Playing with or without bonuses in an online casino?

That is a question everyone who registers with an online casino that pays bonuses for deposits has to face. Some people readily accept any bonus they can get their hands on, while others say thanks but no thanks. But that doesn’t answer the question what’s best for players in general.

There is no blanket answer to that question, because two factors, the minimum wagering requirement and the type of conversion, play an important role. Online casinos calculate their rollover requirements so that they don’t make any losses. Take a look at the following example:
A casino has an average payoff rate of 95%, so there’s a house edge of 5%. The casino offers players a 100% bonus on their next deposit. If a player pays in €50, they receive another €50 on top of that as bonus credit from the casino.

The casino makes an average profit of five cents per euro. Accordingly, a player would have to bet €1000 for the casino to make a profit of €50. That’s twenty times the amount of the bonus. That is how high the casino’s rollover requirement has to be if it doesn’t want to incur any losses. If both the bonus and the original deposit have to be used for the conversion, the minimum rollover decreases to ten times the total amount.

In reality, rollover requirements are significantly higher, sometimes three times the rate in our example. As a consequence, the probability that players can transform their bonus into real money decreases.

Who should make use of online casino bonuses?

First of all, any player should be aware that it takes a whole lot of luck to turn a bonus into real money. It can, however, always be used to test the games offered by a casino without having to accept high losses while still having the chance to win. This makes sense when players aren’t familiar with a casino’s games yet.

People who get very annoyed when they win medium or large amounts but fail to meet the minimum wagering requirement and thus don’t receive the money better stay away from bonuses. It’s also a problem when the bonus rules for payouts apply not only to the bonus received but also the deposit itself. Only those players looking for large winnings who bet the amounts to match should make use of such bonuses, as meeting the requirements can otherwise turn into a drawn-out and nerve-wrecking process.

Conclusion on playing with or without bonuses

It is always recommended to have a look at the rollover requirements before accepting any bonuses offered. This will tell you how many times the bonus amount has to be converted and whether the bonus conditions cover the player’s cash deposit as well.

The bonus amount is irrelevant as far as the likelihood of a conversion is concerned, as the odds are always the same, so that is not a factor in accepting or turning down a bonus offer.

Every player has to decide for themselves whether they accept a bonus or not and if their gambling behaviour meets the requirements. Rejecting a bonus comes with the advantage that wins can be paid out directly and trouble about large sums not being paid out because the rollover conditions weren’t met can be avoided.