Welcome Bonuses! Find The Best Casino Welcome Bonuses UK

For those of you unaware, welcome bonuses are the most common type of bonus in online casinos. Literally every casino offers them and it’s easy to see why. Created with the intention to attract new customers, these bonuses usually succeed with their plan. The part that they’re highly modifiable and specific for each casino makes them all the more interesting.

As soon as casinos went online, welcome bonuses followed. It’s the casino’s way of saying “Thank you for joining” and players are certainly impressed. After all, is there anyone who hates gifts? Casinos with welcome bonuses are much more popular than those who don’t offer one. Of course, considering the impact the bonus has, there are almost no casinos that don’t offer it.

If you’re new to online casinos, you might now be wondering what you’ll get as a prize. Free money? Free spins for slots? Something to cut your losses? Well, it’s all of the three and more!

The most common type of welcome bonus you’ll find in online casinos is a first deposit match bonus. You’ll probably see something like “100% FIRST DEPOSIT BONUS UP TO £100!”. This means that the casino will match your first deposit completely and essentially double your funds. Of course, it’s best to deposit the max amount and play with the highest possible amount. But, even if you deposit less, say, £50, you’ll still get the same in return.

Casino welcome bonus often pair deposit bonuses with free spins. It’s a popular combo loved by spinners which gives you a chance to earn even more money as a beginner. Free spins are a great bonus that will allow you to play your favourite slots for a longer time. However, they are usually capped, meaning that you can’t win an endless amount of money with them.

Welcome bonuses are not always stuck to your first deposit. Many online casino with welcome bonus offer a nice sum spread across your 3, 4 or even 5 deposits. They’re not all 100% match bonuses – the first one usually is, but the latter are smaller in size. Still, when you combine 3 or 5 deposit bonuses, you can earn quite the extra cash.

Online casinos might also offer a welcome bonus tied to a specific payment method. Usually reserved for e-wallets, this type of bonus can only be unlocked by depositing with the specified payment method.

Lastly, if you’re very lucky, you’ll find good casino which offers a no deposit welcome bonus. Unlike the first deposit match bonus, no deposit bonuses are credited to your account automatically. The bonus funds will be available in your account immediately afterward and best of all, you may get to keep what you win with it.

Of course, since it’s almost free, you shouldn’t expect a no deposit bonus to be as large as a match deposit bonus. You’ll probably get something in the area of £10 or £15 – just enough to try the games. This type of bonus may come in the form of free spins as well. Sign up in the casino and you may get 50 free spins for starters you can use right away. No deposit bonuses are a player-favourite in online casinos, but finding them is hard. You’ll have to do a good research and read reviews of many online casinos to find a no deposit welcome bonus and use it to your advantage.

When you sign up at an online casino or read a review, you might see something like “Claim a XXX (money amount) for free!”. What you should know about the best welcome bonuses is that they’re never free. You can’t expect a casino to give you money without any strings attached. If that was the case, players would simply claim bonuses and run with the winnings. In order to protect themselves from this and retain you as a customer for a long time, casino use wagering requirements.

There are other terms and conditions tied to welcome bonuses which is why you should always read the fine print. Skipping that part will only get you into trouble as you will most likely miss a part of the terms that will result in the casino forfeiting your bonus.

Game Availability

Another very important part of the terms and conditions is to see which games you can use the welcome bonus on. As you surely know, online casinos have a vast range of games. The list includes slots, table and card games, live dealer games, scratchcards, etc. When using the bonus funds, not all game contribute to completing the wagering requirements the same. In most online casinos with a welcome bonus, you can use the bonus funds on slots with or without the exception of some titles. However, table games rarely contribute 100%. It’s the same with live dealer games.

Reading the bonus terms and conditions in your casino of choice will help you identify the games you can play to complete the wagering. As we mentioned, in most casinos with a welcome bonus slots contribute 100%. Some titles may or may not be excluded, while bets on other games will almost certainly contribute less.

In order not to make mistakes by playing games which don’t contribute to the wagering, consult the T&Cs first.

Wagering Requirements

The most confusing part of welcome bonuses are the so-called wagering requirements. New players have difficulties understanding them when in reality it’s very simple. We already mentioned that online casinos use wagering requirements to make customers stay on the site for longer and as a way of preventing players from “hit’n runs’. If there were no wagering requirements, there would be no point in playing past the bonus in a casino. Players would simply use the bonus, take their winnings, and go to another casino which isn’t what these gambling sites are hoping for.

When you read the fine print of welcome bonuses, you’ll surely see the term thrown around. Wagering requirements indicate the number of times you’ll have to play the bonus (or bonus and deposit) funds over in order to be able to request your winnings. Usually, online casinos with a welcome bonus come with wagering of 30x or 40x. That (and anything in between) is the industry standard these days. However, the number can go higher or lower.

It’s almost impossible to find a casino with wagering of 10x or 15x, which sounds reasonable. If your preferred casino offers a welcome bonus with wagering of 45x or 60x, it certainly is unfair to players. Imagine getting a match deposit bonus of £100 for example and having to turn it over 60 times? That’s £100×60=£6,000 and you must also do it in a limited timeframe. Most online casinos give you a month, but some give you only a week or two to complete the wagering. Although it certainly won’t be easy, there are casinos with a welcome bonus which have low wagering requirements or no wagering at all. You’ll have to dig deep to find them though, and our guide will help you do that.

Deposit Options

Not all deposit options can be used to claim welcome bonuses. When it comes to the options at your disposal, you can use credit and debit cards as well as e-wallets and prepaid payment methods. However, in most casinos with a welcome bonus, e-wallets are excluded from the offer.

Specific welcome offers may also be tied to a specific payment method. For example, in some casinos, you must use a mobile payment method such as Boku to claim a bonus. All this information is available under the bonus terms and conditions which is yet another reason not to skip this part. If you miss it, you might deposit via a payment method that doesn’t qualify for the welcome offer. In this case, you won’t be able to claim the bonus and you’ll miss a great chance to earn something extra.

As a new player in an online casino, you will surely be intrigued by the welcome bonus on offer. Everyone wants to start their experience on the right foot and what better way there is than playing with extra money? Welcome bonuses can significantly boost your bankroll and allow you to try games which can’t be played for free and give you more playing time. Knowing this, it becomes clear that all newcomers should claim a welcome bonus. However, you should first weigh the pros and cons of welcome offers before making the decision.

Welcome Bonuses Pros

You Can Try Out the Games

Although there are hundreds of games you can play in online casinos, not all of them can be tried for free. Instead of using your own deposit, why not try them out with a welcome bonus? Make your first deposit, claim the bonus, and use the extra funds to try any game you like. If you’re lucky, it’ll count toward completing the wagering requirements and you’ll most likely be able to win some money in the process as well.

It’s even better if the casino of your choice offers a no deposit welcome bonus. With it, you will only need to register before you’re able to play all the exciting casino games.

More Play Time

Another plus in the Pros section of welcome bonuses, they allow all new players more gaming time. Since you can play a lot longer with a bigger bankroll boosted by the bonus, you’ll have more playing time and more chances to win money.

The more time you spend on a game, the bigger the chances of winning. It’s not a given, of course, but the chances will still go up.

Higher Wagers

When you claim a welcome bonus in an online casino you’ll be able to play at higher wagers. Since you’re not using your own limited bankroll, you can max out the bets for greater rewards. Even if you lose, you’re losing bonus funds, not your own money. Playing at higher stakes is simply more exciting than going small and may be very profitable for you as well.

Free Spins

If the welcome offer at your favourite casino includes free spins your chances of winning at least something go up drastically. Free spins are a great way to try out that new slot everyone’s been talking about and a great way to win a few spins in your favourite game.

The more free spins you get, the better your chances. 

Cons of Welcome Bonuses

Wagering Requirements

The most obvious disadvantage of welcome offers are wagering requirements. Set unreasonably high in many casinos, wagering requirements can prevent you from getting your winnings. Obviously, the lower they are, the better. Playing in a casino with 60x wagering requirements on a match deposit bonus of £100 or higher is not exactly reasonable. You’ll have to wager £6,000 to complete the wagering requirements which is pretty high. No wager casinos are the way to go!

Welcome Bonuses Expire

To make things even worse, welcome bonuses have an “expiration date”. The casino will require you to complete the wagering in a week, two or a month at best. After that, it will forfeit any funds and you won’t be able to take your winnings.

Win Limits

A casino with a welcome bonus may impose pretty high limits on the amount you can win with the bonus funds. If you thought that you can win millions using bonus funds, you’re wrong. Welcome bonuses are usually capped at a certain amount and anything you win over it will be scrapped by the casino.

With all the options at your disposal, finding an ideal welcome bonus is hard. Additionally, as the market is oversaturated with online casinos, you can easily guess that there are many scam sites out there. Not all welcome bonuses are worth claiming. After all, why should you claim a bonus if the casino doesn’t let you keep the winnings?

The wagering requirements are another major factor that will play a role in your decision to claim or not to claim a welcome bonus. If the casino with a welcome bonus keeps them low (somewhere in the area of 10x or 15x), it’s certainly worth it. If the wagering requirements are set at 65x, you’d have to be very lucky to complete them.

It all depends on the casino and the bonus terms and conditions. We can’t stress the importance of reading them before claiming the bonus. Any mistake you make will result in forfeited funds and that certainly wasn’t what you were hoping for. Do your research before accepting a welcome offer or you’ll get stuck with a bonus you can’t shake off.