One thing you’ll notice on our reviews, bonus pages and toplists is that every casino listing has a bonus offer next to it. Most casinos push the same thing on their websites, too. You can’t really blame us for it, either, considering that many of these casinos offer in excess of $7,500 or more in free money. People like free money, so it’s a big selling point.

So with this in mind, what I want to do in this article is explain the casino bonus in more detail. So if you don’t know what they are or how they work, this article should explain it for you.

A Beginners Guide to Casino Bonuses

What is a Casino Bonus?

The simplest answer is that a casino bonus is an offer or promotion. The casino uses the bonus to encourage players to create an account, or revisit their account, and make a real money deposit.

The most bonus is the (match) deposit bonus. This is reserved for first time casino players that have an account but have yet to make their first deposit. Deposit bonuses vary in size, but $500 to $7,000 is standard. There is (usually) a match involved, too. In other words, a casino might offer to match you 100% up to $600. What this means is that for every $1 you deposit, the casino will match (or bonus) you $1, up to $600. You don’t get this money all at once. As I explain in the next section it’s released to you in small increments as you play real money games.

Another common bonus is the reload bonus. A reload bonus is the same thing as a deposit bonus, except that it’s to encourage existing players to come back, make another deposit and play more.

The last (common) casino bonus is the instant bonus, or free bankroll. These are small amounts, between $5 and $25, that the casino instantly puts into your account once you sign-up.

Ultimately, a bonus is merely an incentive to get you to make a real money deposit, and more importantly, play real money games. That way the casino has an opportunity to make money.

How Do Casino Bonuses Work?

Lets look now at how casino bonuses “work.”

To sign up and be eligible to receive a bonus, all you need to do is create an account and make a deposit. If you notice on our site a code next to a bonus offer, you’ll want to make sure to use that when you sign up. That ensures that you get the promotions advertised on our site, which is on par with other gambling portals, if not better.

Once you make your deposit the bonus is automatic. At this point you need to play real money games and “clear” your bonus. You see, each casino has terms in place to keep players from gaming the system for free money. What they do is place a “clearing” or “rollover” requirement on every bonus. For example, a requirement might be that you need to rollover your deposit 50 times before you will receive your bonus money. So if you deposit $100, you’ll need to wager $5,000. Be aware that some terms might require you to rollover your deposit and bonus.

You’ll want to check for an expiration date, too. Many casinos will place an expiration date of 30-90 days from the time you make your deposit. If you don’t clear the bonus in this time, you either lose the entire thing or get to keep what you’ve cleared thus far.

Keep in mind that not all bonuses will be available for withdrawal, even after you clear them. In the case of instant (bankroll) bonuses, you only get to keep the money you earn. With match bonuses, you usually get to keep both the bonus money and the money you earn with them.

Beware – Not All Games Can Be Played for Bonuses

When it comes to casino bonuses it’s very important that you read their terms and conditions. Especially if you play games like blackjack, craps, roulette or video poker. You’ll find that, in addition to the rollover requirements, that many casinos have terms in place regarding these games and whether or not you can play them to clear the bonus.

For the majority of online casinos what you’ll find is that games like blackjack, craps and video poker are prohibited. You can’t play these games to clear your bonus. If you play these games anyway, you run the risk of losing your bonus and any money you may have won with it.

For the rest of the casinos, what they’ll do is handicap what the games are worth. For example, if the casino has a standard of an 80x rollover for all approved games, they might say that if you want to play blackjack to clear the bonus, your rollover will be 120x instead. So you’ll have to play rollover 1.5 times as much to clear your bonus. You’ll then have to decide if that’s worthwhile to you.

Since finding a casino that allows these games to be played for bonuses is difficult, what you might look for are game specific bonuses. There are several casinos that offer bonuses only for blackjack, craps or video poker players. Keep in mind that the handicapped terms and conditions will still apply, though.

How to Find the Best Casino Bonus

First and foremost, I don’t recommend signing up to a casino (only) for their bonus. That’s a marketing tactic. It has no bearing on your overall experience at the casino. However, the casinos’ games, software, support and fairness will — so focus on those things first, then the promotions.

From there, it depends on how much money you have to deposit and how much you can play. For example, if you have an unlimited bankroll and you’re going to play 30 hours per week, you can sign up to the casino with the largest bonus and shortest expiration date — it won’t matter. However, if you have $20 to spend and can only play a couple of hours per week, you should find a higher match percentage (to more than double your money) or an instant play game, so that your money goes further and the clearing requirements are easier to accomplish. Other than that, just try to find a casino that offers the biggest bang for your buck.

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