There are different types of casino bonus for new and existing players

You will have noticed that online gambling companies are always trying to attract new customers by offering them special advantages that existing players do not get. For sports gambling this is usually in the form of a free bet or in some cases enhanced odds on an event but when it comes to online casinos there are no free bets but instead the online casino will promise to give you extra money to play with. This is generally called a deposit matching bonus and the idea is that if you make a deposit into your online casino account as a new player then the online casino will give you an equivalent amount to play with. This can sometimes be extended to your second or even third deposits although those will not be at the same 100% match level as your first deposit. You should be aware however that this is not free money to do what you like with as there are certain restrictions. You can of course use it to play any of the casino games on the site but getting any winnings out again may prove more difficult. Generally this casino bonus money is placed into a separate account called a bonus account or similar which is separate from your own playing account money. In order to be able to access that money to withdraw it the online casino insists that the value be staked a number of times which can often be as many as 40 times and in addition not all casino games will count towards that requirement.

You might enjoy playing roulette but it often is not a qualifying game towards the staking requirement of the casino bonus or if it is then for only 10% or so. The same will probably apply to Blackjack. Casino slots are often the only games that qualify towards the staking requirement. You can of course use the casino bonus money to play other games but in order to withdraw winnings the staking requirement on qualifying games must be met. You will sometimes see that an online casino quotes a number of only 20 times for a staking requirement but this will almost certainly apply to both your bonus money and your original deposit as well. It does not take a genius to see that when your casino bonus is a 100% match to your original deposit, 40 times your bonus money is exactly the same as 20 times your bonus money plus your original deposit. Don’t be fooled by the multiple number. You may well find that you have run out of bonus cash long before you have met the requirement. Mathematically if the average return on a slot is 95%, which sounds quite good, after 40 times of 95% of 95% of 95% etc you end up at something less than a 13% chance of return.

There are alternatives to this style of casino bonus and a couple of them are listed at the Irish casino site casinos.ie. Firstly there is No Bonus Casino and the name rather gives away what it does not do. To compete, No Bonus Casino must offer an alternative and it does in the form of cash back. This is believed to be the only online casino that offers such an incentive and in simple terms it is cash back if you lose. The promotion is relatively simple and straightforward and says that if you make a deposit into your online casino account within certain limits on any given day and you somehow manage to lose the whole lot on the same day by playing any of the casino games on site then the casino will refund 10% into your account the very next day. This sounds very attractive and indeed it is but there are a couple of things that make it even better. Firstly the cash back is not placed into any kind of bonus account where there are staking requirements before it can be withdrawn; it is placed directly into your playing account which means it is your money to do with as you wish which obviously includes removing it from your account is you so wish. Secondly, and this really is good, is that the promotion is not exclusively for new players at the online casino; it is available to every player on every deposit made into the casino no matter how long you have been registered. There are some further rules about how much cash you can have in your account at the time etc but this is a very attractive promotion and a good alternative to the deposit matching bonus found elsewhere.

Another possibility can be found at Freespins Casino which is also one of the recommended online casinos here at casinos.ie. At Freespins Casino instead of the traditional deposit matching bonus every deposit made entitles you to a number of free spins on a selection of casino slots. There are in fact three different free spin types to choose from so the actual number of free spins will depend on the type chosen and of course the size of your casino deposit. It is pretty obvious that after playing the free spins through you will inevitably end up in profit. If you continue playing after the free spins then that might not be the case. No online casino is in the habit of giving away free money every time so it is no surprise to see that there are staking requirements before the profits from the free spins can be withdrawn but those requirements only apply to the profits from the free spins so there is nothing to lose and  everything to gain. Once again this promotion is not just for new players at the online casino but is available to every player on every deposit.

A casino bonus is never a bad thing but it is good to be able to get it on every deposit rather than it just being for new players on their first or second deposits. You can of course opt out of these casino bonuses if you wish.