Online casinos offer new and existing players a range of incentives to enhance their gambling experience. These serve as marketing tools that either attract gamblers to register or convince experienced gamblers to keep betting on the site.
In the iGaming market, there are many promotions available, so how does one become an expert at choosing the most favorable one? This is where comparing bonuses comes into play for you. As a bettor, you can learn to analyze the important aspects and discern which conditions are beneficial and which would be better off left untouched.
This article will teach you how to approach promotional comparisons, the main rules and the aspects to look out for. You will observe how experts apply the techniques presented in order to find the most favorable bonus.
How to compare casino bonuses
There are many categories of casino promotions, including free spins, no deposit offers, welcome bonuses and promo codes for existing players. All of these have one thing in common: their terms matter more than you would think.
To successfully compare them, you must learn what conditions to look for and what they mean. This is why, when you are in search of bonus codes, follow these 3 important aspects:
Identify the values that matter
A bonus description can contain many numbers that could cause you confusion. You must have the 4 most important ones in mind when you assess how advantageous the promotion is.
- The first is the obvious one, included in the offer’s title and the one that attracts your attention at the beginning: the headline amount. This marks the reward given by the casino (spins, money, match bonuses or any other combination).
- The wagering requirements (also known as playthrough or rollover) are the second condition to look for before playing with a bonus. Based on these requirements, you calculate the money you have to spend on a certain game before having the green light to withdraw your winnings. These usually appear in the promotion description as multipliers (you calculate their value by multiplying the number by the bonus sum*).
*Editor’s note: Sometimes, wagering applies to both the bonus amount and the deposit. It is advisable to check the bonus terms for this mention before you redeem the offer.
- The expiry date of a bonus dictates how long you get to use the benefits and how much time you have to fulfill the playthrough conditions. The availability period should be long enough to allow you to gamble comfortably, with frequent breaks, to maintain control over your gambling sessions.
- Once you meet the rollover conditions, there is a limit on how much you can cash out. This withdrawal limit is the fourth value you must be careful about. A higher limit is more advantageous, so make sure you choose wisely.
Check contribution rates and eligible games
The wagering contribution is the percentage of your bets that counts toward fulfilling a casino offer’s requirements. Its value depends on the game type, as not all game categories contribute evenly. In the casino’s bonus T&Cs, you will find mentions of each game type and its contribution rate to the wagering. The most common practices place slot machines at 100%, live table games at 50% and sports betting (when available) at lower percentages, usually around 10%-20%.
Operators allow promotional benefits for specific games. Each bonus has a list of eligible games of luck, which can be played with the rewards you receive. These should have advantageous RTP percentages (the theoretical percentage of your bets that returns to your account over an extended period). The industry’s average RTP is 96%, so anything above that is positive.
When you look for an offer, ensure the qualifying slots align with your preferences so you can enjoy your betting session to its fullest potential. In addition, these should also have substantial contributions towards the playthrough conditions, so that each bet you make fully assists in the fulfillment of them.
Compare the offers
As already mentioned, there are numerous bonus types, so you should identify a common feature to simplify the casino bonus comparison process. The elements mentioned above are the characteristics that will help you discern which offer is more favorable. A formula that can help you is the expected bonus value:
Bonus Value – (Wagering Value x House Edge)
House edge is the mathematical advantage that assures the operator’s profit in the long run. It is a percentage of the player’s bet, which you calculate by subtracting the game’s RTP from 100% (for a slot with 96% RTP, the edge is 4%).
When the value resulting from the formula above is positive, it means that the bonus is advantageous. To illustrate how these conditions should influence your decision, let’s take two hypothetical examples:
- Bonus A: which gives you $15 without a deposit for the slot Sweet Bonanza (which has an RTP of 96%), and imposes 10x wagering requirements, which you must meet within 72 hours. Once you meet them, you can withdraw a maximum of $100.
- Bonus B: gives you $20 without a deposit on the same slot machine, but it imposes 60x rollover conditions that you should meet within 12 hours. The withdrawal limit is $20.
You can simplify your process with a table where you can enter all your data. This way, comparison becomes an organized activity that is easy to do, rather than a complicated game of reading between tricky terms:
|
|
Bonus A |
|
Bonus B |
|
Headline amount |
$15 |
< |
$20 |
|
Wagering value |
$150 |
< |
$1200 |
|
Withdrawal limit |
$100 |
> |
$20 |
|
Expiry date |
72 hours |
> |
12 hours |
|
Expected Value |
$15 – ($150 x 4%) = $15 – $6 = $9 |
> |
$20 – ($1200 x 4%) = $20 – $48 = $-28 |
Despite the obviously more advantageous headline amount for bonus B, its conditions are less favorable. The expected value is negative, which makes the incentive undesirable. You should always be careful with promotions, as they are more than their headlines suggest and can trick you into accepting unfavorable deals.
Conclusion
Gambling is an activity that can easily become addictive if you are not careful enough and do not practice responsible gambling. You should always start by reading the terms of a promotion so you don’t fall victim to a disadvantageous offer. Follow the steps provided above and use your critical thinking while betting, even if the rewards you receive don’t require deposits.
If you catch yourself chasing losses, take it as a sign to take a break from gambling. To do so, you can use various tools, including self-exclusion. This program makes it impossible for you to use your account at a casino for a period of your choice, which gives you enough time to regain control over your behavior.
