Mervyn Davids

Mervyn Davids

Posted on 22 January 2023

5 Things You Must Never Do With No Deposit Bonuses

If you misuse your bonus, you lose your bonus. Even players that breach the rules by accident will have their bonus confiscated. 

We don’t want this. You don’t want this. Let’s go over how to avoid it. 

Here’s what you should never do with a free no deposit bonus.

What Are No Deposit Bonuses?

No deposit bonuses are an incentive offered by online casinos to new players. It is a typical marketing strategy aimed at increasing a casino’s player-base. 

After you sign up, you will be given either free spins or bonus credits with no deposit required – it’s as simple as that. 

Both of these incentives allow you to: 

  • Win Real Money – If you fulfill the terms and conditions, you get to withdraw a portion of your winnings. 
  • Play For Free – No deposit is required, nor do you have to share any financial information.
  • Trial A Casino – You can try out multiple casinos until you find your favorite with zero risk to your own funds.

Types Of No Deposit Bonus

As we have briefly mentioned, there are two types of no deposit bonuses. 

There are differences between these bonuses that determine how you can and can’t use them.

We’ll illustrate their key differences below:

Bonus Credits Free Spins
Credited as a monetary value – for example: ?10 in bonus credits. Credited as a quantity – for example: 20 free spins.
Can be used on slot games, and sometimes on table games. Can only be used on slot games.

How Not To Use Your No Deposit Bonus | A 5 Step Guide

Despite there being a few types of no deposit bonuses, the terms and conditions are mostly similar. The following 5 rules apply to both types.

Here’s what you should never do with a no deposit bonus:

#1. Play Table Games

We can see why this would be tempting.

Table games have fantastic odds. Sadly, casinos are well aware of it.

With most no deposit bonuses you won’t be allowed to play table games at all. They will be made ineligible and attempting to play them will lead to your bonus being confiscated.

However, there are no deposit bonuses eligible on table games.

At first, these may appear like a potential gold-mine. But when you look a little closer you will come across a term called Game Weighting Percentages.

A bonus’ “game weighting percentages” determines how much of your stake will contribute to the wagering requirements. Let’s illustrate what we mean by this:

Game Weighting Percentages:

  • Slots (100%)
  • Blackjack (4%)

The percentages in our example signify how much of your bet will go towards the wagering requirements.

According to our example, slot games contribute 100%. Thus if you were to wager ?1 on a slot game, ?1 would go towards the wagering requirements. The same applies if you were to wager ?100, or ?1,000 – the entirety of your wager would go towards the wagering requirements.

Alternatively, games with high odds have a lower game weighting percentage. Usually, it will be somewhere between 0-20%.

Thus, following our example, if you were to wager ?100 on blackjack, only ?4 would contribute to the wagering requirements.

As you can see, the difference is stark.

You have little chance of winning real money with your no deposit bonus if you try to play high odds games.

#2. Try To Cashout Immediately

You can’t just claim a free bonus and withdraw it immediately. In fact, if you try to do this you may be banned from the casino.

Before you can withdraw your no deposit bonus winnings, you have to fulfill the wagering requirements.

This is a critical bonus rule that determines how many times you have to wager the ‘value’ of your bonus.

Let’s use a few examples to illustrate what we mean by this.

Bonus Credits:
Imagine you claim a no deposit bonus worth ?10 in bonus credits.

If this bonus has wagering requirements of 20x, you would have to wager (?10 x 20) ?200 using the bonus before you could withdraw your winnings.

Free Spins:
Free spins do not have an intrinsic value, which is why the wagering requirements work differently.

Before you can work out the sum total you have to wager, you first have to use your free spins.

Let’s imagine then that you claim a no deposit bonus worth 30 free spins.

You use your free spins and win ?20.

This ?20 then stands in as the ‘value of your bonus’. Therefore, if the wagering requirements were 10x, you would have to wager a sum-total of (?20 x 10) ?200 before you could withdraw your free spins winnings.

#3. Take Your Time

No deposit bonuses last for a short amount of time. Insouciantly making a bet here and there isn’t going to be enough to fulfill the terms and conditions.

Consistency is the key here.

Most no deposit bonuses expire between 2-7 days.

Thus as soon as you claim a no deposit bonus, make sure to use your free spins or bonus credits immediately.

Make bets – and don’t stop making bets – until you fulfill the wagering requirements.

Your bonus will not last forever.

Once your bonus expires you will have to make a real money deposit to carry on playing.

#4. Make Large Bets

It may seem clever to fulfill the wagering requirements quickly by making large bets.

Theoretically, the larger the bet, the fewer bets you have to make until you can withdraw your bonus winnings.

Unfortunately, this is also against the rules.

Casinos implement a bet size limit for all their no deposit bonuses.

Making a bet that exceeds the bet size limit may lead to your bet not contributing to the wagering requirements. Moreover, if these larger bets follow a pattern of activity that qualifies as bonus abuse, your account may be blocked.

The bet size limit for no deposit bonuses can vary, though it is usually set at around ?5.

#5. Claim The Same Bonus Twice

Casinos issue their bonuses on a one-per-player basis.

Once you claim a welcome bonus, you cannot claim another.

Casinos use software designed to protect themselves against bonus abuse. Usually, this software picks up your IP address and only allows you to create one account.

Please do not try to create more than one account or your IP address may be blacklisted. Furthermore, if you live in a household with multiple online gamblers, or you use a public wifi domain, you may accidentally breach these terms.

How To Claim Multiple No Deposit Bonuses

Do you want to claim numerous no deposit bonuses?

While casinos issue their bonuses on a one-per-player basis, there are still 100’s of casinos you can sign up to.

We make it more convenient than ever to claim multiple no deposit bonuses.

On our list we feature 100’s of no deposit bonuses at safe online casinos. All you have to do is go through our list, select a handful and claim them separately.

Conclusion

Accidentally breaching the terms of your no deposit bonus is common.

A lot can be avoided if you just take 5 minutes to read and understand the terms of your bonus.

FAQ

Yes, you can. All you have to do to win real money with a no deposit bonus is fulfill the terms and conditions.

The terms and conditions of a no deposit bonus are the rules you have to adhere to while using the bonus.

Usually, they comprise of the following:

  • Wagering Requirements – The amount of times you have to wager the value of your bonus before you can withdraw your winnings.
  • Eligible Games – Which games you can and can’t play with your casino bonus.
  • Expiry Dates – How long you have to use your bonus before it expires.
  • Game Weighting Percentages – The percentage of your stake that contributes to the wagering requirements depending on the game you play.
  • Bet Size Limits – The maximum you can wager per bet using a no deposit bonus.

No, you don’t. Most casinos allocate their no deposit bonuses automatically. Occasionally, you may be required to select your bonus from a drop-down menu, tick a checkbox, or enter a unique code.

We elaborate on how to do this on our no deposit bonuses page.

Most online casinos have a complaints procedure. You will have to get in touch with your particular casino either via Live Chat, email or telephone.

We recommend you play slot games. Slot games are likely to contribute 100% to the wagering requirements as well as provide you with decent odds.

Published on: 2023/01/22