Everyone knows that all the best online casinos offer new customers a welcome bonus when they sign up for a new account. It is not only online casinos that do this; it happens in all walks of life. Many businesses offer new customers special deals and rates when they first join the party, but what about long-standing, loyal customers? What do they get? In the online casino world, a reload bonus is the most common form of reward for players who are already customers.
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A reload bonus is exactly what it sounds like:
This is a bonus offered by an online casino as a reward for depositing funds into your account.
Usually, these bonuses come in the form of a matched deposit bonus such as 100% up to $250.
Using that example, the casino matches your deposit 100% up to a maximum of $250 when you reload your account. Deposit $25 and receive a $25 bonus. Deposit $250 for a $250 bonus. However, even if you deposited $1,000, you would still only receive $250 in this instance.
While reload bonuses are a great way to boost your bankroll, do not consider them purely free money.
Casinos are in the business of making money, and handing out free cash is a surefire way to do the complete opposite of that!
Like most other bonuses, a bonus for reloading your account almost always comes with wagering or playthrough requirements.
These measures are in place to protect the casino from players who abuse the bonus system and to ensure they see a return on the money they have been awarded.
Reload bonuses have a simple mechanism to work, like most things related to online casinos. Companies like keeping things simple so players take advantage of them and do not get confused and spend time contacting customer support.
Some casinos have set days when they offer reload bonuses. Wednesdays are popular because they are in the middle of the week when casinos tend to be quieter. Fridays are another popular time for such rewards because customers are likelier to play on weekends when most have time from their day jobs.
Holidays and special occasions are other popular times for casinos to offer customers the chance to enjoy a bonus. For example, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas often see themed pokies hit the casino, and casinos offer bonuses to try them. Some choose dates like Thanksgiving or the Super Bowl to dish out bonuses to their loyal customer base.
They work by offering you a reward for depositing into your account. The majority of reload bonuses offer you a percentage of your deposit amount up to a predetermined maximum. The bonus amounts often look like 100% up to $500, which means any deposit you make is matched 100% up to a maximum bonus of $500.
The bonus is immediately available to use, although most have some form of restrictions applied to them. These include, but are not limited to, the pokies and games you can play, the amounts you can bet, and an amount you must wager before you can withdraw the bonus cash.
These bonuses are there to reward players for their continual custom. Be aware that requesting a withdrawal from your account as a reload bonus approach will almost always make that bonus unavailable to you. Similarly, most online casinos remove any bonus if you make a withdrawal while the bonus is active.
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Regardless of how, when, and why you receive a reload bonus, they all tend to work the same way. You either follow a dedicated link sent to your email address (which is why it is essential to keep your personal details up-to-date) or enter a specific bonus code when you deposit into your account. Those bonus codes usually arrive in the form of an email or can be found on the casinos’ social media accounts and the promotions sections of their websites.
All that is required then is to make a qualifying deposit with the relevant bonus code or at the specified time, and a chunk of bonus cash instantly lands in your account. It really is that easy! There is no jumping through hoops or confusing steps, just follow the frighteningly simple instructions, and you are good to go with a chunky bonus nestled in your account.
There are several things to look for when choosing a reload bonus to take advantage of. You may be sitting there thinking the size of the bonus is all that matters, but it is not. The wagering requirements, restrictions, and terms and conditions are always your first port of call regarding any form of bonus.
Any restrictions must be factored in before you part with your cash, regardless of how massive the bonus is. A casino could offer you a $1 million bonus, but what is the point if that bonus is all but impossible to release into your playable balance?
First, look at the wagering requirements, often called playthrough requirements. As the name suggests, this is the amount of money you must wager before you can consider the bonus to be released into your account and are then free to do with as you wish. For example, a $100 bonus with 40x wagering requirements needs you to make $4,000 worth of best before that bonus is fully released into your account. Now think about claiming a $1,000 reload bonus with the same terms. Are you going to be able to wager $40,000 during the allotted time? Some of you will, but not those who bet $0.25 per spin.
Wagering requirements usually come with a limited time for you to meet them. This time ranges from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Combine this information with the wagering requirements to see if you have a realistic chance of receiving the entire bonus balance. It is always better to claim a smaller bonus that you have the chance of fully releasing than to be greedy and claim a gigantic sum that even a high roller would have trouble completing the requirements for.
Any other rules and restrictions related to any bonus you claim are worth noting. Some online casinos limit the amount you can bet per spin while you have an active bonus, while others prevent you from playing specific pokies or table games until you fulfil the wagering requirements. Go through the small print with a fine-toothed comb and leave no stone unturned, so you do not fall foul of any hidden terms and conditions or find yourself having chosen a reload bonus that is impossible to release fully.
Every online casino has its own terms and conditions for its bonuses that are suited to the way its management team wants to run the business. That said, most follow a similar pattern that is tried and tested.
It is all but guaranteed that a reload bonus has wagering requirements attached to it. Many years ago, when online casinos were in their infancy, some people made vast sums of money, at the casinos’ expense, by signing up for bonuses, playing a few spins, and then withdrawing their balances.
Obviously, this giving away of money was great for the player but bad for business. This is why you are now required to wager a predetermined amount before you get complete control of the bonus money and, often, any winnings derived from it.
Bet limitations | Expect the casino to limit the size of your bets when working through the wagering requirements. The bet limitations probably will not be an issue for most players but could be quite restrictive if you usually bet $25 or more per spin. |
Wagering requirements | Following the same vein as limiting bet sizes, only money wagered on certain games counts towards your playthrough obligations. For example, pokies almost always count 100% towards the requirements, but blackjack and roulette bets can count as less as 5%. For every $1 you wager at blackjack or roulette, only $0.05 is considered part of the playthrough requirements. |
T&Cs | As with everything finance-related in this world, always check the small print and never just click yes to the various terms and conditions. |
While reload bonuses are only available to existing customers, becoming a customer of another online casino often makes it possible to claim a welcome bonus. These first deposit bonuses tend to be far larger than the reload bonus equivalent because they are designed to catch the eye of new clients; the promise of a boatload of free money is enough to entice most people.
Welcome bonuses: Like the reload bonuses, welcome or first deposit bonuses usually come in the format of 100% or 200% up to $500 or $1,000. Some of our casino partners on this website offer first deposit bonuses up to $10,000, while others match your first handful of deposits onto the site.
Free spins: Some welcome bonuses come with the offer of free spins, which can add to your profits. The free spins bonus will clearly state which pokies are valid for the promotion and the stake size for those free spins. Do not be surprised to learn there are wagering requirements on any money won from the free spins, although they tend to be far more lenient than other forms of bonuses.
No deposit bonuses: There are no deposit bonuses occasionally available, although they are rare. No deposits reward new customers with free play or free spins just for creating their accounts and verifying their identity. It should not come as a surprise that any no deposit bonus is far smaller than those where you are required to deposit into your account and often come with far higher wagering requirements and restrictions.
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