Casino Bonuses

Anyone who’s spent even a little time with online casinos knows how valuable casino bonuses can be. These things come in many shapes and sizes and can award bonus money, free spins on popular games, and much more.

In this article, we’ll be walking you through everything there is to know about casino bonuses at legal online casinos in the USA. Right below, you’ll find dedicated pages for different bonus types, each offering more details about the bonus and highlighting the best bonuses available at legal casinos. Furthermore, we will take about how to activate casino bonuses, how to recognize the best ones and how wagering requirements works.

Types of Bonuses at Online Casinos

Different Types of Casino Bonuses

US casino players will be happy to hear they can take advantage of many different casino bonuses. However, getting a grasp on every promotion and what it offers can seem a bit daunting to newcomers. That’s why we’ll walk you through every possible casino bonus available at US gambling sites.

Welcome Bonus

The most frequent casino bonus you will encounter is a welcome bonus. This bonus type is also known as a deposit match offer.

So, how does it work? You deposit a certain amount, and the gambling site adds a corresponding bonus cash. Deposit match bonuses usually have a preset percentage defining how much the casino will match your deposit amount. For example, a 50% match promotion will give you $500 worth of bonus cash for a $1,000 deposit. Still, the most common percentage at online casinos is a 100% deposit match. So, if you credit your balance with $1,000, the casino will award you another $1,000.

Deposit match bonuses also have an upper limit or maximum, after which the promotion no longer applies. With a $2,000 limit, you can only get $2,000 worth of bonus cash, no matter how much you deposit. Example: 100% deposit match up to $2,000.

Some gambling sites offer welcome packs which combine deposit match bonuses and free spins. Example: 100% up to $1,000 and 200 free spins.

Finally, it’s worth noting that all casino bonuses have a minimum deposit requirement. In other words, you need to top up the balance with at least $10 (an example) to qualify for the bonus.     

No Deposit Bonus

As the name implies, no deposit bonuses don’t require you to add money to your account to claim them. They are usually reserved for welcome promotions, where casinos will give players a couple of free spins or bonus cash to get started.

Of course, these promotions don’t let you have anything for free. The casino will often require you to meet a steep wagering requirement before you can withdraw money gained from the no deposit bonus. Alternatively, there will be a max win limit, which will keep you from winning more than what the gambling site had planned.

Free Spins

Online casinos frequently offer free spins for their most popular games. You usually have to deposit money to activate this promotion, though some gambling sites let you unlock them using loyalty points. You can only use free spins for the specific slot or list of games set by the operator, which will be listed in the bonus terms.

The playthrough requirements for these casino bonuses apply to the winnings you get from free spins. Depending on the gambling site, they will be redeemed automatically after depositing money, or you will have to enter a provided bonus code.

Cashback

Cashback promotions let you get back some of your losses spent playing games. To be eligible, you must opt into the casino bonus and achieve a net loss – lose more money than you won. The percentage displayed on the promotion page determines how much you get back.

Depending on the bonus, you will receive cashback funds as real or bonus cash. In the case of the latter, you must play through the awarded funds before withdrawing them.

Cashback promotions are usually active for a set time, such as a week or a month. You receive funds from the casino bonus when that period ends.

No Wagering Bonus

No wagering promotions include all casino bonuses that do away with wagering requirements. That means anything you win while the promotion is active is added directly to your casino balance. Such bonuses are rare, so keep an eye out for them.

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are increasingly frequent in US-facing online casinos. Gambling sites use them to entice players to stick with them. Every wager you make awards comp points, which increase your loyalty level. Each time you unlock a new rank, you get extra goodies, like exclusive promotions, priority customer support, and more.

Some casinos also let you spend the loyalty points you earned to buy casino bonuses like deposit matches and free spins.

Reload Bonus

Reload bonuses are incentives for players who already made a deposit to add more money to their casino account. In other words, a reload bonus is an ongoing offer tailored for existing casino members. These casino offers are usually deposit match deals or free spins promotions. Some gambling sites will combine them to make reload bonuses more exciting.

How to Collect Casino Bonuses?

While promotions can be rewarding, they have plenty of terms you need to watch out for. To help you get the best bang for your buck, we’ll explain to you in detail how to collect a casino bonus correctly.

Find a Promotion That Interests You

The first step to claiming a casino bonus is finding one that looks interesting. This can be a welcome promotion or one of many bonus deals for existing players.

Check the Bonus Terms

Along with a description of what the promotion offers, the casino will list the terms that apply to that casino bonus. We recommend reading through it, as it will tell you all the details you need to know, such as the minimum deposit, the wagering requirements, eligible and ineligible games, and more.

Make a Deposit

The vast majority of promotions require you to deposit money to activate them. Depending on the casino, you will need to do one of two things. You’ll deposit cash from the bonus page or enter a promo code when adding money to your account. Some gambling sites will have a dropdown menu when depositing, from which you can choose which casino bonus to activate.

Complete the Wagering Requirements

In most cases, your chosen promotion will have a set wagering requirement. You must complete the rollover before you’re allowed to withdraw your winnings. Completing it will turn all the bonus funds in your account into real money. Keep in mind that most promotions have a time limit during which you must complete the playthrough requirements. Usually, you have 30 days to clear the wagering condition, but you must check the details in the bonus T&C as these timeframes differ.

Watch all steps

How Do Wagering Requirements Work?

By this point, we’ve mentioned wagering requirements a few times in this article. In short, they are a condition you must meet before cashing out awarded bonus funds. They are usually written as a multiplier, which gives you a hint as to how they work.

If a promotion has a 5x wagering requirement and you received $200 worth of bonus money, you must play through 5 x $200 = $1,000 worth of wagers to complete the rollover. That said, some online casinos require you to wager through both the deposit and bonus money. In that case, with the same wagering requirement, a $200 deposit, and $200 bonus cash, you would have to play through 5x ($200 + $200) = $2,000.

Most wagering requirements at legal US online casinos sit between 1x and 5x. The highest rollover we would accept is 10x. Anything above that is more trouble than it’s worth, and you should avoid gambling sites with such steep playthrough requirements.

Finally, you should consider the time limit that’s combined with the wagering requirements. A promotion with a 5x rollover that gives you 30 days is much more attractive than the same bonus with a 7-day deadline.

Best Casino Games to Wager Your Bonus

The strict terms associated with wagering requirements mean that playing through them is no easy feat. Fortunately, a bit of good planning can mitigate some of the headaches associated with this process. This section will cover how to find the best casino games to wager your bonus.

Choose Eligible Games

As a general rule of thumb, online slots will often be your best bet when wagering bonuses. Even then, not every slot is equally attractive. US online casinos will limit the contribution to wagering requirements for some titles, while others are ineligible altogether.

This is why we don’t recommend live casino releases and table games. While they are entertaining in their own right, they are often on this list of ineligible games. Even when they aren’t, they will only contribute 10% of each wager placed on them instead of the 100% we see for most slots.

Low Variance Gives You the Best Odds

The safest way to approach wagering requirements is with low variance slots. These games do not have spectacular jackpots. In fact, most of them have small maximum payouts. However, their low volatility means you can expect a win every couple of spins, much more frequently than with high-variance releases.

A low variance, high RTP game is the best way to beat the rollover. Wagering requirements are an endurance race, so you want a title to make your budget last as long as possible.

Try New Games

While sticking to your favorites isn’t a bad strategy, it will also bore you to tears after a while. Ultimately, no casino bonus is worth it if you aren’t having fun. That is why we recommend constantly experimenting with new games whenever things get dull. They’ll break up the monotony of playing the same few titles over and over, which is a big plus. Just make sure any new games you want to play are eligible!

What Makes a Good Casino Bonuses

The exact rules of what makes a good bonus will vary between promotions. Attractive bonus terms for a cashback casino bonus will be much different than for free spins. However, there are a few rules that apply no matter what promotion you want to claim. Stick with them, and you won’t be disappointed.

• Make sure the time limit is long enough. Aim for at least 30 days for anything with a wagering requirement of 10x or higher.
• The minimum deposit to activate the promotion shouldn’t be higher than $20.
• Avoid promotions that impose max win limits unless they are no deposit bonuses.
• The playthrough requirement shouldn’t exceed 50x.
• Skip any casino bonuses that don’t have clearly defined terms and conditions.

FAQs about Casino Bonuses