Ready to sign up with a new casino? Then make sure you are getting the best value that you can by browsing this list and choosing a bonus from one of our hand-picked sites. Always check the significant terms displayed under each offer so that you know how much you need to deposit and what the wagering requirements and win limits are before you start.

Check back for new offers each week.

Online gambling is a brash industry where money talks loud. Whilst every operator will be quick to point out the quality of their product through highlights of the games on offer, the strength of the cashier options and the professionalism of their customer support team, at the end of the day the headline grabbing bonus offer is the trump card. How many free spins can you claim and how much bonus money do you get to wager? That’s what we want to know. But to get the best out of your bonuses you need to read beneath the headlines and familiarize yourself with the small print – the wagering requirements, the win limits, and the eligible games.

Not all bonuses are created equal. Which is why we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to help you understand the market better and find the bonus that suits you best.

Gambling operators have found numerous ways in which to offer ‘free’ money to players as both an incentive to sign up and to remain loyal regardless of the success of their betting. The overall market has shifted somewhat as in recent years the UK Gambling Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority have cracked down on bonuses with opaque and restrictive terms and conditions that made winning real cash with bonus money extremely unlikely. The result has been a reduction in the overall size of bonuses but fairer terms including free spins offers where winnings come with no wagering restrictions at all.

Here is a list of all the different bonus types and a short description of each, followed by live examples.

Sign Up Offers

The sign-up or Welcome Bonus is your complimentary free spins and deposit bonus package to tempt you through the door by giving you more value with your first deposit and a chance to try more of the games on offer.

Free Spins

A number of free plays on a chosen video slot. Free Spins have been a staple bonus for online gamblers for many years now. Spins are usually awarded on a popular game like NetEnt’s Starburst. As many as 300 or more may be available, usually credited in batches of 10 or 20 every day for a specified time period. Beware, whilst ‘no deposit, no wager’ free spins are becoming more commonplace, in many cases winnings from free spins are paid out as bonus funds which themselves have high wagering requirements attached and come with a win limit.

Cashback

A simple device designed to give something back when a player has a bad run. Cashback is normally calculated on wagers minus wins (though sometime bonus wagers are removed from the calculation). Anything up to 25% is commonplace and this device is regularly used to comp VIPs who have big losses.

Re-Load

The re-load bonus is the one most commonly found at online casinos and you will always get one with your first deposit. Typically, this will be a match of anywhere between 25% and 500%, though usually around 100%, credited in bonus funds. This never comes without a wagering requirement which means that you will have to wager the bonus amount up to 50x over before it and any winnings become withdrawable. A typical wagering requirement would be 35.

No Wager

The holy grail of free spins bonuses was first used in a big way by Skill on Net’s Play OJO Casino and is now also offered by BGO. No wager free spins means that winnings from your free play are paid out in cash and can be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally. In most cases the operator will add the term ‘no win limits’ to the offer which means that there is no restriction on how much you can win from the spins either.

Low Wager 

The typical wagering requirement applied to bonus funds is around 35x. However, there are operators who set their WR much lower in an effort to entice more players through their doors. Grosvenor Casino currently offer a £20 match with just a 5x wagering requirement. This significantly increases your chances of taking some cash away with you.

Bonus Code

Some bonus offers will require you to enter a bonus code when you make the required deposit or complete your registration. If for some reason you forget to do this don’t worry because usually a call to the customer support team to explain your mistake is enough to get you credited with the bonus.

No Deposit 

A bonus without a deposit requirement attached to it. For example, for many years Casumo offered 20 free spins on Starburst on registration. Now they offer 90 Book of Dead Spins. In these cases its very rare for the spins to come without a wagering requirement for the winnings so watch out for this and look to see how much it is before claiming the offer.

No Deposit Bonus – 32 Red, £10 Free, Min Dep: None, WR: 50x Bonus, Max Win: £10

Sign Up Bonus – Casino Gods, 100% Up To £300, 300 NetEnt Spins, Min Dep: £10, WR: 40x

Free Spins Bonus – Casumo, 30 Spins on Book of Dead, WR: None, Win Limit: None

Cashback Bonus – Rolla Casino, 10% Cashback Weekly, Limit: £1,000

Re-load Bonus – Dream Vegas, 25% Tuesdays, Min Dep: £10, WR: 40x

No Wager Bonus – Play OJO, Up To 50 Spins, Min Dep: £10, WR: None

Low Wager Bonus – Casino.com, 200 Spins on First Deposit, Min Dep: £20, WR: 20x Winnings

It is common for bonuses to be limited for use on certain games. For example, free spins awarded as part of a sign-up package are often only for play on low variance slots like NetEnt’s Starburst, or a selection of four or five of their most popular titles. Whilst Starburst-type offers dominate the free spins market it is also possible to find bonuses that can be played across games from providers other than NetEnt. So if you are a fan of Novomatic’s Book of Ra, or some of Big Time Gaming’s best slots, then it’s worth hunting around to find a bonus that suits you. Here is a selection of some of the best bonuses by game provider.

NetEnt: 300 Net Ent Spins at Casino Gods, Min Deposit £10, WR: 40x Winnings

Microgaming: 150% up to £150 at 32 Red, Min Deposit £10, WR: 50x Bonus

Novomatic: 50% Up To £499 at Fun Casino, Min Deposit £10, WR: 50x Bonus

Play n Go: 100% Up To £200 at Casino  Joy, Min Deposit £10, WR: 40x Bonus

Big Time Gaming: 100% Up To £100 at Hyper Casino, Min Deposit £10, WR: 45x Bonus

Five or ten years ago the online casino world was awash with free money. It was possible to pick up deposit bonuses with matches as high as 500%! You could deposit £50 and earn yourself a further £250 to play with. All good, except the casinos had to protect themselves against big losses by applying some seriously prohibitive restrictions to the bonuses. This meant sky high wagering requirements that would prevent you from ever really having a decent chance of walking away with any winnings. Recent investigations by the UK Gambling Commission have curbed operators’ abilities to offer this kind of bumper promotion and the percentage matches are now much smaller, typically 100% or occasionally 200%.

Whether it is a real land-based casino or an online casino site, those in charge will go out of their way to look out for the biggest spenders, otherwise known as high rollers or VIPs. Any operator worth their salt will employ VIP managers and set up a VIP club for players whose spend warrants a dedicated account manager who will ensure that gamblers on their list will get the very best bespoke treatment with promotions and prizes tailored to their tastes.

Here are some of the perks casino VIPs enjoy:

1. Introductory bonus packages as a welcome to the VIP club
2. Higher value bonuses and free spins
3. Birthday bonuses
4. Faster withdrawals
5. Tickets to hospitality events like top Premier League matches, Boxing Bouts and F1 Racing
6. Dedicated 24 / 7 VIP manager on phone, Whatsapp and email.

Most VIP clubs have an entry level starting at a minimum spend of around £1,000 per month, though of course it varies from one casino to another. There will often be several levels of VIP within the club, typically from Bronze right up to an exclusive Diamond level.

Inclusion is normally by invite only, though it doesn’t do any harm to email the VIP manager and ask to be included if you think you are spending enough. Even if they decline your request you will still be on their radar and more likely to be invited in the future.

As well as the welcome bonuses dished out to newcomers at any casino there are also a number of regular events and promotions that players are invited to take part in. Here are a few of those:

Tournaments and Races

Races create an environment in which slots players can compete with one another for additional prize pools outside of the games they are playing. During tournament or race hours, gamblers earn points for wagering, wins, sequential wins (5 in 5 spins for example), achievements (like unlocking a feature in the game), and other targets set by the casino.

Usually the races take place over 30 mins or an hour, though sometimes they can be longer, and in the case of big tournaments, the competition can last up to a month. In those instances the prize pools are much bigger and you may find yourself playing for a car, or a holiday, or a massive cash windfall of £10,000.

Loyalty Programs

It’s more than likely that the casino you sign up with will offer a loyalty program of some sort to players who are not at the level of a VIP. Usually this will involve a point scoring system in which you earn 1 point for every £5 or £10 wagered. Points can then later be exchanged for bonus funds that will have the usual wagering requirements attached to them. Don’t expect too much back however. The usual rate of earning and exchange of points means you will earn around 1% of your spend. However, if you are a regular player it’s a nice reward to be going on in the background and once or twice a year you can cash in your points for a free session at the casino.

Competitions, Raffles and Prize Draws

Another regular tool in the box of any casino promotion manager is the prize draw. These competitions will usually be open to everyone, whether you log in once a week and spend £10 or gamble every day as a VIP. Usually there will be various ways to earn tickets to the draw, from logging in, to depositing, or wagering. Keep your eye out on the news and promotions sections of your favourite sites for details of the next competition. There can be some pretty big blockbuster prizes available, like cars and holidays.

Daily and Weekly Offers

Another way for casinos to keep our loyalty is through routine promotions that we come to expect each week. Most sites will now offer a Monday or Friday bonus or cashback, often tied to how much you spent in the previous 7 days.  Before you sign up with a new site it’s worth finding out what bonuses you can get in this way because it can be a good indication of the generosity of the operator as a whole.

As we have already stated several times in this article, understanding the terms and conditions of any casino bonus offer is important. Whilst the small print may seem dry (and hard to understand) it is critical to get to grips with wagering requirements, withdrawal limits and expiry times if you want to be able to pick the best value offers.

These are the key points to understand:

Bonus Funds and Wagering Requirements

In almost all cases money you receive as part of a deposit bonus offer or winnings generated through play with free spins is not real cash. It is virtual, or bonus money. That means it cannot be withdrawn. However, it can be ‘converted’ into real money through wagering on games to the value stated in the terms of the offer.

This is the meaning of wagering requirements. Typically, the requirements will be anywhere between 30x and 50x. Using 30x as an example, if your bonus funds are £10 then you will need to wager £300 before you the bonus becomes cash. Crucially, this also applies to any winnings generated by the bonus. So, if you were to win £1,000 on your first spin, this money would not be released and become withdrawable until the £300 wagering has been achieved.

NOTE: Sometimes the wagering requirements will apply to just your bonus funds, and sometimes they will apply to the sum or your bonus AND your deposit. So, if the requirements are 30x the deposit AND the bonus, then on a £10 deposit with a £10 bonus the wagering requirement would become £600. Always read the terms carefully to work out which to amount the wagering requirements apply for your bonus.

 Maximum Wins

Before you claim any bonus you should also check to see if there is a limit to the amount that can be won from the funds. Most operators now cap this at between £100 and £500. Any winnings above that amount are simply forfeited once the wagering requirements have been met.

Game Weightings

Beware as well that not all games count equal when it comes to fulfilling your wagering requirements. This is where game weightings come in. Games with a higher Return to Player (RTP) than average will contribute less to meeting the requirements. That is games like Blackjack and Roulette, and some high RTP slots like NetEnt’s Bloodsuckers II and Thunderkick’s 1649 Unchartered Seas. Further information about game weightings will always be shown in the terms of your offer.

Expiry Dates and Forfeiting of Bonuses

There are two scenarios here. If you simply stop playing and leave the casino never to return then your bonus will be removed when the expiry date is reached. This is usually after anywhere between 3 and 30 days. In this instance your bonus and any winnings will be lost. In the second scenario, if you withdraw before meeting the wagering requirements then you will forefeit the bonus and your winnings again. The only funds that you will be able to retrieve are what is left of your original deposit.

Remember, when you have real funds and bonus funds in your account you will always wager the real funds first.

One of the most common types of complaint fielded by customer support teams in the online gambling industry is bonusing. In general the terms and conditions relating to offers are much clearer than they used to be thanks to the efforts of the UK Gambling Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority who have cracked down on opaque, misleading and restrictive conditions published in the small print. However, there are still plenty of instances where the player misunderstands the promotion or the operator fails to explain it clearly, which can lead to disputes.

In our regulated jurisdiction there is a set of steps that you should take to first raise your complaint, and then escalate it if you are not happy with the response you are getting.

For complaints about bonuses often the issue will be resolved by the customer support team over email, a call or on live chat. However, if you are still not happy with how you are being treated then you can try escalating to an Alternate Dispute Resolution Body, reporting the operator to the UK GC or the ASA, or using gambling forums or social media to make other gamblers aware of the issue.  You can read more about how to do all this in our guide to resolving casino disputes.

Here is a summary of what to look out for when choosing a casino bonus.

1. Bonus Value – check how much you can claim based on your deposit value, remembering to look for minimum deposits and maximum bonus values.
2. Wagering Conditions – Find out how much you will need to wager in order to cash out any winnings generated by the bonus funds.
3. Maximum Wins – Remember, many operators will limit how much you can win with your bonus by restricting withdrawals. Always check this value as it can vary from £100 up to £500, or be unlimited.
4. Available Games – always check to see which games you can play with your bonus money. In particular, a free spins offer will usually be limited to one or a small selection of titles.
5. Expiry Dates – Your casino will want to push you to spend your bonus in good time, so they will add an expiry date to the terms. Check to see what it is so you don’t lose out on free wagering.

Here are some commonly asked questions from casino players looking to get the best value from their bonuses.

Can I make money from casino bonuses?

There is no sure-fire way to make money from a casino. The maths models and the house edge are guaranteed to mean that the operator will always win in the long haul, although of course that doesn’t mean every gambler can’t have a lucky winning streak from time to time. And bonuses are one way of improving your chances of winning. Look for ‘no wager no win limit’ free spins offers that allow you to play for real money for free with no restrictions on withdrawing any winnings you generate. You can find an offer like this at BGO Casino right now.

What is the biggest casino bonus I can get?

Most casinos will offer a deal of around 100% extra with your first deposit, usually up to £100 or £200 in bonus money. However, occasionally an operator will come along who is prepared to offer a bit more. Check the bonus list on this page to find out which casinos have the best promotions each week.

Are casino bonuses worth it?

With such restrictive terms and conditions many gamblers have asked themselves this question, and some casinos now give players the ability to opt out of bonuses if they wish to just play with their own money. It’s a personal choice. Make an informed decision by checking the wagering requirements of any offer before you deposit. If they seem too high (40x or more) then it’s going to be very difficult to come away with any winnings.

Can I get a free casino bonus?

Yes, it is possible to claim a totally free casino bonus from sites like Casumo and BGO, where free spins are credited on registration, without the requirement of a deposit first.