Online gambling websites are not able to offer the advantages of their land based competitors with free drinks or meals so they must attract players in a different way. This is achieved by offering promotions and bonuses to the players. Oftentimes, these bonuses seem to be very attractive, however it is very important before registering to an online gambling site that you have understood the conditions clearly and that they match your playing requirements. Regardless of the game the site offers be it online poker, roulette, blackjack, slots, bingo or all of them this is going to be the case.
The most important rule is to take your time and study what is on offer. Don’t sign up and place your deposit with the site you consider the best for you until you are quite sure of the deal. A number of players have been disappointed as they acted too fast and only understood the terms and conditions partially, resulting in not being able to redeem their bonuses easily after they were committed to the site. Here are some of the common types of promotional bonuses available online today.
The welcome bonus
As its name suggests, this is available to new players registering on the site. Often, this is the most attractive bonus a player will receive during their time registered with the gambling site. It is worth repeating that a careful study of the bonus or promotion before joining is highly recommended. There are 2 principal welcome bonuses – the match bonus which will provide a bonus that is of the same value as your initial deposit as well as the no-deposit bonus that allows you to play with the bonus without having to commit any of your own money. It’s easy to say that no deposit casinos are the natural choice of many first time players because of the risk-free nature of the deal. Do take extreme care with these welcome bonuses as their validity may be restricted to a fixed number of days.
Monthly bonuses and promotions
Online casinos want to keep their customers and therefore the best way to do this is to continuously market to them with promotions that can be daily or weekly. The email system is used extensively to ensure the player is kept up to date. In addition, the use of membership points system allows the casino to both categorize and reward players based on the amount of ‘business’ and gaming activity they have generated over the month. The way this normally works is that the casino offers top up bonus as a percentage of spending in the month or, if you play poker online, of the rakes you generate.
High-roller bonuses
Naturally, casinos like to attract and retain high-roller players. The casinos want the high-roller player to feel appreciated and differentiated from the rest of the lower investment players. Therefore, they have created special casino deposit bonuses and promotions for such players as well as VIP clubs with prizes and rewards that can be earned.
Payment method bonuses
Casinos want to make it as easy as possible for players to pay their deposits. Many of the popular online gambling sites offer not only the ability to pay and withdraw funds easily, but also they will offer payment method bonuses if the player selects a payment portal that they have an affiliation with.
Random bonuses
These are one of the most popular reasons why players like online gambling. The online casino bonus will appear randomly while the player is playing, offering special bonuses if the player selects a particular option like playing at a particular slot machine or at a live dealer game; these are normally in the form of instant prizes.