As you play casino slots for real money, you will see that most casinos offer bonuses. These bonuses are confusing at first, and different casinos name them differently. However, most of them work based on the same principles.
Today, we will help you understand how casino bonuses work, including the expectations to meet them, or what casinos call bonus terms.
First Deposit Bonus
This bonus is also called a welcome bonus. It is only available for people who have just registered. Welcome bonuses are expressed in percentages.
If the bonus is 100% of your deposit, then it means you will get extra money, which is 100% of what you deposited. For example, let us say that you deposited $100, then you will get an extra $100. Now, you have $200 to play with.
Many casinos may offer a welcome package – several deposit bonuses (up to five times). The bonus percentages vary and they can be also accompanied by free spins.
Cashback
A cashback bonus is money that you get back to your casino account based on your net losses. Casinos typically offer this to VIP members, and the amount is expressed in percentage. The usual bonus is 5% of what you lost during a week. A net loss is the amount of money you lost that is calculated at the end of the week (on Sunday) and distributed on Monday or later.
So, let us say you deposited a total of $200 for the week. By the end of the week, your remaining balance is $100. In this case, your net loss is $100, and 5% of that is $5. The casino will give you $5 as bonus cash, which is subject to terms and conditions, too. Sometimes, casinos will allow you to withdraw your cashback bonus without any restrictions or you can just use this money for playing.
Free Spins
This is a kind of free play. Most of the time, it is either 100% free, or you get them as part of the welcome deposit bonus. Free spins are offered in whole numbers, and you can only use them in slot machines that the casinos chose. Each spin has a value, which is usually the smallest possible wager amount for one spin on the slot.
Common Terminology and Requirements
Now that you know the most common types of bonuses, let us talk about the different terms and conditions tied to them.
- Opt-in – a requirement where you have to check a box. It means that you understand the terms and conditions and that you accept them.
- Wagering requirement – an amount of money that you have to wager from your bonus money before you can withdraw your winnings. This value is usually expressed as a multiplier. For example, 30x. If your bonus amount is $100, you have to bet a total of 35 x $100 = $3,500 before you can cash out your wins.
- Maximum bet – this is the maximum amount of money that you can bet per round. Casinos impose this to prevent a one-time big win. The maximum bet puts the casino in control as to the amount of money you can possibly win.
- Wagering contribution – each game has a percentage of the money it can contribute to your wagering requirement. Games of chance like slots usually have a 100% wagering contribution. If you have wagered $5, 100% of that is $5, so $5 will be deducted from your wagering requirement. In our example, we used $3,500. Now you only have to bet $3,495 to be able to withdraw your winnings. Some games, mostly table games, only have a 50% contribution, and some have only 5%.
- Maximum withdrawal – this is the maximum amount of money you can withdraw from the winnings of your bonus funds. Some casinos use multipliers, while some use fixed amounts. If the maximum withdrawable amount is $500, then you can only withdraw that, even if you have won a jackpot of $10,000.
- Expiration Date – note that there is also some kind of deadline for using the bonus. What this means is that you have to meet the conditions within a certain period. The usual deadline is one month or 30 days. Also, there is a deadline as to your ability to opt-in. Most casinos allow you to only get a welcome bonus within seven days from joining.
Bonuses are great. Although casinos make it hard to win them, it is possible to take home cash prizes from your bonuses. All it really takes is making sure that you follow the rules. If you don’t, the casino has the right to forfeit your prizes.
Whenever you join an online casino, take the time to read through the bonus rules, and check if you are qualified to participate. For example, VulkanVegas bonuses are found on a single page. Visit this page from time to time to see what is new.