July 9, 2023 by

The Ins and Outs of a No Deposit Bonus

One of the most popular promotions that online casinos offer is a no deposit bonus. A no deposit bonus is the freest of free money at the casino since gamers do not have to make a deposit to get the bonus.

Well, there are at least two sides to the no deposit bonus story.  We here at Slots Play Casinos will tell you as much as we know about the value and efficacy of a no deposit bonus.

Read the Terms and Conditions

Everything that happens or can happen at an online casino is covered in the terms and conditions (t and c).  We encourage all online casino gamers to read a casino’s t and c simply because a lot of the questions gamers have about matters at online casinos and who contact a customer service office to ask them are answered in the t and c.

A lot of the time the t and c are written in a formal, even stilted language that is excruciatingly dull to read and hard to understand.  If you are considering signing up to play at an online casino because of its offer of a no deposit bonus and the t and c are hopelessly inscrutable, we say that you should move on to another online casino.

One of the parameters we use in the casinos we recommend is that the t and c be written in relatively easy to understand language.

What Do the T and C say about No Deposit Bonuses?

First of all, a no deposit bonus is always a lot smaller than a deposit bonus.  The “science” of searching for the best deposit bonus is another subject altogether.  Briefly, the wagering requirement should be no greater than 30x, the withdrawal maximum should be at least $1000, the bonus rate should be at least 100%, and the upper range of a deposit bonus offer should be at least $1000.

A no deposit bonus, in theory, puts an online casino at risk so casinos have a few restrictions that go along with a no deposit bonus.

Gamers Can Win and Withdraw a Maximum Sum of Money

Each casino has its own rules for withdrawals based on a gamer’s play with a no deposit bonus.  We feel that the low withdrawal maximums are not nearly as relevant as the withdrawal limits are in deposit bonuses.  The reason is simply that a no deposit bonus is free money; gamers accept no risk at all!

The Need to Minimize Risk

An online casino that offers a no deposit bonus will naturally want to minimize its risk exposure.  The most obvious way to do so is to make progressive jackpot games unavailable to gamers playing with a no deposit bonus.

Many online casinos simply place an upper limit on how much money a gamer can win with a no deposit bonus.

This means that a gamer cannot win the big extra payout for a Royal Flush in video poker and that means that there is no incentive for the gamer to bet the maximum in video poker.  There us also no incentive for the player to play multi-hand video poker.

Play Simple Slots

Players also have no reason to play games that have big random jackpots. Players should avoid all side bets.  In games like roulette, it is best to make the even money bets.  Players should play as many games as they can with their no deposit bonus and make minimum bets.

This is actually a good thing.

Why is it a Good Thing?

We need to look at a no deposit bonus from both the gamers’ side and from the casino’s side.  Gamers get free money.  If they put all of the money on one number in roulette, they might win the bet but they probably won’t win the money since there is usually an upper limit on winnings.

Instead of putting all of the money on one or two bets, we tell gamers to play as wide a range of games as possible and to stretch the no deposit bonus as far as they can.

Bonuses in General Benefit New Online Casino Gamers

A lot of new online casino gamers are signing up at an online casino for the first time and are unfamiliar with the way things go at online casinos.  A lot of these players have been to land-based casinos fairly often.  They like land-based casinos but are looking into online casinos for a lot of good reasons:

  1. The high cost of travelling to a land-based casino is starting to get to them.
  2. The increased hassle of flying is also wearing travelers down.
  3. Land-based casinos were shut down for many months during the Covid 10 pandemic and led to a boom in online casino registrations.
  4. Instant Play means that many online casinos are available to players and they can play at all of them from the comfort of their homes.
  5. Online casinos offer more gaming opportunities since there is never any waiting to play a popular game.
  6. Online casinos bring in at least one new slot every month and never take out a slot to make room for the new one.
  7. Online casinos still usually pay 3-2 for a blackjack instead of the 6-5 payout that is becoming standard at land-based casinos.
  8. Online casinos pay 9-6 in video poker for a full house or a flush instead of the 8-5 payout that many land-based casinos pay.
  9. After the pandemic ended, many players went back to a land-based casino and were surprised to find out that they no longer loved the atmosphere there.
  10. Many gamers have friends or family who are also new online casino gamers and they recommend it highly.
  11. Online casinos offer excellent mobile casino gaming.
  12. Many gamers appreciate the massive irony of a land-based casino offering in-house mobile gaming.
  13. In the aftermath of the lockdowns, many gamers now appreciate more than ever the value of a “real vacation”!

The Incentive to Play

Bonuses in general including no deposit bonuses present a clear incentive to gamers to try out an online casino.  Slots Play Casinos has many casinos that we recommend.

Bonuses are a major driving force for great online casino gaming.  Although a no deposit bonus is always quite small, it gives gamers a risk-free opportunity to travel through an online casino.

Some gamers sign up to play at an online casino, take a no deposit bonus or a deposit bonus, check out the casino and find that they would rather play at a different online casino!

Such is one aspect of the plentiful no deposit bonus offers given by online casinos.

Slots Play Casinos Scans the World of Online Casino Gaming

We have been around for only a few years and still have earned great praise from both gamers and industry types.  A recent case in point is that we received the coveted GPWA Seal of Approval.  The GPWA stands for Gaming Portals Webmaster Association.  It is a watchdog organization just as SPC is a watchdog site.

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David is our amateur economist and political philosopher, weather enthusiast, killer Sudoku fan, and best darn game analyst we've found.

In the twenty or so years since graduating college David has completely changed his gaming practices. Where once he played mostly video games with the occasional swing at blackjack at land-based casinos, David switched course and became a regular Sudoku player. David says that he likes the intellectual challenge of solving difficult problems.

Since he began playing Sudoku in earnest, David has ... [Read David Connor full bio]