The Safest and Most Dangerous Casino Bonuses Revealed

In this guide:

• Discover which online casino bonuses are safe and which to avoid.
• How understanding the bonus requirements can help you find bonuses worth claiming
• Why not claiming a casino bonus is sometimes your best choice
• Use our Wagering Calculator before claiming a bonus

Have you ever asked any of the following questions?

• How many times do I need to wager the online casino bonus before cashing out? 
• Does the game I want to play contribute to the bonus wagering requirement? 
• How much time do I have before my bonus expires?

If you haven’t, well, you should. And you should have an answer before claiming any casino bonus. Yes, bonuses are everywhere. They’re designed to grab your attention. But will they make your gaming experience more fun or rewarding? 

Some might indeed help you play longer. Others can come with tricky requirements that make it nearly impossible to actually cash out. In this guide, I’ll break down the most common online casino bonuses. My aim is to help you understand which bonuses are safe to claim and which might be better left alone.

The first thing I want to do in this guide is to list the major types of online casino bonuses. I will not go into too much detail here – if you wish to learn all the secrets of these offers, you can do so on my dedicated page about casino bonuses. Here I’ll just skim over the perks and risks of each type.

Welcome Bonuses

Online casinos rely on this type of bonus to make a good first impression – and to snatch you from the pond of potential new customers. A welcome bonus can only be claimed by new players. If you decide to take the offer, you need to opt in. It will be unlocked with your first deposit.

The most common welcome offers are either match bonuses or free spins, or a mix of these two.

Free Spins

If someone told you that you could play a game for free with a chance to win real money, what would you do? Free Spins are a big thing in the online casino industry. They are used in different ways - as an incentive for players to try out a new game. As a reward for loyalty. As a lure to make you deposit. But before you say ‘yes’, check out the risks.

Cashback Bonuses

This is usually a safe and straightforward bonus. You get a cashback token on a specific game, or sometimes a range of games. Each time you lose a bet, you get a portion of your loss back.

Reload Bonuses

A reload bonus is an offer for regular players. These are typically offered weekly. Some casinos offer reload bonuses towards the end of the week, or just before the weekend. The most common reload offers are deposit match offers.

Loyalty Bonuses

These offers are often tailored to award players for their loyalty. It’s a way for an online casino to say ‘thank you for playing here’. Loyalty bonuses tend to have more relaxed terms and focus on rewarding regular play. You can get a bunch of slot free spins to play on an exclusive game, or even a free bet on sports.

High Roller Bonuses

Players who like the risk of large bets look at bonuses from a different angle. They use casino bonuses as a tool to help them maximize their online gambling opportunities. On the other hand, casinos create bonus offers specifically for this category of players. Typically, a high roller casino bonus will have a higher minimum deposit requirement. Expect also higher wagering requirements.

No Deposit Bonuses

Although rare, you might come across a no deposit bonus. These type of bonuses are normally very restrictive. For example, they are usually tied to specific games. Don’t expect very high values neither.

All the types of casino bonuses I mentioned in the previous section come with terms and conditions. It’s these T&Cs that make it either safer or riskier for you to claim the bonus. Here’s a breakdown of the most important bonus T&Cs:

• Minimum Deposit – Casinos put a minimum deposit requirement on bonus offers. This could be higher than the minimum amount you can deposit normally. For example, when playing at a minimum deposit casino, you can deposit as little as $5, but to claim the Welcome Bonus, you would need to deposit at least $20.
• Maximum Deposit – The maximum amount you can deposit in relation to a bonus is also important. If you’re claiming a 100% deposit match bonus that says it’s up to $200, it means that any amount you deposit that is over $100 will still give you $200.
• Eligible Payment Options – Not all casino payment methods can be used to claim a bonus. Some payment methods, like Skrill and Neteller, are often excluded.
• Minimum Bet Amount – Yes, some bonuses require you to bet a minimum amount, otherwise your bet won’t contribute to the bonus playthrough.
• Wagering Requirements – The wagering or playthrough requirement is the number of times you need to bet the bonus amount before you can cash out any winnings. Use our Wagering Calculator to understand how this works.
• Game Eligibility – Generally, bonuses restrict you from playing certain games. You should find a list of eligible games in the T&Cs. For example, Progressive Jackpots are usually excluded from certain bonuses.
• Game Contribution – The game contribution is usually calculated as a percentage. This percentage indicates how much a game will contribute to the playthrough. For example, slots usually contribute 100%, but table games contribute only 10% or less.
• Free Spins value – When a bonus contains free spins, these usually have a value. For example, you could get 50 free spins of 0.15c each on Book of Dead.
• Bonus Cap – This is the maximum amount you can benefit from. For example, if you opt in for a Cashback Bonus, you could get 20% of your losses back, up to $500.
• Bonus Expiry – Casino bonuses have an expiry date, with the most common being from 7 to 30 days.

I will delve a bit deeper into game contributions. Here we’re talking about real money games that contribute towards the bonus playthrough requirements. I think this is a very important point in fact. Usually, slots contribute 100% towards wagering requirements. So, every bet you place on a slot contributes to the wagering requirement. However, not all casino games do. For instance, table games are often excluded completely. Some games contribute a lower percentage. For example, online roulette only contributes 10%. 

Logically, if you choose a game with a higher contribution percentage, you will fulfill the wagering requirements much earlier.

Game contribution percentages vary from casino to casino. A table of eligible games and their contributions should be available in the site’s terms and conditions.

Use Our Wagering Calculator to Calculate Your Achievable Bonus

Have you had enough of game contributions and wagering requirements already? Fret not. We’ve created a handy wagering calculator that helps you work out how much you’ll end up playing before being able to withdraw any winnings made with bonus money. This is a good tool to help you visualise the real value of big bonuses. They might be a lot less generous than you thought!

While Casino bonuses can add a lot of fun to online gaming, you need to choose wisely. ALWAYS read the terms carefully. Wagering requirements, game contributions, deposit and withdrawal limits are especially important. 

Remember, the safest bonuses are the ones with a balanced combination of these elements. Ones where the playthrough is low, the games contribute 100% and the minimum deposit to claim the bonus is reasonable. 

Be meticulous and do your research beforehand. Take the time and understand what you’re participating in. Only then go for what feels right for you. And, as always, play responsibly.