Welcome Bonus – Australian Online Casinos 2018
A Welcome Bonus also called a Sign-up Bonus, is a marketing tool used by online casinos to attract and bring in new players. The Welcome Bonus is given to all new players after signing up to the casino and making their first deposit into their casino account. It offers newbies a chance to earn their first freebie which they can use to play for longer.
How Does a Welcome Bonus work?
Welcome Bonuses come in various forms, but the most popular one is the ‘deposit match bonus.’ With this type, players are given a bonus that is matched to the amount of the deposit to a certain percentage. The deposit could be matched by 50%, 75%, 100%, or 200%, for example.
A Sign-up bonus may also include Free Spins on specific games. This is quite common among online casinos. In this case, the casino will offer a percentage deposit match and a specified number of Free Spins on one of their top performing games, usually an online pokie.
Let’s take for instance; you receive a 100% up to AU$500 Welcome Bonus. You may be allowed to claim this over three to five deposits or all at once. If it is claimable over several deposits, the online casino will usually provide a breakdown or of the bonus structure. If you claim it at once, depositing AU$500, then you will receive 500 Bonus credits. If you deposit AU$300, then the bonus will be 300. If you deposit AU$650, then your bonus will be 500.
Tips for Choosing Your Welcome Bonus
When you are choosing an online casino to play at, you should also look at the Welcome Deposit Bonus they offer. This will help you make sure you get the best bonus. Also, a Welcome Bonus can be an indication of the kind of gaming experience you can expect from the casino as a whole.
Look out for the best Welcome Bonus on the market. Online casinos compete heavily on bonuses, so they will ordinarily try to offer as high bonuses as possible. However, the best Welcome Bonus is not necessarily the highest. Look through their terms and conditions for requirements. These may reveal the unattractiveness of bonuses that initially looked good or the greatness of a bonus you may have doubted before.
To get the most out of your welcome deposit bonus, deposit the maximum limit offered on that bonus. For example, if the Welcome Bonus is 100% up to AU$500, then try to deposit AU$500.
Make sure you understand the bonus you are getting. Do not confuse your Welcome Bonus with a No Deposit Bonus. The Welcome Bonus requires you to make a deposit into your casino account in before you can claim it, while a No Deposit Bonus needs no deposit to redeem it.
There are two kinds of Welcome Bonuses; Cashable and Non-Cashable Welcome Bonuses. Be sure to look at the type you are choosing so that you are not confused about what it means for you. Select the one you are happy with. With Cashable Welcome Bonuses, you are allowed to keep the winnings and the bonus amount after meeting the wagering requirements, while with Non-Cashable ones, you cannot keep the bonus amount, but you can use the bonus to wager and win.
Cashing Out a Welcome Bonus
To cash out your Sign-up Bonus, you need to meet the stipulated requirements. These requirements differ from one casino to another, but they will be written within the T’s and C’s section of the bonus, or on the general page that deals with Terms, Conditions and Wagering Requirements on the online casino’s website. For instance, the casino may require you to wager the Welcome Bonus a number of times, perhaps 30 or 50 times before you can cash out your bonus winnings.
Wagering Requirements that Apply to Welcome Bonuses
Every online casino has Terms and Conditions, and within these are Wagering Requirements for the different offers they give. So if you asked yourself “what’s the catch?” after being offered a bonus, this is it.
Wagering requirements are common in casinos and are nothing to be put off by, as long as they are reasonable. The online casino needs players to wager their Welcome Bonus around several times before they can be allowed to claim the winnings collected during gameplay. They may set a wagering requirement of x10, x30, 0r x50, and some even go up to x70 depending on the amount of the offer.
FAQs on Welcome Bonuses
What exactly is a Welcome Bonus?
A Welcome Bonus is an offer to new players to receive a bonus following their first deposit(s) to the casino. It is an acquisition marketing tool used to attract prospective players to sign-up to the casino, hence often also referred to as ‘sign-up’ bonuses.
How do Welcome Bonuses work?
Welcome Bonuses are offered on a player’s initial deposit, and sometimes on a few of the subsequent bonuses, perhaps up to three or four. So it may be claimed all at once over one deposit, or split over a few deposits. The online casino will display the Welcome Bonus structure. Welcome Bonuses are normally in the form of a percentage deposit match, for example, 75% up to AU$150, and may even include Free Spins on a pokie.
Do I need to make a deposit to claim my Sign-up Bonus?
Yes. Think of Welcome Bonuses as a reward for making your first fund deposit into your casino account. So that means, you would have to have deposited some money before your bonus can be activated. Try to deposit the maximum amount stipulated on the offer to get the most out of it.
Will I get a Welcome Bonus on Mobile Casino?
Yes, in general, a Mobile Casino will offer its players Welcome Bonuses the same way they do for their desktop players. The Welcome Bonus package may differ in certain elements to suit the mobile platform, however.
Am I allowed to withdraw my Welcome Bonus?
Generally yes. But the withdrawal details of it depend on the type of Welcome Bonus or online casino you chose. There are two types of Welcome Bonuses; Cashable ones, where you can cash out both the initial bonus amount offered and the winnings you got from playing with them, and Non-Cashable, which only allow you to withdraw your winnings.
Should I go for the biggest Welcome Bonus I can find?
Not really. Some Welcome Bonus are big and attractive at first sight, but when you take a look at the attached wagering or playthrough requirements, you may realise that they are not worth it. Read the T’s and C’s to make sure the bonus is not going to cost way more than what you will eventually get out of it.