How to Spot A Good Casino Bonus in 2023

When you start looking for a new casino, the first thing that jumps in front of you is its welcome bonus. These offers are meant to make a good first impression, but they always come with fine print that you need to read before jumping in. But not all bonuses are worth your effort – and not all bonuses that seem low and unattractive actually are. Today, let’s take a look at a few markers that will help you spot a good casino bonus in 2023.

Anatomy of a welcome bonus

What’s in a casino welcome package? Usually, welcome packages consist of deposit matches and free spins. For example, a casino might offer you a 100% match on your first deposit, worth up to $100, so if you deposit $100, you can play with $200. Some casinos also throw in a few dozen, sometimes even a few hundred free spins on specific games.

Welcome packages are sometimes spread out across several deposits. For example, a casino may offer a 100% match on your first three deposits.

Playthrough requirements

Casino bonuses are not free money. First and foremost, they are offered as bonus funds, not real money – this means that you can’t withdraw them to your bank account until you play through them a set number of times.

This “number of times” can be anywhere from 20x to 50x, depending on the casino. And this is where you can spot the first catch.

Casinos can ask you to play through the bonus amount ($100, if we stick to the above example) or the deposit plus bonus amount ($200). In the second case, the multiplier required is lower – but even with it, you’ll end up playing through more money.

Free spins

The free spins you get as a bonus can either be played on a specific game or at games from a specific provider. The spins usually have a low value (often the minimum stake for the game in question). The spins themselves don’t have playthrough requirements, but the winnings (which are not guaranteed) are a different matter.

Any winnings coming from free spins are bonus funds that you have to clear before you can cash them out. The offer usually comes with a maximum winnings limit, too. The winnings are also subject to playthrough requirements similar to deposit matches.

Lately, some casinos have started offering their new players free spins with no or small play-through requirements. This is the best type of bonus, the closest you’ll get to “free money” when playing at a casino.

What does a good casino bonus look like?

A good casino bonus has transparent terms that make it easy for you to understand what you’re getting into. The playthrough requirements should be as low as possible. When it comes to free spins, the ones with a high winnings limit and low playthrough are the best.

And the most important thing: a good casino bonus is optional – it should give you the possibility to opt out of it easily! And it always comes with a reminder that you should play responsibly!