Casino bonuses are available on every single online casino out there, but what is a casino bonus? How do they work? Keep on reading, as we will be explaining what kind of bonuses exist. We are dedicated to finding and sharing information regarding the very best casino bonuses in Canada with you!
Different Types of Casino Bonuses
Casino bonuses come in many shapes and forms, just like online casinos do. Online casinos are always looking for new ways to offer bonuses to existing players and of course to attract new ones.
Different sites will however have different types of bonuses to offer, and we are here to tell you all about the different types of casino bonuses you can find on online casinos in Canada.
Perhaps the best known type of bonus is the welcome offer, which also usually is the biggest offer from casinos. In addition to these, there are a number of other types of casino bonuses such as no deposit bonuses, monthly bonuses, loyalty bonuses and free spins bonuses. These are just a few examples, so continue reading to learn all about different casino bonuses in Canada.
Welcome Bonuses
Welcome bonuses are usually available at all online casinos in some form, the one thing they all have in common however, is that they are only available for new players. A welcome bonus is intended to get you started at a new casino in Canada, and they also happen to be one of the most common bonus types. They can vary between being a deposit bonus when making your first deposit to including free spins, to being an entire welcome package with bonuses for more than just your first deposit.
It is important not to confuse a welcome bonus with a no deposit bonus, as they are two different bonus types. Judging which welcome bonus is the best, is no easy task as some might be interested in a large sum for your first deposit, while others might prefer bonus offers on your first three deposits, or would rather have a chunk of free spins handed over.
No Deposit Bonuses
Some casinos might call a no deposit bonus other things, such as free money bonus or sign up bonus. These are however the exact same type of bonus, as the main point here is that they offer a bonus of some sort when simply registering at the casino, without the need to make a deposit first.
Of course it is important to understand that this does not mean you will be able to withdraw the bonus money and then just leave the casino. This is why no deposit bonuses always will have a wagering requirement of some sort attached to it
Free Spins Bonuses
Free spins have a number of different names, and are sometimes referred to as extra spins, bonus spins or real-money spins. Free spins can show up as a part of a welcome bonus, it can be a no deposit bonus like mentioned above, it can be a part of a loyalty program, or of course it's very own bonus type.
At most online casinos, free spins bonuses will also have the least and easiest terms and conditions attached to them, which is one of many reasons they are so popular amongst casino players. You will also notice that free spins often come along with a deposit bonus, which of course is a great added bonus. What makes free spins bonuses extra special, is that they usually are dedicated to one or several specific slots, which usually are the most popular ones or brand new ones you will be able to try out.
Cashback Bonuses
Cashback bonuses are their very own species of bonuses. These bonuses are not linked to any kind of registration, or deposits that need to be done to be able to get the bonus. With a cashback bonus, players will instead be getting back a certain percentage of money being lost while playing different casino games at an online casino. This is a kind of guarantee the casino makes, where you at least know you will be getting back 10 % or 20 % of your losses, should you be really unlucky during a round on your favourite slot.
Losses are as big of a part as winnings when it comes to playing on online casinos. Some of the best casino operators in Canada have put cashback bonuses in place, in order to make losses a little less problematic, by simply giving some of the losses back. In other words, a cashback bonus will allow you to claim back a percentage of your losses, up to a certain amount.
Weekly & Monthly Bonuses
A weekly, or monthly, bonus is just as it sounds like, a casino bonus that will be made available for players to make use of every single week or month. An online casino can choose to offer these bonuses in the form of free spins bonuses, a cashback bonus, reload bonuses or many other options. This type of bonus is a bonus on a regular basis.
Bonuses to Celebrate Holidays
Online casinos can choose to celebrate any specific holiday they want, or even make up their very own holidays to celebrate. Of course, the most common to see are the big holidays that are celebrated around the world, such as Easter, Halloween, New Years Eve and Christmas. On these occasions, many online casinos even switch up their design on their homepage, in addition to offering specific seasonal bonuses to players.
Loyalty Bonuses
A number of online casinos love to treat their loyal customers by giving them an extra special treat once in a while, and often this is done through loyalty bonuses. At some casinos you will find both loyalty programs as well as a separate VIP program, however other online casinos will treat these two as the same thing. A loyalty bonus will however be the result of being a part of a loyalty program, and might get you a weekly handful of free spins, a monthly cashback bonus or even cash bonuses you can use as you please.
Some loyalty programs might be made up of several tiers, where you will gain more, bigger and better rewards and benefits as you continue to play and be active at the casino. Others will have more of an instant reward function, where a specific amount of points will get you certain rewards, or even a spin on a wheel of fortune where you can get instant prizes.
VIP Programs
VIP programs and loyalty programs could be intertwined at some online casinos, while others might offer both in order to keep them separate. In these cases, a VIP program will be designed for the high rollers, those who are most active and those who play for a certain amount of money. However, a VIP bonus could also be available without the need for a VIP program at an online casino, and could be a bonus offer for a loyal customer.
VIP programs will usually be equipped with a higher level of bonus offers, where you would be looking at hundreds of free spins, a dedicated contact person at the casino, or even invites to exclusive events.
High Roller Bonuses
Some online casinos will be able to offer specific bonuses that are dedicated to high rollers. This term is used to describe casino players who spend a higher amount of money when playing at a casino, compared to a more casual casino player. This of course means that high roller bonuses will have a much higher amount, but at the same time have a higher minimum deposit requirement in order to activate the bonus.
Developer Specific Bonuses
With the online casino industry constantly growing, it's up to both the casinos as well as game developers to come up with new and exciting ways to keep players entertained. One of the things they have come up with, is to offer game provider bonuses, or developer specific bonuses. These types of bonuses will be offered when a game developer has partnered up with an online casino in order to have some exclusive offers for their players.
Some of the game developers you will be seeing these types of bonuses from, include NetEnt, Pragmatic Play and Microgaming which are some of the biggest names in the industry. Casinos will usually offer developer specific bonuses by giving out bonus codes, which will activate the bonus offer, most often in the form of free spins.
Game Specific Bonuses
When you hear the term game specific bonuses, it is exactly what it sounds like. These types of bonuses will only be available for selected games, chosen by either the online casino or possibly also the game developer if it happens to be a partnership between the two. Just like many other bonus types, a game specific bonus could be found in a number of different ways, such as being a part of a welcome bonus, a weekly bonus offer or a reward coming from a loyalty program.
A game specific bonus is often seen at the same time as a new game is launched. This will usually be a way for the casino to announce the launch of a new slot, and offer their players a way to try it out.
Device Specific Bonuses
An online casino that is specifically aimed toward mobile gaming, will usually offer device specific bonuses. These types of bonuses are available only to players who chose to play at an online casino from a mobile device, either being a smartphone or tablet. In other words, these specific bonuses will not be available if you decide to play at the exact same casino from desktop, as it will forfeit the purpose of the bonus type.
Support Bonuses
Support bonuses will often come in the form of free spins that will simply be added to your account to be used on a specific slot, or a small deposit bonus, all depending on what the customer support agent is able to offer.
Step by Step Guide for Accepting a Bonus
The process of grabbing a bonus is not complicated at all, and we will of course guide you through the process step by step. However, it is important to keep in mind that every single casino is different, which also means that the process will vary from casino to casino, as well as from bonus to bonus.
1. Register at your favourite casino
The very first step on your way to getting an online casino bonus in your hands, is choosing where you want to play. A good start will be to check out our top lists, or read our casino reviews in order to find the perfect casino for you. The registration process will only take a couple of minutes, but once this is done you will already be off to a great start.
When registering at a new online casino, you will have to verify your account, meaning you will need to prove your identity as well as address. Casinos can decide to ask this right at the beginning, or sometimes decide to wait until you are going to make your first deposit or withdrawal.
2. Find the bonus you want
Once your account has been created and you are now registered at your chosen online casino, you can go on to find the casino bonus you want to activate. There are many online casinos that have several options for you to choose from, even when it comes to welcome offers. Some might have a welcome offer for a casino, a separate one for live casino and a third for sports betting.
In most cases you will however only be able to choose one of them. Once you have decided which offer to activate, read up on the terms and conditions to make sure you know every detail about the offer. An important detail you shouldn't miss, is whether or not there is a bonus code you will need to use when activating the bonus.
3. Activate your bonus
Now the only thing left to do, is to trigger the bonus you have chosen. If it happens to be a deposit bonus, which most likely it is, you will have to make a deposit. Most bonuses will have a minimum amount you will need to deposit in order to be eligible for the bonus offer. If there was a bonus code needed to trigger the offer, this will need to be entered when making the deposit.
After confirming the deposit, the bonus will now be available in your account and usually shown as a separate balance, away from the real money on your account. Before you start to play, you should always make sure that the bonus actually has been activated in order to not make any mistakes. If you cannot seem to find it, contact customer support. If the bonus is visible, then you can go ahead and start playing!
How to Calculate Casino Bonuses
As most online casinos use a bonus percentage to present a bonus offer, it is easier to compare different bonus offers in order to find the one best suited for you.
The bonus percentage will usually fall between a range of 50% and up to 200% or even higher in some cases. This number will tell you how much of the amount you choose to deposit, you will be getting as bonus money. So if you choose to deposit let's say $200 while activating a 75% bonus, this will tell you that the casino will add 75% of $200 as bonus money, in addition to your own money. Terms and conditions will also let you know the maximum amount that the casino will be able to give you, by stating “75% up to maximum $200”.
It is also important to get to know the wording that is used by different casinos in order to know what exactly the bonus you will be getting is. Some online casinos might present a bonus offer by saying “deposit $100 and play with $300”. In this case, you will be getting $200 in bonus money when depositing $100, giving you a total of $300 to play with.
Another example:
200% bonus up to $300 – If you deposit $50, you will receive a bonus of $100 which is equal to the amount of 200% of the deposit amount.
Understand Wagering Requirements
One of the most important things to do when choosing to activate a casino bonus, is to get to know wagering requirements. Otherwise, this could end up being a less than happy surprise, as most casino bonuses have them. A wagering requirement will determine how much you have to play for, before you will be able to withdraw your bonus or winnings from the bonus.
Bonuses can have two different types of wagering requirements, where it either would be valid just for the bonus amount, or it could be valid for both the bonus amount as well as the deposit amount. This will of course affect the amount you will have to wager before making a withdrawal. The wagering requirement can vary greatly, and could be as low as 1x or be as high as 50x or more.
In most cases, you will also be given a time limit, where you will have to complete the wagering requirement within a certain amount of days, for the bonus not to be forfeited.
Terms & Conditions
One thing that you should be aware of before using any type of bonus, is that there will always be terms and conditions. What these terms and conditions usually consist of, will of course vary depending on the type of bonus as well as between casinos, but they will always be there.
An online casino will often present a selection of the terms and conditions along with the basic information regarding the bonus, but will offer a link in smaller letters leading to the complete terms and conditions. This will usually be found at the bottom of the promotions page or bonus page.
- Minimum Deposit. All casino bonuses will have a minimum deposit requirement in order to activate a bonus. Most casinos will have the same standard minimum requirement as for making a regular deposit. In many cases this amount will be between $10 and $25, but could of course be both lower and higher. It is also worth knowing that some payment methods might not qualify you to receive a bonus offer.
- Maximum Win. In many cases, an online casino will set a maximum win limit when you are playing with bonus money. This might limit you to winning for example $500 when playing with the bonus, which will have any winnings exceeding this limit being lost once you make a withdrawal.
- Wagering Requirement. The wagering requirement will let you know how much you will need to play for, before you will be able to make a withdrawal.
- Bet Limits. With most casino bonuses, you will see that there is a bet limit set by the casino. This is a sort of insurance for the casino, as it will make it impossible for you to complete the wagering requirements all in one go. The bet limit will usually be stated per bet or game round.
- Time Limit. Along with the wagering requirement, you will also have a limited amount of time to complete the requirements themselves. In most cases you will be seeing a number between 30 and 120 days, if you do not complete the wagering requirements in the time limit given, you will lose the bonus funds.
- Restricted Games. Always make sure to check if there are any restrictions on which games you can use the bonus money or free spins on. This also goes for wagering requirements, as some games might contribute less or not at all.
- Payment Method Restrictions. Some bonus types might be limited to certain payment methods in order to activate them. Make sure you are using a payment method that is not excluded before making your deposit.
Casino Bonuses - Is It Free Money?
Simply explained, most casino bonuses have been designed to attract new players to register at a new online casino, in addition to keeping all existing players happy by giving them other bonus offers.
It isn't by chance that the best and biggest bonuses you will find at an online casino are welcome bonuses, which are only available to brand new players. This is the ultimate way for online casinos to compete against each other, and give players a reason to register at their casino instead of the next. By offering bigger and better bonuses, casinos are creating healthy competition between them, all while players are getting all the benefits of it all.
Bonus Codes – This is How to Use Them
Some online casinos will have bonus offers that you will need a code for, in order to activate it. In most cases the bonus codes will be listed clearly on the specific bonus page, along with the rest of the terms and conditions explaining how the bonus offer works. Other times, a bonus code will be of a more exclusive sort, where they have been sent out by newsletter, or found through other websites that have made an agreement with the casino. In any case, using the bonus codes will generally work the same way.
Bonus Abuse – What is That?
All online casino bonuses will have a certain set of terms and conditions that come with them. When reading through these, you will often find a section informing players about bonus abuse, and what that entails. Most likely, it would also state that if you are caught abusing the bonus or breaking the bonus terms and conditions in any way, you will lose your bonus funds and might even have your account closed temporarily or permanently.
What an online casino considers as abusing a bonus offer could vary, but in most cases it will be regarding exploiting the bonus offer in any way. Some of the rules might include:
- Working with other players in order to manipulate the result of a game, or work together in order to exploit bonuses.
- Registering and opening several accounts in order to make use of the same bonus more than once.
- Finding loopholes of technical issues in the system in order to avoid wagering requirements.
- Placing “safe bets” when wagering the bonus, such as betting on both red and black during a Roulette game.
- Exceeding the maximum bet or playing on restricted games.
