Casino Welcome Bonus

A casino welcome bonus is a reward that many gambling websites offer to players who are signing up for the first time and making their first deposit. These bonuses usually come in the form of free chips, also known as credits or casino money, or a percentage of your deposit.

However, welcome bonus casinos offers vary from operator to operator and some casinos might not offer this kind of promotion at all. But there are only a handful of online casinos which skip out on the first deposit bonus.

Most welcome bonuses are great deals for both gambling sites and players. If you claim a welcome bonus casino offer on your first deposit, the operator will give you a percentage of your deposit so long as you wager it a certain number of times.

There are many different types of welcome bonus casinos, and they can have different T&Cs, but don’t worry. We’ll show you the differences between them all and guide you on your quest to claim a great one.

Definition of a Casino Welcome Bonus & General Info

In most cases, the welcome bonus casinos provide will adopt quite a specific formula that revolves around basic incentivisation principles. In general, the casino welcome bonus is a method of rewarding your initial investment into a casino. This means that you make an initial deposit under certain conditions in order to receive a substantial reward.

While one of the mainstream formulas is simply offering a first deposit bonus, casinos can take many liberties with how they construct this offer. They may provide you with a comprehensive set of rewards over the span of multiple deposits. This strategy ensures that the casino guarantees more than one deposit, but you also receive more than one bonus.

Since there is no formulaic structure or legal requirements for casino welcome bonuses, online casinos can tweak this reward accordingly. As such, you are about to encounter many welcome offers in different shapes and sizes.

It’s important to note that some casino brands may use no deposit bonuses and market them as welcome offers. However, we’d like to clarify that this page will discuss the traditional welcome packages that do require deposits. We will help you with further clarifications down the line.

Another fundamental principle you ought to remember is that these bonuses come with their specific terms and requirements. These may relate to wagering, cashout conditions, and time availability. You tend to receive credits and spins that have an upscaling structure according to your deposits.

Regardless of the bonus characteristics of each welcome package, their complexity requires an even stronger emphasis on reading and analysing the promotion terms and conditions!

Place Among Other Types of Casino Bonuses

In this industry, bonuses are one of the most popular means to motivate players and attract new ones.

When speaking about bonuses, it’s important to distinguish between a regular offer and welcome bonuses. Both types have their differences in terms or conditions and requirements for receiving them, but they’re equally widespread among online casinos offering games for free or real money.

As a rule, it is granted upon a first deposit made by a player from a specific country after joining online casinos. In comparison with other bonuses, this type is very generous because you may get up to 100% (or even up to 500%) cash match on your deposit amount, plus some extra spins on the slot machines, sometimes.

In order to withdraw winnings from welcome bonuses, you have to meet certain requirements. Usually, they’re set by managers and may differ not only between operators but also within the same casino.

As soon as you become an experienced player at online casinos or even just making regular deposits, you can take advantage of deposit bonuses that are similar to welcome offers yet come with more conditions, such as higher minimum deposit amounts (~$50) and higher playthrough (wagering) requirements that must be met within 30 days of receiving the promotion.

There are various types of bonuses available nowadays which makes them the perfect way to keep the gambling industry attractive for new and experienced players.

The welcome offer (and the sign-up offer, if available) are the first promotions you will encounter at an online site. After this, it’s time to claim a reload offer that’s created specifically for existing customers, such as cashback offers, exclusive deals, and even VIP promotions.

But it’s the welcome deal that sets the tone of what you may expect from that casino. If it isn’t generous, neither will the other offers be.

Casino Welcome Bonuses vs No Deposit Bonuses

As mentioned earlier, some casinos tend to change the denomination of no deposit bonuses in order to offer them as welcome bonuses. By doing so, a casino becomes even more attractive due to its willingness to provide you with a freebie. However, these offers are very different in terms of how the industry (from operators to players) perceives them.

The Fundamental Differences

If we were to define how the casino welcome bonus no deposit looks like, it would simply adopt the structure of a free money deal or a batch of costless bonus spins.

You would get a freebie-type offer that will reward you with either no deposit money (usually $50 at most) or a series of spins that rarely reach the 100 mark. As the name suggests, they will require no deposit, as opposed to the traditional casino welcome bonus that does require such an investment.

In terms of wagering, both the regular welcome package and a ‘converted’ free money offer will require you to roll your winnings over multiple times. There are exceptions in both cases, but rarely. However, the insurance that a casino tries to hold means that the investment-free bonuses may have difficult wagering processes.

The cashout threshold is also present in both instances, but more so when it comes to no deposit offers. Such a withdrawal limit makes sure that the losses caused by your winning wagers are held at an acceptable level, especially when you didn’t even deposit.

The last detail we must mention is the time availability. When it comes to the cost-free offers, the period when you can use this incentive is notably low, maybe up to 7 days. Welcome offers are a fundamental promotional category that may allow you to use them (or wager their winnings) in up to 30 days.

What Recommends the Welcome Bonus

Despite the fact that it requires a deposit, you should judge the genuine value of a casino welcome bonus according to its true intrinsic value.

Firstly, you’ll have more time to employ and roll over the resulting winnings, allowing you to spread your gaming experience over a more comfortable time period. Secondly, the credits (and, sometimes, spins) will open up the majority of a casino’s library. Consequently, you’ll not have to play specific games, as required by many no deposit bonuses.

Furthermore, a higher bonus credit pool comes with the chance to generate bigger winnings. This will fundamentally increase your chances of having credits survive the wagering requirements, allowing you to cash out on a bigger prize.

Lastly, you have the undeniable opportunity to extract more withdrawable money due to more permissive cashout conditions. As mentioned above, costless bonuses have justifiable reasons for limiting this. The casino welcome bonus will rarely be stringent about it.

Which Should You Choose?

You should choose both but with careful timing and a well-thought-out strategy. We might’ve painted one in brighter colours than the other, but our expertise has taught us that you should take advantage of each of them.

Use the no deposit sign up offer if you’re new to a platform, and you will not need to make the deposit. Try to extract as much as you can of it, from experience to money, but don’t rid yourself of the upside of a genuine welcome bonus!

How Do Casinos Make Money on Welcome Bonuses?

In general, they don’t. Casinos will turn a profit from players after they use their bonus funds from their following deposits. The operator offers welcome bonuses to attract players and convince them to keep playing.

In fact, a welcome bonus casino is advantageous to players if used properly because it can give you a head start in the right direction.

The website will make sure that you can’t abuse the offer and have the T&Cs in place and rules such as what countries can access it, how many times you are able to claim it, wagering and max cashout, and more. If you don’t follow the rules, the promotion will be withdrawn, and you will lose all extra funds and progress; this way, they are making sure that you’ll use it as intended.

SlotsCalendar Advice: Be careful and read between the lines because all casinos will specify how many times you may claim the offer. For welcome bonus casinos, you will see that you are able to claim it only once. But there’s a difference between only one bonus per account, household or IP, and you should follow the rules to a T.

How to Find a Welcome Bonus Casino

Since you’re here, then you’ve come to the right place. On SlotsCalendar, on this page, in particular, you will find all the best online casino welcome bonus offers you could possibly need.

Every single type is available. But it’s up to you to decide what best fits your online gambling style and pick the appropriate one. They are sorted according to what they are offering, and you shall see exactly what each one entails.

Individual online casino welcome bonus offers also have a short review in which we discuss the main points of the terms & conditions so that you can easily decide if it’s for you or not. Below you will see exactly how we review offers and what you should pay attention to when trying to decide which offer to claim.

How We Review Top Casino Bonuses

Every gambling site has a welcome offer, but only some have the very best bonuses in terms of value and potential to earn you money.

After looking at top casino bonuses as a whole, we’ll take a closer look at the individual welcome packages provided by different casinos.

In order to ensure you get the very best value from your experience, it’s important to make sure you check each website carefully before investing any real money into them.

The main difference between casino welcome offers and regular promotional deals is that they tend to offer better value for your money. The way we review top bonuses is by looking at each one individually and taking into account factors like the number of games you’re able to play with your free money, how much you must wager the offer before it’s eligible for a cash-out and whether or not there are any special clauses.

Once we’ve reviewed them, we’ll recommend which casinos have the best value welcome package available to you.

We do our absolute best to provide accurate information so that you don’t risk having a bad experience when playing online games using real money.

We take into account both the vast experience of our team and test everything, as well as the reviews of real players and their experiences at that particular operator using bonuses and playing games.

These are the main factors we take into account:

• Games Available with the Bonus – A large majority of slots are offered on most online casinos, which provide new customers with a welcome deal. Since table games give you more player control over each round’s outcome, live dealer blackjack and roulette tables are usually hard to come by as free spins are more common than cash bonuses.

Whether or not blackjack, roulette, baccarat and other table games (classic or live dealer) are available or not is usually dependent on what software platform the casino uses. Games like slot jackpots, scratch card games and other types of instant win games are almost always available to play with bonus money.

The vast majority of slot machines will be available. These include slot games and slot machine games with progressive jackpots.

Welcome bonuses will generally work on all types of games. but you will also find bonuses that work solely on a game type (slots, live dealer games etc), on the games from a single software provider (NetEnt, Microgaming, Playtech etc) or just a single title (Starburst, Fluffy Favourites, Book of Dead).

• Wagering Requirement & Max Cashout – Playing at casinos can be a lot of fun and profitable, but only if the right terms and conditions are offered.

Casinos might require as little as 0x (no wagering) or as much as 99x Wager Requirements on some or all of their bonus offers – this is usually based on average bet size – low stakes players might be subject to low wagering requirements, while high stakes players will be subject to higher Wager Requirements.

Max cashout caps are more straightforward – they place an upper limit on the amount of money you may withdraw before the bonus expires. These limits usually range between $20 and $100 but can go as low as $5 or as high as $1,000. Some even have no max cashout caps, meaning that however much you win, you will be able to withdraw it (after completing the wagering requirement, of course).

• Almost all offers will have a max bet per spin or per hand. The minimum deposit you make at an online site is directly tied to the amount the max bet per spin will be if we’re talking about a deposit bonus.

In fact, the max bet is higher for deposit bonus offers than it is for free spins no deposit because the operator gets nothing out of giving you better chances of winning bigger sums.

When searching for a bonus code to claim, look for the highest max bet you can find. Welcome casino sign up bonuses generally have a higher max bet.

• Time Limits – You need to keep in mind that your bonus expires if you don’t use it or if you take your time completing the wagering requirement and forget about it.

Most online casino bonus offers have time limits as well. You get a set period of time in which you may claim bonus funds, wager the bonus balance and cash out.

• Useful Offers, Not Predatory – Another thing that we pay special attention to before we recommend players check out an online casino bonus is that the offers will actually help them and give them better chances of winning and that they don’t have predatory terms and conditions which will be virtually impossible to complete.

This means looking at everything several times, checking the website thoroughly and making sure that they don’t have a habit of changing the promotion’s terms while it’s active and scamming players.

• Cashable or Non-Cashable welcome bonus  – It’s important to know the terms and how each type of bonus works when signing up for an online site. This will ensure that you can get what you want out of a promotion and not be tricked into something that doesn’t suit your needs.

A cashable bonus is paid in cash with no strings attached; this type of bonus is usually much higher than its equivalent in non-cashable bonus values. The term cashable in itself says that you can cash out the bonus cash at any given time; this makes it a very flexible option.

Non-cashable ones are bonuses you get at online casinos that can’t be cashed out, which is exactly like real cash except it’s not real money, and you can’t withdraw it; it’s just there to help you out.

Casino Welcome Bonus Tips

• Always read each casino’s terms and conditions section, which outlines the requirements for cashouts.
• It may require players to play games with specific percentages of their balance, so they should familiarise themselves with the amount they have available before playing.
• Some bonuses will allow players to withdraw winnings made from casino free chips, but most wagering requirements are attached to casino deposit bonus offers where only chip winnings can be withdrawn.
• Casinos want people to use their services for entertainment purposes first and foremost, but they also hope that these promotional offers entice players enough to become loyal customers who return again and again to enjoy what the casino has to offer.
• Welcome bonuses give customers a great first impression of the casino and hopefully make their experience unforgettable.
• Cash-out early if you feel as though you’ve taken enough advantage of the bonuses, as casino operators do reserve the right to change their terms and conditions at any time.
• Keep in mind that management may withhold winnings from players who have breached their agreement with casinos, but just like anywhere else, it’s important to note that it’s not personal and is simply business.
• After all, everyone wants to be treated well so it only makes sense for customers to follow suit by understanding terms and conditions, promotional offers, game rules, payment methods offered, the currency used, and software license numbers, to name a few examples.
• Be sure to check out casino reviews for information on which casinos offer the best casino welcome bonus no deposit deals.
• One of the most important things players should look for in an online website is one that provides fast withdrawals because who wants to be stuck awaiting approval to withdraw funds?  No one does!
• Also, remember that not all casinos are created equally, so promotions may vary from operator to operator.
• Be sure to check out casino welcome bonus no deposit codes from casinos that are giving away free money with no deposit required to get players started.
• Only take advantage of welcome bonuses when you’re prepared to meet their wagering requirements which means having enough time to complete them before requesting cashouts.
• Of course, it goes without saying that players should familiarise themselves with games and rules before playing and remember that practice makes perfect!
• When you’re comfortable and ready to win real money at an online site, then it’s time to claim one or more welcome bonuses while they still exist on the website.

How to Claim Casino Welcome Bonus

The name of this offer type speaks for itself when it comes to the way you can employ it. However, it’s really important that you prioritise every step of the redeeming process. Making the necessary moves in order to smoother your experience will allow you more time to enjoy yourself under optimal conditions, whichever you claim a welcome bonus casino!

Identifying and Understanding The Offer

An essential part of the process is to determine which of the best casino bonuses works optimally for you. Our efforts at SlotsCalendar include analysing and showcasing the characteristics and requirements of the offers we list on our website, so you can rely on our experience from this point of view.

Once you start digging into the promotional details, you should broaden your perspective and read the casino’s administrative fine print. You must always read the terms, conditions, privacy statement, and any other related article. Once you know what the operators expect of you, making a decision should be easier and more responsible!

Registration and First Deposit

You will need to be a registered member of the casino to be able to enjoy your casino welcome bonus.

If you redeem the bonus via SlotsCalendar, you will likely find a small but conclusive guide on how to do so. Each of our bonus reviews and bonus code pages includes this part. We redact it according to our first-hand expertise. Our expert team goes through the exact same steps as you when testing the viability of a bonus.

In all cases, you will need to provide personal data, create login credentials, and consent to the terms you have just read. Depending on the situation, you may have to enter a bonus code or request the activation of a bonus by contacting customer support. These details will feature in our bonus reviews, so you will have our assistance regardless of circumstances.

Once you gain membership, you will need to make a qualifying deposit. Remember to ensure that your preferred payment method participates as a viable option for the bonus. Casinos may accept (or require) specific payments, including offering crypto-only welcome bonuses.

As soon as the conditions are in place and you manage to redeem the bonus, you should start to use your casino welcome bonus as efficiently as possible.

Maximising Bonus Value

What we mean by efficiency is to make the most out of an offer that you can redeem one time only. Firstly, you will want to choose the games as carefully as possible. This will allow you to extract the maximum entertainment, be it from the credits or the spins. Consider going for high-RTP games with bonus rounds to enjoy yourself fully.

Moreover, try to be mindful of aspects like wagering and time availability. But, most importantly, remember to play responsibly and moderately when using the casino welcome bonus!

Welcome Bonus Casinos: Top Choices of Our Users

Almost all online sites offer casino bonuses, especially first deposit bonuses. So you can theoretically find first deposit bonuses at any operator you check out. But just like bonus offers, casinos are not all the same.

You’ll find great offers even at casinos that are not the best. But for the perfect experience, you will need to find the best casino welcome bonus offers from the best casino sites.

We only recommend the very best gambling sites, so take a look at our best casinos page and pick the ones that fit all your needs. All of them offer great deals from classic deposit match offers to casino welcome bonus no deposit offers. Pick whichever one you desire.

Pros and Cons of Online Casino Welcome Bonus Offers

You can claim a live casino welcome bonus, but you won’t find live dealer offers very often for reload offers. You may find a casino welcome bonus no wagering, but VIP offers will most likely have wagering. You might even get free spins welcome bonus no deposit casino offers, but sequential promotions will require that you deposit.

Sure, the majority of offers at a welcome bonus casino will be of 100% and maybe some spins, but you can be confident that we will make sure to list all superior offers like:

• 200% welcome bonus online casino offers
• 300% welcome bonus casino offers
• 400% welcome bonus casino offers
• casino 500% welcome bonus offers

And if a larger promo ever exists, we will list that one too. So there’s really no downside to claiming one, assuming it fits all the right criteria.

First Deposit Bonus or Welcome Bonus: Spot the Differences

A first deposit bonus and welcome bonuses are almost the same thing. The only difference is that the first deposit bonus is solely for the first deposit, while the welcome bonus casino can be a package, thus containing the first deposit bonus and a second, third, fourth and even fifth deposit promo.

The first deposit bonus is granted upon making a deposit, but the welcome bonus casino offers can for one of the offers in the package not require one and require additional deposits for each new part of the promotion.

This means that while you can get a free spins welcome bonus no deposit casino offer, and then 2, 3 or 4 deposit offers for the package, you cannot get any free spins or cash for the first deposit bonus.

The package is a conglomerate of bonuses most often (although you will find a single offer being called a casino welcome bonus, and that’s when it’s identical to a first deposit bonus) and will need you to deposit several times, complete the wagering requirements for each individual bonus and cash out for each one.

Types of Casino Welcome Bonus

When you first sign up at any casino, you are likely to be welcomed with some sort of welcome package or bonus. Every casino has its own unique system that they use for these packages, but they usually have similar components. The most common welcome package combos are cash bonuses, free spins and percentage offers.

Welcome Bonuses

The difference between a bonus and a package is that the first is a plain, single bonus, while the other contains several offers simultaneously. Here are the ones that are stand-alone:

Cash Bonus

Most welcome bonuses come in the form of a cash bonus which is designed to help you deposit more money into your casino account so that you can play with it right away.

As long as you meet the playthrough requirements (typically 30x-90x) within the specified time frame, then this extra money will become part of your balance which you can withdraw at any time. It is important to check the casino’s wagering policy before taking advantage of welcome bonuses.

Free Spins

Free spins are another popular casino welcome bonus that is given out to players who sign up at a new casino. These free spins can be used to play any game that you want, but they usually have playthrough requirements as well to keep players from abusing them.

First Deposit Bonuses

The first deposit bonus is usually a percentage match of your first deposit with the casino. The casino will match it with an amount of their own and give you this as casino credit that can be used immediately on any game that is available in the casino.

This type may also come with free spins or no wagering requirements but will always come with a time limit, so there is only so long you have to use it until it expires and disappears from your account.

There isn’t much more information about this offer because its structure is usually consistent across casinos.

You just get a percentage between 25% and 500% of your first deposit up to a certain sum. This means that if you claim a 100% up to $100 offer and make a first deposit of $100 you will receive $100 from the casino, meaning that you get to play with a total of $200.

Welcome Package

There are two types of welcome deposit bonus offers – those which give you a percentage of your first deposit up to a certain sum; and those which give you extra spins (extra spins, not free spins, because since you’ve made a deposit, they are no longer free).

These welcome bonuses usually come with playthrough requirements just like any other deal so it is important to read all casino terms before accepting an offer.

The most common type of free spin casino welcome bonus comes with a matching percentage first deposit bonus. For example, if you were to deposit $100 into your casino account, then you would get an extra $100 and some spins on top of it so that you have 200 total dollars and the spins available to bet with right away.

Cashback Casino Welcome Bonus

Cashback bonuses are a combination between a classic percentage deposit offer and a cashback offer. you will generally be given a regular match bonus to play with and a cashback bonus on top of it.

This way you get to play risk-free because if you lose when playing with the match bonus, you can get back a part of your loss (with 1x wagering requirements) in cash back and try to win with this.

Cashback is calculated as a percentage of net losses over a specific time period. So if you lose $100 and have a 20% cashback offer active, you will receive $20 back.

Rarely do cashback offers pop up on their own, usually, they are part of a package with a classic match offer.

No Deposit Welcome Bonus

The casino no deposit bonus is exactly how it sounds; casino credit is given out by the casino with no deposit required from the player beforehand.

Most casinos may choose not to offer welcome bonuses with no deposit because it takes away their chance to make money off of players, but some may feel generous and give them out anyway, while others will even waive certain requirements such as playthrough amount or time limit extension.

This one too, can be either stand-alone or part of a package with the first deposit offer. You shouldn’t skip it either way.

SlotsCalendar Advice: This one is more common as a new online casino welcome bonus as they are trying to impress players and get as many customers as possible. So if you’re looking for a casino welcome bonus no deposit, check out new casinos.

Be Safe and in Control

While we’ve given you all the information you need to get you on your way, the most important thing you need to take away from this is that whenever you are claiming an online casino bonus, any other type of offer, or even playing without any promotions at all, you must remember to play responsibly.

You need to be safe and in control at all times and not risk your personal, mental, financial or social well-being. Gambling can turn into a vice and a problem, so you need to be careful and seek help at the first sign of an issue.

Plan ahead, decide on a budget and stick to it, play games you know how to play, pick appropriate welcome bonus casino offers at minimum deposit casinos if that’s what you can afford, take breaks and stop when it’s not fun anymore.

If you gamble responsibly, it should be fun, and you should have no issues whatsoever. And if you have the chance and get lucky, maybe even win something, but that shouldn’t be your main goal. Your main goal should be entertainment.