The sign-up bonus is designed to encourage us into "buying-in" or registering
with a casino operator. The market is saturated and competitive, and as such,
casinos employ incentive strategies to recruit new members. There are an
assortment of sign-up bonuses such as the no deposit bonus, the match bonus, the
free spin bonus and the welcome bonus, but at the heart of them all, lies the
simple fact, that we are required to a) download gaming software, and b)
register a real money account. The reward for joining comes in the form of free
gaming credits. New members are issued with a coupon or sign-up bonus code which
is used at the casino cashier to activate their reward. The no deposit bonus
requires the least commitment from gamers, since we are not required to make a
deposit in order to redeem our free credits, but the bonus is usually nominal
and depleted within seconds, unless we are on a good run.
Aside from the no deposit bonus, the other sign-up bonuses usually require
that we deposit funds into our player accounts before we are able to redeem our
welcome rewards. Even the free spin bonus requires this. Whilst we might
accumulate enough winnings during free spins to add to our real-play gaming
credits, we are usually required to deposit money before they are activated. And
yes, once the funding is complete, we are gifted with our just rewards, but
realize this: We cannot withdraw those funds, for they are not entirely free.
There are "playthrough requirements" that need to be fulfilled. This is
essentially a set of regulations governing how many wagers we need to make
before a withdrawal is possible. The playthrough requirement is usually set at
between 10X and 30X the total sign-up bonus, but can also include the total
deposit amount into that equation. So, if the requirement is 20X the deposit and
sign-up bonus amount, which is £1000 in total, we will need to bet £20 000
before we can make a withdrawal. So, unless we are winning enough to see us
through the duration of £20 000 worth of bets with only £1 000 in credits, we
won't be withdrawing any free money whatsoever!
So, why do we enjoy sign-up bonuses then? Well, for one thing, it allows us
to play with casino money while we navigate our way through their gaming
portfolios in search of our favorite games. But mainly, its because we
understand, that we are after all gambling, and sign-up bonuses allow us to bide
time while we battle it out for that massive jackpot!
Sign Up Bonuses
