What Are Deposit Casino Bonuses and How Do They Work?
Deposit casino bonuses are one of the most popular types of bonus offers that casinos use to attract new players. They give players an incentive to make a deposit and start playing, by offering them something extra—in the form of bonus money or free spins—alongside their deposit.
Deposit bonuses are most commonly offered to first-time depositors. In this form, they are also known as welcome or sign-up bonuses, or first deposit bonuses. That said, existing players also get deposit bonus offers from casinos. These are known as reload casino bonuses.
In this guide to deposit bonuses, we will take a look at how these bonus offers work, what types of deposit bonuses there are, as well as what you should look out for when claiming one of them—mostly in the form of bonus terms and conditions associated to each individual bonus.
Table of contents:
How deposit casino bonuses work
The basic principle of deposit bonuses is relatively simple. You make a deposit into your casino account and get something extra from the casino, in the form of bonus money, free spins, or both.
However, there are generally many strings attached when playing with a deposit bonus, which is why we think many novice players are better off playing without them.
When playing with a deposit bonus (or any casino bonus for that matter), you are subject to a set of restrictions in the form of bonus terms and conditions. These limit various aspects of your play, such as which games you can play, how much you have to wager before you can take out your winnings, how much you can bet in one game round, etc.
Casinos use these rules to protect their profitability, as just giving out free funds without any restrictions would certainly not be good for their business.
Note: We will discuss the most common terms and conditions of deposit bonuses later on in this article, so that you know what to expect when playing with a bonus.
Types of deposit casino bonuses
In terms of which players deposit bonuses are offered to, they can be separated into two groups:
- Deposit bonuses for new players – As already mentioned, these are referred to by terms such as first deposit bonuses, welcome bonuses, or sign-up bonuses.
- Deposit bonuses for existing players – These are known as reload bonuses.
The way these two groups of deposit bonuses work is the same, with the exception that bonuses for new players are generally more generous. Casinos use those to attract new players, so it makes sense that they offer better value, to help the casino stand out in the competitive online casino market.
Note: The term 'welcome bonuses' is sometimes also used to refer to all bonus offers for new players, including no deposit bonuses. However, the most prevalent use of this term is in connection with deposit bonuses.
Deposit bonuses also differ in terms of what you get from the casino, with at least three distinct categories:
- Percentage deposit bonuses – These are by far the most common. The bonus value you get is calculated as a percentage of the deposit you make to activate the bonus. You have perhaps already seen offers like "100% up to €100". This means that you get 100% of the deposited value, up to the maximum of €100.
- Fixed-value deposit bonuses – With these bonuses, the value you get is fixed instead of being calculated as a percentage of the deposited amount. There is generally a minimum deposit limit, and, as long as you make a deposit of at least that value, you will get the advertised bonus amount added to your account.
- Free spins deposit bonuses – These are a bit different. Instead of bonus money, you get a certain number of free spins added to your account as a reward for making a deposit.
Note: It is quite common for casinos to combine these types of deposit bonuses. This means that you can get, for example, 100% of your deposit added to your account as bonus money, as well as a certain number of free spins on top of that.
Can you use deposit bonuses to make money?
Ever since gambling was a thing, there were people trying to use it to make money. Deposit bonuses have been a huge part of that ever since online casinos started offering them. So, is it even possible to make money thanks to deposit bonuses? Technically yes, but it is complicated.
Casinos have to be careful about what they offer to new players. On the one hand, they want the bonus offers to be tempting to attract new customers and increase their player base. On the other hand, they need to protect themselves against bonus hunters that are trying to systematically use casino bonuses to make money.
You can get something for free from the casino, but there are strings attached. You have to play with the bonus before you are allowed to cash out any winnings. As you keep wagering the bonus money to complete the wagering requirements
The potential profitability of playing with a bonus depends on the size of the bonus, its wagering requirements, as well as other bonus terms and conditions we will discuss later on in this article.
Note: It is still possible to find deposit bonuses that actually give players an advantage over the casino, albeit generally a pretty small one.
What to look out for when claiming a deposit bonus
When you are about to take advantage of a deposit bonus, probably the most important thing to do is to make sure that the casino offers it a good, reputable gambling website. To claim a deposit bonus, you need to deposit your own money, and there are still quite a few sites that use unfair practices to trick or outright scam players.
Therefore, make sure to choose well. Our casino review team has thoroughly reviewed every single online casino, focusing on its trustworthiness, reputation, player complaints, and other important factors influencing the likelihood of you being able to enjoy a problem-free online gambling experience.
The outcome of this process is the casino's Safety Index, as well as a detailed review that you can read to be able to form a good picture of any casino website. You can find reputable gambling sites in our list of best online casinos.
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Apart from the quality of the casino, you should also be aware of rules you have to follow when playing with bonus money. These tell you how much you must wager with the bonus to be able to withdraw your winnings, which games you can play, how big your bets can be, etc. We will take a closer look at these rules in the following section of this article.
Terms and conditions of deposit bonuses
Each casino bonus has its own terms and conditions, which contain a set of rules, limitations, and restrictions that each player has to follow when playing with bonus funds. If you break any of these, the casino might (and most likely will) decline your withdrawal and cancel your winnings, so it is imperative you are aware of them in advance.
Here are the most common terms and conditions of deposit bonuses:
- Wagering requirements (WR) – Before you are able to cash out any winnings accumulated from the bonus, you must first complete the wagering requirements. To do so, you must wager a certain amount of funds, with the specific amount usually being a multiple of the value of your bonus, deposit, or both. For example, if you deposit €100 and get a €50 bonus with WR of 20-times the bonus value, you must place bets in a total value of €1,000 (€50 * 20) to complete the wagering.
- Wagering contribution – In addition to that, some games generally have a decreased contribution towards wagering requirements. This usually applies to some types of games (i.e. roulette or blackjack), or games from a certain game provider. For example, a €5 bet on roulette with a 10% contribution only subtracts €0.5 from the amount you still need to wager.
- Game restrictions – Some games may also be outright banned when playing with a deposit bonus. If you play any of those, the casino will likely decline your withdrawal and cancel your bonus winnings.
- Country restrictions – Casinos often have different bonus offers for players from different countries, so it is possible that a bonus you find on the internet is actually not available to you. Some casinos do not do an automatic check for restricted countries when a player is about to claim a bonus, so it is best for players to check if their country is not one of the restricted ones to avoid issues later on.
- Maximum win – Some casino bonuses have a maximum win limit, which represents the maximum amount you can convert from bonus funds to real money. This is more common for no deposit bonuses, but some deposit bonuses have a max win limit as well.
- Maximum bet – Almost all casino bonuses have a maximum bet rule, which influences the sizes of your bets. You can't bet more than the maximum bet rule allows, and if you do, the casino will most likely confiscate your winnings.
- Sticky bonuses – If a bonus is "sticky", it means that the initial bonus amount will be deducted from your account when making a withdrawal. This changes the mathematics of the bonus and allows casinos to offer a seemingly much more generous bonus, as everything that the player is given for free will be deducted in the end.
- Deposit lock – Most casino bonuses have the deposit amount and bonus amount "locked" together as bonus funds. This means that a player that made a €100 deposit and received a €100 bonus has a bonus balance of €200 that cannot be separated in any way. If the deposit and bonus amount are not locked together, they are treated separately, which allows the player, for example, to forfeit the bonus and keep playing only with the deposit.
- Bonus expiration – Bonuses often have an expiration date, which limits the time you have to complete the wagering requirements and convert your bonus funds to real money. If you do not meet the deadline, you risk losing your bonus funds.
- Payment method restrictions – Some casinos treat players using certain payment methods differently. Deposits made using certain methods can be excluded from the bonus altogether, or there may be a different set of rules for players that use them (e.g. a different maximum bet).
Where to find good deposit bonuses
It is one of our goals to have the biggest and most accurate database of online casinos and casino bonuses available on the internet. We have collected information about all online casinos that we know of, including their bonus offers, which is why our list of deposit casino bonuses is a great place to find them.
Before you make your final choice, however, it is advisable to also check the quality of the casino. You are about to deposit your money to a new casino website, so you should make sure that the casino values the principles of fair gambling and has a good reputation. Our online casino reviews will help you do that, thanks to our systematic and objective approach to casino reviews.
