Online casinos are all the craze right now whether you are playing on your desktop, tablet or mobile device. These online operators give you instant access to the best video slots, card and table games, live casino games and even sports betting options. The world of online casino gambling has expanded massively making it the ultimate source of entertainment for many around the globe.
When playing at any of the top-rated online casinos you’ll get spoiled with a range of exciting bonuses and promotions starting with a welcome offer. These bonus promotions are not to be discarded as they boost your bankroll and often give you a little extra to play with. Each bonus offer or promotion offered by a casino will have its own set of terms and conditions.
The terms and conditions of a bonus might not be as attractive as the bonus itself but it is still important to read and understand. The main problem many online casino players experience is that they do not understand these important terms and conditions and it often leads to trouble or unhappiness with the bonus itself.
With these helpful explanations, you’ll get a basic understanding of bonus terms & conditions and might even be able to use it to your advantage in the future.
Terms & Conditions Key Factors:
1. Minimum Deposits
The first thing covered in any casinos bonuses T&Cs is the minimum deposit amount required to claim the bonus. Whether it is the welcome bonus or any other promotion running at the casino if the minimum deposit has not been made you will not be eligible for a bonus. These terms are very commonly linked to deposit bonus offers.
2. No Deposit
Many online casinos offer players no deposit bonuses and free spins offer as an incentive to get started at the casino, or simply as a bonus treat. While these offers are free from deposit requirements they have their own set of terms and conditions. This can often include that you have to add a viable credit or debit card to your casino account or wager your wins a certain amount of times before making any withdrawals.
3. Excluded Payment Methods
Nowadays it is more common for online casinos to offer bonus promotions that can only be claimed via a select number of payment methods. In many casinos reviewed, you will find that welcome offers and other bonus promotions can for instance not be claimed via e-wallets such as Neteller or Skrill. This is an important thing to take note of before signing up and attempting to claim a bonus via either of the excluded payment methods.
4. Bonus Codes
Bonuses and promotional offers can be claimed by making a deposit or being required to complete certain actions before making a deposit. This can often include opting into the specific promotion or more importantly using a bonus code to trigger the specified bonus. The bonus code will always be provided in the terms and conditions. It is important to read through the T&C’s to make sure a bonus code is not being required. And if it is you should always make sure you follow the precise instructions or you could lose your bonus.
5. Types of Bonuses
Casinos provide a number of different bonus promotions and rewards and these too have their own stipulations.
6. Cashable Bonuses
This is the most straightforward and popular bonus among players. To claim this bonus you simply need to make a deposit and to redeem the bonus funds for cash you need to complete the wagering requirements.
7. Non-Cashable Bonuses
There are two types of non-cashable bonuses and with both, you experience a bit of a win-lose situation. The one non-cashable bonus will be removed whenever you attempt to withdraw your winnings. And the second will allow you to keep your bonus after withdrawing your winnings. However, the latter generally has an expiry date attached to the bonus funds.
8. Free Spins
With online slots being so popular casino operators have started giving out more free spins as bonuses and promotional offers. In most cases, this is a straightforward offer where a deposit has to be made to claim a specific number of spins which can most of the time only be played on a selected number of games or a specified game. Wins from free spins are generally converted to bonus funds which can only be converted to cash after the wagering requirements have been met.
9. Wagering Requirements
Wagering requirements might seem to be a pain but these are put in place to keep online casinos running. And on top of that helps prevent money laundering schemes from taking place at your favourite online casinos.
In a dream world, wagering requirements would not exist but ultimately nearly every bonus promotion and offer online comes with a set of wagering requirements. Some casinos have low wagering requirements and others generally have really high wagering requirements. In most cases, it’s best to find a casino with reasonable wagering requirements or you’ll have a very unhappy online casino experience.
The good news is that you will find a few quality online casinos where wagering requirements are often waved on selected offers such as free spins promotions.
10. Game Weightings and Restrictions
You know each casino has wagering requirements in place on all bonuses and promotional offers. This means that you’ll have to play through the funds until that requirement is met if you wish to convert and withdraw your bonus funds.
It’s important to note that not all games available at the casino will have the same game weightings or contribute the same towards the wagering requirements. Most often, Video Slots will have a 100% game weighting and classic slots a 75% game weighting. Playing these will ultimately allow you to meet the wagering requirements much quicker. Roulette games generally contribute 50% towards wagering requirements and other card and table games 10%.
11. Withdrawal Limits
Many online casinos will offer you the biggest and most glamorous welcome bonuses packages. For inexperienced players, these may look like a big payday but each of these offers come with pay-out restrictions.
- Minimum Withdrawals – Every casino has minimum withdrawal amounts set on their bonus promotions. Some offers will not be viable with these terms. Let’s say for instance you receive a $5 no deposit bonus but the minimum withdrawal amount is set at $30. If Lady Luck is not in your favour you might not get that much to withdraw. This is something to take into account before you make a deposit to claim an offer.
- Maximum Withdrawals – Many casinos offer massive welcome packages of $2,000 in bonus funds. Yet the maximum withdrawals you’ll be able to get out is set to $1,000 once wagering requirements have been met. While it might seem like a great offer, you still don’t get to take home the full amount.
Make the Bonus Terms Work for You
Bonus rewards and promotional offers at the best online casinos will always come with terms and conditions. While it might be tedious it is always best to read through these before opting in or claiming the bonus, no matter how flashy or great it might seem at first.
Always check how much you need to deposit, what the wagering requirements are and whether or not it is a cashable or non-cashable bonus. Remember, non-cashable bonuses can also be effective especially if they have no or little wagering requirement attached. And don’t forget to check the game weightings for meeting the wagering requirements.
