Online Casino Bonuses and Promotions

Added On: July 4, 2009 at 2:32PM

Category: Bonuses and Promotions

Author: Arin Parnell

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One of the main reasons for people to play at online casinos is the large number of promotions and bonuses offered by them. Today, with the large number of online casinos that essentially offer similar features, the main distinguishing factor is the bonuses. It could be the difference between a successful casino and one that is barely breaking even. The casinos that offer more innovative and rewarding the bonuses and promotions have a greater chance of success in the online casino market.

The reason online casinos can afford to have more bonus schemes than land based casinos are because of the fact that they have much lower overheads. They are not required to pay rent of maintenance for their property, they have fewer staff, lesser marketing costs and fewer equipment. This allows them more funds for their promotions and bonuses.

The bonuses offered by an online casino can essentially by classified into six broad types based on when they are offered to the customer.

Welcome Bonuses: This is the first type of bonus that also goes by the name of Signup Bonus and New Player Bonus and is one of the most popular bonuses on the internet. On average, most casinos offer a signup bonus of $100, and many casinos offer their signup bonuses spread across the first few deposits. Many casinos also divide their bonuses into match bonuses or percentage bonuses, which vary according to the amount of money that is actually deposited by the player if casinos offer a 100% bonus – it is called a match bonus.

Reload Bonus: These bonuses are offered to entice players to continue to deposit at a particular casino. They are very similar to the welcome or match bonus and often are in the form of match bonuses.

No Deposit Bonuses: The No Deposit Bonus is offered to players for simply downloading the casino software to give the player an incentive to play at a certain casino. The average No Deposit Bonus is around $10, but there are many casinos that are willing to pay up to $20 to new players for simply signing up.

Preferred Deposit Bonuses: This bonus is available to players when they deposit their money from a particular payment method that is favored by the Casino. Usually Preferred Deposit Bonuses are between 5% and 15% of the amount deposited and the casinos usually have a cap on the amount of money you can receive with this bonus.

Loyalty Bonuses: This type of bonus is for players who have been gambling at a certain casino for a long time. The larger Loyalty Bonuses are usually dependent on the VIP status of the player, and the higher the status, the larger the bonus received.

High Roller Bonuses: The High Roller Bonus is aimed at players who deposit large amounts of money at the casino. There are many casinos that will offer a 50% bonus on any deposit above a certain amount.

Aside from these major bonuses, often casinos will offer special promotions that will reward the player for playing at their casino. These promotions include Prize Draws where players can win big prizes or money based on a lucky draw among players that fulfill certain conditions. Along with this there are the Daily, Weekly and Monthly promotions that have their own rules and regulations.

Many casinos even offer a Happy Hour Bonus where players are awarded a certain amount of money or some other incentive just for playing at a certain time during the day. This duration is often chosen randomly.

Along with these promotions, it has become common for casinos to offer certain Special bonuses that could reward the player with virtually anything like cruise tickets, concert tickets and much more. Many casinos have also started running birthday bonuses where they will reward customers on their birthdays.