What are casino bonuses and sign up bonuses?

You see advertising and banners about all the different bonuses that casinos are offering, but do you know what they are for? There are actually some really good ones out there and some bad ones. Some are just flat out highway robbery as I’ll explain what some of these bonuses are and what they are good for.

Percentage bonuses are basically known as match bonuses that apply to your deposits. For example, if you see a banner that says 100%, this means the casino itself will give you a bonus equal to your deposit. For example, if you deposit $500, the casino will give you an extra $500 for a grand total of $1000.

No deposit bonuses are those given to players even if they do not deposit any money. These are very attractive to many players because they can actually keep the winnings while playing and trying out the games offered at online casinos. Typically, these are very small bonuses ranging between $5 and $100.

Reload bonuses are offered to current players at any time after their first deposit. For example, if a player runs out of money, the casino might give them an extra 100% reload on additional deposits into the casino. These are commonly offered at any time to players and casinos tend to make these kinds of bonuses standard because they are popular with long standing customers.

These are typically the three major kinds of bonuses. Casinos do this because the industry is fiercely competitive online and the casinos are trying to attract new players and retain current ones. Plus these casinos know that they have all the odds and players should theoretically lose everything if they play through the long term. Though many players have won thousands and even millions of dollars from casinos.

Players need to be diligent and read the terms of these bonuses. There is a catch to free money being given away, otherwise players would just deposit and immediately withdrawal the bonuses and make money that way (which actually happened to casinos in the old days!). Usually the terms require that you make wagers equal to a few times your entire bankroll before withdrawing your funds. For example, if you deposited $100, the casino may require that you make wagers equal to 10 or 20 times your bankroll. This doesn’t mean making a single $1000 bet. It just means that you should play roulette or some other games and make a total number of bets, small or large, that equal $1000 or $2000 depending on the terms. This is usually the case with every type of bonus.

Things you need to watch out for in the terms is an outrageous requirement, such as making wagers equal to 100 or 1000 times your bankroll. This would not only keep your money trapped at the casino for a very long time, but it would nearly guarantee that you would lose all your money in the process of making bets. In some cases, it’s actually a better deal to forgo and not accept a bonus than to take one. Then you could deposit and withdraw your money at will without strings attached to it.

Here is a small list of good bonuses below. Read the requirements at their site if needed, and for players not located in the US, these casinos accept multiple currencies and support a wide array of native languages.

Variety of match bonuses at CasinoMax – Accepts US players and credit cards

Variety of match bonuses at Cherry Jackpot