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More information about welcome casino bonuses
If you've ever hunted for a good online casino to play at, then you'll surely have come across a welcome casino bonus or two along the way.
Casino sign up bonuses are now everywhere thanks to the rapid growth of the online gambling industry. As internet casinos compete for our attention and custom, their marketers are coming up with ever-more inventive ways to win us over. Welcome casino bonuses are one of their most effective tactics for doing this as they often make new customers think they're getting something for free.
Yet, it's not always that simple.
Like anything gambling-related, it's important to always do your homework and find the best casino or welcome bonus for you. Casino Meter will help you do that on this page by providing you with all you need to know about welcome casino bonuses and how to find the best ones.
Keep on reading to find out the following:
What actually is a welcome casino bonus?
A welcome casino bonus is simply the free spins or prepaid credit that you receive when you open a new online casino account.
Casino sign up bonuses can also take various forms, and this affects what you need to do to claim them. Here are the most common types:
- Deposit bonus
The most common bonus type, you must make a deposit to trigger it. This is normally just for the first deposit, but it's possible to receive one for further deposits, too.
Deposit bonuses often require a minimum deposit amount and, like with all bonuses, nearly always come with wagering requirements (WR). WR is a term to describe the restrictions that casinos impose on bonuses before you can claim any winnings on them, but we'll come to those in more detail later.
- No deposit bonus
As the name suggests, you don't need to deposit money to access a no deposit bonus. Instead, you just sign up to the casino in question, which will credit your account with a certain amount of free spins or credit.
No deposit bonuses tend to be smaller than their deposit-based cousins because the casino is effectively giving you something for nothing. That said, these often also come with WR, so it's good to keep a lookout for this.
- Cashback bonus
You may trigger a cashback bonus if you lose a certain amount of money at an online casino, making it similar to a deposit bonus in that you've parted with money to get to this point. While this is a pleasant surprise, we don't recommend betting lots of money in a bid to get one: quite the opposite, in fact.
Check out our safe gambling guide for more info.
What makes a good welcome bonus
Being offered a casino sign up bonus can be tempting: after all, it feels like you're getting something for nothing. Yet, we must always remember that not all bonuses are a good idea to take up. Sometimes they end up taking up more time and effort than necessary or even costing you money.
To improve your chances of avoiding the bonuses not worth your while, it pays to check out the information box of each bonus, which contains important details about it.
Here are some of the key welcome bonus features to look out for:
- Casino rating
It's no good claiming a generous bonus offer if the casino behind it isn't up to scratch. You'll see our unique Meter rating underneath the casino's name. This is what our team thinks about the site after assessing its key performance indicators. Make sure you stick with the highest-rated casinos possible. You can also read a detailed review by clicking the box underneath.
- Bonus value
We've included the number of free spins or amount of credit that each welcome bonus includes. Going for a high amount may be tempting, but it may come with extra requirements.
- Wagering requirements (WR)
A casino sign up bonus's WR is what you need to do to claim any bonus winnings. This is expressed as a multiple of either the bonus value or the bonus winnings.
WR might also include game restrictions, so you can only use the bonus in certain games.
Note: If this seems confusing, don't worry. Just click on the WR icon for a more detailed description.
For a more detailed explanation, check out our guide to casino bonuses to find out everything you need to know. - Time to receive bonus
You'll find that the time needed to claim a welcome bonus can vary. We've ranked these from 'very slow' to 'pretty much instant' and it pays to go for the latter.
We've also included a bonus expiration date where possible, so bear this in mind.
How to find the best casino sign up bonus for you
Now that you know what to look for in a welcome casino bonus, it's time to track down the very best ones for you.
Casino Meter wants to make this process as easy as possible, which is why we've included several filters and sorting tools on this page.
The list of casino sign up bonuses is ordered by 'Best bonuses' by default. This means that the bonuses our team considers to be the best are at the top, and we advise you to start with these.
You can reorder these by the other options in the drop-down list. If you like new bonuses, then simply select 'Newly added' to see those prioritized on the list. For bonuses from new casinos, choose 'From new casinos', while choosing 'Biggest value' will, of course, put the most valuable bonuses at the top of the list.
Right above the list you'll see a series of filters so that you can isolate just those bonuses with features you'd like them to have. 'Bonus Type' lets you whittle down bonuses to their type, so choosing 'Deposit Bonus' will leave you with just these.
The 'Advanced filter' has a bonus type option too, but you can also make use of other filters including 'Bonus Value', 'Wagering Requirements', and 'Maximum Cashout'.
Here you can also find casino filters which let you see just bonuses from those casinos with your preferred game providers, payment methods, casino games, withdrawal limits, or currencies.
Play around with these to track down the welcome casino bonuses that best suit your tastes.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What do I need to do to claim or receive a welcome casino bonus?
You can receive a casino sign up bonus in several ways:
- Automatically
Your bonus appears in your account as soon as you complete the registration and/or deposit money.
- With a bonus code
You must enter a special code to access your bonus, which should then be credited immediately.
- Contact the casino
This is much rarer, but sometimes you need to email the casino to claim the bonus.
To find out what you need to do, simply check out the information box next to each welcome bonus.
What is bonus hunting? Is it worth it?
Bonus hunting is the practice of using many bonuses to try and make as much money as possible from them.
This practice is becoming more and more ineffective thanks to three issues:
- Bonuses aren't worth that much, so it's often not worth the time and effort.
- Modern online casinos are now wise to bonus hunters and limit new members to just one bonus.
- Casinos set bonus conditions in such a way that it is mathematically impossible for bonus hunting to be advantageous to the player. Wagering requirements are one of the obstacles that prevent players from making money from bonuses.
We don't recommend you try bonus hunting. Just stick to one (maybe two) that you like and enjoy the small reward you might get out of it.
How many welcome casino bonuses are there?
The number of casino sign up bonuses varies according to when you make your search as we update the list daily.
Although there are a lot of illegal casinos that provide bonuses elsewhere, we advise you to only play at the ones listed on this website. Each casino on our site is regulated by the Gambling Commission (GC), which holds each establishment to high standards and protects player safety.