All About Casino Bonuses
Bonuses are a key part of the modern online slots industry and pretty much every online slots site will offer one form of bonus offer to both new and existing customers. But weighing up which bonus deals represent good value and which don’t can be tricky.
To help you get to grips with the array of bonus offers out there today, we have put together a handy guide to the world of bonuses. We cover everything from wagering requirements and game restrictions to bonus types and qualifying games, so you can maximise your bonus benefits.
Wagering Requirements
One of the most important aspects of the modern bonus to be aware of is the wagering requirement. This is a condition that is applied to almost all bonuses. If you sign up with a casino and claim their welcome bonus, you will almost certainly have to satisfy a wagering requirement.
A wagering requirement demands that you ‘play through’ the amount of the bonus and any associated winnings before you can withdraw it: in other words, wager the entire amount again. Wagering requirements are often set quite high. For example, at the Mr Green casino, their welcome bonus gives you a 100% bonus up to a maximum of €200, but the x35 wagering requirement means that you would have to wager the bonus amount 35 times to a total of €7,000 before you can withdraw it.
Casinos say that they apply these wagering requirements in order to prevent what they would describe as ‘bonus abuse’, that is, people signing up for multiple bonuses at different casinos, claiming the bonus amount and then withdrawing it. Critics would argue that this doesn’t justify applying a wagering requirement of x35. Either way, the wagering requirement is an essential feature of any bonus offer and online slots players can’t afford to overlook it.
Game Restrictions
The wagering requirement isn’t the only condition that casinos apply to their bonuses. They also often add in a rule that some games do not count 100% towards the wagering requirement. At sites such as Intercasino and Mr Green, standard slots games usually count fully towards the wagering requirement, that is 100% and wagering the bonus amount twice on a slots game counts as x2 towards the requirement.
Other games tend to make a smaller contribution. For example, table games, poker and blackjack can often only count as little as 20% or 10% towards the wagering requirement, which means you would have to pay these games a lot longer to meet the requirement. Fortunately, at mybitcoinslots, we provide details of the wagering requirements and eligible games for all of the bonuses we list and readers can use our site to find the best slots for playing through their bonus.
Bonus codes
A bonus code is a short code that you enter into a relevant slot site in order to claim their bonus. Sometimes this code is entered at the time of registration, and sometimes when making your first deposit. Well-known casinos like Casino Club can offer bonus codes to claim a variety of bonus offers, although not all casinos require customers to use bonus codes.
Bonus types
As you might have guessed, not all bonuses are the same. While bonuses can vary considerably in terms of quality, bonuses can also be divided into distinct categories.
Withdrawable bonuses
The standard bonus type is the withdrawable bonus. With this form of bonus, you are ultimately able to withdraw the bonus amount, and any winnings that are associated with it. Of course, to do that, you have to satisfy the wagering requirement (detailed above).
A withdrawable bonus will also have additional constraints besides the wagering requirement. For instance, you will usually have to claim the bonus within a certain time frame, and you will usually be expected to complete the wagering requirements within a set time.
In addition, it is possible to forfeit a withdrawable bonus. For example, some casino sites will cancel your bonus if you attempt to withdraw it before completing the wagering requirement.
Fixed Bonus Type One
Among the more unusual bonuses out there are the Fixed Bonuses. These generally come in two forms. The first is a bonus that you can’t withdraw. It is essentially a bonus that is made up of a free credit, which you can use to play the various slots games on a casino site, but which you won’t be able to withdraw from the site.
For example, lets say you make an initial deposit of €100 and you are given a 100% Fixed Bonus. That would add €200 to your betting account, and you could use this to play your favourite games. But when the time comes to request a withdrawal, the bonus amount would be removed from your account balance. This type of bonus is rare and we do not recommend players to use it.
Fixed Bonus Type Two
The second form of Fixed Bonus is similar, though there is a slight refinement. With this type of Fixed Bonus, the bonus amount will not disappear from your account balance when you request a withdrawal. However, you will still not able to withdraw this amount in the same way that you can make a normal withdrawal. As with the first type of Fixed Bonus, this is a relatively rare bonus, and at mybitcoinslots we only provide details of Withdrawable Bonuses.
Summary
When it comes to claiming casino bonuses, you can never have too much information. That’s why at mybitcoinslots, we aim to provide the fullest possible details of all of the bonuses we list here, so that there are no nasty surprises when you claim your bonus.
As well as checking out our bonus details, it is always a good idea to read the terms and conditions of all bonus offers before you claim them. If you are in doubt about a casino’s bonus offer, contact their customer support service to get answers to your questions before you take up the bonus.