Whenever you log on to an online casino site whether for the first time or not there seems to always be some form promotion going on which promises a huge bonus. The problem is of course that more often than not this casino bonus is reserved for new players only which for established players is no good at all. There are however online casinos that offer what is possibly a more attractive idea but first let’s cut through the hype and take a look at what is really on offer with this sort of casino bonus even if it is only for new players. The most common form of casino bonus is what is known as a deposit matching bonus where the online casino promises to match your first ever deposit to your casino account and the match is generally 100%. This means that if you deposit €100 into your account then the online casino will give you another €100 to play with. It is not unusual for online casinos to also offer something on second or even third deposits as well but these are more often than not for a lower percentage of say 50%. There are however a couple of things to be aware of about these casino bonuses the first of which is that the money from the casino is not added to your playing account but is placed in another account often called a bonus account. The difference is that whilst money in your playing account can be withdrawn, money in a bonus account cannot.
To get the money from a bonus account into a playing account there are certain conditions which must be met and these will involve staking the money anything up to 40 or 50 times. You will also find that not all casino games are eligible to count towards this staking requirement so for example casino games that are considered by the online casino to be low risk such as Roulette or Blackjack will either not count at all towards the requirement or if they do then for a much lower percentage such as 10% or even less. Taking the example of a deposit of €100 and considering a casino bonus requirement of 40 times then you will need to stake 40 times €100 which is €4000 on casino games such as casino slots but if you choose roulette and it counts for 10% only then you will have to wager €40000 before you can access any winnings from the casino bonus. Clearly the more you have to bet the more chance the online casino has of winning and therefore not actually paying out any of the bonus money. Beware also those online casinos that quote a lower number of times such as 20 as this will almost certainly apply to both your deposit and the bonus rather than just the bonus. 20 times your deposit plus the bonus is exactly the same as 40 times the bonus assuming a 100% match.
There is nothing wrong with this type of bonus as it does enable you to play for longer but it helps to appreciate that your chances of actually getting your hands on any of the casino bonus money is somewhat limited. There are however alternatives at online casinos such as No Bonus Casino where no casino bonuses are offered at all. This would put the casino at a disadvantage if there was no alternative offer but there is and this comes in the form of cash back. No Bonus Casino runs a promotion whereby if you make a deposit today and play any of the casino games on the site, including roulette or blackjack, and you somehow manage to lose the whole of that deposit on the same day then the very next day you will receive 10% cash back the very next day. Interestingly and importantly there are no strings attached to this offer as the cash back is deposited into your playing account which means that it is yours to do with as you wish which even includes withdrawing it from your account. There is yet another important feature to this casino bonus and that is that it is not restricted to new players only, the offer at No Bonus Casino is for every player on every deposit made into their account no matter how long they have been playing at the casino. You can of course opt out from the offer but there does not seem to be much to lose by accepting it.
This is not the only alternative to the standard online casino joining bonus as at Freespins Casino there is also an offer which is available to every player on every deposit made into a casino account. The name of the online casino rather gives away the promotion which is free spins on a selection of casino slots. Te actual number of free spins received depends on the size of your deposit with larger deposits attracting proportionally more free spins and which of the casino slots your choose to play the free spins at as they are not all of equal value but you can easily end up playing a few hundred free spins. Playing free spins with real money winnings will almost inevitably result in you showing a profit after the free spins are finished so it is not unreasonable that Freespins Casino has staking requirements for those winnings before the money can be withdrawn but these requirements apply only to the winnings which have been accumulated from the free spins so there is really nothing to lose and a lot of enjoyment to be had from playing even if there is not profit at the end.
If you still prefer the deposit matching casino bonus then at least take a look at All Irish Casino where in addition to a deposit matching bonus for new players there is often a midweek special available to all players. A casino bonus does not have to be one of the heavily advertised ones as there are at least a couple of alternatives described here at casinos.ie.