Finding the right casino that matches you as a player can be tough, and we know all about the struggles it comes with. On this page you’ll find a list with our top ten recommended casino bonuses and be presented with information about these. If none of the casinos on this page has your name written on it, we recommend checking out our casinos page, where you’ll be able to see a complete list of the casinos currently available on BonusCatalog.
Online Casino Bonuses
One of the main subjects you might encounter when searching for online casinos and online gambling in general, is the term bonuses. Many new players don’t know what a bonus is, why it can be a good thing to take use of, and why it’s used as much as it is. The simple answer to all these questions is, it’s a way for casinos to give their players more money to play with, and it can actually be used by players to increase their chances of winnings.
When you search for online casinos today, you will usually be presented with their welcome offer right away. The welcome offer on online casinos is a way for the casino to achieve new customers, and hopefully make them like their platform, so they choose that exact platform as their preferred place to go. In short, the casino bonuses are used as a marketing strategy.. And it works!
Different types of bonuses
Most players have noticed that there’s a lot of different types of casino bonuses available, when playing on online casinos. When choosing the next casino to sign up on, the type of bonus offered and bonus terms can be a deal breaker. Some of the bonuses are bonuses such as a no-sticky bonus, a wager free bonus, a free spins bonus, a deposit bonus, a no-deposit bonus and a reload bonus.
Each bonus comes with different pros and cons, and it’s different from player to player, what bonus they prefer. The most common bonus used as a welcome bonus is a deposit bonus that adds bonus money on top of your deposit, and typically comes with a wagering requirement that ranges from 10x to 50x. Many casinos also combine the deposit bonus with a free spins bonus, so in addition to the bonus money granted, the player also get an amount of free spins.
No-Sticky Bonus
A no-sticky bonus is usually used to attract new customers to a casino, they’re usually a part of a welcome package offered to all new players. When accepting a no-sticky deposit bonus, you’ll be able to get a percentage of your initial deposit added to your balance.
The cool thing about no-sticky bonuses is that you do not have a wager, unless you lose all the money you initially deposited. If you make a deposit of €100 and use a 100% no-sticky deposit bonus, you’ll be given €100 on top of your deposit. This gives you a balance of €200 to start off with, and if you win before getting down to the bonus balance, you’ll be able to withdraw instantly. In other words, the money you put in is not locked at any time. If you lose the first €100 and start using the €100 granted to you as bonus money, you’ll be met with a wager requirement and have to follow the rules for wagering on the casino.
Wager Free Bonus
Wager free bonuses are a great way for casinos to give their players more money to play with, which potentially gives the player more time, and also increases the chance of the player to win big. The wager free bonus is a type of deposit bonus, where you receive a percentage of your initial deposit on top of your starting balance. The bonus could be a 100% bonus up to €100, which would give you a starting balance of €200.
When you use a wager free bonus, you’ll be able to withdraw at any time, but you’ll never be able to withdraw any of the bonus money granted. An example of this could be a start with the €200, where €100 is bonus money and €100 is real money. If you manage to win, and reach a balance of €300, you’ll be able to make a withdrawal of €200. The bonus money is removed when making a withdrawal. If you want to try out a fager free bonus, we recommend ViggoSlots or Horus Casino.
Free Spins Bonus
A free spin bonus is really common in the online casino world, they’re used to obtain new customers, maintain relationships with old customers, but also as rewards in VIP programs and much more. A free spin bonus is where a player is granted an amount of spins to a video slots game, and then all winnings obtained from the free spins are added to the players balance as bonus money. This means there’s typically a wagering requirement that needs to be met with the money won from using the free spins. Some casinos do from time to time grant their players no wager free spins, which means the winnings are withdrawable instantly, if they’re above the minimum withdrawal amount.
The amount of free spins is completely up to the casino, and can be everything from a single spin, 20 free spins, 50 free spins, 200 free spins or even more. A great way to test out free spins is to use a no-deposit free spins bonus, such as the BonusCatalog exclusive bonus available at Slotum Casino.
Deposit Bonus
Deposit bonuses are probably the most used type of casino bonuses. They can as an example be used by casinos to obtain new customers through a welcome bonus, reward players through VIP programs and also as a regular reload bonus. When a deposit bonus is used, the player using it converts their deposit to bonus money and as a reward they get bonus money added on top of their starting balance. Both the percentage added on top and the terms and conditions attached to the bonus varies from casino to casino.
The most important information to read about before accepting a deposit bonus is the wagering requirement, the minimum deposit needed, the maximum bet allowed and the wagering percentages on different casino games. On our section with all offers, we have made it easy to get an overview on the different bonuses available on the casinos we work with.
No-Deposit Bonus
A no-deposit bonus is like the name states a bonus where a deposit isn’t needed to receive some kind of bonus. The bonus can be free spins, money to play with, or maybe a free bet on a table game. No-deposit bonuses usually come with a wager requirement, which has to be fulfilled for the money to be withdrawable. The wagering requirement is different on all online casinos, but we recommend always accepting a no-deposit bonus, due to the fact that you can’t lose on it.
Reload Bonus
A reload bonus is a casino bonus that’s offered to players who have made a deposit in the past. It’s a way for casinos to give players a reward for coming back to their casino. This can be a good way for the online casinos to keep a player, and prevent the player from jumping from one welcome bonus to another. A perfect example of how a reload bonus should look like is at N1 Casino. They offer all their current players a 50% reload bonus up to €100 + 75 Free Spins. This means if you make a deposit of €100, you’ll get €50 on top and start off with a balance of €150 instead of €100. On top of that you get 75 free spins where you also get a chance of increasing your starting balance.
Why casino bonuses can be smart to use
All players have their own opinion when it comes down to using casino bonuses. Some enjoy playing with a bonus, and some are strictly against it. There’s a few things about casino bonuses that should be considered when deciding whether or not to accept it. Accepting a casino bonus can give you a bigger balance to start off with, longer sessions of playing, and even give you somewhat free money, depending on the bonus.
Starting off with a higher balance can make it possible for players to have a more aggressive approach to their way of gambling, and by playing more aggressively it also makes it possible for them to get bigger hits. With bonuses such as no-sticky bonuses, the players are basically granted free money, since they aren’t locked to a wager before losing the initial deposit.
How to use a casino bonus
Most casino bonuses can be activated automatically when signing up on an online casino, but some of the bonuses have to be activated manually before making a deposit, or by remembering to check it off when signing up. Depending on the type of bonus, you might have to use a bonus code when making a deposit, to be able to claim the given bonus.
If you fail to activate the bonus when signing up, or maybe when making the deposit, you’ll usually be able to contact support and through them get it assigned. This is only possible if you haven’t placed a single bet with the funds intended to activate a bonus with.
Bonus Restrictions
Depending on your residency you might not be able to take use of online casino bonuses. The reason it’s not for everyone is due to the laws and regulations made for online casino games in the different countries. We always recommend reading the Terms and Conditions before signing up, by doing so you make sure you are eligible to use the bonus.
When using casino bonuses you also have some restrictions in terms of the casino games available for wagering, but also the maximum bet size allowed while having an active bonus. The most common limit on bet size is a maximum bet of €5 or below. This means no bets above €5 are allowed in a single round. All these restrictions are listed and explained thoroughly in the Terms and Conditions you accept when making your deposit.
How to play the different games
Learning how every game works on an online casino is an impossible task. Some casinos offer more than 5000 different casino games to choose from, and if we should cover them all, we would never be able to finish. The most common games that requires some kind of explanation or strategy to play are covered in our guides section, where you can find detailed guides covering strategies on how to play Roulette, Baccarat, Crazy Time, Dreamcatcher, Lightning Dice, Lightning Roulette, Mega Ball, Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold’em and of course Texas Hold’em.
Even though it can be tempting to go play all the above games while using the casino bonuses, it’s not recommended due to the fact that you usually don’t wager more than up to 15% of your bet size. This is also the reason why we recommend playing the above listed games with a raw balance, meaning a balance where you don’t have a wager attached.
Wagering requirements
When accepting a casino bonus they usually come with a wagering requirement, meaning you have to play through an amount of money before being able to make a withdrawal. The reason why wagers are added by online casinos is to prevent players from accepting a bonus, and then being able to make a withdrawal of the deposit + the bonus money granted.
A wager typically ranges from all the way down to 1x and up to 50x. All wagers below 10x are usually on money retrieved as cashback or as a special welcome bonus. The rules that have to be followed while having an active wager can be found in the terms and conditions on the casinos website. Read more about wagering and how it works in our guide to wagering.
How do we rank our casinos
When reading a review on BonusCatalog you might see we are using a star system, ranking the casinos from 1 to 5 stars. Each casino listed on our website is assigned stars in four different categories, and then our algorithm calculates the total amount given from 1 to 5. The four categories the casinos are ranked in are Trust and Fairness, Games and Software, Bonuses and Promotions, and Customer Support.
The reason why all the casinos are given a rank with the star system, is due to us wanting to make it easy for you as a user to see what casinos are ranked the best. An example of the ranking can be in the Customer Support category, where the casinos have to provide 24/7 live chat support, email support and phone support to achieve 5 stars.
Ranking the online casinos with our star system makes it fast and easy for all users to choose between the different casinos available. We do though recommend giving the casino bonuses an extra look before selecting a casino over another.
