The Ultimate Guide to Deposit Match Bonuses 2020

A forfeitable bonus is a type of bonus you can forfeit at any time. Quite often, if you claim a bonus at a casino you have to play through the bonus and its wagering requirements before you can withdraw. Forfeitable bonuses attempt to curb this problem by allowing you to wager your deposit before you wager your Bonus Funds.

This type of bonus is fantastic – and we’re not exaggerating. The more control you have over you playing experience, the more you’ll enjoy it. Casinos that offer this type of bonus are being generous;

they allow you to play in the following way:

• You begin by wagering your own, deposited funds.
• If you are unlucky, and don’t win, you can then wager your bonus funds.
• However, if you win using your deposited funds, you can withdraw your winnings immediately!
• If this is what you want to do, simply forfeit your bonus funds: you don’t need them anymore, you’re already a winner!

As soon as you begin to wager your Bonus Funds you’re unable to withdraw your winnings without fulfilling the wagering requirements.

This type of bonus is becoming more and more common – especially in the UK. The UK’s Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) has started to put considerable pressure on the gambling industry to offer fair promotions. The CMA have recently stated that “players will not be required to play multiple times before they can withdraw their money.”

This is great news for players. Withdrawing your winnings has never been easier!

A Cashable Casino Bonus can more than double your winnings. If you fulfil a Cashable Casino bonus’ wagering requirements you’ll be able to withdraw your bonus as well as your winnings. The true benefits of Cashable Casino Bonuses are best understood with a comparison.

Let’s say you claim a $100 Bonus and you win $100 with it. You complete the Wagering Requirements and then you go to withdraw:

Using a Non-Cashable Casino Bonus you will be able to withdraw only the $100 you’ve won. The bonus funds will be removed from your account.

Using a Cashable Casino Bonus you will be able to withdraw the entire $200. You will be allowed to withdraw both the value of your bonus and your winnings.

As you can see, it’s always far more lucrative to play using a Cashable Casino Bonus. Finding them can be time-consuming because online casinos don’t always make it clear that their bonus is cashable in their Terms and Conditions. The best thing to do in this regard is to contact their customer support team and ask them directly.

A “Phantom Bonus” is an industry term for a bonus that you can play with but can’t withdraw. If you do manage to fulfil the Wagering Requirements using a “phantom bonus”, the amount of the bonus you received will be taken back by the casino. Another synonymous name for them, which you might come across, is “Non-Cashable Casino Bonus”.

Wagering Requirements were put in place to help stop Bonus Abuse. Online Casinos offer bonuses as an incentive to play at the casino, not to just give away free money. All players should approach Bonuses as an inducement rather than as a quick way to make money.

It needs to be remembered that online casinos are a business. It wouldn’t be a savvy move to be handing out free cash. Wagering Requirements allow casinos to offer bonuses as an inducement without having their profits too heavily affected.

Whether a bonus can be considered “fair” doesn’t depend so much on the amount of times you have to play through your bonus. If you receive £10 from a bonus and the Wagering Requirements are set at 50x, it may seem unreasonable to have to wager £500. But this is far more manageable than bonuses which seem more lucrative.

For example, if you receive a £300 bonus with a Wagering Requirement of 30x, it looks like a better offer. But when you do the maths, you realise that you’ll have to wager £9,000 before you can withdraw your winnings. If there is a Max Cashout of £300 then you’re having to wager huge sums for very little in return.

A bonus’ Expected Value, or “EV” rating determines how likely it is you’ll profit from using the bonus. If you only claim bonuses with a positive EV you increase your chances of profiting from them in the long term.

To calculate the EV of your bonus you have to gather three variables:

• The value of your Bonus
• The Wagering Requirement
• The House-Edge

To calculate the house-edge of the game you’re playing, the first thing you have to do is find out the game’s RTP% (Return To Player).

If a slot game comes with an RTP of 97%, it means that it will return, on average, 97% of the value of the the bets wagered.

This means that the house-edge is equivalent to 3%.

Once you have gathered these three variables, you have to use the following equation to calculate the EV of your Bonus:

The Value of your Bonus – (Wagering Multiplier x Bonus Amount) x The House Edge = Expected Value

What you should be looking for are Bonuses with a positive Expected Value. Let’s use two examples – one with a positive EV and one with a negative EV – to help illustrate the difference:

Negative Expected Value:

Let’s say that you claim a match bonus which promises to match your deposit by 100% up to £100. For the purposes of this example, let’s say that the bonus is eligible on a slot with a 97% RTP and the Wagering Requirement is 50x.

Your have to gather your variables as follows:

• Value of Bonus = £100.
• Wagering Requirement = 50 x 100 = 5000.
• House-Edge = 3%, which as a whole number is equal to 0.03.

Using our equation, this works out as follows:

100 – (50 x 100) x 0.03 = -50.

As you can see, the EV for this bonus would be negative (-50). This is a bonus which, over the long term, would prove to be unprofitable.

Positive Expected Value:

Let’s say that you claim a match bonus which promises to match your deposit by 200% up to £200. The bonus is eligible, again, on a slot with a 97% RTP, but the Wagering Requirement is only 10x.

Firstly, we will gather the variables:

• Value of Bonus = £200.
• Wagering Requirement = 10 x 200 = 2000.
• House-Edge = 3%, which as a whole number is equal to 0.03.

Using our equation, this work out as follows:

200 – (10 x 200) x 0.03 = 140.

As you can see, the EV for this bonus would be positive (140). This is a bonus which, over time, should prove to be profitable.

Right here, right now! Our team of industry experts are always on the lookout for the best online casino bonuses in the world. Thanks to their hard work, we are able to update our list daily with all of the latest casino bonuses.

Which is the best: A 100%, 200% or 500% casino bonus?

You can’t work out which casino bonus is best on the basis of their Match Percentage alone. Each individual bonus comes with its own, specific set of Terms and Conditions.

Before you choose a bonus, make sure to check it for:

• Game Eligibility
• Time Limit
• Wagering Requirements
• Max Cashout
• Expected Value

Your bonus is only ever as valuable as the casino you play at. If your casino of choice doesn’t hold a valid license, or they have a poor reputation amongst players, you may encounter future difficulties.