The bonuses provided by many good online casinos for first time depositors and regular players are one of the many reasons why internet casinos have become so popular over the last decade. There is usually no such scheme in brick and mortar casinos.
However, the way casino online bonuses work can be rather confusing for novice players. We will try and answer some of the questions you may have.
The first thing you need to understand is that Australian casinos online don't want to give away money. Internet casinos are businesses and need to show a profit in order to survive. They offer you a welcome bonus because they want you to become a customer and a regular player. Therefore you cannot simply take out your bonus money either, together with your deposit, and leave the casino. When online casinos were still in their infancy, there used to be gangs of bonus hunters who did exactly that and made a small fortune. Subsequently, online casinos had to change their bonus rules in order to protect themselves from fraudsters. This is also the reason why you cannot open more than one account with the casino of your choice. If you try and open a second account, the casino may regard this as attempted bonus fraud and bar you from their casino.
All good online casinos give you a welcome bonus when you register with them and make your first deposit. This bonus usually equals your deposit, but this can vary from casino to casino. If you deposit, say AUD 100.00, you can expect to get another AUD 100.00 as your welcome bonus.
In some casinos, you receive your welcome bonus in the form of a lump sum deposited into your account while other casinos pay your bonus in instalments. In a few internet casinos you can get a welcome bonus without making a deposit, but the bonus conditions are usually less favourable.
We would recommend that you read the Terms & Conditions of the online casino you want to play in before you make your deposit. Normally, the T & C aren't very long but they should explain the bonus conditions to you.
There may be considerable differences between casinos in how a welcome bonus can be used. As mentioned above, online casinos don't want to give away money and therefore they have certain bonus conditions. You may not be able to play all the games with your bonus, or you may only use your bonus money for a limited period of time.
Furthermore, in order to withdraw your bonus money, you have to wager to release your bonus. In other words, you have to turn over x-amount of money before you can make a withdrawal. This could mean that in order to release your bonus of AUD 100.00, you may have to play through AUD 100.00 Casinos also usually exclude certain games from counting toward your bonus release. This could be the pokies or it may be the roulette tables.
As mentioned above, the T & C of the casino of your choice should specify what exactly you need to do.
As pointed out above, online casinos bonuses is subject to certain requirements, but getting a welcome bonus is still worth your while. Welcome bonuses will be deposited in your casino account and enable you to play for longer, raise your bets or try out new games. Any money you win, is yours, you merely have to follow the rules to have it released.
Many of the best online casinos also run a bonus programme that gives you reload bonuses or bonus points that lead to cash bonuses or worthwhile prizes.
