Understanding Online Casino Bonuses at Australian Casino Sites
Playing casino games recreationally but without a bonus is like eating a hot dog without mustard. It just feels like something’s missing. Using a bonus can give you some boost to your gameplay – effectively increasing your playtime and giving you a better chance of winning.
In this guide, we will break down casino bonuses from top to bottom and explain their different categories of promotions, similarities, how to use them, and what to watch out for.
Online Casino Promotions: Overview
Sometimes a marketing strategy, other times a complimentary giveaway from the casino for your loyalty, online bonuses can serve a variety of purposes for a variety of players. Cashback bonuses give you a return on losses weekly or daily, while free spins are just free rounds you play with purchased or acquired spin credits.
Whether you enjoy pokies or like to compete with other players on a live dealer poker table, there is a bonus for every purpose. But you should remember two things about bonuses: their face value and actual value. The face value is what you see, which is often tempting. The actual value lies in the bonus terms and how easy these are to meet with your playing style.
Types of Online Casino Bonuses
We can create multiple categories and sub-categories of casino bonuses. For instance, you have welcome bonuses and regular-player offers. The latter can be subdivided into weekly reload bonuses, weekend reloads, or daily reloads. And even those subcategories can be classified based on whether it’s a free spins bonus, a cash bonus, or both.
Welcome Bonus
Welcome packs come in different formats, including free spins and cash deposit bonuses, or packaged together. We can separate sign-up offers into single-installment deals and multiple-deposit offers.
For instance, you can find a 150% welcome bonus up to A$1,000. So, if you deposit between the minimum amount, usually A$10-$20, and the maximum amount, $1,000, you get a 150% match on the amount, plus the deposited cash to play with. So, if you deposit A$60, you get a $90 bonus plus the $60 you deposited. Free spins can also be included in the deposit bonus.
Multiple deposit bonuses apply on several consecutive deposits. For example, a casino can offer a 100% bonus of up to A$200 on your first deposit and 50 free spins, a 75% bonus on your second deposit (plus possible free spins) up to $150, and 50% on your 3rd and 4th deposits up to $100, with or without spins.
Only new players are eligible for a welcome bonus. If you skip the bonus, you won’t be able to claim it afterwards.
Reload Bonus
A reload bonus is any bonus where the casino reloads funds or spins to your account when you make a deposit. Reload bonuses are usually smaller than welcome deals, so you can expect anywhere between 25% and 75% reload up to A$50 or A$100.
The package can also include free spins. One example is a 50% reload bonus up to A$300 + 100 free spins. Both existing and new users are eligible for reload bonuses. If you deposit A$180, the casino will credit $90. On the other hand, the spins may be awarded in batches of 10, 20, or even 50.
Daily Bonus
Daily free spins are quite common, but so are reload bonuses. Say, you can find a casino that offers 100 daily free spins every Monday and another casino offering 50 or 70 spins every Wednesday. It’s really up to the casino to determine which day the daily bonus is available and what it includes.
A Friday reload bonus offering a 50% match up to A$200 can be considered a daily reload bonus. Another common daily offer is free spins every day for a specified minimum deposit, for instance, 20 spins every day for a minimum deposit of A$30.
Weekly and Weekend Bonuses
Weekly casino bonuses are almost identical to daily offers, except they are not restricted to a specific day of the week. Usually, you can claim weekly bonuses on any day of the week, but only once.
Like, for example, a bonus offering 50 free spins once a week on any day if you deposit A$30 or $40. Weekly offers can also come packaged as free spins or cashback of 15%-20%.
Cashback
Daily and weekly rakeback is quite common among online casinos in Australia or anywhere else. The cashback amount can range anywhere from 2% to up to 20% or more, depending on the casino. The terms of the cashback vary based on whether it’s a daily or a weekly offer.
For daily cashback, you only get a return on your losses for that day, usually up to a given amount. Some casinos have unlimited daily or weekly cashback, so regardless of how much you lose during the week, you can still collect, for instance, 11% on those losses.
A cashback deal can also come as a daily cashback on every deposit, like 20% on every deposit of A$30 or more, every day, without limit.
VIP Bonuses
A casino that operates a VIP program usually offers a diverse set of VIP bonuses and benefits. VIP programs are tiered and can include up to 10 or more tiers. To reach a certain VIP level, you should stay active. The more you play, the higher you rank in the VIP system.
The benefits vary based on your level. Beginner levels usually include some bonus, like cash or free spins. Depending on the casino and its program, there can be only a few VIP bonuses like free spins or cash that improve with each level, or multiple offers and perks per level, such as personal account manager, priority withdrawals, birthday bonuses, special deals, and more.
Crypto Bonuses
Crypto depositors can play at many Australian casinos accepting Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins. Crypto casinos often provide crypto bonuses for eligible BTC, LTC, ETH, or other crypto depositors. Considering the rising value of the top cryptocurrencies, these bonuses can be quite sizable, up to 0.5 BTC or an equivalent in another cryptocurrency.
The minimum BTC deposit can vary but is usually in the range of 0.0002-0.0003 BTC (or currency equivalent), which comes to about A$32 and A$48, respectively. Crypto bonuses, considering their price tag, usually come with a larger side of free spins, which can include 150-300 FS.
Alternative Bonuses
We’ve scoured dozens of safe Australian online casinos, and if there is one thing they have in common, it is the multi-option bonus program.
Apart from daily/weekly reload deposit bonuses and cashback, you can play in tournaments to win real cash prizes, which is better than a bonus, as tournament prizes have no terms of use. Fortune Wheel spins, which award random FS and cash prizes, are also common.
Secret offers, birthday bonuses, and special promotions are also common, and they are either more personalized or are bigger in value. Certain online casino operators may provide social media bonuses for registered members who interact on the casino’s Instagram, Facebook, X, or TikTok profiles.
Main Terms and Conditions of Casino Bonuses
When you claim a bonus, you must comply with the terms of use, but before you pick one, you must see if you accept those terms. Here’s a breakdown of the key terms tied to almost every bonus.
Wagering requirements
Cash deposit deals, reload offers, free spins, and even cashback bonuses can have wagering requirements (WR). The wagering, or rollover, shows you how many times you must wager the amount of the bonus and/or deposit. Additionally, if there are free spins, you will have to wager the total winnings from your bonus spins a certain amount of times.
For instance, a A$50 bonus with 50 FS and 40x WR means you have to wager $50 at least 40 times to get any bonus winnings. Any winnings from the FS must also be wagered 40 times through. Read the terms closely because, depending on the casino, how the WRs apply may vary.
Validity
In terms of validity, there are two things to remember: the time to meet the WR and the validity of free spins. The time to complete the wagering requirements can range from 3 to 30 days, depending on the terms. On the other hand, the validity of free spins can be anywhere from 24 hours to up to 7 or even 14 days.
Bet Limits
Whether you use bonus cash or bonus spins, there are always defined minimum and maximum limits. In many cases, casinos have no low bet limit, while the maximum bet usually ranges between A$3 and A$7.5. The penalty for betting over the given limit can lead to bonus cancellation.
Game Restrictions
Game eligibility applies mostly to bonus spins, where the casino will specify which pokie(s) you should play so the spins count. The casino will specify the eligible games or provide a list of restricted games or game providers. Expand the main bonus terms and conditions and you should be able to see a list of (in)eligible games.
Game Contribution
To complete the bonus wagering requirements as fast as possible, you should stick to online pokies. This is the only game category that contributes 100% of each bet to the reduction of your bonus wagering. It means if you bet A$2.5, the same amount will count toward the WR. On the other hand, card games, roulette, poker, video poker, blackjack, and alternative games usually contribute between 2% and 5% (or more) of each bet.
Eligibility
Casino bonuses are only usable one at a time. You cannot use a bonus while you still have an active bonus. Claiming a new bonus should be a reasonable decision on your part if you believe you cannot complete the current bonus or the new one offers better terms. If you unknowingly claim a new deal with active bonus credits in your balance, the casino will cancel the first bonus and any winnings it earned you in favour of the new one.
How to Claim Casino Bonuses Online
You must be a registered and verified member of an online casino to be eligible for bonuses. The process is only a few basic steps, but we will list them nonetheless so you’re ready when you want to get a promotion.
- After opening an account, verify your email, phone, ID, or other personal information.
- Open the casino cashier or tap the Deposit button and pick a payment method.
- Deposit an amount equal to or higher than the qualifying bonus deposit (usually A$20-$30).
- Open the Promotions page or select the bonus from your menu, if possible.
- If required, input the promo code for that bonus, which you will find in the bonus description card.
- Once everything checks out, the bonus credits (cash and/or free spins), will arrive within minutes in your balance.
Tips for Using Bonuses on Casino Sites
There is not much advice for using bonuses other than to stick to the specified terms of use and use your judgment. Still, after years of gaming at Australian casinos and hundreds of claimed bonuses, we believe we have a few guides we can share.
- Pick a bonus amount based on your budget – Deposit bonuses can offer a bonus value spanning hundreds of AUD. A 100% bonus up to A$1,000 with a minimum deposit of A$30 allows you to get any amount between $30 and $1,000. But getting a bigger bonus means playing more actively and spending more to meet the WR. Instead, determine your gaming budget and claim a bonus amount proportional to your budget.
- Don’t always use combined FS + cash bonuses – Claiming a bonus package with both free spins and a deposit match seems tempting, but remember that is the face value of the bonus. If you get this kind of deal, you must meet wagering requirements for both the cash bonus and the free spins, which can be challenging. Picking a cash or FS bonus only leaves you with the single rollover applicable to that offer.
- Mind the bet limits – Before you start betting, check the limits. Many casinos have no minimum bet limits but do set maximum limits. It is important to know the maximum you can bet with bonus credits because going over the allowed limit can lead to bonus forfeiture.
- Avoid games other than pokies – You may be a fan of scratch cards or roulette, or you like poker. But when playing with a bonus, these game categories contribute a small portion of your bet toward the wagering requirements, usually up to 5%. Slots, on the other hand, count your full bet amount (100%) toward the WR.
- Play multi-feature pokies– When you play online pokies with bonus funds, go for games that have multiple built-in features like bonus rounds, wilds, sticky wilds, free spins, respins, multipliers, and special features. This way, extra spins or higher payouts can help you a great deal in meeting the wagering requirements.
How to Cash Out Bonus Winnings
To cash out winnings you’ve earned using your cash bonus or free spins, you must see the bonus wagering requirements through to the end. Be careful to meet the wagering requirements within the given period, or you will forfeit your bonus and winnings.
As far as the cash-out process goes, it’s a series of a few simple steps:
- Open the cashier and select a withdrawal option.
- Input the amount you wish to withdraw.
- Insert the remaining payment details.
- Confirm the transfer.
- Wait for the necessary withdrawal checks to be completed.
So, Are Online Casino Bonuses Worth It?
Online bonuses require moderation. It can be beneficial to get a cash top-up or some extra spins, but overusing bonuses in short-term periods may be more complicated due to the challenge and amount of effort needed to meet the wagering requirements.
We suggest using bonuses periodically – once a week or up to 2-3 times a month – but only if you think you can meet the wagering requirements and other terms of use. When it comes to selection, online casinos have no shortage of free spins, reload offers, VIP rewards, and exclusive and personalized deals
Online Casino Bonuses - FAQ
The minimum deposit you need to put down to claim a casino bonus is usually between A$10 and A$30. Reload bonuses or special deals may require a higher deposit, up to A$40 or more.
If you find a casino offering a no deposit bonus as cash credits or free spins, you can get it for free. But if any wagering requirements apply to the bonus, the bonus alone may not be enough to complete the required wagering.
It depends on the bonus, but the average is about 100 free spins. Crypto bonuses may usually offer a larger amount of FS, while daily FS reloads can give between 10-50 spins, depending on the package.