Slots Bonus

Slot Bonus Basics

Every online casino prominently advertises their bonus offers. Big, flashy numbers are a good way to attract customers, and talking about giving players free money is the fastest way to get them to deposit.

But what do all those numbers mean? A typical casino bonus offer will look something like the follows:

First Deposit Bonus: Get 200% up to $1,000! (like at www.WinPalace.com)

This is actually a pretty simple bonus offer, though it can be confusing if you’ve never seen one before. The key features to note are:

Bonus Offer: What are you getting the bonus for? In this case, it’s a first deposit bonus, meaning that you’ll only be eligible for it the first time you put money into your account.

Matching Percentage: Most bonuses offer a percentage match that’s compared to your deposit. Of course, the larger this percentage is, the better. In a case of a 100% bonus, you’ll be getting $1 in bonus money for each $1 you’ve deposited.

Maximum Bonus Amount: Most casinos won’t allow you to collect unlimited bonus dollars. Instead, there is a maximum amount that applies no matter how much you choose to deposit. In our example bonus, you cannot receive more than $1,000 in bonus funds; even if you were to deposit $2,000, for instance, you would still receive only a $1,000 bonus.

Evaluating a Slots Bonus

The first step in evaluating a deposit bonus is to determine whether all of the money you plan to deposit will be matched by the casino. For instance, if you’re looking to deposit $1,000, you’d prefer not to take a bonus that only takes advantage of your first $500. For instance, while a 400% match sounds like a great deal, if the maximum bonus is just $1,000, you’d only have to deposit $250 to take full advantage. If you’re looking to deposit more than that, you’ll probably find a better deal elsewhere.

When it comes to the basics of a bonus, then, the best way to evaluate a bonus is to look at both the matching percentage and the maximum amount. You want a bonus that allows your money to work to its fullest potential; if you’re looking at a large deposit, that means you want a very high maximum to make sure that all your money is being accounted for (while still getting as large a matching percentage as possible, of course). For smaller deposits, the matching percentage will be the most important factor by far.

What to Watch Out For

Having said that, there are a few other factors you’ll want to consider when looking at casino bonuses – and these factors aren’t so heavily advertised. To find out the following information, you’ll need to dig into the terms and conditions page – usually available linked from the promotions page on the casino website.

First, take a look at what kind of bonus funds you’ll be receiving. There are two main types: a sticky bonus and a cashable bonus.

A cashable bonus is probably what you imagine a casino bonus to be: once you’ve played enough in the casino, you can cash out the bonus just like you would with the money you deposited into your account. However, this is actually a fairly rare offer nowadays; most bonuses are instead “sticky” bonus offers. In a sticky bonus, you can only use the bonus funds to play in the casino, and cannot cash out your bonus. At the end of the bonus period, the amount of the bonus will disappear from your account – but any winnings you made while playing that bonus will remain. Obviously, these bonuses can still be tremendously valuable; however, for most players, they’ll have a lower expected return than a cashable bonus.

Next, you’ll want to look at what might be the most important number of all: the wagering requirement, which may also be called the playthrough requirement. This tells you how much you’ll have to play in the casino in order to “clear” your bonus, which is the point at which you’ll be able to withdraw your winnings. The lower the playthrough requirement, the better it is for you.

Playthrough requirements are usually expressed as a multiple of the combined amount of your deposit and bonus. For instance, if you made a $100 deposit and received a $100 bonus, that totals $200. If your bonus has a 10x playthrough requirement, you’d need to make $2,000 worth of bets before you would be allowed to withdraw any bonus winnings. Obviously, the lower the wagering requirement, the better.

Finally, you’ll want to see what games you’re allowed to play during your bonus. Many bonus offers will not allow you to play the full range of casino games while clearing your bonus; in fact, in some cases, playing the wrong game can actually invalidate your bonus entirely! If you plan on playing only slots, this is rarely a problem; however, if you want to play table games or video poker, you’ll definitely want to check the terms and conditions to make sure it’s allowed.

Top Slots Bonuses

A few of our favorite casinos offer great bonus offers for slots players. For instance, Win Palace Casino offers slots fans a special 300% matching bonus of up to $3,000 on their first deposit – one of the biggest bonuses you’ll find anywhere for a single deposit.

Another great bonus for slots players is the welcome bonus at Rome Casino. Spread out over your first ten deposits into the site, the Romulus Bonus is worth up to $10,000, and features matching percentages of up to 200%.