Welcome Bonus

Welcome promotions are critical for online casinos since they can be an entire reason for a player to sign up for their platform. The first part of your gaming adventure starts with the welcome bonus, and considering the number of choices players now have, this means we can all afford to be a little more fussy than we used to be. The sign-up offer is usually the most sought-after casino promotion, as it gives new players added funds early on, meaning that they spend more time playing at the online casino, presuming they play with something resembling good bankroll management.

However, if you are new to the iGaming world, you must be wondering – how can I tell if a welcome bonus is any good or not? Since there are thousands of online casinos out there, this question isn’t unreasonable. Some bonuses will be remarkably similar, but the quality of a welcome bonus can vary drastically between one casino and another. Read on to find out all the details regarding casino welcome bonuses!

Online casinos offer welcome bonuses as an incentive to attract new players to register to their platform. Since there is so much competition these days, welcome bonuses have become more important than ever. The biggest  sportsbook and casinos in the world are more likely to be in a position to offer larger welcome packages since they have the capital and infrastructure to do so.

Once you make your first deposit on the site, you will instantly be eligible to claim the welcome package. At the end of the day, online casinos use welcome bonuses as a nice marketing tool to help them be more visible to new punters who seek a site to start gambling for real money.

There are tons of reliable and licensed operators throughout the world, so very often, it is these fine details that distinguish them.

Welcome bonuses are only valid for newly registered players. The name is a bit of a giveaway, isn’t it? They come in many different forms, depending on the online casino. However, we can generally group welcome bonuses into three different types:

• Deposit bonuses
• No-deposit bonuses
• Free spins (valid for online slots only)

Let’s take a look at each of these bonus types in more detail.

Deposit match bonuses are the most common types of welcome bonuses among licensed online casinos. As the name suggests, these bonuses will offer you a match bonus up to a certain sum and percentage.

As an example, at one casino, it might be possible for you to receive a 100% match bonus of up to €100 on your first deposit. It is important to note that you will need to wager the bonus money a certain number of times before you can withdraw any money. Don’t worry, we will get to this later.

Moving on, we have no-deposit casino welcome bonuses. Here, all new players will get a cash reward which will not require them to make any deposit. So, you can play real money casino games without using any of your money. So, it is easy to see why no-deposit bonuses are so popular among gamblers, but be wary of the wagering requirements.

If you are a slots fan, then you will surely love free spins bonuses should they come your way as a welcome offer.

Free spins offer you the chance to enjoy your favorite online slot, sometimes without wagering anything. Of course, the number of free spins you get depends on the online casino in question. Sometimes you can expect these free spins to apply to one of the casino’s most famous slot offerings white on other occasions, you might be able to play them on a new slot title they are trying to promote.

One of the most important aspects of any welcome bonus is its terms and conditions. They contain the rules surrounding the bonus, so it is vital that you read and understand them before you proceed with claiming the offer. Let’s take a look at the most important aspects of a welcome bonus’ T&Cs.

The wagering requirements linked to the welcome bonus will ultimately determine how likely it will be for you to make a profit from the offer. Wagering requirements determine how many times you need to play through the bonus funds before the funds can become withdrawable.

As an example, let’s say you have a 100% deposit match offer of up to £100 with a 30x wagering requirement. So, if you deposit €100 and you claim the 100% offer, you will need to play through the €100 bonus funds thirty times – you will need to bet €3,000 before you make a withdrawal.

You can expect to see wagering requirements range from 30x to 40x depending on the offer. Anything over 45 starts to become a little too high, in our opinion. This should give some perspective on what a quality offer welcome bonus might look like. At first, an extra 100% might seem incredibly seductive, but when you factor in the wagering requirements, it all of a sudden doesn’t look so appealing.

Another important aspect of welcome bonus terms and conditions is its game contributions. They determine how much different games contribute towards the wagering requirements. As an example, the percentage can go as follows:

• Slots – 100%
• Craps – 5%
• Poker – 20%
• Roulette – 20%

You might be thinking there is no logic to restricting the games you can use the bonus funds with, but there is. For example, imagine if you placed €1 on red and €1 on black. In this case, you could repeat this bet several times, only losing when the ball lands on zero. This would give you a very high return on investment, and you could collect the bonus funds without taking much risk.

On that note, the majority of online casinos actually forbid players from using their bonus funds tactfully. I know, the cheek. But that is the way things are, so it looks like the best you can do is hit those slots and hope for the best. Some games do have some high RTP, but really, your best strategy is just to hope that luck is on your side.

Of course, you will always have a minimum and maximum deposit amount you can wager whenever you use a welcome bonus. It is best to check whether you are okay with the minimum limits, as some online casinos can offer deposit match bonuses but with a high minimum deposit limit.

Considering the size of most welcome bonuses, this won’t be relevant to most of you reading this. To get the most fun out of your bonus, you should set yourself restrictions and only bet a small percentage of your bankroll.

Time restriction is a vital part of welcome bonus terms and conditions. You cannot use the welcome bonus whenever you wish, as there are clear timelines for each offer.

As an example, you might be given three days to claim the welcome bonus, and once you do so, you might have 30 days to complete the wagering requirements. After that, the online casino forfeits the bonus if you don’t meet the deadlines.

Every casino will have different rules regarding this, so please don’t be hasty and know exactly what the time restrictions are before claiming a welcome bonus. Maybe you are busy for the next few days. If that is the case, perhaps you should sign up when you return. After all, you don’t want the pressure of a deadline hovering over you when playing casino games online.

Now that you know more about how welcome bonuses work, you now need to know how to claim one. Thankfully, there is a simple procedure for claiming a welcome offer. All you need to do is follow the next few steps:

1. Find a licensed Online Casino – You should only gamble at sites that have a valid license. Open the casino’s website, scroll to the footer of the page, and see whether it has license information. If it doesn’t, leave the site immediately.

2. Register and verify your account – You will need to complete the registration process, which shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. However, after registering, you will need to verify your ID. You will need to send over photo proof of your ID and age before you can proceed with real-money games. This might seem a bit frustrating, but our advice to you is that you always have these docs ready to go; therefore, uploading can be done in less than 30 seconds. Plus, ensuring that only legitimate people of age are gambling is essential, so unfortunately, this is something that every casino player has to go through.

3. Make your first deposit – Once you verify your age and ID, you can proceed with making your first deposit on the site. Choose a payment method and make your first deposit. As mentioned above, different operators have different minimum deposit limits. For most of the sites we feature on GambleBoost, the minimum deposit is likely to be as low as €10.

4. Claim the Welcome Bonus – Now, the fun can begin – you are free to claim the welcome bonus, whatever it may be. Check the wagering requirements and all other important aspects of the terms and conditions as we have gone through in detail above. If you are fine with them, nothing stops you from using the bonus on the eligible games.

5. It should be noted that sometimes you will need to claim the bonus by actively checking a box when registering, while at other times, it will be automatically added to your account. This should be evident when you are registering. Just pay extra attention, as the last thing you want to do is make a deposit only for it not to contribute to a welcome bonus.

Overall, a welcome bonus is the first impression you get of a certain online casino. You can see how reputable and popular an online gambling site is just by looking at its welcome offer.

However, you cannot simply claim the welcome bonus without reading the fine print. There are always good and bad offers, so make sure to read the terms and conditions regularly before you proceed with claiming any welcome offer.

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we receive regarding casino welcome bonuses:

Do casino welcome bonuses expire?

All welcome bonuses have an expiry date. You will be given a time in which you can claim the bonus and then a time in which you can meet the wagering requirements. The casinos we feature on GambleBoost will be reasonable, so don’t worry.

What type of welcome bonuses can I claim?

Usually, you will get a deposit match bonus for your first deposit, but it is not uncommon to see online casinos offering no-deposit bonuses and free spins as welcome offers.

Do welcome bonuses have wagering requirements?

Yes, the vast majority of welcome bonuses have wagering requirements you need to meet before you make a withdrawal. The average stands between 30x-40x but can be considerably higher. Wagering requirements largely determine the likelihood of you withdrawing funds, so they are very important.

Can I make a profit with welcome bonuses?

Of course, but you need a good portion of luck, especially if you have a slot welcome bonus. There is no winning strategy that can help you win big, so remember to gamble responsibly and within your betting limits.

How can I find the best welcome bonuses?

Different bonuses are appealing to different types of players. However, you need to ensure that the casino offering the bonus is a licensed one and that it has fair wagering requirements – it is a good starting point for any welcome bonus.