Evaluating Online Casino Deposit Bonuses

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The deposit bonus is the most common kind of bonus offered by online casinos. Very often when players are comparing different online casinos with a view to choose one of them they will have to evaluate the deposit bonuses offered by the different casinos. This task is not as easy as it seems because there are several parameters associated with deposit bonuses. This article discusses those parameters and explains how they can be evaluated.

The attributes of the deposit bonus that are usually highlighted are the maximum amount of the bonus and the percent of the deposit given as bonus. Naturally the higher the maximum amount the better it is for the player, but beyond a point the amount becomes meaningless for most players. For example take the deposit bonus that offers 100% of the deposit subject to a maximum amount of $2,000. The player has to make a deposit of $2,000 in order to avail the maximum amount. Not every player can make this kind of a deposit. Therefore the maximum bonus must be evaluated in the context of the player's capacity to fund his online casino account.

The percent of the deposit given as bonus is more important in the evaluation process. Take for example one bonus that offers 100% of the deposit subject to a maximum of $200 and another bonus that offers 50% of the deposit subject to a maximum of $200. In the first case the player has to deposit only $200 in order to avail the maximum bonus whereas in the second case the player has to deposit $400 in order to avail the maximum bonus. A third parameter is usually specified and this is the minimum deposit that needs to be made in order to be eligible for the bonus. This amount is usually around $20 and therefore not very material in the evaluation of the bonus because most players would be depositing at least $20 in any event.

An important factor while evaluating deposit bonuses are the wagering requirements. This information is a usually provided in the bonus terms and conditions section. There are two ways in which wagering requirements are specified. One is that both the deposit and the bonus have to be wagered a specified number of times and the other is that only the bonus has to be wagered a specified number of times. Since the numbers involved are different it becomes difficult to evaluate which is more favorable to the player. In order to evaluate the wagering requirements they have to be brought down to a common denominator and this is explained below using an example.

Consider a 100% deposit bonus in which the deposit plus the bonus have to be wagered 30 times. If a player deposits $100 then he gets a bonus of $100 and he has to wager $200 30 times. This means the total amount wagered becomes $6,000. Now consider 100% deposit bonus in which only the bonus has to be wagered 50 times. For a deposit of $100 the bonus is $100, which has to be wagered 50 times. Hence the total amount wagered becomes $5,000. Hence in the above cases the second wagering requirements are more favorable. Using this process different wagering requirements can be easily compared.

There is a final factor, which is the nature of the bonus. Most bonuses are sticky bonuses in which only the winnings from the bonuses can be withdrawn and the bonuses themselves are forfeited. Some bonuses are cashable bonuses in which both the bonuses and the winnings can be withdrawn after the waging requirements are met. Obviously the second type of bonuses is better, but usually when ever these bonuses are given they are with high wagering requirements.

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