Some straight dope on the types of casino bonuses for the online player

Basically every online casino in existence today makes the most of their one specific advantage over their “bricks-and-mortar” counterparts: Namely, that provided by bonuses that offer some amount of free gaming to the player. For the sake of easier explanation and quantification, SlotsDirect essentially organizes all commonly-awarded casino bonuses into the following eight types.

Welcome bonuses (or signup bonuses) are by far the most often-seen bonus offered by casinos, welcome bonuses are exactly what they sound like: Some percentage of the given player’s first deposit with the casino is added onto the new bankroll. Players are advised to check the “play-through requirements” for each such bonus, as collecting winnings from gifted money isn’t always so intuitive.

Free play bonuses are one nice offering put forth typically by outlets with a larger game catalogue, e.g. Microgaming-powered casinos. First-time players at a given casino may be awarded a certain number of free spins on a slot or slots, or possibly a set limit of time in which he/she may play whichever games in the virtual ‘room he/she likes.

No-deposit bonuses are becoming something of a dinosaur in today’s online casinos, sadly enough. A no-deposit bonus is typically worth from $7 to $20, playable on that outlet’s games. The player can hardly build up a fat bankroll on these bonuses, but those few still offering them get a nice bit of inexpensive marketing of their wares.

Deposit bonuses may be considered something of a follow-up to welcome bonuses. Often of format and terms similar to those of welcome bonuses, match bonuses are sometimes smaller than welcome bonuses, but larger outlets can be quite generous with frequent players…

High-roller bonuses are of course designed for the bigger-budgeted players, who are rewarded with larger match-type bonuses at higher limits.

Cashback (or “reload”) bonuses sound pretty exciting and they are: At online casinos offering a month-end or week-end reload bonus, a certain amount of the player’s losses is redeposited straight to the player’s account.

Referral (or “refer-a-friend”) bonuses are the end result of word-of-mouth advertising for the given online casino. If the player gets another to register and deposit with the casino, he see may see $20 to $100 deposited to his/her account.

Finally, special bonuses sometimes appear at some online casinos. These may be annual, one-time or seasonal offers – and provide a reason for loyal players to keep coming back.


On this page, SlotsDirect presents a rundown of cash and free-play bonuses in wide or limited availability at online casinos. Though so many casinos tout so many bonus offers, SlotsDirect presents some order in categorizing everyone’s bonuses into eight distinct categories.
Who wouldn’t want something for nothing? Herein, SlotsDirect presents a bit of information about the types of bonuses available at internet casinos along with a listing of some of our approved outlets for quality online gaming.
Augmenting that bankroll with online casino bonuses…