Giving away online casino bonuses by casino operators seems to be the easiest way to attract gamblers. There are many types of bonuses out there - match bonuses (or sign up bonuses), deposit bonuses (when you transfer funds via Neteller or Paysparks) and free cash bonuses (also known as no-deposit bonus). In this article I will explain you how this free cash casino bonus works and how to avoid getting tricked by these bonuses.
No deposit online casino bonus is not a strange generous act by an online casino operator - it's just another way to invite you being their steady client. Actually you may call it a trick, because even though casino claims that it "gives away free money", it only has to add some numbers to your gaming account. Casino has to give away money only when you win with this bonus money and wan't to withdraw, but knowing the players and the routine of gambling and slot machines, this almost never happens. I will explain why.
Most of these bonuses have onerous wagering requirements. You may not be able to withdraw your money until you have staked an amount of real money 5-8 times greater than the bonus value. Some online casinos also insist depositing in the very end. This might end up funny when you've received your free cash bonus, won big with it and when trying to cash out, you simply are not allowed to do it only because you don't have a credit card. It's rare to happen nowadays because most of the operators have strict measurements against underaged gamblers, but was still quite common 6-7 years ago.
When online casino offers no deposit bonuses, don't forget to check their payouts and find some background information about them. Sometimes there's a reason why they offer big bonuses - why not give some candy to the players, when you know it will be yours in the end of the day anyway? If they try to hide the payouts information or they use shady auditing, run as fast as you can. Online Players Association and PriceWaterHouseCoopers are reputable.
Also don't forget to read about the terms and end-user agreements and make sure you fully understand this. After accepting your bonus observe the casino and the games as if you were their steady client - would you like you play there more than this one time?; is it any better than your last casino?; are the slots paying well? If you like what you see, why not join them for real, so you could start enjoying ongoing bonuses and loyalty points from them.
Ralf Vinogradov is a part-time journalist in a newspaper and an editor and webmaster of gambling related website Best Online Casinos and Online Casino Bonuses - GamblingRalf.COM, that introduces a list of best online casino bonuses. He also runs infamous newsletter called "Club Hundredaire" with few hundred dedicated members.