A Complete Guide to Welcome Bonus Offers

Are you looking for the best online casino welcome bonus? Know your welcome bonuses before signing up! Check out our complete guide to welcome offers here

If you’re new to gambling online, you might not be familiar with how bonus offers work, but every experienced South African player knows that this is one of the most important parts of a casino. Welcome bonuses are the selling point of any online casino, and it’s usually the first thing that you see when you open a gambling website.

Not all welcome bonuses are worth your time and since there are a lot of them out there, it is difficult to filter which might give you the experience you’re looking for. To make things easier for you, this guide covers everything you need to know about welcome bonuses, from the types to how you can claim them.

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What is a Welcome Bonus?

A welcome bonus is also called a signup bonus or a welcome package at an online casino, and it’s a reward given to new players from the moment they create an account. As the name implies, the purpose of this bonus is to attract new players to an online casino and ease them into it.

Casino websites usually display them in bold, as a way of inviting players to create an account just to get the tempting offer. And these promotions are usually very attractive because casinos are competing with each other to offer players the best welcome bonuses.

But these bonuses don’t just give you a cash prize to play casino games and send you on your way. They usually come with a lot of fine print in the form of terms and conditions and wagering requirements, so you have to consider these too. Once you wager as many times as the casino requires and meet the terms and conditions before the bonus expires, you can withdraw the cash prize.

In a few cases, welcome bonuses can be wager-free, but this means you get only a small reward. They can also come with bonus codes, or you might have to deposit money to automatically receive the bonus. In South Africa, welcome bonuses come in different types, which we will explore in the next section.

Welcome Bonus Review

Types of Welcome Bonus Offers

Welcome bonuses differ based on how they are triggered and, in some cases, the terms and conditions that come with them. 

Deposit/Match Bonuses

The most popular type of welcome bonuses are deposit or match bonuses, and as the name suggests, you have to deposit money into your casino account before you receive the reward. When you see rewards like 100% up to $100, this is a deposit or a match bonus. It means that you get 100% of your deposit, so if you deposit $20, you get an extra $20 bonus to play games with.

The match bonus usually comes with wagering requirements, so you might have to wager the $20 that you received a particular number of times before you can withdraw the winnings. When you check the casino, you will see the minimum deposit that you have to make to receive the match bonus, and the minimum bet you can make with it on the selected games.

No Deposit Bonuses

Although no deposit bonuses can’t be found in many casinos, it is preferred by many South African players. This is because you don’t have to deposit any money in order to receive the bonus. While deposit bonuses force you to play at the casino with real money before your prize money, you don’t get any of these with a no-deposit bonus.

No deposit bonuses are usually rewarded from the moment you sign up, or in some cases after you input a particular bonus code.

Wager-Free Bonuses

Another type of welcome bonus that isn’t found in many casinos but is popular among players is the wager-free bonus. You would usually see wager-free no deposit bonuses or wager-free spins, but it’s not usually the case with the match bonus.

Wager-free welcome bonuses mean that you don’t have to meet any wagering requirements before you withdraw the bonus. If you get this type of promotion, you can withdraw the cash prize given to you immediately without gambling at the casino. Online casinos usually don’t offer wager-free no-deposit bonuses because it doesn’t encourage players to bet, but you can usually find wager-free free spins.

Free Spins

If you’re familiar with online slots, the most popular casino game out there, then you will know what free spins are. In many cases, online casinos make their welcome bonuses even better by adding free spins to the match bonus. So, you can see 100% up to $100 and 100 free spins on a particular game.

Casinos usually specify the types of games you can play with the free spins, and it has a shorter expiry date than match bonuses. Free spins also come with a maximum limit to the wins you can get. If free spins have wagering requirements, you will have to wager the winnings got from playing online slots as many times as the casino instructs. If there are no wagering conditions, you can withdraw the winnings after playing.

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How to Find the Best Welcome Bonus 

When looking out for the best welcome bonus, it’s vital to look closely. 

Compare Different Bonuses and Maximum Wins

Don’t just choose the first welcome bonus you see when looking for the best online casino which accepts South African players. Instead, compare the different match percentages, minimum deposits, and the maximum amount that you can win at all of them. Then, you can select the casino that offers the best deal.

Check the Terms and Conditions

Before signing up to accept a welcome bonus, check out the terms and conditions. Although most people don’t read this section, there’s a lot of important information: like when the bonus will expire, the maximum amount you can bet or win, the games that you can play, what contributes to the wagering requirement, and more. The terms and conditions also include what can cause the casino to cancel your bonus offer.

Read the Wagering Requirements

You should also check the wagering requirements of the casino to ensure that you won’t be struggling to get the bonus. The ideal wagering requirement is 40x or below. If you have a 20x wagering requirement for your $20 bonus prize, you’ll have to bet the money 20×20 times, which means you need to make a total stake of $400 before the bonus expires. You should always compare the wagering requirement to the expiry date, to see if you can meet it before the prize expires. 

Check the Casino Games 

Finally, you should check the casino games that they have on offer before accepting their bonus. This is important because you would have to play these games to meet the wagering requirement. You can also look out for bonuses placed on particular games like free spins on slots and match bonuses for poker or live dealer games.

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Guide to Claiming your Casino Welcome Bonus

The process of claiming your casino welcome bonus is similar in many casinos. It usually follows these steps:

  • Sign Up: The first thing you need to do is to create an account at an online casino. Take into account that you can’t get a welcome bonus if you’re not a new player.
  • Make a deposit: If it’s not a no-deposit bonus, you will have to deposit a small amount of money into the casino. Using any of the payment methods, fund your casino account. 
  • Enter the Promo Code: If the promotion comes with a promo code, then you would have to enter it in order to collect your bonus. If not, the bonus will be automatically added to your account.
  • Play and Win: Now that you have the bonus, you can play the games offered by the casino, meet the wagering requirements and withdraw your winnings.
Welcome Bonus

Conclusion

The welcome bonus is the beginning of your gambling experience at any top South African online casino, so it’s no surprise that you want it to be the best offer yet. Apart from looking at the welcome bonus, you should also check out other promotions and casino bonuses, those always help you to risk less money and get free prizes. This way, the experience continues throughout your stay at the casino website.

FAQ

If you want to get the maximum reward through the welcome bonus, then you should place the maximum bet. For instance, in a match bonus that states 100% up to $100, you should deposit $100 in your casino account to get an extra $100, rather than $20. So, this would give you a higher amount to wager

To get free welcome bonuses, you should look out for online casinos that offer no-deposit bonuses. You can check the casino for the no deposit sign. Although the reward would be small, you would not have to fund your account to get it

If you win free spins at an online casino, the main term is to play a particular type of game. Luckily, online casinos usually allow free spins on the newest or most popular slots available. You would also have a time limit to use the free spins

There are several: No deposit bonuses, deposit/match bonuses, free spins, wager-free bonuses

The wagering requirement is a fixed number of times you must wager the welcome bonus before you are allowed to withdraw winnings. The play-through requirements will vary from one bonus to another

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