The greatest reason to choose an online casino is the opportunity to utilize bonus offers that you will never find in the brick and mortar casinos. They are especially enticing for new players, as they can provide a small or even considerable boost while exploring the casino for the first time. Many players also keep an eye on online casino mobile bonus offers, as mobile gaming has become the primary way to enjoy slots and table games on the go. But what type of welcome bonus exists in reality, and what do operators reward with? The following explains in plain terms.
Most Popular: The No Deposit Bonus
For cautious players who want to explore online gambling without financial risk, no deposit bonuses are particularly appealing. Many casinos in New Zealand offer these promotions simply for registering, without requiring any payment. No deposit bonuses are designed primarily to let players test the platform and its games without commitment, but they can still generate real winnings that can later be cashed out—provided that certain requirements are met, which we’ll cover in more detail later.
Free Spins
You are most likely to find a no deposit offer to be free spins, as they are the most popular of all offers. Generally, players are given a comparatively small quantity of free games that can be played on a slot selected by the casino.
In many cases, you have the opportunity to choose several slots or games of one single provider, but in other cases the free spins are for best sellers or new games that the operator would like to advertise. The amount of free spins is normally only 10 or 20, but with some luck there is also a possibility to win up to 100 free spins.
Free Starting Credit
No-deposit initial credit is the "holy grail" of casino promotions, thus their scarcity. The reason that the offers are as highly sought after as they are is that they provide a much greater degree of flexibility than free spins. The credited money not only can be spent on slots but on almost all other games offered by the casino as well.
This is to mean that players have the opportunity to try out table games such as roulette, or other casino mainstays such as craps and bingo, all with genuine odds of winning. The only exception here is with live dealer games, which are transmitted straight from real casino tables and professional dealers—these typically do not qualify for no deposit credit.
The Classic Welcome Offer: The Deposit Bonus
Even though no deposit bonuses are rather rare and available predominantly through special portals only, welcome bonuses are offered by nearly all New Zealand online casinos. They are usually advertised with large banners on the home page, with considerable bonus credits, sometimes even up to thousands of dollars. Free spins are often included in them to make them even more inviting.
To activate these bonuses, there is always a deposit that the player must make, with it being matched by the operator—more often 100% but sometimes higher. Welcome bonuses tend to stretch across a series of deposits, with players receiving rewards for their initial few top-ups. This broader format is sometimes referred to as a "welcome package."
Always Check the Bonus Terms
As indicated earlier, bonuses earned cannot be redeemed immediately. First, players will need to meet some conditions. These bonus conditions are designed to protect the casino from abuse and loss. Since every website sets its own rules, the requirements vary significantly between websites, and they are a crucial aspect of determining the actual value of a bonus.
Key factors to focus utmost attention on are:
- Wagering requirement
- Wagering period
- Maximum bet during betting
- Excluded games
- Maximum payout (for no deposit bonuses)
The last three points, especially, can render the thrill of a win useless quite rapidly if they are designed negatively. That's why it is absolutely crucial to read the small print prior to accepting a bonus in order to prevent nasty surprises afterward.