Bonuses are the most important marketing tool used by online casinos. They are used to attract new players (in the form of a welcome bonus) or to retain existing customers (reload bonuses). There are several types of bonuses. The most common are deposit bonuses. When you make a deposit, you receive a multiple of the amount as bonus money, which must be wagered on casino games in order to be paid out.
Bonus terms are being dictated and interpreted more and more strictly by many online casinos. Payouts are often refused because the bonus terms and conditions have been violated. Since playing with bonuses has always caused problems in the past, we want to show online casinos with fair bonus terms in a first bonus table. A bonus is fair to GambleJoe if the following 3 rules are met:
The other bonus offers are in response to the needs of our community, who are always looking for special bonus offers. If you are interested in these special bonus offers, please be sure to read the terms and conditions and bonus rules of the casino.
They may be stricter than the bonuses recommended by GambleJoe - so you should think carefully about whether you really want to accept such promotions.
The following online casinos have fair bonus terms. These are reputable casinos that have no problem paying out winnings with bonus money, provided you have met the wagering requirements. The table shows the casinos' welcome bonuses for new customers.
Although the bonus terms of these online casinos are fair, there is no guarantee of winning. After all, this is a game of chance, so you can lose both your deposit and your bonus at any time.
If you generate the required turnover in the casinos, you can be sure that the bonus will be paid out. Video slots have the added bonus of being paid out in stages.
Many players look for particularly good bonus offers. Usually it is not about very high bonus amounts or large starter packages for multiple deposits. Rather, they are looking for particularly high bonus percentages. Not just double the deposit, but 200% or more in bonus money.
As mentioned above, you should be careful. There are usually limits on the stakes you can play, and many casino games are not available for sale. The interpretation of bonus rules can also be very strict.
The bonuses shown here are for new customers. Existing customers usually receive a maximum of 100% bonus, in most cases only 50%.
Some online casinos also offer a no deposit bonus just for signing up. There are several options. Sometimes it's a starting balance. For example, you might get a €5 no deposit bonus just for trying it out.
However, free spins on a particular slot are much more common: NetEnt's Starburst, Aloha Cluster Pays and Wild Wild West are particularly popular. Free spins are also sometimes offered on Book of Dead (the Book of Ra clone from Play'n GO).
We have summarised a number of online casinos with no deposit bonuses, where both free spins and bonus money are possible.
It should be noted that the wagering requirements are usually worse than the deposit bonuses. Sometimes you have to wager the bonus more than 50 times. There are also often restrictions on withdrawing winnings from no deposit bonuses. For example, the payout limit may be €100. You can withdraw up to €100, but any amount above that will be forfeited.
Existing customers are always looking for bonus money without a deposit or free spins. There are usually also online casinos that send customers offers via email or SMS. Our community compiles the offers in our no deposit bonus area. But be careful: Sometimes offers are shared by Curaçao casinos - gambling providers with an extremely weak license.
There are always deposit bonuses with free spins. The free spins are mostly awarded on NetEnt's Starburst slot (at least when it comes to welcome bonuses). Other slots are rare. Promotions on new slots are an exception. Sometimes new slot machines are promoted - then you can also get free spins on that slot machine with your next deposit. Here is a list of online casinos that offer many free spins bonus packages:
There are different ways to use the free spins. Usually you have to play through the free spins before cashing out. The winnings are credited to the bonus account and can only be paid out if the bonus wagering requirements are met. If you don't want this, you can let the bonus expire.
However, it is much more customer-friendly if you can cash out winnings and then play the free spins. By withdrawing early, you won't fall into a bonus trap with the real money and you can still try to clear the bonus. Always read the casino's bonus terms and conditions carefully.
Some online casinos do not advertise with credits for deposits, but with refunds if you have suffered losses.
There is usually a minimum of 10% cashback that can be given per week or per day. Ideally, the cashback is real money and does not need to be wagered.
At some casinos you can sometimes receive 50% cashback on the losses at the respective slot for new games. Sometimes such offers can be worthwhile, especially since there are no wagering requirements.
Different online casinos have different reload bonuses for existing customers. These may be promotions for the 2nd and 3rd deposit as part of an extensive welcome package. Some online casinos also offer daily or weekly reload bonuses. Typically, reload bonuses are 25% or 50% of the new deposit. In some rare cases you can find 100%, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
Sometimes you can get free spins as a reload bonus, so online casino promotions are quite varied in this area. In rare cases, online casinos also offer loyalty points as a reload bonus. You can then use the points to buy free spins in a free spins shop or exchange the loyalty points for bonus money.
The wagering requirements for Reload Bonus promotions are different from the Welcome Bonus. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for each promotion.
Many online casinos now offer VIP programmes for particularly good players. You may receive individual bonuses, goodies, invitations to events or other extras. You are usually given a dedicated account manager so that you can get support more quickly. Payouts are usually processed more quickly and there may be different payout limits.
To become a VIP you have to prove that you are a good player. This doesn't necessarily mean depositing a lot of money at once, sometimes regular deposits are enough.
The VIP programmes or VIP levels can also be linked to loyalty points, which you earn when you play the slots. In the shops, the loyalty points can usually be exchanged for bonus money, free spins or other features (trips, technical equipment, clothing, etc.). Online casinos offer a wide range of loyalty programmes.
When you accept a deposit bonus, you usually play with your own money first and then with the bonus. Bonus wagering only starts when you play with the bonus - the real money balance must usually be less than 20 cents.
Provided that the bonus and deposit amounts are separated. Otherwise the bonus wagering starts immediately. For example, if you accept a 100% welcome bonus with a wagering requirement of 35 times the bonus amount, the wagering requirement will look like this:
Exceptions: There are a few casinos where you can wager the bonus with real money in stages. For example, there are such systems at Videoslots and Casumo. Here the chance is greater that you can withdraw at least part of the bonus, but it is not a guarantee.
Only certain games are usually included in bonus wagering. Bets placed on Video Slots and Scratch Cards will normally be counted as 100% of the bonus wager.
For table games such as Blackjack, Baccarat and Roulette, the maximum is usually 10%. Sometimes the games, as well as progressive slots, are completely excluded from bonus play. Similar rules apply to some slot machines where the payout percentage can be improved by receiving bonus rounds (popular examples are Immortal Romance, Castle Builder or Scrooge).
Online casinos use bonuses as a promotional tool and are concerned about their profits. Games that pay out too much or have a low house edge are excluded to increase the casino's chances.
In most cases, certain games such as progressive jackpot slots or live games are not allowed. Certain types of gambling are also prohibited. This includes so-called bonus hunting.
This is where the player hunts for bonuses and tries to increase the chances of winning the bonus by using special gaming strategies. Popular methods include playing the table games. Wait until you have a good win and then switch to the slots to play the bonus. This behaviour is often banned.
You can't stop the bonus rounds either. Some slot machines allow you to cancel free spins or other bonus games by closing the slot after you have received them. Some bonus hunters in the past have waited to play the bonus games until the bonus had expired and the winnings had to be considered real money. Postponing bonus rounds is therefore prohibited.
There is usually a maximum bet on the games. It can be as low as €5 per spin and 50 cents per payline. The maximum bet also usually applies to risk features where you can double your winnings.
In roulette, bets with a low probability of loss are generally prohibited. For example, you can't just bet on odd and even numbers just to get the bonus wagering. More detailed information on bonus hunting and bonus abuse can be found here.
Some websites suggest certain strategies for playing with the bonus. However, it is still a game of chance and there is no way to improve the odds, especially if you are playing the bonus on the slots.
So it doesn't matter if you play high or low variance games. Either you get lucky and generate a bonus, or you don't. The casinos are now so good at calculating bonuses that very few players generate the revenue.
Especially since you should be careful. If gambling strategies can be proven, casinos will sometimes accuse the player of bonus fraud. The bonus and winnings will then be revoked. In the best case scenario, you will get your deposit back.
We always recommend playing without a bonus as it is very difficult to meet the wagering requirements. Most of the time you will lose both your deposit and your bonus, so you will leave the casino without any winnings. With a bonus you can usually play for longer.
The question here is why you are playing in the casino. If you want to win money, you should play without a bonus so that you can always cash out. If you're playing for entertainment, a bonus can add some extra playing time.
The bonus rules should be formulated very simply and include the following content-related aspects:
If these three conditions are met, the bonus is fair in itself. However, you should not expect to win the bonus. It's always difficult and in the end the casino wants to win.
It depends on the bonus, the wagering requirements and the games you play. It's always a matter of luck. But even reputable websites that advertise bonus hunts and game strategies talk about a maximum chance of 15%. At least if it is a conventional casino game with a 96% payout rate and a turnover of 45 times the bonus.
Overall, such calculations are very difficult. You should always bear in mind that no casino will give a player money for nothing - the gaming operators must also be able to finance the gaming operation with bonuses.
That depends on the online casino and the respective bonus. It is usually possible to cancel a bonus if you have not yet played with the bonus. Sometimes online casinos advertise that they are automatically canceled if you bring the real money that you previously played with to pay out. (e.g. Mr Green).
If the bonus and deposit have to be converted together, it is usually not possible to cancel. It always depends on the casino.
No, you only need to enter a bonus code if the casino requires it. There will be a field for the code when you make a deposit, similar to coupon codes in online shops. The bonus codes can be found on separate sub-pages of the gambling site. In some cases, you may also receive promotional codes via SMS or email.
Some players like to ask support about deposit or no deposit bonuses. It is certainly an option, and you will get some freebies, but some agents are allergic to such questions. Asking for a bonus seems a bit strange - almost like begging. You should think carefully about whether you really want to take this step.
Multiple accounts from one person and sometimes one IP address are not allowed in almost all online casinos. You should refrain from doing this. An identity check could reveal that you have a double account. Winnings may not be paid out or you may be banned from the casino for life.
Yes, but online casinos with Neteller or Skrill Bonus are rather rare.
Most online casinos will not accept Neteller and Skrill as deposit methods for bonus purposes. Sometimes there can also be problems with paysafecard. Check the terms and conditions and bonus rules to see if the deposit method is supported when you receive the bonus. You should therefore be careful when using these two deposit methods.
