Online casinos are growing in popularity, partly due to the exceptional bonuses they offer players. These promotions range from welcome offers to reload bonuses and VIP programs. Players love claiming these offers, as they help boost their bankroll and, at times, gives you the chance to play new games. However, not all bonuses are good, and players need to always look for authentic casino bonuses at online gambling sites.
Are Online Casino Bonuses Fair?
While casinos give bonuses to players, these bonuses always come with particular requirements. Whether an offer is fair depends entirely on the bonus terms that govern it. Casino operators will always add some loopholes in the conditions to avoid losing money. Still, players can evaluate aspects of these terms to see whether a bonus is authentic.
How To Identify the Best Bonuses
As tech-savvy people know, trial and error or video guides are often required to help you understand new tech. Luckily, we completed the groundwork, doing the research to show you what to evaluate when you choose a worthwhile bonus.
Payment Restrictions
The first thing to look out for is payment restrictions. This means you cannot use a certain payment method to get the bonus, with Neteller and Skrill being the most common. This restriction isn’t a sign of the offer being unfair but rather just a standard feature of some promotions.
However, if there are any payment restrictions, it’s an immediate red flag if the casino doesn’t list the exact methods it restricts. Further, if you see that almost all payment methods are prohibited, with only one or two available for bonus deposits, it might be better to consider moving on.
Value for Money
We all love a lucrative bonus where you deposit $10 and receive $100 or more. Unfortunately, if you see a bonus that seems too generous, chances are it’s not authentic or has impossible bonus terms, making it unfair.
Operators will often present 100%, sometimes higher, match bonuses for your welcome offer, with reload offers falling between 25% and 75% of your deposit. If you find an offer that seems too good to be true, go through the terms with a fine-toothed comb, as it might be unfair.
Wagering Requirements
Everyone always talks about the wagering requirements, but do you know what to look for? At casinos, the wagering requirements generally range between 30x and 45x your bonus funds, with some offering lower and higher playthroughs. So, if you get a $10 deposit with a 35x wagering requirement, it means you must wager up to $350 to be able to withdraw any funds.
However, look out for operators that state the rollover requirements are on the deposit and bonus amount. While it doesn’t mean it’s a lousy bonus, it does mean that with a $10 deposit and $10 bonus funds with a 35x wagering requirement, you must wager it up to $700 before withdrawing. That makes it more challenging to complete, and it becomes a problem when you have higher requirements, like 45x, 50x, or 65x. Typically, the more lucrative the bonus the higher the wagering requirement will be.
Expiry Period
The bonus expiry period goes hand in hand with the wagering requirements. Once the bonus expiry period has passed, you lose the bonus funds and any winnings if you haven’t completed the wagering requirements. If you have high wagering requirements and a short time to meet them, then it’s an unreasonable term from the operator’s side.
Quite a few online casinos offer seven days to complete the terms, which is verging on too short for wagering requirements of 30x or above. It’s better to look for 30 to 90 day-periods, which are more reasonable. However, if it’s shorter than seven days, or the rollover is very high with only seven days, consider looking for another promotion.
Capped Winnings
The last term to look for is whether the bonus has capped winnings. The standard maximum win limit on bonuses is around 10x the bonus amount or $50 to $500 on free spins winnings. However, some operators set it lower, which you should avoid.
With capped winnings, you lose any winnings that fall above that limit. So if it caps your winnings at $500, and you win $600, then you lose $100. This restriction can be highly frustrating, so always look for the standard of 10x capped winnings, or no limits, on a casino bonus.
Is There Tech to Help Me Find Authentic Bonuses?
The sad news is that you can use no real tech to find authentic bonuses. There are various detection tools to detect and stop bonus abuse, an occurrence when users claim bonuses multiple times or otherwise abuse it. However, there’s nothing similar to detect whether a promotion is fair. Your best chance is to find a trusted casino review site and follow their advice.
Generally, if a casino operator is licensed and regulated by a reputable iGaming authority, their bonuses will be fair. But that doesn’t mean they’re always easy to complete. Regardless of which reputable site you claim bonuses from, always use the above criteria to see whether it’s worthwhile and fair.
