Sign-up bonuses

Casino Signup Bonuses

One of the methods to attract players into registering an account with an online casino is to provide signup bonuses, but because all of the online casinos are offering this type of bonus, it then becomes a bit hard to choose the online casino that will give you what you want when it comes to advantageous signup bonuses.

For this reason, here are some things that you should take into consideration before signing up with an online casino.

What are Casino Signup Bonuses?

Casino signup bonuses are the type of bonus given to a new player who have signed up or registered an account with an online casino.  The most common form of the signup bonus is a match-up bonus wherein the casino will match the deposit made by a player to a certain percentage.  For example, you deposited an amount of $100, then the casino you signed up with will match it up with 100%, so this gives you a total of $200 to play with.  Some casinos though will match it up by as much as 200% and some as low as 50%, so this really depends upon the casino.

Another form of signup bonus is the no deposit bonus wherein the player only has to register a new real account and be able to avail of the no deposit signup bonus.  For example, you automatically get $100 just by signing up with them, even if you did not make any initial deposit.

Other signup bonuses come in the form of free spins or free play.

The Wagering Requirements

Getting the signup bonus deposited into your account is not as easy as it seems.  Just because the online casino promised to give you a 100% match-up bonus does not mean that you can automatically withdraw your bonus.  No.  In fact, there are wagering requirements that you have to meet in order to get your bonus, and mind you, some of them are steep.

But first, to be eligible for the signup bonus, you have to deposit the minimum amount.  Some online casinos ask that you deposit a minimum of, say, $25 or $50 to avail of the bonus.

When it comes to the no deposit bonuses, free spins, or free play though, what happens is that you are only given a certain period of time or a number of hours to be able to play and bet with the free credits, so you should really maximize your time and make sure that you win enough.

Now, let us come to the hard part – the wagering requirements.

Before you can withdraw your bonus, you have to meet the wagering requirements.  There are online casinos that will ask you to bet 10x or 20x the total value of your deposit and bonus.  Let us take for example the 100% match-up bonus worth $100, giving you $200 in total – that is, if you deposited the maximum amount of $100.  Now, the wagering requirement will then tell you to bet 10x the value of $200, which is $2,000, to be able to withdraw your bonus, or $4,000 if the wagering requirement is 20x.  Again, you have to know that that wagering requirement depends upon the casino where you signed up with, and there are online casinos that give you 200% match-up bonus but the wagering requirement is 100x.  Really steep, right?

Another prerequisite given by the online casinos prior to withdrawing your bonus is that the bets you placed on some casino games do not count towards your getting the bonus.  Casino games that are not included are baccarat, craps, roulette, or sic bo, although, again, the types of exempted games depend upon the casino.

To be able to withdraw your winnings from the no deposit bonus, free spins, or free play, some casinos will require you to make an initial deposit first, so if you opt not to deposit any money, all your winnings will remain in your player account untouched, and the only way to withdraw them is to deposit money into your account.  But then again, there really are some casinos that give players free money to play with and allow them to withdraw their winnings without too much hassle.

This is why it is so important that you read the terms and conditions of the online casino first before you sign up and make a deposit.

The Two Types of Signup Bonuses

There are two more things that you should know about signup bonuses – the cashable or non-cashable signup bonuses.

When you say cashable, this means that you can cash out your bonus if and when you have completed all the wagering requirements.  Say for example that you have already wagered a total of $2,000 or $4,000 that you need to withdraw your signup bonus, then you can easily withdraw your $100 together with any winnings you might have won.

On the other hand, non-cashable or sticky bonus entails that you leave the $100 bonus in your account, which you can then use to place a bet, but you can withdraw any winnings you make from the bonus.

Choosing an Online Casino Based on Signup Bonuses

Of course, when you sign up with an online casino, you want the advantage to be yours.  For this reason, here are some pointers that you have to keep in mind when you choose an online casino based on signup bonuses.

1.         The more the merrier is true when it comes to signup bonuses, so choose a casino that offers the most generous signup bonuses.

2.         In conjunction with the above, not only do you have to choose the most generous signup bonus, but you also have to choose the online casino based on its wagering requirements, so make sure that the wagering requirements can easily be met and not that hard to comply with.

3.         Choose a reliable and trustworthy casino.  It will not do you good to base your choice upon the pointers mentioned above only to find out that the online casino is a sham.  For this reason, you will really benefit from reading reviews, blogs, testimonials, and comments made by online casino players about the online casinos to help you make a good choice.