The UK's Best Casino Bonuses 2022

What is a Casino Bonus?

With so many operators and casino sites to choose from, new players, and those looking for a fresh experience, are never short of options when seeking out a new online casino. On the other side of the fence, sites are always on the hunt for new members.

To differentiate themselves from the competition and incentivise new players to give them a go, online casinos offer welcome bonuses for first-time deposits, along with ongoing promotions and bonus schemes for regular players.

Why are Casino Bonuses Important?

When it comes to selecting a new casino to play with, it’s tough to find clear-cut reasons to select one casino with a great offering over another. Bonuses can be a worthy deciding factor, particularly as the free funds you stand to enjoy can be a great avenue to try out a new site’s games without having to wager much, if any, of your own cash.

If there’s a particular software provider represented in a games library that you’re keen to test out, or just new games in general, doing so with bonus money makes a lot of sense. Not only that, but if you’re entirely new to online gambling, bonuses are a great way to ease yourself in with minimised personal risk. 

Why Do Casinos Offer Bonuses?

You might be wondering why online casinos are so keen to hand out free incentives to players, and the answer ultimately lies in how fierce the competition is.

There are countless online casinos and gambling sites out there that are all vying for your custom in May 2022, and welcome bonuses are a great, player-friendly way for sites to differentiate themselves and win your registration.

Once you’re through the door, you can also expect to be offered ongoing bonuses and promotions to keep you invested for reasons beyond great game selections, snappy user interfaces, and top notch customer service. 

Types of Online Casino Bonus

There’s an extensive range of bonuses offered by various operators in May 2022, and they each work in their own way. Read on for a breakdown of the various types of casino offers and what you can expect from each one.

Deposit Bonus

A matched deposit welcome bonus sees casinos match your first deposit with additional cash at a specified rate. Matched deposit bonuses are displayed using a percentage to show how much bonus cash you could earn, ranging from 25% up to 500% at some online casinos.

There’s often a limit to how much you can earn, so you might see these advertised as something along the lines of ‘200% up to £200’. In this case, the most you can receive in bonus funds is £200. These bonuses are particularly popular because the funds can generally be used across a wide variety of casino games.

So, let’s say you deposit £50 with this deal, netting you a 200% bonus of £100 in bonus cash for a total of £150 to play with. Deposit £100 and you’ll have £300 to play with. Of course, you can deposit more than £100, but you won’t receive any more than the maximum bonus of £200.

Some sites take matched deposit bonuses one step further, offering free spins as part of the same bonus package. This means that players land bonus cash as well as being able to spin the reels on video slots for free. Matched deposit casino bonuses, are currently one of the most popular casino offers in the UK right now.

What Type of Casino Bonus Should I Choose?

Choosing the best casino bonus can be tough, particularly when there are so many great and varied options out there in May 2022. If you’re struggling to settle on a casino offer, or you’re wondering which one is best for you, your experience, and your preferred games, take a look below.

New to Online Casinos

If you’re taking your first steps into the world of online casinos, no deposit bonuses, free spins, and low wagering bonuses will likely appeal most.

These bonuses tend to be low value, but they’re also low risk, and you’ll be able to try out the plethora of casino games and betting verticals available without having to wager much, if any, of your own cash.

Experienced with Online Casinos

If you’re already comfortable with online casinos and have a good handle on your favourite games and gambling strategies, you’re probably more likely to be happy to tackle the higher wagering requirements of larger matched deposit bonuses.

These bonuses are typically coupled with free spins, which is always a welcome perk. With all that being said, you may still be more inclined towards bonuses with low wagering requirements, in which case you’re best off looking for no deposit and low wagering bonuses, or dedicated spins offers if you’re particularly keen on slots.

Casino Aficionados 

For the high-rollers out there, matched deposit bonuses are likely to be your first choice of bonus. High wagering requirements aren’t necessarily an issue if you play with big sums of cash, and so the bankroll boost of a particularly generous welcome bonus—let’s say in the shape of 100% up to £500 and above—is likely to appeal most to you.

You’ll also want to keep an eye on VIP programmes and their ongoing bonuses, as the upper echelons of tiered VIP systems are more likely to be within your grasp. If your casino of choice offers an invite-only VIP programme, it’s worth researching the conditions for an invite if they’re publicly available. 

Poker Players

If you’re a keen poker player, sites offering freeroll tournaments alongside eligible matched deposit bonuses are likely to be well-suited to your tastes.

Slots Fanatics

Online slots are arguably the most popular online casino game, and there’s never any shortage of free spins options to select from when you’re picking a welcome bonus from the pack.

Ongoing promotions are worth researching as well, as many online casinos offer weekly or even daily injection of free spins to play with. Be sure to read the terms and conditions to make sure your free spins are eligible for use on your favourite slots.

How to Choose the Best Casino Bonuses

Our quick guide to signing up for the best casino bonuses of May 2022 will have you covered process-wise across the full selection of sites listed on TopRatedCasinos.

• Read Our Guide on Casino Bonuses

Before you get started, take a look at the quick explainers above on the different bonuses available, and which type of bonus is best suited to particular players.

• Compare Casinos, Bonuses, and T&Cs

Next, take a look through our rankings and reviews of May 2022’s best online casinos, along with details of the bonuses they offer. The terms and conditions of each bonus is included in our leaderboards, making it easy to compare the best offerings and how their bonuses will work in practice.

• Sign Up and Opt-In

Once you’ve settled on an operator, click through to their site and sign up with your details. Be sure to opt-in to the casino bonus offer, and keep an eye on the terms and conditions for eligibility.

• Make Your First Deposit

Once you’re signed up and have opted in for the welcome bonus, head over to the cashier page to make your first deposit to your new account. Make sure that your payment method is eligible for the offer, and ensure you fulfil any minimum deposit requirements too.

• Start Playing

You’re all set to get started with your new online casino.

How to Make the Most of Your Online Casino Bonus

Once you’ve received your casino bonus, what’s the best way to use it? Check out some of the different bonus types, along with our tips for each of them, below.

Whether you’ve bagged a matched deposit, a handful of free spins, or you’re taking advantage of an ongoing loyalty scheme, we’ve outlined some tips and tricks to help you get more mileage out of an offer and maybe even walk away with a profit. 

Matched Deposits – When the Wagering Requirements are Steep

With any sign-up bonus, you should always be checking the wagering requirements to gauge whether you’re getting a good deal or if it’s just too good to be true. That’s often the case with large matched deposit bonuses. The higher the wagering requirements, the less likely you’ll be able to withdraw any resulting winnings. 

Wagering requirements run a pretty wide gamut. The best bonuses might have none at all, or lower requirements of around 5–10x the offer’s value. On the higher end, you could see 50x or more. For a matched deposit of £100, that means you’d have to play through £5,000 of your own cash before you could withdraw any winnings resulting from the bonus — for many players, that’s much more than their budget allows.

If you’ve been given a matched deposit bonus with particularly steep wagering requirements, cashing it out is unlikely. Instead, you’re better off treating it as a risk-free way to familiarise yourself with the online casino and its games. Want to try out baccarat or sic bo but don’t know the rules? Looking to perfect your blackjack strategy to minimise the house edge? By using your bonus credit, you can play without staking your own cash. 

Slots and Free Spins – RTP and Variance

Slots fanatics love to receive free spins — these bonuses let you play the reels at an online casino without betting your own money, but you’ll still have a chance to win real cash. If you want to maximise your chances of walking away with some profits, there are a couple of considerations to make before you play.

First, you should pick a slot with a high Return to Player (RTP) percentage. The RTP tells you how much a slot pays out compared to what players put in. Take a slot machine with a 95% RTP — for every £100 that goes in, the slot pays £95 back out to players. Although the numbers are theoretical and calculated over millions of spins, slots with higher RTPs pay out more over the long run. 

You also need to consider the volatility of a slot. Volatility, also known as variance, describes how often and how much a slot pays out. Slots with lower volatility pay out more often but in smaller amounts, whereas more volatile slots pay out less often but the amounts will be larger. 

Let’s say you have 10 free spins. You’re more likely to hit during those 10 spins if you play a slot with lower variance, so you’ve got a higher chance of walking away with a little bit of cash. Always check the terms and conditions of the free spins, as they might be limited to particular games. 

No Wagering Bonuses and Low Wagering Offers

Savvy online gamblers are always on the lookout for no or low wagering bonuses. These are offers — they could be matched deposits or free spins — where the wagering requirements are either low or nothing at all, meaning you’ve got a much better chance of cashing out some winnings. 

The lower wagering requirements mean you’ll have to play through less of your own cash before any winnings can be withdrawn. For example, if there’s a 5x wagering requirement for a £50 bonus, you’ll have to play through £250 in order to withdraw. If there are no wagering requirements at all, any lucky wins can be cashed out straight away. 

Look for slots with a high RTP, or table games like single-deck blackjack — when played with perfect strategy, you can minimise the house edge to around 0.5%. Theoretically, this gives you the best probability of playing through your wagering requirements while minimising your losses. Of course, the actual return of your gameplay session won’t necessary match the RTP.  

Rebate Offers and Cashback

Cashbacks and rebates are a great way to make your bankroll go further. They’re paid as a percentage of your total stakes or losses over a given period up to a maximum amount — for example, you might be able to claim 10% daily up to £100. Not all casinos offer rebates, and the terms and conditions between sites can vary wildly, so it’s important to read them thoroughly in order to make the most of the bonus.

Some sites like All British Casino offer their rebates as cash with no restrictions. Others might give it in the form of bonus credit which can’t be directly withdrawn. As with all bonuses, you should watch out for wagering requirements — as with free spins or matched deposits, the best way to meet these is by playing games with a low house edge. Don’t forget to check whether the cashback credit expires after a certain period of time.

Your Guide to Casino Promotions

Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about online casino promotions and how they work in May 2022.

New Casino Game Promotions

What better way to celebrate the release of a new game than a brand new casino offer? Free spins and leaderboard promotions are a common way for casinos to generate some buzz around the latest titles, and they’re usually targeted at online slot players.

If you’re a fan of spinning reels, you might be able to snag extra spins to use on some of the latest additions to your favourite casino’s game collection.

Casino Giveaways

While most promotions offer rewards such as online casino bonuses and free spins, giveaways open the door to some serious VIP treatment. These can range from all-inclusive luxury getaways and huge cash giveaways to tickets for some of the biggest sporting events of the year.

Giveaways are easily accessible for most players too – you’ll usually only need to place wagers on a predetermined selection of games to be in with a chance of winning a prize.

Casino Competitions

Some giveaways see winners drawn at random, while others function in a more competitive fashion, featuring a leaderboard. This kind of promotion is best suited to high rollers, as your place on the leaderboard is usually determined by the total amount staked.

These promotions usually end with more than one winner too, with cash prizes, bonuses and free spins often shared amongst hundreds of players.

Frequent Rewards

New slots promotions and giveaways only come around every so often. Keeping your eyes on our casino offers feed is one way to make sure you never miss out on the biggest deals, but there are some casinos that award players with bonus offers as part of their regular schedule.

Pick out the right casino and you could claim daily free spins, reload bonuses and even weekly cashback offers.

Casino Bonus Payout Percentage

Bonus payout percentages can be the most eye-catching part of our casino leaderboards, but it’s worth noting that bigger is not necessarily better for every player. Because wagering requirements come into play for most lucrative welcome bonuses, the biggest payout percentages often have the most sizeable requirements to hit before making withdrawals.

100% is by far the most common three-figure payout percentage you’ll come across, but operators occasionally raise the stakes, and consequently the wagering requirements, considerably. Here’s a quick look at how payout percentages translate into wagering requirements at 50x wagering:

Matched % — (Deposit + Bonus) x wagering = Total wagering requirements

          100% — (£50 + £50) x 50 = £5,000 

          200% — (£50 + £100) x 50 = £7,500 

          300% — (£50 + £150) x 50 = £10,000

          400% — (£50 + £200) x 50 = £12,500

          500% — (£50 + £250) x 50 = £15,000

As you can see, the greater the percentage the more considerable the wagering requirements, potentially necessitating a huge amount of cumulative deposits if you’re hoping to make withdrawals against your bonus.

For high-rollers, or those who purely play for fun, the prospect of £7,500+ wagering requirements may not be too off-putting. For everyone else, it’s something to keep in mind when you’re selecting your bonus.