Casino Bonus Guide
Online casinos aren’t just convenient, and they don’t just offer the most gaming options for avid gamblers. While these are excellent reasons to play your favorite games over the Internet, they aren’t the only ones, as online casinos offer one thing you’ll never find in a brick-and-mortar venue: the real money casino bonus!
Our online casino bonus guide shares the latest casino bonuses available at the most trusted casino gambling sites, and it also explains everything you need to know about these promotions, how they work, what their terms and conditions are, and more.
From welcome bonuses and reload bonuses to friend referrals and rewards perks, you’ll learn how to use online casino bonus codes to boost your bankroll and hit the digital felts in style. We’re bonus geeks, and you can be one, too!
Best Online Casino Sign Up Bonus Offers
| # | Casino Name | Casino Bonus Offer | USA | Review/Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 400% Max $4,000 |  | Play Now Read Review |
| 2 |  | 100% Max $3,000 | | Play Now Read Review |
| 3 |  | 100% Max $5,000 | | Play Now Read Review |
| 4 |  | 100% Max $5,000 | | Play Now Read Review |
| 5 |  | 150% Max $3,000 | | Play Now Read Review |
| 6 |  | 300% Max $3,000 | | Play Now Read Review |
| 7 |  | 200% 7 Days | | Play Now Read Review |
| 8 |  | 100% Max $3,000 | | Play Now Read Review |
| 9 |  | 150% Max $3,000 | | Play Now Read Review |
| 10 |  | 400% Max $10,000 | | Play Now Read Review |
What Is An Online Casino Bonus?
An online casino bonus is different than the bonuses you’ll get at land-based casinos. The latter only offers rewards points for various free spins, comped drinks, hotel room upgrades, and the like. They don’t actually give you extra money with which to gamble. Online casino bonuses, however, do just that. They’re literally free money!
All new members and most returning customers can claim a free casino bonus whenever they deposit funds into their betting accounts. Most sites go beyond that, however, providing a host of promotions for every kind of gambling market offered. Bonuses are completely optional, but friendly terms make them beneficial for most players.
Types Of Online Casino Bonus Options
There are multiple types of online casino bonuses, and they all work a little bit differently. We felt it was well worth our time to introduce you to these variations so that you never miss an opportunity to get the most bang for your buck with these offers and promotions. In addition to attractive bonus offers, our recommended online casinos also offer some legit rewards programs. You'll find information on those types of programs a little further down on the page.
How Do Online Casino Bonuses Work?
Casino bonuses are straightforward, so there’s no real mystery about what to expect. Essentially, when you make a deposit, you’ll either select a bonus from a menu of options or enter casino bonus codes that you find online or at the site itself (under the “Promotions” tab).
This adds money to your account based on a percentage of your deposit, and you then use this money to gamble. It’s that simple. While there are terms and conditions attached, the requirements are easy to meet and are explained below.
Casino Bonus Codes
Not all sites require you to enter codes to claim bonuses, but most that do will have their free casino bonus codes posted right on the sites themselves.
Entering a promo code while depositing activates the bonus, which then credits your account per the bonus terms and conditions. If you’ve ever used a promo code for a discount while shopping online, you know exactly how this process works.
In the last few years, it has become much more common for online casinos to provide a menu, button, or checkbox for claiming bonus offers, particularly since mobile casino gambling has become so popular.
Understanding Online Casino Bonus Terms & Conditions
While online casino bonuses let gamblers play more games, make bigger bets, and win more money, there are terms and conditions to be aware of. The three major aspects to understand about bonuses – that is, the “fine print” that actually matters – are the following:
Rollover is the most important aspect of casino promos to be aware of. This is also called online casino playthrough, and the terms attached must be met before you can withdraw any winnings associated with your deposit bonus. Let’s say you accept the following promo: 100% Deposit Match Bonus Up To $1000
If you put $100 into your account, this bonus will add another $100 to your digital wallet, for a total of $200. If the rollover/playthrough is set to 20X, that means that you must wager a total (i.e. “turn a handle”) of $200 X 20, or $4000, before withdrawing any associated winnings.
That may sound like a lot, but it isn’t. You can actually wager $4000 on $200 of seed money without ever depositing another penny into your account, as every bet you place goes towards your rollover requirement. (Note: Not all casino games will count towards your playthrough at 100%, and live dealer games are not eligible for promotional credit.)
While some less credible sites will have high rollover limits that make their bonuses difficult to cash out, the operators we play with and recommend all offer low playthrough casino bonus options. This allows you to claim your payouts sooner than you’d be able to at lesser sites.
Some bonuses will have max cashout limits attached to them. These can most often be found with online casino no deposit bonus options, limiting the amount you can win on a $25 “free chip” to $100 or $200.
After all, without the maximum payout on no deposit bonuses, pro gamblers could take the house for thousands without ever contributing to the casino, and that would be bad for everyone.
Casino bonus abuse is not as rampant as it once was, as most of the best online gambling sites have built-in protections against the contingency.
Players used to make duplicate accounts to double up on bonus offers or play games like roulette where they’d bet on red and black at the same time (winning nothing and losing nothing, but contributing to the required rollover).
Today, bonus abuse is more sophisticated and rare, though if you’re caught intentionally trying to game the system, your account could be closed and your bankroll forfeited.
Are Casino Bonuses Worth It?
In most cases, yes. Of course, this depends on you. Whether or not you should accept a bonus comes down to two factors:
- How often you play
- How soon you want your payouts
The more frequently you gamble, the easier it is to meet the bonus terms, which means that bigger bonuses are in your wheelhouse. If you play less often, you should opt for smaller bonuses so that you can cash out in a reasonable amount of time.
If cashing out regularly is of less concern because you prefer to keep your winnings in your online casino account, bigger bonuses shouldn’t be a deterrent even for infrequent gamblers.
Bonuses are completely optional, so the choice is yours. That said, in our experience, we’ve found that these online casino promotions are suitable for over 95% of all players.
Online Casino Rewards
In addition to the casino promotions online gambling sites offer, the top operators also have rewards programs for their members. These programs go by different names, sometimes called VIP programs. When you join such programs, you’ll get comp points added to your account that allow you to reach certain tiers of membership (i.e. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, etc.).
Different tiers give you different casino rewards, ranging from enhanced bonus offers, free entries into slots and blackjack tournaments, waived fees on withdrawals, and more. Signing up is free, and we recommend that every player enrolls to maximize their online gambling experience.
Other Types Of Gambling Bonus Offers
The best online casinos often have other gambling markets to choose from, and these each come with their own bonus selections. In most cases, such bonuses and promotions cannot be used across markets. That is, a sportsbook bonus can’t be used for online poker, and a casino bonus can’t be used for betting on sports.
Sportsbook Bonus
Some online gambling sites will allow you to use your sports betting bonus on horse racing, but most don’t. And usually, a horse racing bonus won’t be a deposit match.
Instead, you’ll get horse racing rebates, which give you back a percentage of each wager regardless of whether your bet wins or loses.
Most sites with online racebooks have horse rebates worth between 3% and 7%, and they often vary depending on the track or type of race in question.
Online Poker Bonus
Online poker bonuses are a special category and work differently from all other gambling bonuses. Per industry standard bonus poker rules, these come with no rollover requirements of any kind.
When you make a poker deposit, you’ll get a deposit match as usual, but this bonus cash is held in escrow and disbursed incrementally to you as you play poker or compete in various tournaments.
The more you play, the more bonus funds you get released into your account.
Horse Racing Bonus
Some online gambling sites will allow you to use your sports betting bonus on horse racing, but most don’t. And usually, a horse racing bonus won’t be a deposit match.
Instead, you’ll get horse racing rebates, which give you back a percentage of each wager regardless of whether your bet wins or loses.
Most sites with online racebooks have horse rebates worth between 3% and 7%, and they often vary depending on the track or type of race in question.