There are a huge number of casinos out there, and a huge number of promotions to choose from. This guide explains the various types of promotion, what is required to benefit from them, and gives the lowdown on the terms and conditions you’ll need to follow.
Casino Promotion Types
You’ll notice that when you look at one of our casino pages, there is a table with a listing of the currently available promotions. The table below is an example of the currently promotions at Casino770:
One of the key things to notice in the table is the “Promotion Type.” There are various types of promotions, and this will advise you exactly which category the promo falls under. Typically, the promotions on offer here are sign up bonuses, i.e. they apply to someone who is joining a casino for the first time. They are otherwise known as a “New member bonus,” “Sign up bonus,” or “Joining promotion.”
Lets have a closer look at the two promotions in from the table above:
1. No deposit free play. This is exactly as it sounds! The casino is offering you the chance to play with real money, without making a deposit. In this case, new accounts are offered £25 in free play to use as they please in the casino. Once you have played through the free money there is no obligation to continue or to make a deposit.
2. 100% deposit match. Another common offer from the online casinos. You make a deposit up to a certain value, and the casino will match it in full. In this case the limit of the offer is £200, so if you deposit £200, you will start play with £400. Typically this sort of offer will come with terms and conditions attached, it is important that you check these before you make the deposit as they will dictate what is required before you can withdraw your money. A detailed section below deals with this.
Casino bonus terms
So the casinos are willing to give you free money when you join up! What’s the catch?
There is no catch as such, just a set of terms and conditions you have to meet. If you know and understand what these are, you can enjoy the bonus as its intended. Lets have a look at the key terms to bear in mind when choosing a promotion:
Making a qualifying deposit
The first thing to check is what exactly qualifies you for the bonus? As above, the majority of the offers on Casino Promotional Codes are new account sign up bonuses. The casino will state that it should be first time you personally have joined the casino. They may also check that no-one else from the same address has an account already. This is standard procedure, obviously they have to protect themselves from people who like to have the same bonus time and time again!
So you are a new customer, and you are ready to make your deposit. What next?
You should check how many deposits the bonus applies to. It is common that the deposit match bonuses only apply to the FIRST deposit. So if the offer is a match up to £200, you are going to need to deposit this in full to get the full value from the bonus. If you were to make a small deposit, followed by a larger deposit, you might lose out on some of the free cash.
Limits
So you’ve established that your first deposit is the one that determines the size of the bonus. Now you need to have a look at the limits on the deposit size. There are often two elements to this, best explained with an example (continuing with the Casino770 promo from above):
Main description – 100% deposit match
Smallprint – 100% first deposit match up to £200, plus 20% on any additional deposit value.
OK. So we knew it was a 100% deposit match, but what is the smallprint telling us?
Firstly, the limit is £200 for the full 100% match. This means we can deposit £200 and it will be matched in full with another £200. However, should you want to deposit more, they are also going to match the amount above £200 with 20%. Lets do an example for clarity – you deposit £500, what will your bonus be?
1. 100% match on the first £200 = £200
2. 20% match on the additional £300 = £60.
Total bonus cash = £260.
The promotions available tend to vary, so it is important you check these details before your first deposit!
Play through requirement / wagering requirement
Typically you will have the bonus cash credited to your account as soon as you make the qualifying deposit. Obviously you can’t just withdraw the money, or there wouldn’t be many casinos still in business! Before you can withdraw the bonus money you have to meet what is know as the “Play through requirement,” or “Wagering requirement.”
What this means is that you have to play through a certain amount of cash before you can withdraw the bonus. Because the amount of the deposit and the applied bonus varies, the play through requirement is specified as a multiple of the combined deposit and match, e.g. 10x. Continuing from the example above, if you deposit £200 and receive an additional £200, your total for playthrough is (£200 + £200) x 10 = £4,000. This might sound a lot, but bear in mind that a lot of the casino games actually pay out a very high percentage.
The final note on this section is to check if there are any restrictions on which games count towards the bonus play through? It is possible that games like Blackjack will contribute at a lower rate to the bonus play through.
Bonus funds expiry
The final thing to check is the bonus funds expiry. This is when the casino specifies a time limit in which the bonus must be used, to ensure it is not forfeited. A typical bonus expiry with be at least one month, so its unlikely to ever be an issue, but its obviously worth being aware if such a restriction does apply.
Enjoy the casino promotions!
The bottom line is that these casino bonuses are designed to allow you to get started and to enjoy the games. If you approach them with the right attitude you will extend your playing time and enjoyment.
