Many online casinos offer sign-up bonuses to new players making their first deposit, and often on subsequent play as well. This bonuses is a way of the casino operator to make his players accomodate with the casino software. Since the casino is essentially giving away money, they ask the player for a commitment in return from the player to wager a certain minimum amount, usually a multiple of the deposit and/or bonus credited to the player’s account.
Since all casino games have a house edge, the wagering requirements ensure that the player cannot simply walk away with the casino’s money, and indeed if the wagering requirements are sufficiently high, he may in fact have a negative expectation, exactly as if he had deposited without any bonus.
Casinos may choose to restrict certain games from fulfilling the wagering requirements, either to restrict players from playing low-edge games, or to restrict ‘risk-free’ play.
There are many types of casino bonuses. Here we list a few of them:
Non-cashable bonuses
This type of bonuses may be called “sticky” or “phantom” bonuses. In both cases, the bonus forms a part of the player’s balance, but cannot be cashed out. The difference comes at cashout time. A phantom bonus disappears when the player cashes out, which the sticky bonus ‘sticks’ to the player’s account until it is lost.
Comp points
Comps are commonly available at land-based casinos, but also exist online. Comp points can usually be exchanged for cash, prizes, or other comps. The amount of cash given per wager is usually very small and often varies with game selection. A casino might offer three comp points for each $10 wagered on slots and one comp point for each $10 wagered on blackjack. The casino might give $1 for each 100 comp points. This example is equivalent to returning 0.3% of wagers on slots and 0.1% of wagers on blackjack. In addition online casinos may offer comps as free tickets to online tournaments, tickets to other special events, extra bonuses, etc.
How bonuses work:
Bonuses are issued in the form of casino credits and are deposited into a bonus balance within your casino account. Bonuses can be used only for wagering purposes and can never be redeemed for cash.
Within your player account you will maintain two separate balances; one for cash – your “Real” balance and one for bonus funds – your “Bonus” balance.
When you make a wager on any game, your stake will be drawn from your bonus balance if there are sufficient funds. If the bet is won, your stake will be returned to your bonus balance and the winnings will be paid in cash into your real balance. The exception is Craps your stake will be drawn from your bonus balance, if there are sufficient funds, however, if the bet is won, then your stake and your winnings will be paid into your real balance.
Check out our list of No Deposit Casino Bonuses
