South African Online Casino Bonuses Explained
Playing at top-rated South African online casinos that operate under valid license has a number of advantages. One of those advantages is online casino bonuses. These online casinos actually reward you for signing up and making a deposit. You can start playing for real money without risking your own Rands. Try this useful resource for a complete list of online casino bonuses in South Africa.
Casino Bonuses Defined
Casino bonuses can be defined as small gifts of free spins or cash given away by online casinos as rewards for signing up. Bonuses also serve as marketing tools and attract a large number of players to the online casino. They are, therefore, also given away as rewards for loyalty and as parts of promotional offers. A top-rated South African online casino can give away a wide range of bonuses, including welcome bonuses, reload offers, cashbacks, free spins, and loyalty bonuses. While welcome offers serve to attract new players, reloads and cashbacks give existing players an incentive to continue making deposits at the online casino.
Why South African Online Casinos Offer Bonuses
South African online casinos offer bonuses for the following reasons:
- Popularize the online casino brand
- Attract new players and give existing ones a reason to continue playing
- Help affiliate sites generate more traffic to the online casino site
- Promote the online casino and its offerings
- Create a lively online casino gaming community
Types of South African Online Casino Bonuses
South African online casinos offer a wide range of bonuses, and here is a brief overview of all those varieties:
Welcome Bonuses
Welcome bonuses can be no deposit free spins or no deposit cash bonuses, deposit bonuses, welcome bonus packages, deposit bonuses with free spins, and free play bonuses.
No Deposit Bonuses: These are gifts of free spins or bonus cash given away to players who have just registered new accounts at the online casino. Players don't have to qualify for these bonuses by making a first deposit. The online casino directly credits the free spins or bonus cash to player accounts, and players will find them as soon as they login to their accounts for the first time.
First Deposit Bonuses: This is a common variety of welcome bonus found at the online casino. Unlike no deposit bonuses, however, players need to make a qualifying first deposit to claim these bonuses, which are given away as percentages of players first deposit. For example, you will get a bonus of $50 if you deposit $50 and the online casino offers a first deposit bonus of 100% up to $100.
Bonus Packages: Some online casinos give away attractive bonus packages, which include match bonuses on several initial deposits. For example, an online casino may give away 100% up to $100 on players first five deposits, making it a total of $500 that can be claimed in deposit bonuses.
Deposit Bonuses with Free Spins: Some first deposit bonus offers and bonus packages include free spins on featured slots. In this case, the amount won while using the free spins is considered to be bonus money.
Free Play Bonuses: These are a relatively new variety of bonuses, given away only by a handful of online casinos. The online casino gives away a large no-deposit cash bonus, which players have to use for a limited time period to win as many prizes as they can. They can then withdraw their winnings up to a particular amount.
Promotional Bonuses
Online casinos offer a number of promotional bonuses as parts of promotions. As their name suggests, promotions are designed to promote the online casino product, to attract new players, and to give existing players an incentive to play.
Cashback Offers: Online casinos may give daily or weekly cashback on losses. To qualify for a cashback, however, players have to make a deposit. Online casinos will then credit back to players’ account a percentage of the amount lost while gambling up to a specific amount. Cashback offers greatly reduce the risk of online gambling and give existing players an incentive to play.
Reload Bonuses: These are bonuses given away whenever players reload their online casino accounts. Usually, they are given away as percentages of players’ deposit amount. For example, an online casino that gives away a reload bonus of 50% up to $100 on reloads would be giving away a bonus of $25 on a deposit of $50, making it a total of $75 in players’ accounts.
Free Spins: Most top-rated South African online casinos are very generous with their free spin offers. Players can always look forward to daily, weekly, or monthly free spin offers. These free spins are given away on featured slots or new slots that need to be promoted.
Loyalty Bonuses
The best South African online casinos pamper their existing players with loyalty bonuses. The size of the loyalty bonus varies according to the VIP level achieved by players. VIP levels form part of an online casino's rewards program, and players can achieve a VIP level by collecting the required number of loyalty points. The only way to collect loyalty points is by playing as many real money games as possible.
Deposit Bonuses: Loyal players will be awarded larger than ever deposit bonuses.
Birthday Bonuses: Online casinos usually celebrate their VIP players' birthdays by pampering them with birthday bonuses.
Anniversary Bonuses: Since the best online casinos want you to feel special and wanted, they pamper you with an anniversary bonus as soon as you complete a year at the online casino.
Are Online Casino Bonuses Really Free?
Needless to say, online casino bonuses are not really “free” although the word “free” is commonly associated with them. Players have to “earn” bonuses through a lot of real money play. In other words, bonuses are associated with a number of terms and conditions, which players should first read before claiming any of them.
Restricted Games: Players cannot use their bonus and free spins on all the games at the online casino, unless the online casino says so. Usually, players have to use their free spins and bonus money only on games specified by the online casino.
Wagering Requirements: It is not permissible for players to withdraw their bonus money or free spin winnings whenever they want due to wagering restrictions. Players will have to play through their bonus money or free spin winnings a certain number of times and do this before the stipulated deadline before being eligible to request payout. If they request payout before satisfying the wagering requirements, the online casino will confiscate their bonus and any money they might have won while using their bonus.
For example, an online casino may set a wagering requirement of x35 on its free spins bonus of 20 free spins on Starburst slot. This means that players have to wager the money they have won while using their free spins 35 times before they can be allowed to withdraw their winnings. If players win $25 while using their free spins, they have to play through $875 before they can be allowed to withdraw their $25.
Game Contributions: Players should also note that not all games contribute equally to satisfying the wagering requirements. Usually, slots contribute the most and strategy games such as blackjack and poker games contribute the least. A list of online casino games and exactly how much they contribute towards wagering requirements can be found on the casino’s bonus terms and conditions page.
Country Restrictions: Bonuses may not be available to players from all countries. Before signing up at an online casino, South African players should first make sure that the online casino offers the bonus in Rands.
How to Claim an Online Casino Bonus
Claiming an online casino bonus is very easy. Usually, players only have to register a real play account at a licensed and reputed online casino. The next step is to make a qualifying deposit if required. In case of no deposit bonuses, players don’t even have to make a qualifying deposit.
Players who have signed up through affiliate sites have to input an alphanumeric bonus code that lets the online casino know exactly which affiliate has directed them and exactly which bonus they are trying to claim. Some casinos send alphanumeric codes to players through email and some casinos publish codes on their websites. Bonus codes help casinos distinguish between various bonuses it offers.
So the steps to claim a bonus would be as follows:
- Register a new player account.
- Verify email address and login to the newly created account.
- Make a deposit and input an alphanumeric code if required.
- The online casino credits the bonus to players’ accounts.
