Top UK Reload Bonus Casinos

What is a Reload Bonus? 

A reload bonus is a casino bonus offered to an existing customer when they deposit money into their online casino account. Reload bonuses typically come as a cash percentage of the deposited amount, but increasingly, casino reload bonuses are being offered in various different forms – including free spins, free bets, and cashback offers.

Reload bonuses are usually offered to customers on a weekly or monthly basis, or as part of a one-off promotional event. In other cases, casinos structure their reload bonuses to build on their welcome bonus offer, laying out a further one, two, or possibly five subsequent reload bonuses that will be made available after you’ve signed up and started  playing. 

At other casinos, reload bonuses are based on loyalty systems through which bonuses improve over time for players who regularly take advantage of them. 

If a welcome bonus is a device used by online casinos to get new players through the door, then a reload bonus is designed to help retain these players once they’re in. A reload bonus can be seen as a means of settling the customer – keeping the customer invested and distracting them from attractive welcome bonuses at other online casinos. There are plenty of rewards to attract new customers, but the best casinos reward returning customers as well. Reload bonuses are just one example of these rewards for existing customers. 

Types of Reload Bonuses

Reload bonuses come in many different forms and are often coupled to other familiar bonus offers. If you’re an experienced player at online casinos, you’ll recognise many of these bonuses, but let’s run through the most common bonus types and see how they relate to a reload bonus. 

Free Spins

A reload bonus offered as free spins is just that: make a deposit to your account and gain a specified number of free spins alongside it. This offer will feature prominently at casinos that offer slot games. As part of the conditions of the reload bonus, these free spins may only be applicable at one specific game. 

Matched Deposits

These bonuses match the sum of your deposit with an equal cash bonus. For example, if you’re offered a matched deposit of 50% up to £100, it means you’ll receive a £50 bonus for making a £100 deposit. You might expect a matched deposit offer of 100% up to £100, and while that percentage on a matched deposit might be typical of a welcome bonus, bear in mind that reload bonuses are rarely as generous. 

Free Bets

When you come across a free bet as a reload bonus, you’ll be offered a specified value as a free bet when you deposit a minimum amount into your account. For example, you might receive a £10 free bet when you deposit £50. 

Cashback

A cashback bonus is a percentage offered back to the customer from a lost wager. For example, if you lose a £100 bet with a 20% cashback reload bonus, you’ll still receive £20 back from the casino. These funds can’t be withdrawn, and their use may be limited to certain games or betting markets.   

How to Claim a Casino Reload Bonus

Claiming a reload bonus is a simple process, but one that will differ depending on how the bonus is syndicated by your chosen casino, so let’s take a look at how that might be done. 

Claiming a Reload Bonus After the Welcome Bonus

If you’re signing up to a new casino, you may find that they offer you subsequent reload bonuses in a structured, tiered format that follows on from your initial welcome bonus. 

Here are seven simple steps to guide you through this process: 

1. Compare TopRatedCasinos’ list of the best reload bonus casinos
2. Sign up, claim your welcome bonus, and start playing
3. Pay attention to any reload bonuses you’re now eligible for as part of the welcome bonus package
4. Take note of the conditions attached to each reload bonus its T+Cs, and make additional deposits to claim them
5. Keep tabs on your casino’s promotions page, ensuring you don’t miss out on any reload bonuses on offer
6. Take your bankroll boost over to your favourite games, and enjoy!

Claiming a Recurring Reload Bonus

Many casinos offer recurring reload bonuses on a weekly or monthly basis, so make sure you check to see whether your new casino is one of them. For example, casinos might offer players a standard reload bonus of 30% for deposits made on a Friday up to £30. This type of regular reload bonus might also come with an accompanying bonus for a specified game at that casino, such as free spins on the most popular slot of the week.  

Claiming a Promotional Reload Bonus

Reload bonuses tied to a specific promotion or event are a common occurrence for many casinos. For example, a casino might offer players a reload bonus if they make a deposit on St. Patrick’s Day, or to celebrate the release of a new game on the casino’s site. 

Claiming a Reload Bonus With Loyalty Points

Some casinos offer their customers reload bonuses when they accrue a certain amount of loyalty or comp points. Here, players can gain access to reload bonus rewards as a reflection of their commitment to one casino over time.

To keep abreast of all the different reload bonuses on offer, we recommend regularly checking your casino’s promotions page, following your favourite online casinos on social media, and downloading their dedicated smartphone or tablet app. Of course, not all casinos have developed their own dedicated app, but paying close attention to push notifications is the most effective way of staying informed on all the latest offers if they have released one.

Reload Bonus Terms and Conditions

Some of these reload bonuses may sound like opportunities to claim free money, particularly if the bonus is offered as a generous cashback. But a reload bonus – just like any other online casino bonus – always comes with extensive terms and conditions. Make sure you’ve read these and have understood the stipulations attached to each reload bonus. Below is a list of the most prominent conditions on casino bonuses and what they all mean.

Wagering Requirements

Practically every bonus offered by an online casino will be subject to wagering requirements – the number of times you have to wager your bonus before you’re able to withdraw any winnings. 

The conditions of wagering requirements will vary from casino to casino and from offer to offer, but you’ll usually find them in the region of 35-45x your deposit – a figure that reflects a typical bonus value. However, depending on the type of bonus on offer, some casinos may calculate your wagering requirements by adding your deposit and bonus together before multiplying the sum, meaning you can encounter much steeper requirements. 

If you’re looking at a matched deposit bonus, for example, which included a bonus of £100 with a wagering requirement of x35, you’ll need to wager £3,500 in order to claim any returns on this bonus. If you made a deposit of £100 to claim £100 in bonus funds, and your casino combines these values when calculating your wagering requirements, you would need to wager £7,000 in order to unlock withdrawals.

For any winnings won with free spin bonuses, wagering requirements work slightly differently. Here, your wagering requirements are calculated in relation to the amount you win via the free spins. Let’s say you win £10 from a bonus of 20 free spins — your 35x wagering requirements will be calculated against the £10 you’ve won, requiring you to wager a further £350 in order to claim any winnings.

Minimum Deposits

All reload bonuses are offered with the condition of a minimum and maximum deposit, such as a bonus offer of 50 free spins when you deposit a minimum of £25.

Time Limits

Once you’ve activated a reload bonus, you may be subject to time limits — the amount of time you have to capitalise on the bonus. This will vary with each casino and each reload bonus, but you should always keep an eye out for these as it is the simplest way to lose out on a potential bonus!

Payment Method Exclusions

Some reload bonuses will only be available if you’ve deposited into your account in the specified way — whether by using a debit card, an e-wallet, or via a PayPal account. You might be used to depositing in a certain way, but your usual method might not satisfy the conditions of the bonus. Be sure to check which payment methods are eligible to avoid missing out.

Game Exclusions

Reload bonuses may only be targeted at specific games. As such, the bonus will only be available to use for a specified game. To make the most of the reload bonus, make sure it’s applicable for a game you enjoy by checking the T+Cs.

Reload Bonuses at Mobile Casinos 

Mobile devices are becoming an increasingly popular way of playing online casino games. The top mobile casinos support this growing trend by optimising their sites and games for the mobile screen, scaling to any screen size and adapting to all operating systems. 

Some online casinos now also have their own dedicated smartphone and tablet apps. This technology helps facilitate players to find the best casino reload bonuses – particularly through the use of push notifications, which makes it easier than ever to keep up with the latest offers and how to access them. To ensure that you never miss a casino reload bonus, make full use of mobile optimisation whenever you can, and download your favourite casino’s app.

New Casino Reload Bonuses 

We’re all aware of the biggest online casinos, but there are other, smaller casinos coming to market all the time. These new casinos are often closely affiliated with bigger brands but differentiate themselves by offering alternative—and often more enticing—types of reload bonuses.  

New casinos may be in a position to offer players reload bonuses with no wagering requirements attached. Immediately this sounds very attractive, but bonus offers are always a balancing act, and any reload bonus of this kind will involve much smaller stakes, limiting the amount of potential winnings. 

Another bonus of playing at a new casino is that they are often more creative in their design, with eye-catching user interface layouts and real innovation in some of their games. So when you’re looking for the best casino reload bonuses, be sure to consider new and lesser known brands.

Promotions and VIP Programmes

Some casinos may only offer reload bonuses as a privilege afforded to VIPs. This means that reload bonus offers are part of a gated VIP tier, where only the top players in a casino’s rankings will be granted access to these bonuses. These rankings are not only reserved for high rollers, but also for those who have accrued a significant number of loyalty points over time. At these casinos, once you’ve proven your loyalty and become recognised as a VIP, you may be eligible for a reload bonus on every deposit you make, usually at somewhere between 5-15% of the deposit delivered in bonus funds. 

As well as offering plenty of reload bonuses, VIP systems also include other features for dedicated players, including account managers, cashbacks, competition points, birthday gifts, and many more. If you’re serious about becoming a VIP, check out our list of VIP casino recommendations.