Wondering how to tell the difference between an awesome offer and a bogus bonus? Casino Papa has all the info you need!
In almost every instance when an online casino looks to attract new gamers, it uses a match deposit bonus offer. This is by far the most common type of bonus offered by virtual casinos the world over and has the potential to be extremely rewarding. That is, just as long as you know how to tell the difference between a genuine offer and misleading marketing!
Match Deposit Bonus 101
In the simplest of terms, the match deposit bonus is in most respects self-explanatory. You deposit funds in your account, the service provider matches the funds up to a certain percentage and the bonus is applied to your account.
These tends to be the kinds of highly-generous offers made available to new customers only and are rarely available to existing members.
Let’s put it into a working example:
- You come across a casino that promises to offer a 150% match bonus on your first deposit.
- You make the decision to deposit £200 into your account as your first ever deposit.
- This would then mean that the casino would add an extra 150% of your £200 – in this case £300 – to your account, giving you £500 to play with.
Terms and Conditions
Unsurprisingly, the biggest casino brands in operation these days didn’t get rich and famous by handing out vast sums of cash free of charge. Instead, bonuses are only offered because the casino is aware of the fact that you will actually spend more money than you gain. This is something that is guaranteed by way of the terms and conditions that apply to match bonuses, also referred to as ‘wagering requirements’.
Long story short, you will not be able to withdraw either the bonus money or any money you win with it, until the casino’s wagering requirements have been met.
In a working example:
- You deposit £100 into an account and are offered a 100% match bonus.
- This therefore gives you £200 to play with in your account.
- The casino sets wagering requirements at a standard 30X with a 7-day deadline.
- This would mean that in order to access your cash or any winnings, you would first need to wager/gamble 30X the £200 in your account – £6,000.
It’s also important to note that many popular games available via most online casinos do not count in full toward the wagering requirements – some as little as 1% or 2%. More often than not, it is only slots that count 100%.
It is imperative that all terms and conditions be read before even considering accepting any such bonus offers, as in some instances it may be more profitable not to accept any bonus at all.
Check out a few of our recommendations below for some of the web’s best initial match deposit bonus offers!