Mervyn Davids

Mervyn Davids

Posted on 03 November 2022

How To Spot A Bad Casino Bonus

There are good casino bonuses, and bad casino bonuses. In this article we show you how to tell the difference. 

After reading our article you should be able to:

  • Accurately compare casino bonuses. 
  • Ascertain the real value of a casino bonus. 
  • Avoid claiming a casino bonus with unfair terms and conditions.

Let’s get into it.

What Are Casino Bonuses?

Casino bonuses are an incentive offered by online casinos that reward you for signing up or making a deposit. 

Depending on the type of bonus you claim, you will receive a number of free spins or bonus credits. 

You will be able to use either of these to play games at the casino and both will allow you to win real money – providing you adhere to the T&Cs. 

There are multiple types of casino bonus, which we will go over briefly below.

Types Of Casino Bonus

Casino bonuses can be split into two categories: 

  1. No Deposit Bonuses –  Bonuses you receive after creating a new account.
  2. Deposit Bonuses – Bonuses you receive after making a qualifying deposit. 

We’ll provide an overview of each type of bonus below.

No Deposit Bonuses

A no deposit bonus is a free sign-up bonus given to new players after they create an account. No deposit is required and you can win real money. 

This type of bonus is equivalent to a ‘free trial’. Casinos offer no deposit bonuses in the hope that you will enjoy your free experience and make a real money deposit at some point in the future. 

There are two types of no deposit bonus:

No Deposit Bonus Credits

Bonus credits are issued as a monetary value – for instance: ?10 in bonus credits. While they have a monetary value, they are actually more like coupons that only hold value in the casino.

With bonus credits, you will be allowed to play a variety of casino games, including slots and table game

No Deposit Free Spins

Free spins are issued as a quantity – for example: 20 free spins. Free spins are designed exclusively for slots players.

Most of the time, you are only allowed to play a single slot game, or a small handful of slot games, with no deposit free spins.

Deposit Bonuses

Deposit bonuses are not free to claim. However, they tend to be a lot more generous in terms of overall value and fairness. 

To effectively claim a deposit bonus, you have to make a qualifying deposit.

There are two primary types of deposit bonus, which we will go over below:

Match Deposit Bonuses

This bonus promises to ‘match’ the value of your deposit by a certain percentage and up to a particular value.

Say, for instance, that you claimed a match bonus worth 100% up to ?100. If you were to deposit ?100, you would receive ?100 in bonus credits as the casino promises to ‘match’ you by 100%.

Match deposit bonuses tend to have superior terms and conditions to no deposit bonuses.

Deposit Free Spins

Despite the name, deposit free spins are not ‘free’. To claim them, you do have to make a qualifying deposit – which is why in highly regulated jurisdictions they may be called ‘extra spins’ or ‘deposit spins’.

Deposit free spins work similarly to no deposit free spins. The only real difference is that you will receive more free spins and they will come with superior terms and conditions.

How To Spot A Bad Casino Bonus | 5 Rules

Once you know what to look for, it’s easy to spot a bad casino bonus. 

Please use the following 5 rules as your checklist:

#1. Unlicensed Casinos

Do not play at an unlicensed casino.

Casinos that do not hold a license do not have to abide by laws designed to protect consumers.

While you may be lucky and come across an unlicensed casino with great customer service, you are also increasing your chances of playing at a fraudulent casino.

Our advice is: just don’t do it. It’s not worth it. Stick to casinos featured on our site.

All of our featured casinos are licensed and have passed an extensive evaluation carried out by an industry expert.

#2. Poor Online Reputation

Even licensed casinos may have a poor online reputation.

The best way to avoid casinos with a poor reputation is to check out online casino forums.

These forums act as a third-party regulator for players to lodge complaints. You are therefore able to see if there is a history of poor conduct at the casino.

Please beware, however, that not all complaints made online are legitimate. If a player does not read the terms and conditions, and then disputes losing their bonus, they are in the wrong.

Here at NoDepositDaily we check an online casino’s reputation before we feature it on our list.

#3. High Wagering Requirements

Most of the time, you can spot a bad casino bonus by taking a single glance at the wagering requirements.

The wagering requirements are always difficult to fulfill. Casinos, after all, are a business, and don’t want to give money away for free.

Yet there is a fine balance between not wanting to give away money and giving players a fair chance of winning.

Your chances of winning depends a lot on the wagering requirements. In fact, the lower the wagering requirements, the better your chances of winning.

Consequently, we encourage you to avoid any casino bonus with high wagering requirements.

Stick to bonuses with wagering requirements set between 10x-40x for the best chances of winning.

#4. Unclear Terms & Conditions

Do not claim a bonus if the rules are unclear.

All casinos should clarify the following terms and conditions:

  • Wagering Requirements – How many times you have to wager the value of your bonus.
  • Eligible Games – The games you can and can’t play using your casino bonus.
  • Max Cashout – The maximum you can withdraw as real money using your bonus.
  • Bet Size Limit – How much you can wager per bet/spin.
  • Expiry Date – When your bonus will expire.
  • Game Weighting Percentages – The percentage of your stake that goes towards the wagering requirements, depending on the game you play.

If the T&Cs are not clearly stated, it is likely you will accidentally invalidate your bonus.

#5. Game Restrictions

There are two ways a casino may impose game restrictions on your bonus:

  • Eligible Games – Which games you are allowed to play using your bonus.
  • Game Weighting Percentages – How much your stake contributes to the wagering requirements depending on the game you play.

Both of these restrictions can have a major effect on your chances of winning with a casino bonus.

Let’s start with the eligible games list.

Casinos want to mitigate the risk of losing a lot of money by offering casino bonuses. Casinos therefore do not like to offer bonuses on games with high odds or a high volatility.

Most of the time, you will find that your casino bonus is eligible on a single slot game or a selection of slot games. These slot games will likely have average odds and a low volatility.

You must stick to the eligible games list for the entire course of your bonus, until you either cashout your winnings, or meet the expiry date.

This is fairly straightforward.

However, it gets more complicated when high odds games are made eligible.

If a bonus allows you to play table games like blackjack or roulette, you need to be aware of another rule called “Game Weighting Percentages”.

Generally, you will find that the better the odds of a game, the less it will contribute to the wagering requirements.

This can have a huge impact on your potential of winning real money.

Say, for instance, that you claim a casino bonus that sets the game contribution of blackjack to 4%.

Were you to wager ?100 on blackjack using your bonus, only ?4 of that ?100 wagered will contribute to the wagering requirements.

When you compare this to most slot games – which tend to contribute 100% of your stake – the difference is ?96.

Ultimately, the low game weighting percentages of table games completely negates their superior odds, making it – in some cases – 25x less likely you will win real money with your bonus.

We recommend you only play casino games that contribute 100% of your stake to the wagering requirements.

You Can’t Get A Better Deal Than Our Exclusive Bonuses

Occasionally, you may come across a bonus on our site with an ‘Exclusive’ tag. This means we have negotiated for a bonus that only our visitors can claim.

Our exclusive bonuses come with:

  • Unbeatable Wagering Requirements – The wagering requirements will be low and give you a realistic chance of winning.
  • Superior Value – You’ll receive more free spins and more bonus credits.
  • Eligible On The BEST Games – These bonuses will allow you to play the most popular games developed by the world’s leading software providers.

For a full selection of exclusive bonuses, please visit our Exclusive Casino No Deposit Bonuses page.

Conclusion

While we have provided you with 5 steps on how to spot a bad casino bonus, every step orbit at least one of the following key points:

  1. Play at a licensed and evaluated casino. 
  2. Read the terms and conditions. 

That is all you have to do to avoid claiming a bad casino bonus.

Here at NoDepositDaily we do all we can to help in this regard. All of the bonuses we feature have been comprehensively evaluated. Therefore you can bypass the potential of claiming a bad casino bonus by using our directory.

FAQ

Yes, it is – providing you play at a casino that is licensed and has passed an extensive evaluation carried out by an industry professional. This is the guarantee you get here at NoDepositDaily.

It depends. While some players prefer to play for real money immediately, by doing so they forfeit the following benefits:

  • Increased Bankroll – In many cases, claiming a bonus can double or triple the value of your deposit.
  • Chance To Win Real Money – The majority of casino bonuses give you the chance to win real money.
  • Extended Play-Time – Casino bonuses allow you to enjoy longer gambling sessions than you otherwise could.
  • Free Bonuses – There are many free casino bonuses that let you play with no deposit required.

Most of the time, yes. In the majority of cases you can win real money with a free no deposit bonus by fulfilling the terms and conditions of your bonus.

However, we encourage you to read the terms and conditions of your bonus before you claim it to establish if your bonus is cashable or non-cashable.

Non-cashable bonuses do not let you redeem any of your bonus winnings as real money.

Published on: 2022/11/03

Mervyn Davids

Chief-in-Editor

Mervyn Davids is the NoDepositDaily.org editor. In his time at the website, he strives for balance and transparency. Davids is focused on providing readers with the most accurate rankings of safe and secure online casinos in the world. He is considered a voice of authority in the field and welcomes your feedback on the NoDepositDaily.org website.