Why the Welcome Bonus on Any Gambling Site Matters Tremendously

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Last Updated: February 2, 2024

Written by: Alex Zlatanovic

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To some, the welcome bonus of an online casino, sportsbook, or poker site is just a nice little addition to get you started.

As a reward for choosing that platform, that initial bonus shouldn’t be taken as lightly as many players do, especially because they can be incredibly telling of the brand. In essence, you can see the key elements of any welcome bonus as being indicative of the experience ahead.

The welcome bonus is usually the focus point of any marketing done by a gambling site. Whether it’s on the platform’s homepage, listed on a reviews site, or a banner ad online, the welcome bonus is the eye-catching part that platforms want you to see because they’re pretty sure it’ll be the best selling point to new players. So, if the bonus isn’t appealing or user-friendly, perhaps the site should be swerved.

Here, we’re offering a guide to looking at bonuses the right way, taking a similar kind of angle to our How to Study Poker the Right Way with Matt Affleck piece here at MyPokerCoaching. This way, you should find it easier to navigate the ocean of online gambling bonuses out there.

Terms and Conditions Can Be Very Telling

For a gambling business to run successfully, it simply can’t just be giving out big sums of real money to every player who signs up. So, the terms and conditions are integral to making the offer worthwhile for both parties, with the main focus of bonus T&Cs being wagering requirements.

Not just how large the wagering requirements are, but also how prominently advertised the rollover needs are can be very telling of how the site operates, the stock they put in this welcome offer, and the terms tied to other promotions.

Importantly, you’re looking for wagering requirements that are as low as possible, or even just below the industry standard – which tends to float around the 30x mark. However, an equally integral feature is how the bonus plays to your deposit.

With matched deposit bonuses – which often have the highest ceiling and are the flashiest to market – some tie the bonus funds earned into the real-money deposit, applying the rollover to both. Such a move is generally frowned upon by knowledgeable players.

The Type of Bonus Reflects the Casino’s Branding

From what was once only a space of varied matched deposit bonuses, online gambling bonuses have evolved drastically to attempt to make platforms stand out in different ways.

Thanks to the diverse array of bonuses that are now on offer, you can tell a lot about how a site wants to reflect its branding. Of course, the high maximum deposit bonuses generally lend themselves to higher rollers, while free spins are for slot aficionados.

The bonuses collected by Bonuses.com feature these classic forms of rewards, but also innovative offers that perfectly demonstrate different angles of appeal. The no-deposit bonus has become very popular because it reflects a site that simply wants to show off its offering regardless of receiving real money first.

Perhaps more appealing is the no-wagering bonus. You get your bonus for a set deposit – usually with a fairly low ceiling – and whatever’s won from it becomes real funds. This might be the most user-friendly bonus going on, and that reflects well on the brand.

Game Selection Within Bonuses Indicates the Target Audience

Given that, per Inc.com, four out of five customers feel encouraged to make an initial purchase if there’s a new customer offer, sites want that offer to have as much name appeal as possible.

The size of the bonus is one way, and another way is to tie the bonus to some well-known games. What games the bonus is tied to can tell you who the bonus is targeted at.

Generally, sites will tie bonuses to big-name games like Big Bass Bonanza, Starburst, or Book of Dead to get that brand appeal through association with these popular slots. Equally, many slots players want to play these famed games, so a bonus for them can help a lot.

For completely new players, though, more open bonuses are usually deployed as they allow for a broad experience on the site, letting players try anything that interests them. In a way, this makes some sites more accessible than others.

Welcome bonuses are given a lot of thought by the sites offering them, so it’s worth considering the bonuses in more depth than just picking the biggest ones.