Casino bonuses. Free casino money, online casino promotions, free spins casino offers, free casino cash… In 2020, these are just a number of the ways in which online casinos get new players through their doors.
The UK casino industry is perhaps the most competitive in the world, and this is down to the fact that most of the big players started out decades and decades ago as bookmakers. Where smaller sites would have been set up in conjunction with the internet boom and grew over time, UK online casinos with this backing entered the fray with all guns blazing.
From the perspective of an online casino, therefore, eliminating competition and getting bums on seats, so to speak, was the main aim. By attracting players, these companies could then draw their attention to their games. Players would then, assumingly, spend their money on those same games. The casino would profit from more players depositing money on their site and grow as a result. And this is exactly what happened.
Let’s have a closer look at the different type of UK casino bonuses, free casino money, free spins and best online casino promotions in 2020.
UK Casino Bonuses – Best Online Casino Bonus Offers 2020
Best way to play your chances with a UK online casino bonus
Happy days! You’ve signed up at a UK online casino, and it’s a good one, and now you can see a big bulge in your balance. This is your welcome bonus. It’s trailed to you like free money, but most experienced players know that things are a little more complicated than that, and it’s worth taking a bit of time to find out how to make the most out of this cash boost.
Always read the UK online casino bonus small print
Small print is boring. It’s small because it usually goes on for thousands of years, and the casino companies want to make it look as unimportant as possible. Compare the size of the headline font that screams out: 100% BONUS ON FIRST DEPOSITS. If you’re a wise online video slots fan though you will take the time to read, if not all, then at least some key points in the casino bonus small print.
Wagering requirements count!
After you’ve satisfied yourself that you’re at a safe, legal, legit site then it’s time to scan the terms and conditions. Make sure you know what the wagering requirements are. A wagering requirement – sometimes called “play through” – is a multiple of the original deposit you make that you must deposit into your account of your own money before you can withdraw the money earned with your bonus money.
Details
Sometimes a site will take bonus money first, sometimes it will charge against money that you’ve deposited first. If you want to work through your wagering requirement quickly, then you should make sure you know how this works and plan your further deposits accordingly. The next thing to check is “weighting”. Weighting means that the money you spend at a site is valued at different levels on different games.
How to play through a UK casino bonus
Let’s look at an example.
These figures are made up in order to make the sums simple, but they’re not unrealistic for a UK casino site.
Let’s say you deposit £10 at a site with a 100% welcome bonus, with a wagering requirement on the bonus only (some sites use your balance total) of 10 times. And you love blackjack, and will only play that game, and find that it has a weighting of 10% on a play-through.
What does that mean? You’ll be given £10 for free. But before you can cash out any money you win with that £10 you’ll need to deposit 10 times your bonus – so £100 – and because you’re playing blackjack, each £10 you deposit is only worth £1, so to clear that bonus will take: 10 x 10 x 10, so £1,000 for a £10 bonus.
That’s still free money, but you need to be aware of this, and to plan your initial deposit, your subsequent deposits and your game schedule (lots of games, usually slots) are worth 100% for a play-through.
Better still, forget the money in the welcome bonus, and consider it as an expendable free-tour deal. If you do come out of it with some winnings then great! Otherwise… you don’t lose anything with that expectation.
How to claim the best casino bonuses in 2020
The casino business remains as competitive as ever. Not a day goes by that there isn’t a new online video slot (or 10!) to review or a rebrand or redesign to look over. UK casino sites are cropping up all the time, with innovations in design, mobile-friendly facilities, payment processing and more driving the industry forward. This is excellent news for UK casino players. Competition and innovation in a growing market mean that the pressure is on for casinos to attract and keep players by offering super-high-quality services – if they don’t, the player can easily log off and check out another site.
Don’t stay still!
It also means players need to be active consumers. Occasionally, news stories crop up about how easily consumers settle for bad service and high bills in energy, banking, and other sectors. But there is a cost to this, and the same is true for gamblers. If you stay with a site you know, playing a game you like then you might be missing out on the same game, but with 10 free spins, at a new site.
So with a lot going on, it’s important to keep an eye on sites like CasinoExpert who do the hard work of scanning the industry for the movers and shakers and the best casino bonuses that you need to keep an eye on. It’s a full-time job, and it’s baffling for an ordinary punter to keep on top of this fast-moving and constantly changing sector.
New, new, new!
One way to claim the best casino bonuses in 2020 is to keep your eye open for new sites, new games, new payment systems and any other product launch you can find. A new product needs people to try it out – they’re fighting your inertia, so make them work to get you moving! A new site shouldn’t get your custom just on the basis of having some good games. No, you need to keep your eyes open for the site with the good games and a 200% welcome bonus, and 20 free spins, and a prize draw, and ongoing promotions to keep you on board.
Mondays, weekends, and any special holidays – Easter, Christmas, you name it… – are all linked with an increase in promotional activity from casinos and games companies. Be a demanding customer, and keep your eyes out for innovation!
Safety does it
Novelty is wonderful, but you must always remember that to claim the best casino bonuses in 2020 you need to be able to safely claim them and cash them out. In all honesty, nobody reads all the small print, but you must at least ensure that the online casino sites you choose are properly licensed to operate in your jurisdiction, that the links they provide to their licences are up to date, and that the payment partners they claim reciprocate the deal! Keep your head on and your eyes open and you’ll be enjoying fantastic UK casino bonuses throughout 2020.
How to make real money from free casino money
This might be the £10 million question. And it might have the £1.50 answer! Maybe not, who can tell, as this is – whatever any tells you – at its heart a game of chance. So turning free casino money online into actual real money is to a large extent in the lap of the gods, but, as with every apparently random thing, there are things you can do to get the most out of your experience.
How to find free casino money
Free casino money is surprisingly easy to come by. Up to a point. Almost every casino site worth its salt will offer you free casino money to sign up. Often this will be quite large amounts, and it’s usually expressed as a percentage of the amount you fund your account with 100%, 200% and so on. The higher the better of course, though do factor in any other offers, and give things like free spins an actual monetary value so that you can compare offers more accurately.
The small print
If you’re an experienced casino user you’ll know that things are rarely so simple as an offer of free casino money. A moment’s thought and you’ll realise that any business that simply handed out free casino cash would go bust faster than Donald Trump (allegedly did).
So you need to check the small print
The chief limit on your free casino cash will usually be on how much you must spend at the site before you can cash out the money you have won with your welcome bonus. If you are never allowed to cash it out then you should probably walk on and check out another site. These rules are often called “Play Through”, and might demand that you spend five times the amount of your welcome bonus before you can cash it out. Check for extra limits that might reduce the value of money you spend on some games – the most popular usually – in making this calculation.
There is no trick
Beyond that, there is really no trick to this. Online casino bonuses are a device to keep you at a site, so the best way to make the most out of them – and potentially turn them into large amounts of real cash – is to recognise this and to pick a site that offers you a good selection of games you will enjoy playing for a decent length of time. If those games have good winning potential then that’s even better. But if you are looking for a trick that can do better than skilful, thoughtful play across a range of games then you’ll probably be on your way to a frustrating gaming experience. You can make real casino money from free casino money, but anyone who promises you an easy and fool-proof way of doing it is tricking you and will disappoint you.
Casino Bonuses History
Casino bonuses can be traced back to the complimentary gifts which were given to players in landbased casinos to keep them playing, or simply get them in there in the first place.
In Las Vegas, for example, the number of casinos operating led to some pretty full-on competition among the runners of them. In order to make their casino more attractive, they offered little bonuses and free food and drink for pumping money into slots or at the tables. As time went by, casinos began offering more than just free food and drinks.
The competition led to free hotel rooms, tickets for shows, excursions, and bonus money to play with. Eventually, the VIP and loyalty programmes saw even more ridiculous prizes and awards bestowed on players. Casino comps eventually grew to the point that they were expected.
With the growth of online casinos by the mid-late 2000s, some players needed more convincing than others when it came to playing online. If a player could simply walk into a landbased casino and grab himself all kinds of awards, why would that same player sign up to play over the internet? Of course, by this time, the welcome bonus was a well-known thing.
With the level of competition which has emerged over the past decade or so, a welcome bonus doesn’t always cut it. Online casinos are almost falling over themselves for the business of every player they can get their hands on.
From the average Joe who spends a nominal amount every month, to rich VIPs and high-rollers who think nothing of pumping thousands into a casino, offers to sign up target players with juicier promotions. Things look set to even get bigger as time goes on and competition gets bigger.
The casinos with more clout will certainly be able to afford the larger outlay, which means better bonuses. It is seen as an investment for these larger sites, as they believe that they will get plenty more back in return. In this guide, we will not attempt to play clairvoyant and attempt to predict what amazing offers there are out there. Instead, we will take a look at the most common bonuses and what you can expect to get your hands on when signing up for a new casino, or as an existing player.
Types of UK Casino Bonuses in 2020
Online casino bonuses which are offered to players to sign up come under the category of casino welcome bonuses. In essence, these are the marketing ploy which the casino engages in, for the purpose of attracting players to a casino.
The casino Welcome bonus can consist of many things, including a match deposit bonus, free casino cash, chips to use on games, free spins, and other forms of free casino money offers. Almost every single online casino in operation today provides a casino welcome bonus or welcome package of some sort. As the aim of the game is to get your attention, these casino sign up bonuses can often appear amazingly generous.
Some online casino offers, on the other hand, do not look as generous but can be better-valued than the ones which look better from a distance. New UK players tend to get the same amount of their first deposit across the board. That is, of course, unless you are bringing a lot of revenue their way.
For the most part, however, casinos do offer that one big welcome casino offer. Sometimes they can also offer to double or treble the first deposit. It does depend on the casino so make sure you know what is out there before you try and guess if it is a good offer or not.
Terms, conditions, and limits can give a great indication of what the casino is likely to have in terms of their intentions for the use of a bonus. It is always up to the casino to decide what type of free casino money type of bonus to give away.
Free No Deposit Casino Bonuses
If welcome bonuses are the cake for many, then no deposit casino bonuses are the cherry on top. These are rare, so welcome packages with no deposit bonuses are the most desirable of the lot, for this reason. Just because there is no deposit required does not mean that there will be no restrictions on the bonuses.
Turnover requirements will be written into the terms and conditions, but this is far from a bad thing. Terms and conditions are natural, although some will naturally be better than others. Much like other types of online casino bonuses, they tend to be represented as a multiple of the amount of the deposit, bonus, or a combination of both. No deposit casino bonuses are seen as the best way to get a little momentum behind you when playing at a casino for the first time.
Example of a great casino bonus in 2020
In terms of bonuses and online casino promotions, some UK gambling sites tend to place more emphasis on making a pretty big effort. These casinos understand that both acquiring new customers and planning to retain them are equally as important, as it can cost 5 times more to attract a new player as it can to keep one.
Any kind of recognition or reward is likely to draw the player’s interest, so for a number of reasons, a new player will want to see what a casino has to offer before they go ahead and dedicate to signing up. A great welcome package, therefore, places more emphasis on what the player can hope to earn in time as well as immediately. While not all great casinos offer great welcome bonuses, it certainly helps. The example below is what we consider to be a great UK casino bonus in 2020:
Example of a UK casino sign up bonus you should take:
- 100% bonus up to the predetermined amount on your 1st deposit (first deposit bonus casino);
- 75% bonus up to the predetermined amount on your 2nd deposit (reload casino bonus);
- 50% bonus up to the predetermined amount on your 3rd deposit (reload casino bonus);
- 25% bonus up to the predetermined amount on your 4th deposit (reload casino bonus).
Aside from the casino sign up bonus, the gambling site that would produce this welcome package would also draw attention to their other games, including those under the live casino category:
- £5 Live Casino chip
Casino Cashback
- 10% on all deposits over a predetermined amount
Free Spins
- 15 Free Spins to Play on Slots
What makes a poor casino bonus?
That being said, there are online casino promotions which may look excellent from a distance but are anything but, when looked at closely. The example above could be considered a poor casino bonus if the turnover/wagering requirements were high and there was nothing in the form of a bonus for loyalty or simply for being an existing player. Once again, it is important to look through bonuses and the best way to get a grasp of them is to read through the terms and conditions before you sign up.
Casino Bonus Codes
If you want to bring in online slots players then put up a sign with “Casino Bonus Codes” on it!
Pretty much every casino offers a bonus code of some sort or another. Attracting new players – and then keeping them at your site and playing – is a key part of running a successful site.
If you find a site without a casino bonus then you’ve either found a site that’s so good it doesn’t need one, or one that’s so bad that it’s given up. Collecting casino bonuses is usually easy enough. You just have to be a new player, for welcome bonuses, or an established member, for ongoing bonuses.
This second category isn’t to be sniffed at, and, while it’s good to move around from time to time, don’t forget to pick up the bonuses you’re offered for your loyalty too.
The magic numbers
Casinos also operate huge marketing operations that spread out around the web. This is where casino bonus codes come in. Sites like CasinoExpert succeed because they offer excellent quality information to players, but if they can also send some customers to the casino then even better. And one brilliant way to do that is to offer online casino bonus codes.
Why casino bonus codes?
Casino bonus codes are brilliant for casinos. They tie a player in to signing up and completing a deposit process, or maybe just handing over some contact details during which they input the casino bonus code. So, as you would (or should) with any marketing initiative, bear in mind that you are giving something to the casino in return for something from them. Use this to assess if the casino bonus code is worth using.
Most of them will be because they amount to some form of free casino money, but in a business sector that is absolutely packed with such offers, you can afford to be picky and pick the very best casino bonus codes that suit your needs and deliver you the best games for the best value.
Other forms of free casino money online
A casino may also offer other types of free casino money offers such as VIP casino bonuses and comp points, in addition to a free bet (providing they have a sports betting site, too). These online casino promotions can be enough to really bolster up their player numbers and get themselves ahead of the competition in so many ways.
The best casino bonuses in the UK are not just based on what is offered but is also judged on the playthrough/turnover requirements. All online casino bonuses carry a wagering/playthrough requirement in some form or another. Typically, this is represented as a percentage of the deposit, the bonus or the combined sum of the deposit and bonus against the deposit made.
In the UK, the fair turnover requirement for the best online casino bonuses is somewhere in the region of 20% – 35%. Anything above 40% is considered poor, while anything under 20% is generally accepted as being good.
Existing player bonuses
Not all bonuses are created with new players in mind. If you have signed up to play at a casino, and intend to stick around, why not sample what kind of bonuses you may be entitled to?
Casino Reload Bonus
The casino Reload bonuses are designed for players who have already been on the books of a casino and availed of their initial offers. Casino Reload bonuses are what you can claim either as part of a welcome package or as an add-on if you are considered a high-roller.
There are three types of casino reload bonuses, which can be part of a package offered to a new player for your first deposit, those which can be triggered via a promotional code, and those offered to old customers for subsequent deposits. Yes, there are more often than not wagering requirements, and you can read through the terms and conditions before you sign up.
Online casino deposit bonuses
As should be pretty common knowledge by now, a casino wants to encourage players to deposit more or double down on what they contribute. Online casino deposit bonuses are, therefore, designed for casino players to promote as much activity as they can around the site with games which they might not have otherwise tried and liked.
As with all casino bonuses, there will be terms and conditions to adhere to before you can turn these into real cash. It is worth noting that there are many different types of casino deposit bonuses out there, with the majority of these bonuses offered to new players. They can be periodical, meaning you can get these every week, month, or quarter, and even sometimes on a specific day.
Free Spins
Another common bonus for UK players of slots is free spins, which are designed exclusively for playing slot games. You may find an offer lurking in your email’s inbox. You may also receive a courtesy call with an offer of free spins, or receive them while playing slots. They can also be as part of a welcome package and your existing customer offers.
Casino free spins can carry requirements, such as conditions which state that winnings have a cap or something similar. Make sure that, before you accept free spins, that the terms and conditions don’t affect your real money casino activity or require anything more than you to play through a certain amount.
Live Casino Bonuses
Existing customers who have not shown any real interest in the live casino games of a company may be given a little food for thought or a gentle bit of persuasion. The most common way to do this is by offering them a free chip, or amount, which they can use to play blackjack, roulette, or any other table game which takes their fancy. There are also loyalty points, VIP bonuses, and plenty more.
VIP/High Roller Bonuses
Those who play with high stakes can almost always get themselves a whole host of extras, including cashback on losses, instant withdrawals, comp points, holidays, free spins bonus points and comps which would make the average player green with envy. Many casinos assign each high roller or VIP an account manager or personal representative, who provides all these extra goodies. High rollers and VIPs will always receive more than the average punter, as they bring more to the table (pun intended).
In Conclusion
So there you have it, the bonuses which you can expect to earn at an online casino. Even if you are planning on starting small, maybe, just maybe, one day you can win enough to see you bagging all those extra VIP goodies.
