Bonus Guide
When you consider the size of the bonuses online gambling sites are handing out just for signing up it’s no wonder their popularity is booming. Most, if not all, online casinos have realized the value in offering sign-up bonuses because it’s what lures the new players in, making it perhaps the best marketing tool they have at their disposal for targeting the gambling market. Keep reading to discover how you can take advantage of these bonus offers and make your gambling dollar go further.
Match Bonuses
You would be hard pressed to find a casino who isn’t offering a match bonus. Probably because it carries the least amount of risk and gives the casino a certain amount of leverage when handing out free gambling dollars.
A percentage based match bonus will have a minimum deposit requirement. So, a player who wins will receive the matching bonus amount up to a certain percentage, based on the amount that was deposited.
It depends on the site as to how much of a matching bonus you will receive, with many sites changing the amount and conditions as they experiment with different promotional strategies. Here are just a few of the matching bonus strategies you may come across:
50% Match Bonus
When you sign up with this bonus offer you will have an additional 50% of your deposit amount credited in to your account. As a quick example, if you fund your account with $250, you will see an additional $125 paid in from the casino, taking your account bankroll up $375.
100% Match Bonus
Most casinos have a 100% matching bonus since this amount works out well for both the players and the casino. Similar to the 50% bonus players will have 100% percent of their initial deposit dropped into their account courtesy of the casino, basically giving them twice the amount to play with.
200% Match Bonus
It’s rare to see these as the stakes get uncomfortably high for the casino when they start offering bonuses greater than 100%. While not common they can be found, but usually with smaller minimum deposits.
Reload Bonus
While the matching bonus is a strategy to lure in new customers a tempting offer is also used to keep existing customers happy and coming back for more, usually in the form of a reload bonus. A reload bonus works very similar to a matching bonus, where the player’s deposit amount is matched by the casino or it is based on a percentage value. Quite a few casinos are offering reload bonuses on a monthly schedule, but it really depends on who you sign up with.
No Deposit Bonuses
This is an extremely rare breed of bonus due to them being prone to abuse by unscrupulous players. No deposit bonuses simply require the player to download and install the casino’s software, and then sign up for a real money account, with no deposit required before they can start playing. This strategy was originally developed to attract players who were squeamish about gambling online with their own money. If you do see a no deposit bonus on offer it will most likely be for a small amount, as it is basically free money.
You can find an excellent example of a no deposit bonus over at Sky Vegas Casino – where they have a £10 bonus amount for new signups. Simply register and the money is yours. To provide a certain level of protection for themselves the casino applies strict terms to this amount before you get access to it in terms of real cash dollars.
Banking Bonuses
Banking bonuses are rewarded as incentive for players to fund their accounts via alternative methods which don’t use credit cards. Credit card transactions are sometimes problematic for online casinos to process. They also may want to steer punters towards more favorable methods in order to avoid the issues that can arise with unreliable processors.
A new player who uses a credit card to fund their account may develop an unfavorable opinion of the online casino when they notice their transaction has not been approved. In order to avoid this scenario as often as possible casinos offer a bonus to entice players in to using alternative funding methods.
High Limit Bonuses
A regular gambler who displays a willingness to gamble higher amounts is considered a high roller. Casinos absolutely love high rollers and often offer matching deposit bonuses in the range of 40-50% to keep them interested.
Here are some high limit casino games you might want to consider:
Refer A Friend Bonus
A regular stream of new players is the lifeblood of an online casino. This is why you will often see casinos offering a refer a friend bonus to their existing customer base. When a friend signs up a new account and starts playing a bonus deposit is credited in to the referrer’s account.
Loyalty Bonuses
Promoting customer loyalty is a great way for online casinos to stop their existing customers from wandering which is why many of them offer membership to VIP programs and loyalty clubs. Every time members of these clubs place a bet they receive a reward. Most casinos enter their players into loyalty clubs automatically.
As the players gamble more they accrue points and climb the levels of membership according to how much they deposit. Once a VIP level is reached their will be special privileges available, such as loyalty bonuses. These are usually much more valuable than a typical Reload Bonus, as the casino wants to reward you well for your continued custom.