A sign up bonus is an incentive that online casinos offer new players to get them to sign up and play for real money. It is usually offered in the form of free money, bonus money, free spins, and more. The sign up bonus is used as a marketing tool by online casinos to promote themselves and bring in new customers, thereby increasing their player base and building their brand.
Sign-up bonuses are extremely popular because there is nothing like a juicy bonus to use when you visit a casino for the first time. Of course, there are many who may not want to use the sign up bonus because of the terms attached to them, especially if they come with a high wagering requirement. Most casinos have a provision that allows you to play without using the sign up bonus; all you have to do after signing up is inform the casino that you do not want to use it.
Also, some sign up bonuses are not available to players of specific countries. And a lot of casinos also have restrictions on the use of sign up bonuses depending on a variety of factors, including the use of certain kinds of payment methods.
Types of Sign Up Bonuses
When you sign up with an online casino, you get one of two kinds of sign up bonuses. They are:
No Deposit Bonus
Deposit bonus
No Deposit Sign Up Bonus
The no deposit sign up bonus is a unique bonus that you get only at select online casinos. It is offered the moment you open an account for real money play with the casino: you do not even have to deposit funds into your new casino account to get and use this bonus. Effectively, this is a free offering that casinos offer as a token of their appreciation for signing up with them.
There are basically 3 main types of no deposit bonuses:
Regular no deposit bonus
This bonus gives you a limited amount of free cash or casino credits that you can use to play for real money. The amount offered is usually small, anywhere between R50 and R300, and you can use it to play the games of your choice.
No deposit free spins
This bonus applies only to slots. You get a specific number of free spins the moment you sign up with the casino. The free spins can be used to play a single game that the casino is promoting or a bunch of them; the games covered by this bonus are listed out by the casino usually.
No deposit with time
This is a unique no deposit bonus that gives you a large amount of free cash or credits, with a catch: you have to use it up within a given time period, usually 60 minutes. The amount offered is usually anywhere between R5000 and R25000. Any bonus cash that is left over after the expiry of the time period is rendered unusable. Some casinos give you the option of resetting the time period back to the beginning to give you another shot at picking up some good ones. But if you choose to use this option you would lose any winnings you may have picked up till that point in time.
There are many advantages that the no deposit casino offers:
You can use this mode to feel out the casino and see how the games play out.
You can use it to experience the real money mode without spending from your bankroll.
It is free, and allows you to boost your bankroll: from the bonus cash and also from the winnings.
You get to keep some of the winnings from this bonus.
There are a few things about the no deposit bonus that you should know. This bonus, like all other bonuses, has its own set of terms and conditions. These are incorporated to ensure players are not able to abuse the bonus. The terms and conditions include, among others:
Wagering requirements: You have to wager the bonus amount a pre-specified number of times to be able to redeem any winnings from it.
Maximum cap amount: Casinos usually put a cap on the maximum amount you can redeem from the total winnings from a no deposit bonus. For instance, you may have won R2000, but if the casino has a maximum cap amount of R1000 you can redeem only that much; the rest is not accessible for you.
Eligible games: This condition applies especially to the no deposit free spins bonus. You can use the free spins to play only eligible games that the casino lists out.
Restricted bets: Casinos usually place restrictions on the bets you can place while playing with the no deposit bonus. For instance, if you have not yet fulfilled the wagering requirements you cannot use the max bet feature.