Online casinos are big business. It’s also an industry where the competition is fierce. With an abundance of operators, players have so much choice when it comes to selecting where to play and they can certainly afford to be a little bit picky. That means that these online casinos need to put in some work to woo you and to make sure that you sign up at their site.
For new and experienced gamblers alike, it’s important to find the best casino offers when setting up an account. There is no need to simply accept the first one that you come across: taking the time to look around will lead to you finding the best ones out there.
In this article, we’re going to be looking at the best welcome bonus types that there are. We’re also going to take a look at some of the watch-outs that there are. Read on if you want to find out more.
Safety first
Before you run headlong into signing up for an online casino, regardless of the bonus that’s up for grabs, it’s important just to pause and make sure that you’re only playing somewhere that is safe and trusted. The casinos that you want to be playing at will have:
- A license from a recognised regulator, such as the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC)
- Security measures in place that make the website safe from hackers
- Great customer reviews
- A selection of secure payment methods
Any casino that is licensed by the UKGC, will also have an association with GAMstop. This is an organisation that’s worth being aware of. If you reach the stage where gambling starts to get out of control, there are options here to self-exclude from online casinos so that you can re-evaluate what gambling means to you. Remember, online casinos are all about fun and great entertainment and you need to make sure that it stays that way.
The types of welcome bonus
You will find a huge selection of welcome bonuses on offer and these will vary from casino to casino. The most popular, and the best, of these, are:
Matched deposit bonus
This type of bonus is just what it says it is. When you make your first deposit with an online casino, the casino will match the amount that you’ve deposited. Typically, a matched deposit bonus will say something along the lines of “Deposit up to £100 and we’ll match 100%”. In this scenario, you’d find that, after depositing £100, you now have £200 to play with.
The exact details of these welcome bonuses will vary. You may find some online casinos that offer to match up to 50%. Then there will be others that offer you 500%. It’s always worth taking the time to see just what’s available and what offers give you the best value for money.
Free spins
Again, the name is a great giveaway when you’re trying to figure out what this type of welcome bonus includes. As it says, this sees an online casino giving you free spins to play with. This type of welcome bonus may be a standalone one but, often, it is linked to a matched deposit. The casinos will offer you the matched deposit and then include say 50 free spins.
While free spins are great, they are of course restricted to online slots. This isn’t a major issue as slots are the most popular games at online casinos anyway. However, you won’t be able to choose a slot to use the free spins on: you’ll be told which one applies to the bonus. Again, this isn’t a major issue as you’ll usually find that it’s a classic such as Book of Dead, or similar.
No deposit bonus
Now, these welcome bonuses are particularly attractive as they don’t require you to part with any of your own money first. Simply by creating an account, some of the many online casinos will credit your balance so that you can just get playing.
These no-deposit bonuses might see funds being placed into our account that can be used for certain games. However, what is more common is that you’ll be given free spins to use. Again, these will be restricted to maybe one or two titles but when you’re being given these for nothing, there’s really no need to complain.
A word on wagering requirements
Sometimes welcome bonuses look pretty amazing, but they’re not always what they seem. The thing is, they will often come with wagering requirements and you can’t withdraw your bonus winnings until you’ve completed these.
Now, let’s look at an example of how this works.
Let’s imagine that you find a welcome bonus that comes with a 300% matched deposit. You deposit £20 and then receive a £60 bonus. Now let’s say that the wagering requirements are 5x. This would mean that you’d need to wager 5 x £80, meaning £400 of wagers before you can withdraw your winnings.
Now, there are some real extremes out there when it comes to these requirements and some of them make a bonus almost worthless. You’ll find that there are some online casinos that come with zero wagering requirements and once you start to see anything much above 40x, it’s probably best to find another welcome bonus elsewhere.
Final thoughts
Online casino welcome bonuses are a great way to boost your balance and get more to play with. Remember, you have such a wide selection of casinos to choose from that you really can afford to be choosy about what you accept.
As well as welcome bonuses, you’ll also find that most online casinos will offer further rewards later on. Just as they’re keen to gain you as a customer, they’re also keen to keep you as one. That means that they reward your loyalty with more free spins and matched deposits along the way. As with the welcome bonuses, just be sure that you’re keeping your eye on the wagering requirements.
