The online betting industry has absolutely exploded in recent years, with the overall market nearly reaching $100 billion in revenue for 2023. Analysts predict this figure will only continue to grow, with many expecting an annual growth rate of 10%.
The primary driver for this industry expansion is simple = demand. What the customer wants, bettors get. Whether you like roulette, blackjack, poker, slots, or putting money on your favourite sports team, you have options aplenty.
Casinos are fighting for your custom. They’re consistently improving the delivery of their service, whether it’s through a smooth mobile website, an app equivalent, great customer support, or new additions like live dealer games. But what really gets those user registrations to happen is the bonus.
But most players don’t often take advantage of these bonuses, with only the strategic gambler getting to the point of a cash withdrawal. This is how you can take advantage of bonuses, instead of frittering them away.
Every Casino is Different
The bonus is the golden ticket to your custom, how casinos get players to start gambling at their establishments. But of course, not every bonus is created equal. Every casino has its policies and ways of doing things. Yes, we’re giving you a useful primer on how to approach the generic bonus, but you should also do a deep dive into the specific casino you’re looking at.
In addition to our prescribed approach, therefore, do an extensive (e.g. Google) search on a specific casino bonus. Be careful, you may have to wade through a lot of spam, so stick to reputable review sites, sites with real users like Reddit, and just generally use your common sense.
Let’s give you an example to make things a little bit clearer. In this review of the bet365 website (a leading online casino), you get an explanation of the bonus system for that specific operator. Not only that, but in this case, you can also find a promo code to juice up the sign-up bonus for prospective customers.
No Deposit Bonus = Holy Grail of Promotions?
Most online casino bonuses require the user to put up some money upfront, to have a little skin in the game before giving the farm away. But there are some cases where all you need is to sign up. That’s probably our favorite bonus, the no-deposit variety.
It does exactly what it says on the box. You don’t have to make a deposit or even share your card details. All you need to do is sign up, verify your account, and you can play risk-free.
Usually, the amount is relatively low, but if it’s 100% free, there is absolutely no downside. When scouring the list of casino operators, always look for no-deposit promotions.
Know Thy Bonus
We’ve now mentioned the no-deposit bonus, but there are plenty of other types out there. Here’s a quick summary:
Deposit Match Bonus
What you put in, the casino matches. It’s pretty simple, and one of the most common bonuses you’ll find. It’s usually a multiple of what you put in. For example, a 3x deposit match on a $100 cash deposit will give you a total of $400 to play with.
Free Spins
Yet another common bonus, often combined with the deposit match bonus as described above. The casino will give you a large number of free spins, usually at a low per-spin bet. Usually, the more you deposit, the more spins you’ll get.
Cashback
This one is not quite as common, and to be honest, it’s probably not worth it for most users. This is particularly true for those of you who are just starting out, as the cashback won’t soften the blow of big losses.
Look at House Edge
Every game has a different so-called house edge. This is the percentage chance you have of beating the casino at a given game. When you are playing with bonus money, house edge really matters.
If all you want to do is try and get through the wagering requirement to take out the bonus amount, go for low-edge games like blackjack or roulette, and put up conservative bets.
Want to go all-in with dreams of winning a jackpot? Slots are your friend in this case. The chances of blowing through the bonus are higher, but you also play for the chance of big money wins.
Implement a Strategy
The internet is full of people arguing about the best or perfect strategy to ‘beat’ the casinos. For the most part, you should ignore them. However, there’s one final nugget that you should take away from these debates and this article: always have a strategy in place.
The reason casinos can afford to give players such generous bonuses is not because it’s super unlikely to win or because the small print makes them worse than they appear.
No, it’s because most players are impatient, have no strategy, and use the bonus without thinking. This is because they consider the bonus amount as free money, and so they don’t think it’s worth putting some thought into it.
Instead, have both a strategy in terms of the games themselves, but also when it comes to bankroll management. Of course, we don’t recommend ever going for the famous martingale strategy.
Finally, just remember to have fun when playing. After all, that’s what these games are all about.
