Casino bonuses for beginners

beginners guide to casino offers

The majority of bookmakers also host casino and games sections on their sites where customers can play games such as blackjack, roulette and online slots for real money. As you sign up for more and more bookmakers, you may notice that you receive emails or SMS messages with offers for the casino. 

Casino bonuses come in various forms such as free spins, deposit bonuses, no-deposit bonuses to name a few. If you're not experienced in playing casino games and the 'ins & outs' of the terms and conditions, the offers can sometimes seem a bit confusing.Casino offers can be very tempting as the bonuses generally look very attractive at first glance but many can come with high wagering requirements which mean you have to wager a certain amount before being able to withdraw your bonus and/or winnings.

Despite casino offers often coming with wagering requirements or restrictions, they can be very profitable. As a beginner to casino offers, it is advised that you start with the no-risk or very low-risk offers until you are comfortable and knowledgeable enough to play a higher-risk offer such as large deposit bonuses.

1. No-risk casino offers

Many online casinos regularly give customers no-risk casino offers and they are a great chance to have the chance to win money without any risk. These type of offers are generally in the form of free spins or no-deposit bonuses. Free spins are sometimes given out by casinos when a new online slot has been added to the site.It's a good way for casinos to get customers to try the slot and keep them playing at the casino. Free spin offers are generally always worth taking up providing you don't have to make a deposit and can result in a quick profit with no risk. Some free spin offers will require you to wager the winnings from the free spins a certain amount of time while others will add winnings directly to your account balance. If there are wagering requirements and you lose all your bonus funds before wagering is complete, make sure your bonus is not active when you next go to make a deposit.

No deposit offers are less common but there are a few casinos which offer them to both new and existing customers. They generally come with high wagering requirements and there may be a limit to how much you can win. However, as you do not have to make a deposit to claim them, they are worth accepting. William Hill often give no-deposit bonuses to existing customers and so it is worth keeping an eye on their promotions page for when these are available.

2. Deposit Bonuses (high-risk)

Unlike free spin offers and no deposit bonuses, casino bonuses which require you to make a deposit do come with risk. There is a chance you could lose your initial deposit and so you should be experienced in advanced casino strategy before accepting these offers.

Deposit bonuses can be offered to both new and existing customers with offers for new customers generally being a lot bigger than existing customer offers. For example, Fable Casino offers new customers a whopping £1,500 in deposit bonuses whereas a typical deposit bonus for existing customers may be 'deposit £50, get a £50 bonus'.

Deposit bonuses almost always come with wagering requirements so it is important to read the terms and conditions of each bonus carefully so that you fully understand them. 

It is possible to profit from deposit bonuses, despite the high wagering requirements, but as mentioned above, there are advanced strategies to achieve this and so we recommend avoiding large deposit bonuses until you are more experienced.

3. Deposit Bonuses (low-risk)

You May also be offers smaller deposit bonuses as an existing customer which may be something like 'Wager £10, get £10' or 'Wager £10 and get 20 free spins'. Depending on the terms & conditions, these offers may be suitable for beginners and those who don't mind risking a small amount of their bank. The main thing to look out for are the wagering requirements. If the offer have very high wagering then you are unlikely to profit from them. However, many small reload bonuses require you to wager the bonus or winnings 1-5 times which may be worth the risk. 

knowing which offers to do

As a beginner, we'd recommend you start with the no-risk, no-deposit offers. These will allow you to get familiar with the casino games and some experience with casino bonuses. If you decide you wish to try deposit offers, start with low-risk offers until you are comfortable and experienced enough to risk higher amounts of money. 

So how do you know if a casino offer is worth doing?

The best way to decide if a casino offer is profitable is to use an EV Calculator. EV Calculators calculate the expected value of an offer based on the RTP (return to player) of the game you are playing. For example, if you are playing a slot with an RTP of 97%, you can expect to get back £97 for every £100 you wager. You won't receive £97 back every time you wager £100 but on average, that is how much the slot will pay out per £100. An EV calculator takes the RTP, stake amount, bonus amount and wagering requirements into consideration and will let you know if you can expect to make a profit over time with the offer. 

You can find EV calculators on many matched betting sites and we would recommend ProfitSquad.co.uk who are one of the leaders in advanced casino strategy and provide an excellent EV calculator to members which is probably the best currently available.

Important things to remember

  • Never risk more than you can afford to lose. Remember that you won't win on every casino offer and it isn't possible to predict how much you will win. Even if an EV calculator shows that an offer is +EV, it doesn't mean that you will come away with a profit every time. Just that you should expect to profit from that offer on average.
  • Always read the T&C's. Reading the terms and conditions of an offer is essential whether you're doing casino offers or sports offers. Casino offers can be a bit more complicated than sports offers so if you are unsure, ask on a matched betting forum for help.
  • Start with the no/low-risk offers. Don't jump in at the deep end with large deposit offers and risk more than you can afford. You may hear of people winning big amounts from casino offers but it doesn't happen every time and your money is at risk. Start with the no-deposit offers & free spins and decide at a later date if you wish to risk your own money.