Casino Bonuses Guide

Online casino bonuses serve two purposes: they’re useful for the online casino because they attract new players, and they’re good for the player because they help you boost your bankroll. There are lots of different types of online casino bonuses, and most of the best gambling sites offer a mix of these, so there’s always something fresh for you to look forward to. 

The first promo you’ll probably notice is the online casino welcome bonus, which awards new players with a freebie when they sign up and make a first deposit. Then, there are offers for regular players, which are sometimes based on calendars that award you a different promo every day or every week.

Don’t confuse online casino bonuses with loyalty programs – they’re two different things. Alongside the promotional offers, many online casinos have a loyalty programme where you can build up points when you play, and redeem them for bonuses.

Sometimes, you’ll even get enhanced offers based on your loyalty tier, which is a way of rewarding people who play often, or spend more at the online casino.

As we mentioned, there are lots of different types of casino bonuses out there. When you’re playing, you might even spot a few that we haven’t mentioned on our list, and it’s important to remember that some online casino offers (especially welcome packages) can be made up of a combination of more than one of these. 

Here are a few of the top offers to look out for, which we’ll go into more detail about in the next sections of our casino bonuses guide:

• Welcome Bonus: A special promo given to brand-new players
• Deposit bonus: An offer you get when you make a qualifying deposit
• No deposit bonus: A free offer that doesn’t require a deposit
• Cashback bonuses: offers that award a certain percentage of your losses back
• Free spins and free chips: Bonuses to be used on specific slot games or live dealer games
• Live casino bonuses: Free bonuses to be used on live dealer games only
• Reload bonuses: A particular type of deposit match bonus for existing players

Welcome Bonus

When signing up at an online casino, the welcome bonus is one of the first things you’ll consider. Often, these bonuses can get huge as a way for the online casino to attract new players, but of course, the bonuses benefit you, too. Many online casinos don’t just give out one deposit match for new players but rather a whole package spread across multiple deposits to encourage you to keep coming back. 

A great example of an online casino welcome bonus is the Rooster Bet package, which gives you a total of up to $5,000 in bonus and 300 free spins, but they’re all split across your first four deposits, so you get rewarded for longer. 

Deposit Bonus

A deposit bonus is pretty easy to understand – it’s a casino bonus given to you when you make a deposit. These bonuses can often go into the thousands of dollars (for example, the Golden Crown casino bonus rewards you with up to $10,000 in bonus cash), and you can expect a certain percentage match on your deposits. Most often, this will be 100% (so if you deposit $100 you’ll get to play with a total of $200) but at some casinos it can be as much as 200% or even 300%. 

To get your deposit bonus, you may need to opt in or use a promo code, then make a qualifying deposit, usually about $20 per transaction.

No Deposit Bonus

A no deposit bonus is exactly what it sounds like – a special offer that awards you something for free before you even need to make a real deposit. No deposit bonuses can take the form of a small amount of free spins or some casino credits you can use on games of your choice. The great thing about a no-deposit bonus is that if you’re new at an online casino and are not quite ready to play for your own real money, you can still try the games and get the overall experience. 

It’s always important to read an online casino promo’s T&Cs before you claim. However, this is even more important with no deposit bonuses because they often come with some strict conditions, like high wagering requirements and low win limits.

Cashback Bonuses

A cashback bonus reduces your risk of losing real cash when you play at an online casino, so these are very popular promotions on slots and live dealer games. Usually, when an online casino runs a cashback promo, they’ll give you back a certain percentage of your losses during the promotional period.

Cashback offers can either be part of a casino’s welcome package or be offered as a regular promotion for all players. For example, Spinch online casino gives you 20% cashback every single day as long as you make a qualifying deposit and play.

Cashback can be awarded as real cash you can withdraw immediately or as a casino bonus with wagering requirements. 

Free Spins and Free Chips

There are tonnes of online casinos that hand out free spins offers (for example, Boomerang and Lucky7Even both give out free spins as part of the welcome package), but free chips are a rarer occurrence.

When you claim a free spins promo, you’ll usually need to use the spins on selected games, which is a great way to discover new titles that you might not have played otherwise. Free spins can be given with no deposit needed, or you might need to deposit a certain amount of money to get the spins. 

Free chips are essentially the free spins of the live casino world, and they take the form of casino credits, which you’ll need to use on certain table games or live dealer games.

Live Casino Bonuses

Most casinos don’t have separate bonuses for live casino players, so if you find one, you’ll probably feel like you’ve hit the jackpot. Live casino games also tend to be excluded from general casino promos, especially when it comes to meeting the wagering requirements. 

Live casino bonuses can take the form of free chips or credits, or you might get a special deposit bonus to use just on live casino games. Some online casinos also have live casino cashback offers to give regular players a bit of their losses back. 

Reload Bonuses

A reload bonus is very similar to a deposit match, with the only difference being that the phrase “reload bonus” is usually used to refer to promos given to existing players rather than newbies. To claim a reload bonus, you may need to opt into the promo via a pop-up on the website or in the cashier when you’re making a deposit, and you may need to enter a promo code. Remember that reloads come with T&Cs like wagering requirements and occasionally even game restrictions, so make sure you understand these before you claim.

Online Casino Bonus Codes

Most online casino bonuses don’t require codes to claim. All you’ll need to do is create your account and make a qualifying deposit, and then you should get the offer automatically. However, some online casinos – especially those with different offers for casinos, live casinos, and sports players – require you to enter a special code to get the bonus. You’ll usually find this code on the promotions page, and you might need to enter it during the signup stage or within the cashier when you make your first deposit.

If your online casino requires a promo code, it’s super important that you remember to enter it (and use the right code), as you probably won’t be able to go back and do it if you forget, so you’ll lose out completely. 

High-roller bonuses and VIP Bonuses  

As part of an online casino’s VIP program, top-tier players might get bigger bonuses than everyone else. For example, existing players might get better deposit match offers or larger batches of higher-value free spins. 

If you’re a new player looking to make a sizable first deposit, it’s also a good idea to check if the online casino has a unique high roller bonus. Some online casinos might hand out bigger bonuses when you deposit at least $1,000 or $1,500 the first time. For example, Slots Gallery has a special offer for deposits over $1,500. To get these offers, you might need to use a unique promo code or get in touch with the support team so that they can apply the bonus for you.