Bonuses in Online Casinos

It is a usual practice for most brick-and-mortar casinos to offer bonuses, or comps, to their players in order to make them stay longer and play more games inside the casino. These comps may come in the form of free alcohol and liquors, free entertainment, free hotel accommodations, reimbursements for air fare, and free limousine rides. In terms of online casino sites, bonuses are commonly offered in four types: signup bonuses, sticky bonuses, cashable bonuses, and cash back bonuses.

The first type of online casino bonus is the signup bonus. This is the first thing that attracts most online players, for they could receive bonuses for up to thousands of dollars just by signing up to the online casino websites and make their initial deposit. The amount of signup bonus is based on a percentage of the player’s total deposit, which can be up to 100%. So for example, if a player initially deposits $1,500, his money will be doubled ($3,000) instantly upon signing up and making the deposit.

There are also online casinos that do not require deposits to claim the signup bonus, but are mostly of lower values, such as a free $10 right of the bat, or in the form of playing some online casino games without any bet, but the winnings can be kept by the player. However, a player is only allowed to withdraw or to cash out if he meets the requirements of the casino website. For example, he should make a total bet of 25 times the total of the initial deposit plus the signup bonus. In the previous example, the player must make a total of $75,000 in terms of bets in order to cash out his signup bonus

By the last quarter of the year 2009, some of the most notable online casino signup bonuses ranges from hundreds to ten thousands of dollars! Caribbean Gold Casino offers $150; Silver Dollar and Super Slots Casino offer $300 each; VIP Slots, Cherry Red Casino, Golden Casino, and One Club Casino all offer $777 each; English Harbour Casino offers $800; Rushmore Casino offers $888; Slots Oasis offers $4,000; Millionaire Casino and Online Vegas Casino $5,000 each, Crazy Slots offers $12,500; and Go Casino offers a massive $20,000 online casino signup bonus. This handful of signup bonuses is one of the main attractions for online casino gamers to make their deposits and play on the mentioned online casino sites.

The second type of online casino bonus is called the sticky bonuses. This is the most common type of online casino bonus. The amount of the sticky bonus may be calculated based on a certain percentage of the player’s initial deposit, just like the signup bonus. This amount can be added to your total balance and therefore any player can use this amount to bet on any online casino game. However, if the player is making an encashment, the amount of the sticky bonus is to be subtracted to the total amount of payouts received by the player. The main advantage of the sticky bonuses for the players is increasing their chance of winning more money, by having a larger amount to bet compared to their initial deposit. This means that they can play for longer and win more (if they are aware of the casino house edges, and if they know some online casino gambling strategies) with the additional amount.

The third type of online casino bonus is the cashable bonuses. This is a very valuable, but quite rare, type of bonus. These bonuses are monetary amounts which can be obtained by a player when he meets a certain requirement. For example, an online casino gives a free $200 to any player who reaches the amount of $4,000 in his total bets in the unrestricted online casino games. This means that a player can encash the bonus once he meets the required total amount of wagers in the unrestricted games. These unrestricted games are those online casino games that have high casino house edges. Online casinos mostly restricts the games online blackjack and video poker, for these games have low house advantages. However, some casino sites allow players to bet on these low-house-edge casino games, but usually with a higher wagering requirement compared to other games in order to cash out the bonus.

The fourth type of online casino bonus is the cash back bonuses. This type of bonus is also rare. This is usually followed after a player’s losses within a certain span of time. For example, an online casino site offers a weekly 25% cash back bonus for any player’s loss. This means that if a player had lost a certain amount of money in playing on the online casino games within the week, he can receive 25% of the total amount of his losses. However, he will not receive the bonus if instead he had won within the week.

With every freebies there comes those who abuse this opportunity. Similar to comp hustlers in land-based casinos, who are using the strategy of betting larger amounts whenever there is a pit boss around and shifting to smaller amounts if the pit boss is not watching, and taking a lot of breaks and playing more slowly, there are also the bonus abusers in online casino site. These online casino bonus abusers may register multiple accounts in the online casinos and then claim the freebies in every account. However, online casinos may also commit fraud in giving bonuses, in such a way that they may change the terms of bonus and require a higher amount of wagers to avail the bonuses. That’s why it is wise to make sure that the online casino website that you planned to sign up for is of high credibility and would not ruin their reputation by means of committing fraud to their valued players.