Casino Bonuses for New Players

Betting sites love getting new players, whether from the United Kingdom or overseas, and regularly offer an array of casino bonuses. But how do they work, and are there any drawbacks?

Casino Bonus Deposit Matching

One of the most common promotions available, and frequently paired with one of the offers listed below, deposit matching is an easy way to start off with a bit of extra money with which to play.

How it works is simple: when a new player makes an initial deposit, the casino puts in a certain amount of money at the same time. This is up to a threshold (typically a few hundred pounds) and at a certain rate (often 100% but it can be a bit higher or lower). Occasionally, the offer will include the first few deposits rather than just one.

Free Spins, Credits, and Cash

Another popular casino bonus, free spins worth a modest value are sometimes offered as a stand-alone promotion (with no deposit required), sometimes paired with deposit matching. The spins are usually tied to a specific slots game and allow players to try and win real cash. Free credits are much the same, but apply to a non-slots game (such as cards or dice). Free cash is more flexible, and can be used at the player's discretion rather than being linked directly to one particular game.

Free Play

Free play is another type of casino bonus but it works in a fundamentally different way to free cash. The sum involved is much higher (hundreds of pounds) but there's a strict time limit. This might be as short as an hour. Within that time limit, the player does their best to finish ahead. When the clock hits zero, the free play cash disappears but any profits that have been made remain the player's. (It's worth noting that bonuses generally come with time limits but, excepting free play, these aren't something you need to take much notice of as they're pretty generous).

Casino Bonus Restrictions

First up is the withdrawal limit. This is an upper threshold on promotion winnings you can withdraw, often set at a few hundred pounds. You can finish ahead with casino bonuses, but they won't make you a millionaire.

Another restriction you're very likely to encounter is the wagering requirement. Invented to stop people just immediately withdrawing free cash, this is the total amount that must be wagered before bonus cash can be withdrawn. It's calculated as a multiple (often 30-50 times) of the cash value, but it can be more complicated than that. Slots usually contribute at 100% whereas table games might be 50% or even less. Therefore, if you're at or over the withdrawal limit on profits, it makes sense to find the best RTP slots you can and use that to reach the wagering requirement without reducing your profit margin significantly.

There are plenty of good welcome offers available for new players. Be sure to pay as much attention to the restrictions as the good stuff when picking which promotion to go for.