There are over 2000 online casinos operating today. All of them use various methods to attract the maximum number of players. One of the most common amongst these methods is to offer bonuses to the players. The amounts and the conditions associated with these bonuses vary, but the final goal is the same - to lure more players to the casinos by offering the best bonuses.

Types of Bonuses

Here are some of the bonuses offered and the wagering requirements associated with them:

Welcome bonus: Almost every online gambling site out there will offer its player some form of welcome bonus. They are meant for first time players to a site and are given out only when you have registered and made the first deposit. The amount of the bonus can be fixed, or can be some percentage of the initial deposit you make. For example an 80% welcome bonus would mean that on depositing $100, you will get $80 as the bonus amount. Most of the times, there is an upper and a lower limit associated with the bonus amount.

Refer a friend bonus: Most casinos have a referral program to increase their player base. As per these programs, an existing member of the casino refers one or more of their friends by giving the e-mail ids of their friends to the casino. The casino then sends them mails with a link to join the casino. If they use that link to joins the casino then the player who referred them gets some bonus amount. Most of the casinos give some bonus to the joining player as well. However, in many casinos, the bonus is given only when the referred player makes their first deposit.

No-deposit bonus: Some casinos offer a bonus amount to the players as soon as they register. Usually the amount is much lesser than the welcome bonus.

Deposit bonuses: A few casinos offer bonuses to players on their deposits after the initial deposit bonus. Again, these amounts are significantly less than the welcome bonus.

Wagering Requirements

The above mentioned bonuses can be redeemed by players only if they fulfill certain stipulations. These stipulations are meant to ensure that the players gamble a certain amount of money on casino games. Mostly, players will be required to wager a certain multiple of the bonus amount to fulfill these requirements. For instance, the stipulation might state that the player has to wager 20 times the bonus amount before he can claim the bonus. This means that if you received $100 as bonus then you must gamble $2000 before you can withdraw the money. In some casinos, the bonus amount is deducted from your net balance after the wagering requirements have been completed.

You might think that a bonus offer looks very lucrative, but always have a close look at the wagering requirements. If you have to wager $2000 to get a bonus of $100 then that means you get a little over 5% back over the amount you gamble. That is why you should always look at bonus amounts in terms of percentages.

Bonus Points and Game Selection

Sometimes, casinos can place these requirements in terms of bonus points. So you would be given the bonus if you earn the required bonus points. The bonus points are awarded when you wager on games or take part in tournaments.

Often casinos do not include games like blackjack in the conditions as they have a very low house edge, or if they do, they reduce the weightage of the money wagered on them. For example, assume that money wagered on blackjack will have a weightage of 20% towards fulfilling the requirement. This means that if you bet $100 on blackjack, only $20 would count towards the wagering requirement.

Other Restrictions

Apart from limiting the games you can use to complete your wagering requirements, casinos also put limits on maximum bets that can be made. For instance, a casino may say that when playing with your bonus money you cannot bet more than $20 on the slots games. Let us assume that you had to wager $2000 to complete your wagering requirements. If you wagered $20 on slots every time then it would take you 100 spins to fulfill the requirements.

Even though slots have a payout of about 95%, but in a short run a player may get a jackpot. If the limit is lowered to $2 then the player has to make at least a 1000 spins. In the course of the long run, the 95% payout will hold true and the casino will not lose much.