The following selection of online casino bonus offers represent the best welcome bonuses currently available at US, Euro and UK-friendly online casinos. Please note that many of these bonuses are exclusively offered through OnlineCasino.net, and are changed out on a regular basis. OCNet receives no direct incentive for offering these exclusive bonuses, which are given to players on a first-come, first-serve basis. All of the following bonuses are governed by terms and conditions which can be found on the Promotions page, required to be published by the online casino hosting the offer. Players should always read through the entire terms and conditions of a bonus before making a deposit and claiming a bonus code. Always verify with the casino cashier regarding any clarification of terms.
Casino Bonus Information
Responsible Bonus Play – As mentioned, casino bonus money can never be directly cashed out. However, winnings derived from wagers made with bonus money can be cashed out. Only until a player has met the bonus wager requirement and avoided any play restriction, can a proper withdrawal take place. If at any time before the bonus terms have been met that a player makes a withdrawal request, all bonus money and bonus winnings will be revoked. It may sound harsh, however, this is a precautionary measure all online casinos take in order to prevent player bonus abuse, which has been known to happen often. Furthermore, players should keep in mind that most casino bonuses can only be claimed once, and that the same bonus may very well be offered at more than one online casino within a network. It should be both the responsibility of the player and casino to ensure that the same welcome bonus is not being claimed for a second time. Otherwise, this could very likely result in cashout restrictions.
Some of the more common and most important bonus terms that players should know about, include the following:
Multi-Deposit Terms: Oftentimes, online casinos will advertise a large amount of casino bonus money (in the thousands), implying that the bonus applies to a single deposit, but in reality, spans several consecutive deposits. While it’s not to say that these kinds of bonuses are not worth the taking, player’s need to always be aware of just how much free money is available on a single deposit, before making the deposit.
Wager requirement: This is the amount of times the bonus must be wagered before becoming eligible for withdrawal. The wager requirement usually applies to the combined valued of a player’s initial deposit and corresponding bonus. Therefore, a 100% Match welcome bonus with a deposit of $100, would result in a total balance of $200. If this bonus had a 10x play-through, the player would be required to make $2,000 in wagers before any winnings in excess of the original deposit could be cashed out.
Game Restrictions: Most bonuses are offered to encourage gambling at casino games with the highest House Edge, i.e., Keno and Slots. Therefore, when you see a bonus advertised simply as “free money”, there is a good chance that it can online be wagered on slots, keno and any other casino game with a high House Edge. A more liberal bonus might very well permit wagers on all casino games, but with an increased wager requirement. For example, a typical slots bonus generally has a play-through requirement ranging from 10-30x, while a Blackjack Bonus (they do indeed exist), is likely to have at least a 50x play-through. For a bonus that allows bets on both games, the default wager requirement applies to slots and keno bets, while wagers at Blackjack will be tiered down accordingly. This is done by applying a limited percentage of blackjack wagers toward the play-through. For a bonus game restriction allowing 25% of each Blackjack bet to go toward the wager requirement, would amount to a 200x play-through if blackjack was solely used to meet a 50x wager requirement on an all-games casino bonus.
Maximum Cashout: A lesser known stipulation, but one that is so important it often ends up as the deciding factor for players still on the fence about claiming a bonus, is the infamous “maximum cashout” term. While this particular term is more fully disclosed these days, many online gamblers do not realize that not only is the bonus money itself not eligible for cashing out, there can also be a limit to the cashable winnings earned from using bonus money. If unsure, check with the casino cashier and get the specific term in writing.
Other Restrictions: Additional bonus terms may include time restrictions that state the bonus must be played-through within a designated timeframe. This is generally a substantial amount of time that does not impede on meeting the wager requirement. It is sometimes enforced simply to keep players active and consequently, wagering more money. Another common time restriction applies to account dormancy. For players who do not log into their account for an extended period of time (generally more than 60 days), bonus funds and winnings derived from bonus play will be frozen and are likely to be revoked.
Types of Online Casino Bonuses
No-Deposit Bonus: Also known as a Free Chip Bonus, this is the one type of bonus that does not require a deposit to receive. As such, no-deposit bonuses are not very common – there simply is more at risk for the online casino. All things considered, neither are they generally worth the taking. Remember the maximum cashout bonus term from above? In order to protect themselves further, online casinos always place a maximum cashout term covering no-deposit casino bonuses. And some casinos are less transparent about it than others. In the early days of online gambling, there was an increase of bonus disputes related to no-deposit bonuses, as players would oftentimes hit a jackpot while wagering with bonus money, complete the wager requirement (play-through) and only realize at the time of making a withdrawal request that a maximum cashout was being imposed on the withdrawal. In general, the best no-deposit bonuses are in the neighborhood of $50 Free with a maximum cashout of roughly 6x the bonus amount. Normal wager requirements still apply to no-deposit bonuses.
Match Bonus: The most common type of bonus offered at online casinos, Match Bonuses are sometimes called Deposit Bonuses, in effect making them the opposite of a no-deposit bonus. For every increment of real money deposited by a player (generally a minimum of $20), the casino will match the deposit by a certain percentage. For a 100% bonus, this would amount to a dollar-for-dollar bonus. For a 200% Bonus, this would amount to two dollars in bonus money for every one dollar deposited. For example, 200% on a $100 deposit amounts to a $200 bonus and total bankroll of $300. Match bonuses always are governed by a wager requirement (10-50x), generally have game restrictions, and are sometimes governed by a maximum withdrawal policy (many are not). High roller bonuses and casino game bonuses are practically always match bonuses.
Reload Bonus: Also likely to be structured as a match bonus, reload bonuses are offered to players who have already made an initial deposit and cleared through any welcome bonus terms (if any). Please note that before claiming a reload bonus, one should withdraw all winnings earned from a prior bonus. Otherwise, this could cause complications when requesting a withdraw, as casinos may flag this act as “bonus abuse” and refuse to honor a future withdrawal earned with funds from the reload bonus. Reload bonuses are often given to players as part of a Loyalty and/or VIP Players Club, and can generally be claimed on a daily or weekly basis.
Cash-back Bonus: Similar to a reload bonus, cash-back bonuses are designed to keep players coming back. The two most common type of cash-back bonuses are those that are given based on how much a player has deposited in a given month and how much they have lost. They are generally for less free money (5-30%) than a reload bonus, thus making cash-back bonuses a secondary bonus for most players.
Preferred Deposit Bonus: Also a secondary bonus, preferred deposit bonuses often apply on all deposits made by a player with a specific payment method. They generally range between 10-20% and are most common with eWallets such as Neteller, Eco Card, MoneyBookers, Click 2 Pay etc.
