If you’ve played at an online casino for any length of time, you will be familiar with casino bonuses. They come in a myriad of deals, some as welcome bonuses and others as loyalty perks. Not all of them are all they are cracked up to be, though. But you don’t have to take the good with the bad. You can choose which bonuses and promotions suit you. With this guide, we’ll look at the pros and cons of casino bonuses.

The Pros

Let’s start with the pros since everybody would be willing to take a casino bonus if had very few drawbacks. Here are a few of the reasons why promos and bonuses might be worth looking at when playing at casino sites.

An Extra Helping Hand

Essentially, promos and bonuses constitute free cash. For players on shoestring budgets, and those who don’t have as much money to splash as others, these are a welcome financial addition to your casino gaming experience. They allow players to play more expensive games than they would ordinarily be able to, or to enjoy more extended sessions than they could without them.

Plenty to Choose From

As mentioned, there’s no shortage of casino promotions and bonuses in the internet gambling world. They can come as welcome bonuses when you deposit, free spin deals on new games, offers on subsequent deposits, loyalty bonuses provided for playing games at the casino over an extended period; daily, weekly, monthly offers, slot tournaments and even anniversary and refer-a-friend bonuses can also be found. With such a wealth of options open to you, players can afford to be picky about which bonuses they choose to claim. There is often something for everyone.

No Deposit Bonuses

Some bonuses also come free of wagering requirements. These represent risk-free opportunities for players. You can take your bonus cash and/or spins, play to your heart’s content, and win real money, without ever having to deposit a penny. They are more common than they sound but keep in mind that not all no deposit bonuses come free of wagering requirements, which brings us to our first con.

The Cons

Let’s start with those wagering requirements. You know, the ones we’ve just discussed, then.

Wagering Requirements

Most online casino bonuses come with wagering requirements. If they didn’t, it would mean that you could claim a fistful of bonus cash and walk away with it. To protect against that, most casino bonuses and promotions require players to play through their bonus cash a certain number of times before they can withdraw. These playthrough rates are considered reasonable when they are set to 35x or less. Wagering requirements of 40x or more are considered excessive at best.

Game Specific Bonuses

The devil is in the detail, here. Not all bonuses can be used on all games carried at an online casino site. In fact, some can only be spent on a handful of games. It is essential to read the terms and conditions of any bonus you are considering claiming. Make sure that you know what your bonuses can be used for long before you decide to claim them. It is also important to note the games which count towards the wagering requirements when you claim bonus cash, as not all of them do.

Watch that Clock

Watching the clock is vital with casino bonuses and promotions. Many are time-limited offers and deals. That means that they come with a built-in expiration date, which is usually triggered the moment you claim them. You must use those bonus offers before they expire. If you let the clock run down and the bonus funds expire, you’re going to get stuck with wagering requirements and no chance of winning real money. Since wagering requirements are often unavoidable, you might as well use the bonus within the allocated time frame.

The Silver Lining

We don’t want to end on a bum-note, so remember that you do have a choice when it comes to casino bonuses. You don’t have to claim any offer if you think it is a bad deal. However, if it sounds like it could be a terrific offer, and it can see you laden with free bonus cash (and it comes with decent wagering requirements), why not have a crack at casino bonus deals?

The trick is finding the offers and deals which work for you. Every casino bonus on the net (save for no deposit deals which are free of wagering entanglements) has its pros and cons. At least now, you will have some idea of what to look for.