Shutterstock
Casino bonuses are no doubt sweet music to the ears of many online casino game lovers around the globe. They offer exciting opportunities to increase one’s potential earnings without having to risk all or some of their money. They come in various forms and associated terms, but one would ask if they are free money at all. The answer is they are not free money, and we will discuss why.
What are Online Casino Bonuses?
Online casino bonuses are awarded by casinos to players on certain conditions that have to be fulfilled. The bonuses cannot be withdrawn immediately, but require the user to place wagers to meet minimum requirements first. The bonuses may take various forms, with the most common ones being:
- Welcome bonuses – With this type, casinos offer a welcome bonus for the first deposit(s) made by a new user upon completion of the registration process. This is often the highest of all bonuses and also mostly comes with the least stringent wagering requirements. For example, some casinos with the latest casino bonuses on IrishCasinoHEX may award bonuses of 100% of the deposit amount for the first deposit up to a certain maximum.. This phenomenon extends world over as well.
- No Deposit Bonuses – As the name implies, casinos may offer users bonuses for no deposit at all. These may come in the form of free spins or free cash that would need to be wagered to a certain minimum amount. The wagering requirements are often much higher, and users may only be allowed to withdraw winnings and not the original bonus amount. This type of bonus is good for users who want to explore new casinos, game offerings or perhaps fancy their chances of making huge winnings and withdraw for no deposit risk at all.
- Deposit bonus – At times casinos decide to offer bonuses that require the punter to make a deposit and get a bonus. This is awarded to existing customers, and also comes with its wagering terms and conditions. In most cases, this type of bonus ranges from small amounts such as 5 GBP to modest ones such as 50 GBP or more.
Why are Casino Bonuses not Free Money?
At face value, one may easily be tempted to think that casino bonuses are free money! Alas, the real situation is different on the ground, and you will often pay through other means such as stringent wagering requirements, limited game choices, capped winnings, and some not so favourable withdrawal terms. More so, you may get enticed to make bigger deposits into the account, which if not managed properly will lead to losses. We discuss these as follows:
- Wagering requirements – Casino bonuses come with terms and conditions, chief amongst them being the wagering requirements that need to be met to make a withdrawal. This is simply the number of times you need to roll over the bonus amount. For example, a bonus with a wagering requirement of 40x will require you to place bets of a minimum total value of 4, 000 GBP for a bonus amount of 100 GBP. This is quite significant and may take a considerable amount of discipline and luck to complete the rollover wagering requirements.
- Game choices – with casino bonuses, casinos will restrict your game choice to some selected games which vary from casino to casino. The games may also have varying wagering contributions, and it is important to check these in advance.
- Capped winnings – You might even hit a lucky streak and win massively with your bonus. However, remember these winnings may be capped to a certain maximum, and these are normally indicated by the casino in the bonus terms and conditions.
- Withdrawal terms – Coming to withdrawing your winnings, you may find that some casinos require you to make a deposit first to allow you to withdraw your winnings. In some cases, you will only be able to withdraw your winnings only, and not the bonus amount awarded.
Tips on Withdrawing Winnings from Casino Bonuses
When it comes to withdrawing winnings, you need to make use of the following tips to complete the process.
- Ensure that your account is verified, lest there may be some restrictions in withdrawing your winnings.
- Make sure you are aware and meet the wagering requirements to be able to proceed to the next step.
- When your wagering requirements have been satisfied, check also the satisfaction of the minimum withdrawal amount and see if you meet it. Also, check if there are any other requirements regarding a need to deposit first before making a withdrawal.
If Casino Bonuses are Not Free Money, are They Worth It?
After having said all of the above, casino bonuses offer exciting opportunities for players to explore various casinos and games at no cost/risk to their funds. Other than these benefits, users would need to be aware of the terms and conditions of the bonuses, and should be willing to fulfil all of them should they want to withdraw any winnings.
