No Deposit Bonuses Explained
A no deposit bonus is a free bonus offered by online casinos to new players. Primarily, they are offered as an inducement. Online Casinos want you to sign up, enjoy your experience, and hopefully make a deposit.
Are No Deposit Bonuses really free?
Whenever weâre offered something for free on the internet, our first reaction is: âThis must be a scam.â And this is a valid reaction – on the face of it, it makes no sense that a casino (of all things) should be giving away free money. Which makes it all the more surprising when, as it turns out, No Deposit Bonuses are 100% free to claim!
There are no hidden charges, no covert fees, no binding contract that might steal your hard-earned cash. If you donât make a deposit, you donât pay. And there are no rules stipulating that you have to make a deposit.
Benefits of Claiming a No Deposit Bonus – Why should I claim?
It may be true that the best things in life are free, but this doesnât mean that everything âfreeâ is worth having. If a no deposit bonus is worth claiming, it has to have a value that makes it worth your time and effort.
So why should you claim a No Deposit Bonus?
Weâre going to be honest: itâs a pretty easy sell. No Deposit Bonuses come jam-packed with a heap of real, tangible benefits.
If you claim one, youâll be able to:
Developer of branded slots such as the iconic Game of Thrones and Jurassic World
Have the chance to win real money!
Explore the world of online slots – for FREE!
Play on games youâve never played before.
Hone your skills and become a casino master.
Find a casino that feels like home.
Go from searching for a bonus to playing in a matter of minutes.
The Variety of No Deposit Bonuses
Being able to identify a good bonus is a skill that comes with practice, and this begins with knowing the difference between the types of no deposit bonus on offer.
For the most part, there are two kinds of no deposit bonus you can claim. There are few differences between them.
But there are two crucial differences which we will illustrate in the table below:
| Types of No Deposit Bonus | Credited As | Eligible Game-Type(s) |
|---|---|---|
| No Deposit Bonus Credits | £/$/⏠| Slot Games, Table Games |
| No Deposit Free Spins | Quantity of Free Spins (i.e. 10, 20, 50, 100) | Slot Games |
No Deposit Bonus Rules
Before we get to how you can turn the odds in your favour, you need to be aware of the way the odds are stacked against you. Online Casinos are happy to give away No Deposit Bonuses, so long as they can determine the rules. These rules never make it impossible to win, but they do inhibit your chances.
Letâs go over the four most common obstacles youâre faced with:
Wagering Requirements
The bane of all bonus hunters. Wagering Requirements can be a real stumbling-block to cashing out your winnings. This rule is based on the following premise:
Before you can cash-out your winnings, you need to wager the value of your bonus a number of times.
If youâre new to no deposit bonuses, you may not understand what this means.
Letâs use an example to illustrate how it makes winning all the more difficult:
Beat the odds! Click here to claim your free ÂŁ5 no deposit bonus at Energy Casino.
The guys at Energy Casino are giving away a No Deposit Bonus worth ÂŁ5 in Bonus Credits. This bonus comes with Wagering Requirements of 30x. This means that you have to wager the value of your bonus (ÂŁ5) at least (30x) before you can cash out your winnings.
Therefore, you have to wager a sum total of ÂŁ150 before you can withdraw your winnings.
Time Limits
This is self-explanatory, but weâre going to explain it anyway. As soon as you claim your bonus, the clock begins to tick. You need to wager your bonus as quickly as possible – if you run out of time, your bonus expires, and you lose all of your progress.
Eligible Games
New players, beware! Most no deposit bonuses only allow you to play on one, or a specific number of games. It may be tempting to try out every game in the casino, but if you succumb to this temptation you will invalidate your bonus. Find the eligible games and stick to them: thatâs the only way youâll be able to win real money!
If youâre a novice, you may be wondering how to know which games are eligible. Here at No Deposit World we try to make it as clear as possible within our review.
When we add a bonus to our list, we say exactly which game the bonus is eligible to be wagered on – for instance:
Max. Cashouts
Hereâs the sad part: if you fulfil all of the terms and conditions of your no deposit bonus, youâll only be able to keep a portion of your winnings. But hereâs the great part: youâll have won real money for free! If you essentially get paid for playing online slots, you can hardly complain that you canât keep all of your winnings, right?
The 3 Easy Ways to Maximise your Chances of Winning – Judging Bonuses at a Glance
Any player – novice or expert – can measure the value of a bonus at a glance. All you need to know is what to look for.
When youâre scrolling through our list, make sure to scan each bonus for these 3 features:
The Total Max. Cashout
The higher the Max. Cashout (or Max. Winnings) the more you can withdraw as real money. It hardly needs to be said that this has a huge impact on your winnings. Any bonus that allows you to cash out upwards of ÂŁ100 is a hell of a deal.
The Fairness of the Wagering Requirements
When time is of the essence (as it is), itâs absolutely necessary that you claim a bonus with low Wagering Requirements. If not, you may be spinning and winning all day long, but never quite make the grade. Any no deposit bonus with Wagering Requirements set at between 10-50 times will make winning a lot more likely.
The House-Edge (or RTP%) of the Eligible Game
Some casino games have better odds than others, and this is where it gets slightly complicated. If you didnât know, the casino game with the best odds is Blackjack, and occasionally you can find No Deposit Bonuses that allow you to wager on Table Games. However, Table Games such as Blackjack rarely contribute 100% to your Wagering Requirements.
Why is this important? Well, it means that you have to play for a lot longer before you can fulfil your Wagering Requirements. When your No Deposit Bonus can expire, this is not ideal.
Your best chance is to wager on slots. The odds are worse, but if you claim a bonus eligible on a slot game with an RTP of 96% or over, you have a real shot.
The Expertâs Trick to Maximizing your Chances of Winning – How to Work out âExpected Valueâ
The most effective way to make sure that your No Deposit Bonus is likely to be profitable is to work out its Expected Value. Anyone can do this and the actual maths involved are very basic. Weâll walk you through it step-by-step so you can turn that no deposit bonus into real cash.
As an example, weâre going to use Red Stag Casinoâs current $10 No Deposit Bonus. This bonus is eligible on a game of your choice, but for the sake of this example, weâre going to say that you want to wager your bonus on the slot game âSnakes and Laddersâ.
Step 1) Find the Max Cashout
The first step is the easiest. The Max. Cashout will be found in our review of the bonus, or in the bonusâ Terms and Conditions. For our example, the Max. Cashout is $160.
Max. Cashout = $160.
Step 2) Work out the Total Wagering Requirement
To find this variable, simply multiply the value of your bonus by the bonusâ Wagering Requirement.
Our example has a Bonus Value of $10 and a Wagering Requirement of 50x.
Therefore:
$10 x 50 = Total Wagering Requirement ($500)
Total Wagering Requirement = $500
Step 3) Work out the House-Edge
Working out the House-Edge is straightforward. All slot games come with an inbuilt RTP% (Return to Player) that determines the slotâs House-Edge. RTP% can be understood as follows: if a slot has an RTP of 97% it means that, on average, if you were to wager $100, you will win back $97.
For our example weâre using the slot game âSnakes and Laddersâ. This slot comes with an RTP of 95%. To work out the house edge, all you have to do is take away the RTP% from 100%, and turn this percentage into a whole number.
For example:
100% – 95% = 5% = 0.05
House-Edge: 0.05
Step 4) Place the variables into this equation
Once you have gathered all of these variables, all you have to do is slip them into the following equation:
Red Stag Casinoâs no deposit bonus gives us a rare case of an Expected Value equal to 0. This means that – on average – you arenât expected to win or lose using this bonus. Ideally, what we want is a bonus with a Positive Expected Value.
For our example, the odds are exactly 50:50 – which we believe is a risk worth taking!
How to Redeem â Do I need a bonus code?
Claiming a bonus is straightforward, but there are different ways in which to claim. Some require a Bonus Code, others are credited automatically, some even require you to contact Customer Support.
Weâll go over every way a No Deposit Bonus can be claimed:
Bonus Codes
If a No Deposit Bonus stipulates that you need a Bonus Code to claim, it means that you need a specific sequence of numbers and letters to validate your bonus. This code needs to be entered into the relevant section of the casino, which is either in a box upon registering, or in the casinoâs âCashierâ section. If you need a Bonus Code for the No Deposit Bonus of your choice, we will make it perfectly clear within our review.
Example: Claim your 20 No Deposit Free Spins at Karamba today! Click here.
Karamba Casino are giving away 20 No Deposit Free Spins on the popular slot game âStarburstâ. In order to claim this bonus, you need to enter the Bonus Code: â20KINGSâ when requested. Weâll walk you through how to do this:
- Click on the âStart Playingâ tab on our Karamba Casino Review.
- Sign-up to the casino.
- Whilst youâre signing-up you should see a box asking if you have a Bonus Code.
- Enter the Bonus Code into this box.
- After registering your details, search for the slot game âStarburstâ.
- Play!
Automatic
This is the most convenient way to claim. Many online casinos will credit your No Deposit Bonus automatically after you register your details.
Example: Donât miss out on your 22 Bonus Spins! Click here.
Slots Heaven Casino are crediting all of their new players with 22 No Deposit Bonus Spins on the slot game âDead or Aliveâ.
Claiming is easy, all you have to do is follow these simple steps:
- Click on our link to Slot Planet Casino.
- Sign up to the casino.
- Paste the bonus code in the field provided, when the time comes.
- Open the slot game âDead or Aliveâ.
- Play!
Customer Support
Occasionally, you may be required to contact Customer Service in order to receive your No Deposit Bonus. Full details are given on the casino you choose to play at.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to maximise your No Deposit Bonus, itâs your move.
Put your new skills to the test and try out a number of the Free No Deposit Bonuses from our list: