The Best Casino Bonuses

Here it is!

Here is our article that talks about all the best bonuses that online casinos around the world can offer you. Our CasinoBuddies team has worked day and night, sometimes without any lunch breaks and with our boss breathing down our neck, to produce the best bonuses that you can find. Despite all the sleepless nights and bouts of malnourishment, we can say that both we and our boss are extremely pleased with the result.

All jokes aside, we feel that our selection of casino bonuses truly is one-of-a-kind. Much like in sports, our assortment consists of both hungry up-and-coming casinos as well as hardened vets with years and years of experience. You never know when the next big thing is going to emerge and take its spot on the top of the casino food chain, and we believe that our list reflects this.

This CasinoBuddies subpage is not all about lists, however, as we have decided to spice things up by adding something more concrete as well. Of course, you are welcome to just scroll down our list and choose the casinos that most please your eyes, but there is more. As long-time casino players and overall fans of the online gambling industry, we have written a Bible worth of points that you should take into consideration when choosing bonuses that fit you. So, if you are even a little bit uncertain about things pertaining to casino bonuses—or even if you think you know everything—you had better check out what we are telling you here!

The List of Best Casino Bonuses

Show all

Casino Bonuses—what exactly are they?

There is a reason why we are calling ourselves CasinoBuddies.com, and that is because were are here for you. We never want to pull your leg or flat-out deceive you as some similar sites would. We are here to provide you with the most relevant, recent, and factual online casino information that you can find. We all know that online gambling is mostly about just pressing the spin button and hoping to win, but even so, there are plenty of things you need to know to maximise your odds. We at CasinoBuddies want you to walk away with more than just a sore index finger and an experience that leaves you feeling funny.

To put things into layman’s terms, casino bonuses are the casinos’ way of dealing out lucrative incentives to their potential customers. Much like in all business-related decisions, even with online casinos, there are chances to either save yourself some money or—at the very least—minimise your risks of losing.

Brick-and-mortar casinos only rarely give you casino bonuses, and the reason is simple—they compete mostly with their location. Unless you are living in London or another major city, you probably do not have a lot of choice as to where you can play. Online, however, it is a whole nother ball game. With dozens of online casinos, every single one needs something cool to stand out.

No deposit bonuses

Have you ever walked into a car shop only to be greeted by a sharp-dressed car salesman who wants to sell you a piece of junk that you do not really want? Even here, things usually start with a cup of tea.

A lot of the times, people are looking to make money off of their customers in subtle ways to catch them off guard. Just take plain old advertisements for example. Local supermarkets tell you that they will give you 5% off minced meat, but what they are actually trying to do is get you in the store and leave with hands full of other, more highly priced stuff as well. Such is the power of marketing and there is, of course nothing, that is really even wrong with it. And, if you keep a cool head, you can even walk away victorious with your minced meat in tow without actually caving in to the temptation of buying more than what you came for!

Let’s get back to no deposit bonuses, though—they work exactly the same way as the other stuff that we already mentioned. You are indeed given something for free, but this is mostly to excite you and make you more eager to play with your real money as well. 

“Well, whatever, I already signed up here so why not deposit some money too!” is exactly the thought that casinos are hoping to cross your mind.

Free spins

We at CasinoBuddies really love ourselves some good analogies, so let us keep them coming!

Picture yourself in that same car shop again. The car salesman is trying to talk you into buying a £50,000 Maserati that you actually do not have the money for—you were only just checking it out because you think it looks cool. Now, to assure you of how great the automobile would feel in your front yard, you are given car keys to take it for a free spin outside.

Free spins are much like this; they are your chance to try some games out for free without actually paying. Granted, not every free spin comes to you without depositing, but the idea still remains the same: you can play for a short while without actually seeing your balance decrease one bit.

Most online casinos only let you have little to no choice as to what game you can use your free spins on. You can rest assured, however, that they are games that are meant to get your gaming juices flowing. A few examples of popular free spins games would be NetEnt’s Starburst and Play’n GO’s Book of Dead.

Deposit bonuses

For deposit bonuses, the best analogy would be your usual “two for one” deals. Sometimes your local supermarket will not just give you a couple of pounds off—they will give you another item for free. This way, the stores can also get rid of stuff whose due date will be up in a second.

Almost full 100% of all online casinos are giving their newest customers some sort of welcome offers in the form of deposit bonuses. The standard in the industry is to double the money that you put in, which basically looks like this: “100% up to X”. The variable X will change depending on how big of a maximum deposit bonus the casino is willing to give you. For instance, a 100% up to £100 bonus means that you can get up to £100 worth of gaming money if you deposit 100 of your own. Deposit more, and you are still left with the maximum of £100 extra on top.

The good thing about deposit bonuses is that they raise the value of your experience by extending your session, and let you have more chances of winning!

Bonus terms and conditions

George from CasinoBuddies is an extremely precise and pedantic man when it comes to his money. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have achieved complete financial self-sufficiency. As a successful investment banker, he has made it second nature to sniff around for the best deals and opportunities to make some serious money. George always remembers to read the fine print and was once heard saying: “Read the small print as if it was capitalised—and capitalised print as if it was small!”

When it comes to online casinos, it is imperative that you have your magnifying glass at the ready at all times. Next, we will take a look at some of the most important terms and conditions to keep an eye on!

Wagering requirements

The most misunderstood of all bonus rules, wagering requirements can sometimes be a real pain in your behind. If it weren’t for these requirements, you could easily use your deposit bonuses to double your cash and walk away with it. How great would that be?

Wagering requirements forbid you from withdrawing your money before you have actually played with it for a certain time. If you deposit, say, £20 and get a £20 bonus on top, you probably have to wager about £1400 worth with it, depending on the wagering requirement (35 x bonus + deposit in this example). What this means is that you have to use your £40 to make bets worth of £1400. This is made possible by the fact that you tend to take turns in winning some and losing. For example, with every 10 pounds that you win, you can expect to wager at least 10 pounds more.

Max cashouts

Alert! Alert! Watch out for casinos with max cashouts!

Max cashouts put a cap on how much you can win. For instance, a casino could give you a 100% up to £100 bonus and say you can only win a maximum of £1,000 with it. Even if you were to luck out majorly, you can only hold onto £1,000 of your winnings and will have to forfeit all the thousands on top of it.

Max bet restrictions

Most online casinos will not let you choose your bet freely when you are playing with a bonus. This is due to the fact that the bigger the bet, the easier it is to complete your wagering—and to win a boatload of money. After all, most casino players lose about 20 to 100 pounds per session, but winners can sometimes walk away with thousands of pounds! Because of this, casinos tend to prefer players with smaller bets.

Bonus availability

Most casinos do not like players using them as a bank for their bonus money. This is why most casino bonuses are only available for wagering for a limited time, after which they will be forfeited. Expect to see about 7 to 30 days’ availability, again depending on the casino in question.

Forbidden games

There are thousands of online casino games out there, and not all of them have the same RTP’s (return to player). Especially blackjack, roulette and baccarat among other table games are known for hosting some of the biggest winning potentials of all of gambling. Because of this, these games usually cannot be played with bonus money. Or, if they can be played, your wagering will only move forward at a pace of 10% of what it usually does.

There are a few casino slots as well that tend to find their way to the list of forbidden games. These include high-RTP slots such as Blood Suckers and 1429 Uncharted Seas, as well as games with progressive elements like Tower Quest and The Wishmaster. Be sure to always check the possible list from the casino itself before betting any money!

Minimum deposit

If you want to get your hands on those sweet bonuses, you usually have to deposit at least £10 or £20 of your own. For some special bonuses, however, bigger deposits might be required.

Bonus code

Some online casinos require you to use a bonus code when making your deposit. This is usually to make sure that you know what you are doing, and for you to be able to single out which bonus you are looking forward to using. As such, bonus codes are not meant to be passwords, per se, and you can usually get your bonus from customer support if you forgot to use the code.

Summary

We at CasinoBuddies have now skimmed through plenty of things that you should know and keep in mind about casino bonuses. We hope that you haven’t been left deterred by our little information kit but feel better equipped for this majorly entertaining hobby.

Even if you might feel a little bit on the edge about certain things at the moment, you can rest assured that our professional casino reviews will be there to hold your hand every step of the way when it comes to new casinos. In our reviews, we tell you all about our featured casinos and their bonuses. CasinoBuddies is all about the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

We wish you good luck on your casino journey!