This is totally up to you. For the most part, if you’re only going to deposit a small amount, there’s no reason not to take a welcome bonus. Even if you don’t meet the requirements, you will have gained valuable experience and been able to spend more money on the games than you would have with your own original deposit.
A good casino bonus is one that has a large bonus amount as a reward but also has fair and achievable wagering requirements. The two should complement each other so that you’re not going to get something that’s too overwhelming or impossible to achieve when it comes to the terms and conditions.
Yes, you do. Any bonus that has wagering requirements or other terms and conditions must be met. If you don’t, you will simply lose the bonus and any winnings you have earned from using the promotion.
This really depends on the bonus you’re claiming. At NZ casinos, you can only have one bonus active at a time. But, for a lot of bonuses, specifically reload ones, you can claim them again and again each week. Welcome offers can only be claimed once and if you try to make a second account to claim it again, you’ll probably have both accounts closed.
It may seem surprising that online casinos are so ready to apparently give away money, but this is not what’s happening here. By offering you lucrative and appealing offers, they encourage you to sign up to the casino and play. The hope is that down the line you will invest and deposit, and of course, you will lose. It’s a long game and one NZ casinos will win in the end.
With many types of casino bonuses available to Kiwi players, it’s imperative that you know the differences. By understanding what each bonus can offer, players can make better decisions to enhance their online gaming.
Arguably one of the most common bonuses at an online casino, it’s also the most lucrative. Typically given as a welcome offer, a match deposit bonus can be anything from 50% to 400% of your initial deposit. This means that you can boost your bankroll before you even get started with playing. Having more to play with can really improve your gaming experience. That being said, you have to risk some cash at the start in order to get your hands on this offer.
As the name suggests, a no deposit bonus is in direct contrast to a match deposit bonus. This is often awarded as a welcome offer too, but is far less common these days. Instead of depositing money, all you need to do is sign up to the casino. Once your account has been verified, a small cash bonus (or small number of free spins), will be added to your account for you to use.
Often, free spins are offered as both a match deposit bonus or a no deposit bonus. Depending on which of these two offers you’re claiming the free spins from, it will depend on the amount you receive. Making a real-money deposit will mean you get more free spins to use on different pokies. Often, this can be as many as a couple of hundred. For a no deposit bonus, usually this will be around 10 free spins. Free spins are always for a specific pokie though, and cannot be played on any game you like.
One of the best bonuses if you choose to play long-term at an online casino. Reload bonuses are there to help regular players top up their account. Depending on the casino, these reload offers can be given weekly or monthly. They’re never as much as the match deposit bonuses you get a part of the welcome offer, but they’re still really great for boosting your bankroll regularly.
Often geared towards high rollers, cashback offers are great if you know you’re going to be spending, and potentially losing a lot. With this type of offer, you can actually claim back some of your losses. This does provide extra value in a gaming session. However, bear in mind that often cashback offers can start from as little as 5% back until you’ve moved through some of the levels in a loyalty program to earn more.
These days, with gamification taking a front seat, online casinos are offering elaborate VIP or loyalty programs to their players. Often, these give players automatic entry to the program as soon as they make a real money deposit or wager. Depending on each casino, there will be a point system in place. Each time real money is spent, points are earned. The levels within the VIP club will require different numbers of points in order to move up and claim the offers. Impressively, these programs can often give players lower wagering requirements, higher withdrawal limits, cash prizes, cashback offers and so much more.
Finally, if you’ve stuck with a casino for a long period of time, you may find that you’re eligible for exclusive offers. Casinos will often do this to show you that you are a valuable member of their community. These types of exclusive offers and perks can be on your birthday, awarded when new games drop or at special times of the year. Typically, they can be anything including cashback offers, live dealer promotions, high roller bonuses and so on.
Depending on the bonus, you may or may not be required to use a promo code. If you don’t have to use a promo code, then this usually means the bonus is added automatically. However, you should still check that you don’t need to click on an opt-in button in order to claim the offer or something like that.
Bonus codes are often a mixture of letters and numbers. Finding these is always easy as the casino wants you to use them. Usually, if the bonus requires a code, the online casino will clearly display this.
Once you’ve chosen a bonus, using the code is a simple process. Follow the steps below, and you’ll be up and running with any bonus code you need in no time at all.
Once you’re presented with a casino bonus, then next thing to consider is whether or not it’s actually a good one for you. This means taking the time to calculate how much you’re actually going to get.
As the size and amount of a bonus differs depending on the casino, you really need to learn how these different promotions work. While one can sound really lucrative, often times, when you look deeper, it really isn’t.
For example, if you get a 100% match deposit bonus up to NZ$100 you could deposit the minimum deposit of NZ$20 and then have NZ$40 to play with. Alternatively, depositing the full amount would give you NZ$200 to play with.
Sometimes, New Zealand casinos will offer a welcome package. This means that multiple deposits can be made. A first deposit could be a 100% match which means depositing NZ$50 would give you NZ$100 as you’d get an extra NZ$50 to double your money.
A second deposit with a 75% match with an NZ$50 deposit would give you NZ$125 to play with as you’d get an extra NZ$75 added to your total.
Finally, a third deposit of 50% with an NZ$50 deposit will give you an extra NZ$25 for a total of NZ$75. All in all, you’d deposit NZ$150 and get NZ$250 extra to play with.
However, there are always terms and conditions attached. These can impact how good a bonus really is. Let’s take a look at what these all mean.
While these are often the bane of many players’ lives, bonus terms and conditions are a very real thing. Importantly, these must be met. If you don’t then you won’t get to keep any winnings made from the bonus.
Checking the terms and conditions is essential before you use a casino bonus. And understanding the terminology is a must. The key terms are outlined below.
Without a doubt, wagering requirements are the most common of all the terms and conditions you find attached to a bonus. They’re also the ones that can cause the most grief to players who haven’t paid attention to what they mean.
Also known as playthrough or rollover requirements, this is the number of times your deposit and/or bonus credit (this depends on the type of bonus) has to be wagered before you can claim your winnings. Ideally, you always want to look for the lowest wagering requirements possible. Anything in single figures is the best, but usually you’re going to see it at around 20x.
Some casinos will offer wagering requirements of 40x or even as high as 70x the bonus and deposit. These can be almost insurmountable, and it is advised that you don’t take on a bonus with requirements this steep.
Once you’re using a bonus, make sure that you check which games it can be used on. There are often stipulations outlining which games can be played and which cannot. Often, a welcome match deposit is only really available for pokies and virtual table games, but is not eligible for live dealer games. If you do play on games that aren’t part of the bonus requirements, then you may find that the bonus is cancelled.
Following on from this, different games contribute to the wagering requirements at different percentages. For the most part, pokies contribute 100%. That being said, almost every single online NZ casino will have a list of pokies that aren’t eligible and won’t contribute anything. Many of these are progressive jackpots, through there’s usually a long list of additional pokies that won’t count either.
Other casino games will have varying percentage levels as well. Virtual table games and live dealer games can contribute anywhere from 0 to 20% depending on the casino. The same is true of video poker games. Make sure you’ve checked the specifics though, as you don’t want to be playing on games that won’t meet those requirements.
Another factor to bear in mind is the size of the wagers you’re placing on a game when using your bonus. All casinos will have a max bet in place, so you can’t just bet big when using bonus credits. In fact, if you try to do so, you will simply make the bonus offer void.
Usually, maximum bets are set at around NZ$5 or NZ$10 though this depends on the bonus and casino. They will always be listed in the bonus terms and conditions, so make sure you check this carefully before placing your bets.
With all these different requirements in place, it’s essential you don’t lose sight of the finish line. Every single casino bonus has an expiry date. This is the time frame in which you need to use the bonus and meet the requirements in place. For many bonuses, you will have a specific time in which to use it after it has been activated.
Following this, you have a period of time to meet the wagering requirements. Again, the time frames differ widely across casino. Generally, the best sites will give you a solid 30 days to meet these requirements. However, not all online casinos are as generous with some only allowing seven days.
Just like the max bet cap, there is usually a cap on the amount you can win and subsequently withdraw when making use of one of these casino bonuses. Now, not all casinos do have this in place, so it’s always worth checking the fine print to see how much you can win. The higher the cap the better, as some casinos still offer relatively low limits of around NZ$100.
Casinos also offer cash or play bonuses and this means that there is a difference regarding whether you can withdraw the bonus funds or not once the requirements are met. For instance, cash bonuses do allow you to withdraw all monies — your deposit plus the bonus credit — if you succeeded in meeting requirements. Play bonuses only allow you to withdraw your deposit and any winnings accrued from it, but you can’t claim the bonus funds.
So, while you may know a good bonus, it’s still important to factor in the wagering requirements when considering which one to take on.
For instance, a 100% match deposit bonus up to NZ$500 might sound enticing until you realize there are 40x wagering requirements in place. If you deposit just NZ$20 you’ll have NZ$40 to play with, but imagine, if you have to wager this 40x. This amounts to NZ$1600.
If you choose a 50% bonus up to NZ$500 and you deposit NZ$20, you’re going to have NZ$30 to play with. But here the requirements are only 30x, which means you have to play though its bonus to a value of NZ$900.
It may be small, but this can make a crucial difference in whether you’re able to withdraw bonus winnings or not.
As the two main bonus types, it’s important to know the difference between the two. But which one is better? This really depends on what you’re looking for. Long-term players or those with larger budgets tend to find deposit bonuses more suitable. However, newcomers can enjoy the relatively safely and risk-free aspect of trying out a new site with a no deposit offer.
