risk and reinforce the ‘near-miss effect’ - the feeling of having narrowly missed out on success, which increases the urge to repeat.
• No deposit bonus: Bonuses with no deposit requirement are particularly tempting because they exploit the ‘zero-risk bias’. People tend to favour offers with seemingly zero risk, even if the potential gain is small. Psychologically, the ‘free’ deal is perceived as particularly valuable, even if it is often linked to strict conditions.
• Insurance (e.g. reimbursement in the event of loss): Reimbursement or insurance soothes loss aversion - a fundamental psychological principle in which people feel greater pain from losses than pleasure from gains. Insurance gives the feeling that losses are protected, which can encourage riskier betting and gambling.
• Odds boosts: Odds boosts increase potential returns on certain bets and appeal directly to the ‘lure of a quick win’. Psychologically, they increase the ‘sunk cost effect’, whereby users invest more because they believe that their odds have increased as a result of the bonus, even if the actual probabilities have not changed significantly.
• Cashbacks: Cashback offers alleviate the negative emotions after a loss by giving the user the feeling of getting part of their stake back. This mechanism reinforces the ‘rebound effect’, whereby people are inclined to quickly become active again after a failure in order to win back the money they have lost.
• Weekly or monthly bonuses: Such bonuses build on ‘reinforcement therapy’ - regular small rewards reinforce gambling behaviour and keep the user continuously active. They create a rhythm of expectation and reward consistency, which leads to user loyalty in the long term.
• Gamifications: Gamification elements such as points, level progression or missions draw on basic reward mechanisms familiar from video games. They promote the ‘flow’ experience, in which the user is so immersed in the task that they minimise the time and cost involved. The continuous progress and rewards create a ‘dopamine kick’ that keeps the user playing.
• VIP programmes: VIP and loyalty programmes make use of the principle of ‘exclusivity’. The feeling of being part of a privileged group is a strong motive for players to spend more money and remain loyal. Psychologically speaking, rising through the ranks creates additional motivation to engage more intensively with the offer. The ‘BingBong & JackpotPirates Premium Membership’ is a variation of such systems.
• Bonuses for certain deposit methods: These bonuses are designed to steer user behaviour by favouring certain payment methods. The psychological effect is subtle but effective: players feel rewarded for the simple act of depositing, which increases the incentive to continue transferring funds via the favoured method.
• Special promotions (competitions, prize draws, tournaments): Such promotions activate ‘FOMO’ (Fear-of-Missing-Out) - the feeling that you could miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The fear of missing out on an opportunity increases the urge to participate and increases activity during limited periods of time. We recently reported on a special bet365 ticket raffle for the new Champions League season that falls into this area.

As has already become clear in some of the explanations, the specific features of bonuses do not make them harmless. They manage to manipulate players to a certain extent, which in severe cases encourages addiction. For this reason, promotions from casinos and betting providers are strictly regulated in Germany. Although there are no specific limits on the amount of offers, unlike in other countries, we are not allowed to give out excessively large sums. Incidentally, there were some really lavish deals for some US bookies at the start of the NFL 2024/25.

Conclusion

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