How to Compare Welcome Bonuses Online
Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Whether you’re a novice or an experienced online gambler, you’ll have no doubt noticed the wide range of increasingly lucrative welcome bonuses available in the marketplace.
While the vast majority take the form of a fixed deposit match and include a finite number of free spins, there remains a huge variance when it comes to the value of each offer and the terms and conditions imposed by operators.
So, let’s take a look at some of the key considerations when comparing bonus options, while asking how you can choose the option that’s best for you.
1. Calculating the Value of the Offer
Let’s start with the basics; as it’s important to understand that each welcome offer you come across will have an estimated financial value.
What’s more, this can be calculated to create a core value proposition, which can help you to determine whether or not a particular offer is right for you.
OK, we hear you ask, but how do I go about this? Well, the first step is to review the extent of the deposit match and the maximum qualifying deposit allowed, as this will give you an insight into precisely how generous a particular offer may be.
For example, if you check out our comprehensive review of Betvictor casino, you’ll see that the operator is offering a nice £30 bonus when you wager £10, along with 100 free spins on the Fishin’ Frenzy slot. This means that you can deposit as much as £10 when opening an account, and having the opportunity to try some selected games with your bonus money and free spins.
Of course, offers may occasionally extend to allow for a 200% deposit match, while offers may also extend to more than £1,000 (especially when applied across three separate deposits).
The key is to measure the total value of the offer against your bankroll and outlook as a player, as you can only really leverage the more expansive offers if you’re a high roller who’s willing to commit considerable amounts to your online account.
If a welcome offer also includes a predetermined number of free spins, you should factor in their total value. You can do this by reviewing the T&Cs and determining the value of each individual spin, while measuring this against the maximum winnings available from this portion of the gameplay.
By reviewing each bonus and determining its estimated value, you can hopefully make a more informed decision that helps you to make the most of your bankroll.
2. Check Out the Wagering Requirements
Whenever you review the terms of a welcome bonus, it’s crucial that you analyse the associated wagering requirements in detail before making a commitment.
Wagering requirements refer to the precise amount of cash that you’ll have to play through before making a qualifying withdrawal, while they may be applied to either the bonus funds or the total value of your deposit and bonus balances.
This is where things can get complicated, as while it may seem logical to suggest that offers where wagering requirements are only applied to your bonus balance will typically create lower playthrough amounts, this isn’t always the case and it’s important to consider each offer in careful detail and on its own unique merits.
For example, the initial wagering requirements may be considerably higher in instances where they’re only applied to the bonus amount, up to the 60x the total value in some instances. So, if you trigger a welcome offer of 100% and initially credit your account with £20, the additional £20 you receive in bonus funds will incur a total playthrough requirement of £1,200.
However, if the wagering requirements are applied to your cash deposit and subsequent bonus, they’ll typically be fixed between 20x and 40x the total value. So, if we apply a requirement of 40x to the offer above, you’ll be compelled to play through a total of £1,600 before you’re able to make a withdrawal.
It’s this type of nuance that makes appraising welcome bonuses so challenging, with considerable variance in terms of the size of the wagering requirements and how they’re applied.
3. How Long Will You Have to Meet the Wagering Requirements?
Interestingly, you’ll also notice considerable variance in terms of how long you have to meet the wagering requirements linked to a particular bonus.
Typically, this will vary depending on the size and value of the bonus, with those focused solely on free spins likely to expire in no more than seven days.
Conversely, larger bonus offers that contain generous and high value deposit matches may afford you a window of up to 30 days to fulfil the wagering requirements, although it’s rare to be given any longer than this to satisfy such conditions.
This is an important consideration, and one that you should always measure against your level of activity as a player and daily deposit limits. After all, there’s little point in committing to a high value offer if you only tend to play through £10 or less each day, as you’ll be unable to meet the wagering requirements and will subsequently forfeit the total bonus amount.
Similarly, those of you who don’t wager everyday may find it hard to meet even smaller wagering requirements within a period of seven days, which is why welcome bonuses tend to be targeted at frequent players who bet on a daily basis.
So, be sure to measure the total value of the wagering requirements against the timeframe in which you’re allowed to meet them, while also factoring in the size of your bankroll and how much you play through each day on average.
This is a great way of determining which offers hold the best value for you, rather than simply being attracted by large and generous bonuses that may be completely impractical!
The Last Word
So, there you have it; three relatively easy ways to compare published welcome bonuses, their total value and the impact of any associated wagering requirements.
The key is to review all potential bonus offers in careful detail, so that you can make a truly informed decision that helps you to achieve the best value for your hard-earned cash!