Casino bonuses are priced products, not gifts. Each type has a shape, and each shape has one term that matters more than the rest — usually not the headline number. A 200% bonus at 60x wagering is worth less than a 50% bonus at 20x, and the advertised percentage tells you nothing about which is which.
Deposit-matched offers
The most common family. You deposit, the casino adds a percentage on top, and the total is subject to a playthrough requirement before anything can be withdrawn.
Welcome bonus
A match on your first deposit, sometimes split across several. The headline percentage is the least important number on it: check whether wagering applies to the bonus alone or to deposit plus bonus, because the second doubles the real requirement.
Reload bonus
The same structure offered to existing players, usually smaller and on a schedule. Often worth more than a welcome bonus in practice, because it repeats.
High roller bonus
A large match with a high minimum deposit. The maximum cashout is the term to read — a large bonus with a small cap is a small bonus.
Offers that need no deposit
These cost nothing up front, which is precisely why their terms are the tightest anywhere on a casino site.
No deposit bonus
A small credit for registering. Almost always carries a low maximum cashout — often ten to twenty times the bonus — and full identity verification before any withdrawal. Genuinely free to try, and rarely a route to meaningful money.
Free spins (no deposit)
The same thing paid in spins on a chosen slot. Two things decide the value: whether winnings are paid as cash or as bonus credit that must then be wagered, and what each spin is worth. Fifty spins at 0.10 is five euros of play.
Offers paid back from losses or play
Structurally different from a match: these return a share of what you already spent, and the wagering on them is often far lighter or absent entirely.
Cashback
A percentage of net losses returned over a period. The question is whether it is paid as cash, withdrawable immediately, or as a bonus with playthrough attached. Cash cashback at 10% is one of the few offers whose value is easy to calculate.
Rakeback
A share of the house edge returned on every bet, win or lose, common at crypto casinos. Paid continuously rather than on losses, so it applies whether you are up or down.
Insurance or risk-free bet
Your first loss returned up to a limit. Read whether the return is cash or bonus credit, and whether it covers a first bet or a first session.
Ongoing and structural offers
Everything else a casino runs, and the part of a programme that decides whether staying is worth more than joining.
Free spins with deposit
Spins attached to a deposit, often paid in daily batches rather than all at once. Check the expiry on each batch, because unclaimed batches usually do not roll over.
VIP or loyalty programme
Tiered rewards earned through volume of play. The real value is usually in raised withdrawal limits and dedicated support rather than the headline gifts. A programme that is not published in full is one you cannot evaluate.
Tournaments and races
A prize pool split among the top of a leaderboard, scored by wagering or by biggest multiplier. Prize pool divided by field size is the only honest way to read one, and the field size is rarely published.
Drops and prize giveaways
Random prizes awarded during play on selected games, usually funded by the game studio rather than the casino. No wagering on most of them, and no way to influence the outcome.
Refer a friend
A credit for bringing another player, paid once that player deposits and often once they have wagered a set amount. The condition sits on their play, not yours.
The four terms that decide the value
Whatever the type, four numbers determine what an offer is actually worth, and all four are shown on every bonus page on this site.
Wagering requirement
How many times the amount must be bet before withdrawal. 35x on the bonus alone is very different from 35x on deposit plus bonus.
Maximum cashout
A cap on what can be withdrawn from the bonus regardless of what you win. The most common single reason a large win is cut down.
Game weighting
How much each game contributes to wagering. Slots usually 100%, table games often 10% or nothing. Clearing 35x on a game weighted at 10% means betting 350x.
Maximum bet during wagering
Usually around five euros. Exceeding it once is grounds for voiding the entire bonus and the winnings with it, and it is the term players breach most often without noticing.