Slot Bonuses – Offers and how they work

Online slot bonuses are designed to keep you in the money. You might ask, what exactly does that mean? It means exactly as it sounds. Many online casinos will offer their players chance after chance to pick up free bonus money, in order to ensure that they have enough to keep wagering on their favourite online slot machine games.

This way, the casino is assured that you will keep playing with them and not any other domain, and you are assured to have enough money to keep wagering. All in all, it is a pretty sweet deal. It’s not quite as black and white as that, as we shall see; and there are many different types of online slot bonuses to discuss. But first though, let’s ask a question. Is there anything else that makes these bonuses unique or special?

As it happens, there is. If you were to walk into any land-based casino (we’re talking brick and mortar buildings here) as a new player, you would have no chance to landing special rewards, bonuses or privileges.

This is a feature that is only reserved for the online gaming world. It is one of the biggest perks of playing from the comfort of your own home. So you can get money, additional offers, and you can do it all from your living room! That’s great, right? Now, let’s find out a little more about these online slot bonuses.

Cashable offers and Non-cashable offers

Online slot bonuses can be both cashable and non-cashable offers. If you’re wondering, a cashable offer is one which allows you to take out your bonus winnings, and a non-cashable offer is one which won’t let you. Both have their pros and cons, and both are offered by most top online casino sites.

Example of cashable bonuses would be welcome bonuses and match deposit bonuses. In most cases you won’t be able to withdraw your bonus money right away, but after a certain amount of wagering, all that you have acquired with it will be yours to use as you see fit, even if you wish to take it out.

Examples of non-cashable bonuses include no deposit sign up bonuses, free spins and certain loyalty bonuses, such as comp points. The no deposit bonus is the casino’s money, so anything you win will have to be wagered on games.

The same is also true for comp points and loyalty bonuses. Free spins you understand, obviously cannot be withdrawn. Though any winnings you do acquire with them will also not be permissible for withdrawal, but they can be used to play more games. In this respect, they are a non-cashable offer.

We will go into more detail about each of these special bonuses, in just a little while.

How do bonuses work?

Online slot bonuses work in many ways. Generally, the idea is to keep the player at the online casino sweet, by offering them additional promotions, bonuses, opportunities to top up their funds, or to reward them for playing at the casino.

There are many ways an online casino can go about this. Obviously, the online casino isn’t going to lose money by offering you such rewards. In most cases, a series of safeguards are in place, so that the player must wager a specific amount of money (plus their bonus) a specific number of times, before they can make a withdrawal.

In this way, the casino has assured themselves that the money they offer players won’t just simply be withdrawn. These are what is known as wagering requirements. Furthermore, special slot bonuses such as tournaments and promotions promise one lucky player (a few players if there is a prize draw), special prizes for finishing well in a tournament. Naturally, many gamers try and win the prize, so they put a lot of money into the games.

The basic idea of how a bonus works, we have already discussed, though. You play their games, they give you special bonuses (if you want them), and the wheel keeps on turning; so to speak.

The best bonus offers

Some bonuses are far more valuable to players than others. Before we end, we should take a look at a number of these bonuses, and see how each one works, and which the best value for you.

The welcome bonus is arguably the most prosperous bonus of any, for online casino goers. The welcome bonus is usually offered as a percentage cash bonus. For example, if you deposit $100, and pocket a 100% match; you’ll be given 100% of your deposit again as a bonus.

This means you’ll start with $200. These types of bonuses are sometimes offered on additional deposits (called reload deposit bonuses) that you make, and sometimes on every single one that you ever make).

These types of online slot machine bonuses have wagering requirements (like we mentioned before), whereby the player must wager and play X amount, before they can withdraw their winnings. These bonuses can be cashable bonuses.

Sometimes, making a deposit using one of the preferred payment methods of the casino will also see you pick up a deposit bonus. These are known as alternative deposit bonuses.

Free spins are treated as one-off promotional bonuses, usually offered when a new game is launched. When this happens, the player gets a number of free spins on the slot, and what they win can be used to wager on games at site. This is an example of a non-cashable bonus.

So are loyalty bonuses, or VIP bonuses. With these two bonuses, players are able to accumulate points (known as comp points) for every wager they make on games at the casino. These points can be accumulated and later redeemed for real money, which can only be used on games at the site.

Aside from daily, weekly or monthly promotions, which have no fixed layout or setup; the only other major online slots bonus is the no deposit required bonus. These bonuses are sometimes offered instead of welcome bonuses, and sometimes alongside them.

With a no deposit required bonus, the player will get a certain amount of money free from the casino, just for signing up. With this cash, they must play games at the site, usually within a specific time frame.

The money cannot be withdrawn, and any winnings you have, will generally be unlocked when you make your first deposit. This too, is a non-cashable bonus, though a very popular one.