Reload Bonuses Explained
It doesn’t take a genius to understand why casinos may offer reload bonuses. They are a fantastic incentive for players to return to the casino and keep playing. Normally reload bonuses will be smaller than welcome bonuses, but this doesn’t mean that it is worth abandoning the casino and moving to another to claim the welcome bonus. In fact, when looking for a casino, it is always worth checking to see if there are regular reload bonuses available, to ensure that you every time you make a deposit you can get a little extra.
However, as with all casino bonuses, reload bonuses do come with various terms and conditions attached. While these are often entirely fair and reasonable, it is important that you understand them, as if you do not meet them, you may find that the bonus money is withdrawn from your account or you may suffer even more severe penalties, such as having your account blocked by the casino.
Reload Bonuses Terms and Conditions Explained
Wagering Requirements
Just like welcome bonuses and all other casino bonuses, reload bonuses will almost certainly come with wagering requirements attached. Sometimes referred to as play through requirements, wagering requirements are there to ensure that players do not simply claim the bonus money, withdraw it from their accounts, and then never return to the casino.
Wagering requirements are not complicated, but there are often many aspects to them that need to be taken into account. The most basic component of a wagering requirement is how much players need to bet before they are able to withdraw money from their accounts. A wagering requirement is normally displayed as a multiple of the bonus amount, for example, 30x. This means that if someone were to accept a bonus of €100 then they would have to wager it 30 times, i.e. €3000, before they can withdraw money.
In some cases, the wagering requirement may be on the deposit amount plus the bonus amount. For example, if someone is offered a bonus of 50% up to €100, they then deposit €50, so receive a total of €75, and the bonus has wagering requirements of 30x, they would then have to bet €2250 before they can withdraw funds.
While this may sound as if you have to bet a fortune in order to receive a relatively small bonus, the conditions are not as harsh as they first appear. In most cases, you will be able to use winnings that result from the bonus money in order to fulfil the wagering requirements. This means that the bonus essentially feeds back into itself, and you will be able to fulfil a large part of the wagering requirements without having to deposit more money. However, there are likely to be some restrictions on this, and these are explained below.
Game Contributions
Once you have understood what wagering requirements are, the next thing is to look for any restrictions on how they can be fulfilled. The most basic of these are game contributions. At many casinos, not all games will contribute equally to wagering requirements. For instance, slots will nearly always contribute 100%, so every penny you bet on slots goes towards the wagering requirements. However, games such as video poker or blackjack may contribute far less, in the region of 10%, which means that from every €1 you bet on the game, only €0.10 goes towards the requirements.
Casinos do this as some games have far lower house edges and involve an element of skill. By reducing the contributions from these games, they make it fairer for all players. There many also be games that do not contribute to wagering requirements at all. Furthermore, in some instances you may find that the wagering contributes are specific to certain types of bet. For example, very often even money bets in roulette do not contribute while other types of bet may contribute 15%.
You will find all the details you need about this in the reload bonus terms and conditions, and it is vital to take note of these so that you do not end up breaking them and forfeiting the bonus and its resultant winnings.
Winnings Caps and Time Limits
Very often, you will be required to meet wagering requirements within a given amount of time. For example, two weeks. Make sure you are aware of this, as you will have to plan your play accordingly. Another common restriction is a limit on how much can be won from bonus money. This is done to ensure that at some point players will have to deposit more of their own money, otherwise casinos would end up giving away vast amounts.
Bonus Abuse
In a reload bonus’ terms and conditions, you will also find a number of measures to prevent players abusing the bonus. The most common of these is a limit on the size of bet that can be placed with bonus money, which may be an actual amount of a percentage. This is to prevent players from betting large sums in the hope of hitting a big win, and then using that to get through the wagering requirements. Once again, it is a measure to ensure that players will have to make further deposits at some point.
How to Spot a Good Reload Bonus
There is no one size fits all reload bonus that is good. Much depends on the player who receives it. This means that before accepting a reload bonus you should check all of the different terms and conditions discussed above. Make sure that the bonus has reasonable wagering requirements, is applicable to the games that you want to play, has realistic time limits for you, and so on. If you feel that you can meet the terms and conditions, then reload bonuses are fantastic things.
How to Claim a Reload Bonus
When you see a reload bonus advertised it will usually come with a promotional code. When you make a deposit in a casino cashier, there will be a field where you can then enter that code and the bonus is applied to your deposit.
This may differ slightly from casino to casino, but in all instances, the casino will have made it as easy as possible for you to claim the reload bonus and if you do have any difficulties, the customer support team is sure to be happy to assist.
To Conclude
Reload bonuses are a fantastic way of keeping your casino balance healthy, increasing your bankroll, and playing for longer. As with all bonuses, there are terms and conditions attached and you need to make sure that you are aware of them and have fully understood them. As long as you have, then you can hopefully enjoy claiming numerous reload bonuses and use them to have even more fun playing your favourite games.