Casino Sign-Up Bonuses

What Are Casino Sign-Up Bonus?

Sign up bonuses are exclusive offers that new players can claim upon creating an account at a casino. These bonuses are available to players making their first deposit, but some sign up bonuses may be separated among a player’s first three, four or five deposits.

You'll have the opportunity to claim various benefits, such as doubling your deposit, receiving free spins or collecting free bonus chips to play. There are numerous casino sign-up bonuses available, each with its own terms and conditions.

You'll often see"sign-up bonuses" and "welcome bonuses" mentioned interchangeably, so just be aware they're both referring to the same thing.

Different Types of Casino Sign-Up Bonuses

There are many different sign-up bonus offers, each of which has their unique set of rules, deals and lucrative prizes. Although there are thousands of offers to choose from, not all of them are as generous as they may appear at face-value.

Upon registering at an online casino, you could potentially claim one of five different types of sign-up bonus. The most common types include:

Deposit Welcome Bonus

The deposit welcome bonus is the standard type of sign-up offer, awarded to players upon completing registration and making their first deposit. These are often seen as cash match bonuses or free spin bonuses, and are commonly tied to how much money you deposit.

Deposit welcome bonuses can generally be spent on most online casino games, except progressive jackpot slots and live dealer titles. These casinos offers some of our favorite deposit welcome bonuses:

• mBit Casino
• BitStarz Casino
• Wild.io Casino

All of these sites offer no deposit bonuses and hold a Casino Wizard score of over 9.7/10!

No Deposit Sign-Up Bonus

No deposit sign-up bonuses are rewards that online casinos present new players who have successfully created an account. Unlike standard welcome bonuses, these offers do not require you to make a deposit, essentially meaning you don't have to risk any of your own money. 

If you’re looking to get off to a flying start by claiming a no deposit bonus, check out our top picks below:

• 7Bit Casino 20 Free Spins No Deposit Bonus
• BitStarz Casino 40 Free Spins No Deposit Bonus
• mBit Casino 50 Free Spins No Deposit Bonus

Free Spins Welcome Bonus

Free spins are one of the most popular types of welcome bonuses as they allow players to hit the ground running with complimentary spins. This means, upon playing a specific slot, you're awarded with 10 to more than 50 free spins without betting personal funds on each individual spin. 

Match Deposit Bonus

The match deposit bonus is one segment of a welcome package. It is exclusive to new players and typically doubles their deposit amount. For instance, if a casino has a bonus offer of 100% up to $100, players making a deposit of $100 will receive an additional $100 in bonus cash.

With this type of casino sign up bonus, players must be aware of how much they deposit. A minimum $10 deposit will double your playing bankroll to $20, but the maximum $100 gives an additional $100 to play with. It is also important to note the maximum limits, as depositing $200 does not mean you will have $400 to play with if the bonus specifies the maximum is capped at $100. 

Welcome Bonus Tournaments

Although this type of welcome offer is not too common, sign-up bonuses with tournaments allow new players to compete against other new joiners. The tournaments award the highest-ranked players with bonuses as a reward.

Casino Wizard Tip

You need to know how to recognize a worthwhile welcome bonus. You can do this by checking a casino’s bonus terms or choosing one of the proven offers we recommend.

Recommended Casino Sign-Up Bonuses by Preference

If you're thinking of collecting a sign-up bonus upon registration at a new casino, we advise you consider our top picks. These are the easily among the best casino sign-up bonuses, all from regulated sites that host plenty of games and generous welcome offers.

Casino Sign-Up Bonus Terms You Should Know 

The most important aspect of every casino sign-up bonus is the terms and conditions. Essentially, the T&Cs specify the fine-print of the bonus offer, with important details that must not be left out. It's also important to remember that bonuses may appear incredible on a casino's homepage, but may have unfair terms which make them not worth claiming. 

The most important bonus terms you need to look at are:

1. Wagering requirements
2. Stake weights
3. Bonus timeframes
4. Winning limitations

What are Wagering Requirements?

Online casino sign-up bonuses are subject to wagering requirements. This means, upon receiving the bonus amount, you will have to wager a certain amount of times the bonus funds to be able to withdraw any winnings. For instance, if you deposit $20 on a bonus with wagering requirements of 50x, you will have to spend $100 to meet the wagering requirememt.

Additionally, to comply with wagering requirements, you must also consider the stake weights of the game you play. This signifies how much a single bet contributes to completing the wagering requirements. If a bonus has 100% stake weight on slots, any $1 bet would contribute $1 towards fulfilling the wagering requirements. If a game has a 50% contribution, only $0.50 of your bet would contribute to the rollover amount.

In most casinos, the stake weights are calculated like this:

• Slots - 100%
• Table Games - 10%
• Keno & Scratch - 100%
• Live Games - 0%
• Jackpot slots - 0%

These percentage do vary by platform, so look for each casino's specific stake weight breakdown when claiming any bonus.

Casino Wizard Tip

We recommend you look for welcome bonuses with wagering requirements of 45x or less. Lower is always better!

Bonus Timeframes & Winning Limitations

Although the wagering requirements are very important when you're ocnsidering claiming an online casino welcome bonus, timeframes and winning limits are also significant. 

• Bonus timeframes: The timeframes of a bonus specifies how long you have to complete the conditions. This can vary from 24 hours to 7 days and the bonus must be completed within the given timeframe.
• Winning limitations: The limits on winnings are an important part of the bonus terms. These limits set the maximum amount that can be won from the bonus, and any winnings above the limit will be forfeited. Therefore, it is important to carefully read the terms and conditions to determine the maximum amount that can be won from the offer. However, not all sign-up bonuses have winning caps.

How to Pick the Best Online Casino Sign-Up Bonuses

Before you claim a welcome bonus at a casino, it's important to know exactly what you're getting into. This means taking the time to read through the bonus terms. However, we understand that this can be a tedious and time-consuming task, especially when it comes to sifting through the fine print. 

To make things easier for you, we've done the heavy lifting by creating reviews of casino welcome bonuses that provide insights into all the terms you need to know. If you're searching for the best online casino welcome bonuses, the following approach will help you claim the best offers. 

1. Read reviews about casinos and their sign up bonus offers
2. Compare casino bonuses with each other to identify your ideal choice
3. Examine your ideal choice and go to the casino
4. Create an account at the casino by clicking on the ‘Register/Sign Up’ button
5. Provide your full name and email address, as well as any other information required to complete the registration process
6. Select the bonus you wish to claim or insert a bonus code (if required)
7. Make your first deposit at the casino to claim the bonus
8. Enjoy playing with the bonus funds/free spins! 

Safety Tip

You should only ever play at licensed casinos, as they are strictly monitored by regulatory bodies to ensure a safe and fair gaming environment. Look for the casino license at the bottom of the casino’s homepage, or choose from our list of proven and regulated casinos.

Tips to Turn Online Casino Sign-Up Bonuses into Real Money

Collecting welcome bonuses at online casinos is easy to do. Typically, they only require players to create an account and make their first deposit. However, winning from the bonus and actually withdrawing a profit is a slightly more challenging task.

To increase your chances of withdrawing any winnings, consider this strategic approach to casino welcome bonuses:

• Activate the bonus: Some welcome bonuses require you to manually activate the offer. If the bonus is not active, any gaming will not contribute towards the wagering requirements.
• Play high RTP slots: The Return to Player (RTP) refers to the house advantage of a game. Slots with an RTP of 96% or higher and advised as the house advantage is relatively low.
• Seek low to medium volatility games: Playing low to medium volatility slots are less likely to burn through your bankroll than more volatile games. This is a great way of completing wagering requirements.
• Maximize the bonus amount: Upon claiming a casino sign up bonus, it is advised to maximize your potential earnings by depositing a greater amount, rather than a smaller one. That way, the more you deposit, the greater bonus funds you will receive.
• Complete the bonus terms: Before withdrawing or claiming another bonus, it is essential to complete the bonus terms. If you fail to complete the bonus terms, you will not be able to claim any of your bonus winnings.

Casino Wizard Tip

Many no deposit welcome bonuses require a bonus code to claim them. Check our no-deposit bonus list to find the bonus codes you’ll need.

How We Evaluate Online Casino Sign-Up Bonuses

Here at The Casino Wizard, we carefully analyze every casino welcome bonus by thoroughly inspecting the terms that are attached to the offer. Additionally, we consider the reputation of our listed casinos, ensuring a trusted and top-class experience for our readers. Our key considerations include:

• Casino reputation: The best casino sign up bonuses are from leading operators in the industry. When coming across a top-rated casino, it is important to understand why this casino is rated so highly. The simple answer is, happy customers and positive feedback generates a casino’s popularity.
• Bonus terms: Our due diligence inspects the bonus terms of a sign up offer, as this ultimately specifies everything you need to know about the deal. Instead of passing the responsibility to our readers, we inform readers of all bonus terms in our reviews.
• Withdrawal rules: One of our most important takeaways to consider is the withdrawal rules for bonus offers. This indicates the minimum/maximum limitations and the winning caps.
• Variety of games: Casino sign up bonuses mean absolutely nothing if a gaming platform does not provide plenty of games. Nowadays, the top casinos have thousands of games including slots, table games, crash games and a dynamic live casino.
• Generous bonus offers: Perhaps most importantly of them all, we review bonuses based on the size of the rewards. The best welcome bonuses are those with the biggest rewards. 

Responsible Gambling With Online Casino Welcome Bonuses 

Whilst casino sign-up bonuses are a great addition to the online gaming industry, playing responsibly should always be the top priority. While the industry is full of great offers, it's also a space where potential harms are a serious factor. 

It is important to play responsibly whenever you gamble online or collect welcome bonuses. The basics of responsible gaming include setting a budget and sticking to it, setting limits for playing time, knowing when to quit and never chasing losses.

For more information about Responsible Gambling, visit our responsible gambling page.

Conclusion

Claiming online casino sign up bonuses is a fantastic way to start your journey at a new casino. As indicated above, these bonuses can come in many forms, such as first deposit or no deposit bonuses. If you are thinking of claiming a casino welcome bonus, you're best off starting with any of the offers included in our list. We've compiled a set of fully regulated casinos, offering the biggest and best welcome bonuses with fair terms and excellent game collections. Which one will you choose?