There are, in general, two kinds of signup bonuses. A casino may offer a no- deposit bonus, where they give you a few dollars just for signing up and trying out the casino. Then there is the match bonus, where the casino matches a percentage of your initial deposit.

The law of supply and demand applies as much to casinos as it does to everything else. In the beginning, when the online casino industry was new, there were only a few outfits and only a few players- but tons of potential players. In order to draw customers in, casinos would offer signup bonuses, matching the amount of money- or even exceeding it- deposited by a new player.

As time wore on and there were more and more (and more!) casinos to choose from, and more and more players signing up, the bonuses stuck around but changed in kind. Where as initially you could sign up and have all that bonus money to play with (or cash out) right away, now there are requirements to meet before you get access to that money.

It wasn’t long before the requirements were put in place, but even then they were fairly lax. These days the requirements may make you wager a multiple of your deposit bonus (say, five times the bonus, which means a bonus of £10 requires you to wager £100 to get the ten) on specific, high risk/low return games. Please read the T & C and FAQs to make sure you are clear on the requirements to get your bonus money.

In addition, casinos try to keep players from playing at other casinos, and thus offer “loyalty programs” to keep them hanging around. While that sounds nice (as do sign up bonuses) it is important to keep in mind a few things.

How do you claim a bonus?
Some sites credit your account right away, and others require you to take action to claim it- be aware of your situation going in.

Are you eligible?
Don’t sign up at a site offering 300% bonuses if you can’t get them! Check the T & C to make sure you are eligible and meet any special requirements to get the bonus.

What are the bonus requirements?
 How much do you have to wager before you get the bonus money that was promised? Expect to see as much as 15 and 20 times the total of the deposit AND the bonus put together.

Are there Max Withdrawals?
 Many casinos don’t have a limit to your cash outs, but some do. Be aware of this before you spend all your money on the monster payout games if you are going to be restricted in how much you can take out.

See our list of casino bonuses here