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From welcome packages to no-deposit incentives, reload promotions, cashback, and many more, virtually every online casino provides a range of bonuses to its players.
This sheer volume of offers leaves players spoilt for choice but can be overwhelming when finding the best one.
Not all casino bonuses are created equally some are better than others in more than just the size. Knowing how to compare these bonuses effectively is vital to your gaming experience and overall profitability.
This will allow you to easily separate the valuable bonuses from those not worth your while.
This article cuts through the noise of casino bonuses and promotions, highlighting every aspect you must consider to find the best offers.
How to Compare Casino Bonus Size?
Unsurprisingly, the size of bonuses is one of the most important considerations you need to assess when comparing casino promotions.
No matter which offer you claim, a generous bonus will give you a bigger bankroll to play your favorite casino titles, from slots like the mines bar game online to table games and live dealer options.
For example, you can find a casino offering a 100% first-deposit bonus and another offering a 200% first-time bonus. Naturally, the latter bonus can potentially give you a much bigger balance to play with than the former.
However, we must emphasize that while bonus size is an important consideration, it shouldn’t be your only comparison factor. There are many other factors that determine whether an offer is worth claiming or not, as we will soon see.
Qualification for Bonus Eligibility
Besides no deposit bonuses, most offers in online casinos usually come with certain qualification conditions that players must meet to be eligible to claim them.
Such qualifications are another vital factor you must consider when looking for the best offers.
For example, with most welcome bonus packages, new players must deposit a minimum amount to be eligible for the offer. And some bonuses require a higher-than-usual deposit to qualify.
You can easily find a welcome promotion that only requires a $10 minimum deposit and another that requires up to $100. The former might be the best option if you are not planning large deposits.
Lower Wagering Requirements
The wagering requirement is arguably the most essential factor to consider when comparing bonuses.
Also known as the playthrough requirement, it specifies the total bonus amount a player has to wager before withdrawing any winnings from it.
Usually expressed in multiples, such as 20x, 40x, 50x, etc., the wagering requirement is a vital condition that most casinos attach to any bonus offers on their sites.
Typically, the lower the wagering requirement of an offer, the better. For example, let’s say you trigger a $100 bonus from a 100% welcome package in Casino A with 20x wagering and a similar package in Casino B but with 40x wagering.
With Casino A, you only need to wager $2,000 (i.e., 20 x $100) to fulfil the wagering requirement and withdraw winnings. On the other hand, you will have to wager $4,000 to do the same on casino B.
So, before jumping on any offer, always check out its wagering requirement. Prioritize those with low rollover conditions, transparent terms, and a realistic timeframe for completion. These give you the best shot at actually cashing out your winnings.
Wagering Requirement Condition (Bonus + Deposit)
Another important consideration many beginners often miss is the deposit + bonus condition in some promotions’ wagering requirements.
While many casinos limit their wagering condition to just the bonus amount, like in the example above, others include the deposit amount in the playthrough requirement. This means the calculation will be “wagering x (deposit + bonus).”
With the example in the section above, casino A’s requirement will now be $4,000 (i.e., 20 x ($100 + $100), and casino B will be $8,000 (i.e., 40 x ($100 + $100).
Pretty steep, right? As such, you should assess these conditions when claiming a bonus offer and only go for those that don’t include the deposited amount in wagering calculations.
Higher Maximum Cashout
To protect their bottom line, most casinos typically limit the maximum amount of winnings players can withdraw from using their bonus funds.
This is especially true for no deposit and free spins offers. As such, no matter how much you rake in using a claimed bonus, you can’t withdraw more than the max cap.
This is why the max cap of bonus offers is another vital factor to consider when looking for the best offers.
Imagine going through the rigors of fulfilling a casino’s steep wagering requirement only to find out you can only withdraw $50 from any winnings you gain. You want casino offers with higher max win limits or no cashout limits. This way, you can maximize the bonus.
Longer Time Limits
Most casino bonuses usually come with a time limit during which you must fulfill the wagering requirement and cashout winnings, or they expire.
This can be anywhere from 24 hours to a week or a month. For beginners, a short timeframe can make it nearly impossible to meet the wagering conditions.
So, another vital detail you need to compare to find the best offer is their expiry dates. You want offers with a longer validity period. This will allow you to use the bonus calmly and efficiently instead of rushing through gameplay to beat the time.
Closing Thoughts
A significant mistake that many casino enthusiasts often make is jumping at the first seemingly generous offers they find.
Bonuses are more than just how big they are. So, to find valuable ones, you must compare different offers using the essential factors discussed above, from rollover requirements to wagering conditions, qualification conditions, maximum cashout limits, and time limits.