The number of online casinos available on the web is already impressive, and it continues to grow literally each month. New and old web gambling sites compete with each other, trying to attract customers from other platforms, and entice them to sign up with their platform instead. And the most effective way to do that is to offer a juicy bonus.

In fact, the only difference between many similar online casinos may be bonuses offered. All other aspects, like games and software providers, banking options, and even licenses - can be almost the same, and yet, a bigger bonus will attract more customers to the gambling venue offering it. However, is a bigger bonus really a better deal in the long term? Well, not really.

To understand why huge bonuses are not always good for the punter, what best casino bonuses are actually good, and how to tell between them, it is necessary to be aware of how gambling venue bonuses generally work.

How Casino Bonuses Work

First and foremost, keep in mind that no online gambling venue will offer the punter free money - or, in other words, no real online gambling venue that works according to a fair business model. Fraudulent casinos that have no intention of paying you out anything, can offer pie in the sky as large as the moon. Fair online casinos simply can’t afford such a thing - giving away free cash to each and every customer.

The first rule of any (fair) online casino’s bonus is that the bonus must be cost-effective. That is, the money that the punter can potentially win by wagering the bonus should be smaller than the money wagered by this punter, or by most players in general, in case some player turns out to be particularly lucky.

This is how it works, step by step - the customer signs up and takes the bonus. If this is a No Deposit bonus, the customer does not have to make a real money deposit in order to make bets and win real cash. Enticing? You bet! But the story does not end here. The player has to meet the wagering requirements first - that is, the gambling venue sets the number of times the amount of the bonus has to be wagered before the player is even able to request withdrawal of any funds they win. We will talk about this aspect below. Now, talking about No Deposit bonuses, many casinos still require that the player make a deposit of their funds before the function of withdrawal will be unlocked for them.

If we are talking about Deposit bonuses, the promotion is awarded after the customer deposits some real cash to the gambling venue. They get some cash, or Free Spins for slots pitch and toss, or a combination of both, and can start playing for real money. And this is where good news ends, and bad news starts.

Games Available

If you read Terms and Conditions, you will find out that different games contribute differently to bonus wagering, while some pitch and toss are not allowed with the bonus. In a healthy person’s language it means if you punt on slots, for example, your wagers will be counted towards meeting the playthrough requirements for the bonus; if you punt on scratch cards, the wagerd will not be counted. There is no particular technical reason for the gambling venue to do so; this is done simply to make meeting the wagering requirements harder. Also, jackpot titles and Live Dealer software are not allowed for real money punt with bonus money.

Wagering Requirements

The wagering requirements are easy to understand - this is a fixed number of times the player has to wager the amount of the bonus received, in order to be able to withdraw their winnings, if any. If the bonus was $10, and the wagering requirements are x30, the total sum that should be wagered is $300. Again, there is no particular technical reason to arrange things like that. These are just the rules.

Moreover, the gambling venue does everything to make the punter lose more than win - the maximum bets are limited, so you can’t bet $100 three times, to decrease the risks. In most cases, the maximum bet is around $5.

Unless the playthrough requirements are met, withdrawal is impossible. Sometimes, the customer has to make another deposit to continue betting, in order to eventually unlock the withdrawal function. One can ask the Customer Support to remove the bonus, but the winnings will also be removed with it. So, the wagering requirements are a real pitfall.

Withdrawal Limits

If you are lucky enough to meet the playthrough requirements and still have winnings on your balance that can be cashed out - congrats, there are more limitations on your way! All casinos have withdrawal limitations caused by transaction sizes allowed in different banking channels. However, with the bonuses, limitation is just there - for example, no more than $100, or no more than x5 the initial deposit, and the rest of the winnings will be removed upon withdrawal request.

Conclusion

These are the rules that work for the majority of online casino bonuses; for other bonuses, even harsher Terms and Conditions are applied. So, before you are seduced by any promotion, sit down and count whether it is really attractive. More often than not, it is better to proceed without any bonuses at all.