Top 10 No Deposit Casino Bonuses

casino bonusesWhen you have decided to take full advantage of any of the currently available online casinos that are giving away completely free of charge no deposit casino bonuses, then you need to stick to playing at those online casinos that have a good track record for playing their winners.

As sadly a lot of online casino sites who do indeed offer no deposit bonuses do so not to give you an entertaining initial first session and one that you could possibly end up winning on, they instead simple want you to deposit your own money, and will try every trick in the book not to pay you if you win with one of their no deposit casino bonuses.

However all of the top 10 casinos listed below offer no deposit bonuses, and as they all come with very fair rules and play through requirements then not only will you stand a good chance of winning with those no deposit bonuses, but if you do they will pay you out your winnings quickly and with no fuss.

List of Top 10 Casino Bonuses Sites for 2017

Types of Bonuses

Before players consider bonus offers, they need to know which type of bonuses there are. Below is a quick scorecard of what you can expect.

Deposit Bonus

When players make their first deposit at a casino, it triggers the deposit bonus. With that initial deposit and sometimes up to the first 3 payments, the casino will add bonus cash to your account, which matches the amount you pay.

The match rate on a deposit bonus is important. If a casino matches $1 to $1, that is called a 100% bonus. If a casino matches $1 to $2, that’s a 200% bonus. If you have to contribute $2 to get $1 in bonus cash, that’s a 50% bonus. One-hundred percent is fairly standard, so those which offer two-hundred percent are making a nice offer. The 50% bonus is usually for additional deposits.

Casinos which offer multiple deposit bonuses often frontload the first payment. That is, you might receive a $500, 100% bonus offer. If you deposit $500, your account will show $1,000. If you receive cash on the second deposit, this might be $500 at 50%, meaning you would need to deposit a full $1,000 to receive $500 in bonus cash.

Maxing out the Bonus

Many gamblers plan their payments to max out the deposit bonus offer. It makes sense to do so if it’s affordable. In the scenario above, a gambler who intended to fund their account with $1,000 of their own cash might only deposit $500 in the first payment. They would be able to get more bonus cash by making two deposits, instead of only one. Read the terms and conditions closely in order to know how to get the most out of the bonus.

No-Deposit Bonus

In the last 5 to 10 years, online casinos began to offer no-deposit bonuses. A player needs an account for one of these, but this offer does not require funding of that account. For that reason, it’s also called a “Freeplay bonus”.

With the free-play option, players are allowed to use house money to make some bets and try out the casino software without risking their own cash. It’s a way to play with house money and have no obligation.

In a survey of over 50 online casinos, these bonuses range between $15 and $900, but that does not mean the bigger offer is the better one. You’ll need to read the wagering requirements, sometimes known as the rollover, to know what the conditions on a $900 Freeplay bonus are. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Mobile No-Deposit Bonuses

Mobile casinos offer no-deposit bonuses, too. In my experience, the minimum bonus tends to be for smaller amounts of cash. In one or two cases, the max Freeplay bonus is even bigger. In a survey of 25 mobile casinos, I found them in the range of $5 to $1,250 (for Roxy Palace).

Reload Bonus

At a time, casinos did not offer free cash for reloads. It’s becoming more common these days, and it was long overdue. A reload bonus is an ongoing offer for loyal customers who reload their account. The idea is these people’s cash is just as valuable as the new players. Also, returning customers have shown loyalty and should be rewarded. Many of the same terms and conditions apply though these bonuses are not always as large as a new customer’s bonus.

It should be mentioned the reloads are in addition to the VIP rewards program. Online and mobile casinos have a rewards program for ongoing customers, which is like the slots club at a land-based casino. The more you play, the money perks you receive. For those unfamiliar with casino club cards, it’s like the rewards program on your credit card. The reload bonus is an enhancement to these other rewards, which is one reason it’s often not as substantial as the initial deposit bonus.

Games-Specific Bonuses

You probably know already that slot machines have higher house edge than blackjack and video poker — and usually a higher house edge than craps and baccarat. When making an offer, a slots player would be getting a worse deal if they were offered the same size bonus as a blackjack player. For that reason, games-specific bonuses are often made.

These take two forms.

One, a player might be restricted to a handful of games they can play, or even slots-only requirements. For instance, you might learn you have to play the slots with your deposit bonus or Freeplay offer. If so, playing blackjack does not meet the requirement.

Two, a player might be able to play any game they want, but the play-through requirement might be different for two different games. It’s not uncommon to see slot machines fulfill the wagering requirement at 100% while blackjack fulfills the requirement at a 10% rate. In this case, you would have to wager 10 times more money on blackjack than you would on slot machines.

What to Look for in a Bonus

Those are the broad types of bonuses you’ll receive. Deciding which are best is not a matter of finding the biggest payouts, though. Several factors need to be considered.

  • Bonus Size
  • Match Rate
  • Wagering Requirement
  • Games Selection
  • Window of Time
  • Free Spins Offered
  • How Withdrawals Work

Read a casino’s terms and conditions, because other requirements are likely to be in effect. The devil is in the details, so a great-seeming offer might not worth anything. Avoid sites which play games with their bonus offers, because they likely play games in other areas.

Size of the Bonus

The size of the bonus is the hook which catches your eye. Getting the biggest bonus you can use is important. The words “you can use” is important, though.

If the wagering requirement is unrealistic, the size of the bonus doesn’t matter. If you can’t afford to max out a big bonus, then the size also doesn’t matter. In that case, the matching rate is more important.

Match Rate

This is the rate at which your dollar amount is matched. Deposit bonuses match dollar-for-dollar. In most cases, that means $1 you spend it matched with $1 the casino adds to your account, like an employer matches deposits in a 401K plan.

The higher the matching rate, the better. This is given as a percentage. 100% is standard, indicating that each dollar you spent gets you a dollar. Higher percentages are better for low rollers, mid-stakes players, and high rollers.

Wagering Requirement

Players who receive any promotional bonus need to understand about the wagering requirements at casinos. The operator is going to want to protect itself from players who shop for bonuses. A casino also can’t stay in business, if it gives out tons of free money that is easy to withdraw. The wagering requirement protects the operator.

To withdraw bonus money (or winnings), a player must meet a wagering requirement, also called a “play-through requirement” or a “rollover”. The rollover requires a person to wager the amount of their bonus a certain number of times before cashing out. That number usually ranges between 20x and 50x. If you receive $10 and have a 30x requirement, you would have to wager the equivalent of $300 before you could withdraw the cash.

Game Restrictions and Limitations

One major stipulation is the games you might be required to play. Some casinos restrict which games you can play when offering bonus cash. Slot machines are usually allowed. I described this above, but I want to remind players to keep this in mind when comparing bonuses.

Keep a special eye on table game restrictions. Table games are not allowed, many times. Blackjack is the game most often disallowed or restricted because it has a low house edge.

Window of Time

Many casino bonuses time-outs after a while. I’ve seen bonus offer which are for 24-hour, 48-hour, or 72-hour windows. I’ve seen weekend bonuses which end at 12 midnight on Monday.

Most casinos have a 30-day or 60-day window, but remember to satisfy these conditions.

Free Spin Bonuses

Some casinos dispense with the use of bonus money and offer free spins on their slot machines. While a majority of online casinos do not offer free spins instead, a quick scan of the bonus offers in the database showed 6 online casinos which offered free-spin first deposit bonuses. 17 mobile casinos offered free spin no-deposit bonuses.

These offer a wide range of spins: between 7 and 1500. When the spins are over, you pocket whatever cash you’ve won, though you have to be over $0 for the total session to withdraw the winnings. In this case, getting 1500 spins is actually a disadvantage, because the house edge means it’s more likely the total money from your aggregate spins will be below zero.

Cashing Out: The Bonus or the Winnings?

Players need to know other stipulations when it comes to cashing out bonuses. Some casinos only allow people to withdraw their winnings. That is, they don’t receive the bonus money they were given, but they get the winnings from wagering the bonus. Others allow people to withdraw the bonus and their winning. In either case, the player is not obligated to continue, once the bonus’s wagering requirement has been met.

Read closely to see which of the two offers you’re receiving. If the bonus you’re offered is $20, it might not matter to you. But if you’re offered a $900 bonus, the difference between the two is significant.

Finding the Best Bonuses

Readers might have guessed by now that finding the best casino bonus isn’t easy. To find the best offer, you have to read more than the sales copy. You’ll need to get down into the casino’s “Terms & Conditions” page for the wagering requirements. You might need to read through the FAQ for clarification, or even communicate with customer support on live chat. Get the information correct before making a decision.

Frequently Asked Casino Bonuses Questions

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