Best Casino Bonuses

No Deposit Bonuses

No deposit bonuses are a rare but fantastic treat for any casino player, offering free funds or spins without having to make a deposit to claim them. While these new customer casino offers are a risk-free way to get started with a new operator, the bonus on offer is generally quite small, commonly amounting to around £5 in free cash or up to 50 free spins. Sites also tend to add considerable restrictions to such bonuses in order to protect the casino itself. 

These restrictions can include:

• Maximum winnings, capping the amount that can be won with your bonus, with anything exceeding the limit being returned to the house.
• Wagering requirements, stipulating that you must wager a specified amount of your own cash in order to make withdrawals with any winnings from your bonus.
• Game restrictions, limiting the number of games or game types you can use the bonus for.
• Time limits, placing an expiry date on your bonus.

Free Spins

Free spins are a fantastic way to get accustomed to slots whilst having the potential to land some winning paylines. Commonly attached to another offer, such as a matched deposit bonus, free spins usually range between 20 and 100 and are often limited to particular games or operators. Starburst and Gonzo’s Quest are common free spins slots, and NetEnt’s also a popular choice for operator-limited spins.

Your free spins are highly likely to be tied to certain restrictions affecting how you can play and what you can withdraw, so it’s always recommended to read the terms and conditions of an individual casino’s offer to make sure you fully understand how it works. You may not be able to withdraw winnings from your free spins, you may be subject to wagering requirements in order to make withdrawals, the offer could be subject to a winnings cap, and the spins themselves may relate to a game besides slots, for example.

Free Cash

Some online casinos set a fixed amount of free bonus cash when you make a qualifying deposit, rather than an amount that’s relative to your first deposit. You might see this advertised as ‘£20 free with your first deposit’. You’ll often be able to use free cash casino bonuses across the games library, although each site will state its restrictions in the bonus’s terms and conditions. These restrictions may be delivered as wagering requirements, game restrictions, a time limit for using the bonus, or a winnings cap on every wager with your bonus funds, to name just a few.

Reload Bonuses

Once you’re playing with a new casino, they’re going to be keen to keep you invested. Reload bonuses are a great avenue for this, meaning you get an additional bonus each time you make another deposit. Alternatively, you may need to deposit a certain amount over a specified period in order to qualify for a reload bonus. The shape these bonuses take varies between sites, with some offering a fixed amount extra when you meet the minimum deposit requirements, while others might offer a percentage of your deposit instead. You might also be gifted some free spins, or perhaps a free bet, in place of or in addition to your reload funds.

Reload bonuses are generally a player-friendly means of topping up your wallet, although they typically come with a few caveats. You may have to reload with a specific payment method in order to claim your bonus, and there will also likely be a minimum deposit you need to make to be eligible. Be sure to check out the terms and conditions of each bonus to make sure you don’t miss out.

Rebate Bonuses

Given that virtually all casino games come down to chance, no one is ever excluded from the possibility of losing money. Rebate bonuses, or cash back bonuses, give players a percentage of their losses back over a certain period of time. The exact percentage and specified period of time will vary between casino sites, but this bonus can help soften the blow if you’ve been on a losing streak.

For example, you may receive a 10% rebate for lost wagers on a site’s sportsbook, netting you a tenth of your wager back. If you wager £10, 10% of which is £1, you’ll get £1 returned to your wallet if you lose. If the rebate percentage is 5%, you’ll get 50p back. 

Unfortunately, rebate bonuses are usually non-withdrawable, but that’s not to say they aren’t a welcome sweetener if luck hasn’t been on your side lately.

VIP Rewards

VIP programmes and loyalty schemes see casino sites reward players with bonuses when they play with higher stakes over a certain time period. While some casino VIP programmes roll out the red carpet and reward players with bonus spins and free cash, others give them access to special perks. You could be endowed with extra funds or spins when your birthday rolls around, a dedicated customer support team to help manage your account, enhanced betting odds, or access to exclusive live casino games and tables, to name a few.

Comp Points

Complimentary points, or ‘comp’ points, work in a similar way to reward points at retailers. While the triggers and values vary between operators, it’s common to see a £10 wager accrue between 1 and 2 comp points at online casinos that offer them, such as 888, Gala, Sky Casino, Betfred, and many more. The points you earn may vary between games, and your points may become more valuable as you rise through a casino’s loyalty tiers. At Sky Casino, for example, first-level loyalty members can exchange 1000 points for £10, while fourth-level members can swap 800 points for £10. In real terms, you need to wager a fair amount in order to withdraw against your comp points, but they’re a welcome bankroll boost nonetheless.

Freeroll Tournaments

Freeroll tournaments—most commonly seen in poker but also available at some sites for blackjack, craps, slots, and more—are competitions that you can enter without a buy-in. Depending on your online casino of choice, freeroll tournaments may be available to everyone, or freeroll entry may be included in your first deposit’s welcome bonus. While buy-ins typically form the bulk of the prize pot in play money tournaments, freeroll tournaments at online sites may offer casino-donated prize money, merchandise prizes, entry to other tournaments, comp points, or non-withdrawable bonus funds for tournament winners.

Other Factors to Consider

Whilst selecting the best bonus for you, bear each of these factors in mind as they can all considerably impact the true value of your choice.

Cash Out Limits 

Cash out limits, or winnings caps, place a hard limit on the amount you can win when wagering with bonus funds or spins. For example, your 100% up to £25 matched deposit welcome bonus may be wager free, but it could come with a winnings cap of £100. Therefore, anything you win over £100 with your bonus funds will be unavailable for withdrawal, and will instead be returned to the house. As such, it’s worth keeping your winnings cap in mind as you play through your bonus. Even if you were lucky enough to win big on the jackpot, you would only get to keep a portion of the winnings if a cap is in place. 

Typically, low wagering and wager-free bonuses will have lower winnings caps than bonuses tied to wagering requirements, and those with tougher requirements might have no winnings cap applied at all.

For example, two very similar bonuses could end up looking like this:

          100% up to £25, no wagering, with a winnings cap of £100

          100% up to £25, 35x wagering, with no winnings cap

There is no hard and fast rule for how online casinos set winnings caps on particular bonuses, so be sure to check out the terms and conditions before settling on your bonus of choice.

Wagering Requirements

Wagering requirements are perhaps the most significant restriction you’ll come across with bonuses. Simply put, wagering requirements are used to calculate the amount you must wager before being able to withdraw against your bonus, and they’re in place to make it as safe for the casino to deliver bonus funds as is fair and reasonable.

For example, let’s say you have claimed a 100% up to £200 welcome bonus, netting a cool £200 in free funds, but the wagering requirements are 35x.

          £200 (bonus) x 35 (wagering requirements) = £7,000 (total that must be played)

Some online casinos include your initial deposit in this equation:

          [£200 (deposit) + £200 (bonus)] x 35 = £14,000

As you can see, it’s well worth paying attention to which method your casino of choice uses, as you could be faced with considerably steeper wagering requirements before being able to make withdrawals if they include your deposit in the calculation.

35x is a very common wagering requirement, with lower numbers generally considered ‘low wagering’ and higher figures constituting ‘high wagering’. The greater the value of the bonus, the likelier it is that they will have high wagering requirements, so be ready to wager a substantial amount for any matched deposit exceeding 100%.

Free spins are likely to come with wagering requirements attached too, although they work slightly differently. Let’s say you’ve taken your 25 free spins and won £100, but your spins were attached to a 35x wagering requirement. Your winnings, in place of bonus funds, are then the basis for your wagering requirements:

          £100 x 35 = £3,500

Game Weighting Restrictions

Completing bonus wagering requirements isn’t as straightforward as playing your favourite casino games a handful of times, as there are usually restrictions on which games contribute to wagering requirements. At many casino sites, wagers on most slot games contribute 100%, whilst bets on table games can count for as little as 10%. Some online casinos exclude certain games altogether from the wagering, so this is definitely something to read up on in the small print.

So, let’s say you’re working towards £7,000 in wagering requirements. If you’ve wagered £200 on slots weighted at 100%, the full £200 will be counted towards your journey to £7,000. Alternatively, you may have wagered £200 on blackjack weighted at 10%, meaning only £20 is counted towards your wagering requirements. If you’re dedicated to clearing your wagering requirements as quickly as possible, bear weighting in mind before picking a game to do it with.

Time Limits

Not only will you need to complete wagering requirements, but you’ll likely also need to do this within a specified time frame. Failure to complete requirements within this period means that bonus funds will expire, often along with any associated winnings. Some sites are generous and allow in excess of 30 days to complete the playthrough requirements for casino offers, but others give players just a handful of days.

Games Restrictions

Restrictions don’t simply apply to game weighting — some casinos also set rules as to which games players can use their bonus funds on. Obviously, free spins are restricted to slot games, but you might find that progressive jackpot games aren’t included in the offer. Likewise, you may only be able to use your free cash on certain versions of table games. Of course, you can still play other games, but you won’t be able to do so with your bonus funds.

With that in mind, game restrictions are definitely something to consider as you select your first deposit bonus. If you’re set on playing particular games, it would be a shame to find out too late that your bonus doesn’t cover them, so be sure to check the terms and conditions before signing up.

Payment Method Restrictions

Keep an eye out —  deposits made with certain payment methods may not be eligible to claim a casino bonus. It goes without saying that you’ll need to meet the minimum deposit requirements to claim, but how you deposit could also have a bearing on your eligibility. It’s often e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill that are excluded from casino bonuses, but some sites have bonuses exclusive to PayPal or debit card deposits, or even bank transfers through services such as Trustly. As with all other bonus restrictions, these details will be covered in the terms and conditions.

Casino Offers and Promotions

With so many top online casinos in the UK to choose from in October 2021, you can expect brand new casino promotions daily. This is great news for anyone looking to enhance their online casino gameplay with the latest giveaways, competitions, prize draws and free spins no deposit offers. Of course, making sure you don’t let any great deals slip between the cracks is a tall order. That’s where we come in: we’ve got them all in one place. You’ll find any casino promotion worth your time right here, as and when they become available.

We’ve also got all the need-to-know information on promotion eligibility, wagering requirements and, most importantly, how to claim your bonuses. Keep your eyes peeled to make sure you snap up October 2021’s best UK casino offers before they expire.