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Discover the perfect casino bonus at the best online casinos in Ireland. Pick from our list of the best casino bonuses available right now, and read our expert tips to help you choose the right bonus for you and avoid common mistakes.
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Whoever said variety is the spice of life may well have had online casino bonuses on their mind. There are literally hundreds to choose from on any given day, and this is generally a good thing – strong competition keeps online casinos honest and their bonuses attractive.
But having such a choice can also lead to analysis paralysis as you spend hours comparing each one. To avoid this, our experts have come up with the best online casino bonus for seven different purposes. For each one, someone from Casinos.com signed up and claimed the bonus to test it out.
Wondering how we arrive at the bonuses we recommend, when there are literally hundreds to choose from? Here are the stages our experts go through:
It’s easy to get bamboozled by flashy online casino offers and exciting claims, but when it comes to casino bonuses the devil really is in the detail. So before you sign up to an offer that seems too good to be true, read these tips to help you understand what’s in the small print.
Wagering requirements are simply the number of times you’re required to wager the bonus before you qualify for winnings to be paid out. Even the best bonus casino will attach these conditions to their casino offers.
For example, let’s say you sign up for a bonus of €100, and it comes with a 30x wagering requirement. In this scenario you’d have to keep betting the bonus and any wins you get from it until €3,000 has been wagered (€100 x 30).
Think of it like a 30-piece jigsaw puzzle. Each piece you lay down is like a new bet. You can only complete the puzzle and enjoy the final picture by first laying down all 30 of the pieces. Similarly, you can only enjoy the winnings once you have made all the necessary bets.
Other factors that affect how much you need to wager include whether the deposit amount is included in the bonus bankroll and how much each game contributes to the requirements (more on this next).
So how can you work out exactly what your wagering amount should be? By using our handy Wagering Calculator of course!
If you’ve ever signed up to an amazing-looking online casino with the best deal without realising the bonus is only playable on games you have no interest in, you’ll vouch for this rule.
Simply put, most casino promotions are only valid for select games. This could be a single slot game, a specified group of them, or a mixture of slots and other table games.
Not only that, it’s often the case that certain eligible games don’t count 100% to wagering requirements. Table games or live casino games, for example, usually count around 10–20% towards wagering requirements.
What does this mean in reality? Well, let’s take the same example given above, where a €100 deposit with a 30x wagering requirement means you must wager €3,000 in total before you qualify for any winnings. If your game of choice, e.g. blackjack, has a 10% contribution, every €10 you wager only contributes €1 towards that €3,000 goal. Therefore if you only wanted to play blackjack online, you’d effectively have to wager €30,000 before you could claim any winnings, so you'd probably be best off playing at specialist blackjack sites!
As you can tell, it’s really, really important to know which games the bonus covers and, just as importantly, which ones it doesn’t.
Another hugely important thing to know is how long you have to use up your bonus. After all, the last thing you want to do is find the perfect online casino with the best deals for your playing style, only to later find out that you only had 72 hours to fulfil a €50,000 wagering requirement!
Casino bonus time limits can range from days to months, and that’s not all. While bonus bankrolls are often given out immediately after making your first deposit, sometimes the benefits are staggered, meaning you’re given a portion of the bonus each day or week, with the full amount given out after a period of time. And to make it even more tricky, each instalment may have different time limits or wagering requirements, so this is something you definitely don’t want to overlook!
It’s very common for online casino bonuses to come with limits on how much you can deposit. For example, a 200% deposit match with a maximum bonus amount of €100 means that €50 is the most you can expect the casino to match. You can of course deposit more, but you won’t receive any more ‘free’ money as a result.
By the same token, each game that’s eligible for the bonus is probably going to have maximum bet sizes attached to it, e.g. €0.10 per spin on a qualifying slot, or €25 for a single wager on a table game.
Why do the casinos do this? To avoid you winning too much on the back of a bonus, which would quickly see them out of profit. And to this end, another common condition is to cap maximum winnings altogether. That way, even in the worst case scenario the casino site is able to limit its losses while still giving players a healthy win if the maximum is achieved.
This is something that trips up a lot of players. Many online casino sites are very particular about which payment providers can be used to deposit money for redeeming bonuses. If you’re not aware of this, you may waste a lot of time and money playing a bonus you have no chance of winning from.
Typically, e-wallets, which tend to offer the fastest casino withdrawals, are not eligible for claiming bonuses. This is because they provide a level of anonymity, which can help some players commit bonus abuse – signing up for multiple bonuses at the same casino, even though it’s clearly stated that the online casino offers are limited to one per person.
Therefore it’s not enough to simply find a great-looking bonus and check that the casino site accepts deposit from your favourite provider – you need to read the small print to make sure the payment method isn’t excluded from taking part in the bonus.
Finally, a tip that’s so blindingly obvious it’s hardly worth stating… except that players can still be tripped up by this.
In a nutshell, some bonuses are automatically credited to your account after you sign up and deposit money, while others need to be activated. This could be in the form of a code you have to enter at the cashiers, or by going to your profile and selecting your bonus of choice.
This means that you might find the best bonus casino for your needs, but if you fail to activate the casino sign up bonus you won’t be able to enjoy the extra spins or topped-up bankroll you thought you were getting, so make sure you don’t skip this step.
There are always multiple types of online casino bonuses on offer at any one time, so it pays to understand what they are in order to choose the right one for you. Here, we've broken down the most popular bonus types you are likely to come across.
Online casinos use welcome bonuses to help attract new players. You generally have to deposit some of your own money to unlock a casino welcome bonus, so it’s widely referred to as a matched deposit bonus. Let's take a look at how it works.
Let's say you find a 100% welcome bonus up to €200. That means if you deposited €200 of your own money, you’d receive an extra €200, giving you €400 to play with. A 200% casino welcome bonus up to €500 would see you given €750 to play with if you deposited €250 of your own money, and so on.
Just remember to check the wagering requirements and read the small print before deciding which of the top casino bonuses to accept.
In our view, the following casino welcome bonuses are some of the best casino offers around right now:
A no wagering bonus allows you to enjoy the free goodies without needing to worry about wagering requirements. This means if you win, you can withdraw your bounty after only playing the bonus once, rather than multiple times!
As you can probably imagine, these promotions are rare. But some sites, especially new online casinos, will offer no wagering casino bonuses as they back themselves to make such a great first impression when you try out the site that you’ll want to stay.
Free spins give you a package of extra spins on an online slot. Usually these are restricted to particular games, but some casino offers apply to a whole range of titles.
Extra spins can come in the form of a standalone bonus, or they could be part of a bigger online slots bonus package along with a deposit match.
Once you've used all of your free spins, any bonus money you win will be added to your account balance. At some casino sites the bonus wins will automatically automatically be withdrawable as cash, but usually this amount is subject to wagering requirements before you can actually make a cash withdrawal.
The following casino sites have excellent extra spins deals:
As the name implies, a no deposit bonus is essentially a freebie: you get a small bankroll to play with without making a deposit first.
So what’s the catch? Actually, there are two. First, the amount you are given is usually much lower than for a deposit match bonus, which reduces your chances of winning. Second, wagering requirements on these bonuses are often pretty high, often in the ballpark of 50–60x.
Still, these online casino offers are a way for you to try a new operator or game without risking any of your own money, so they’re not to be sniffed at.
Casino sites will often dish out reload bonuses to keep customers loyal. This is where your bankroll is given a top-up at certain times, or when earlier bonuses have been used up.
Reload bonuses are generally smaller than a welcome bonus, but they give you an added incentive to keep playing… and extra chances to win.
Many online casinos have systems in place to reward loyal customers. Generally this involves giving you points as you play, with more points awarded for higher wagers.
You can then exchange these points for free bets, free spins, or other rewards. This is another tool designed to keep customers loyal, and it’s well worth scrutinising the loyalty bonus scheme on offer, as it can help you make an overall profit when playing.
For example, you might receive 1 point for every €1 you bet on online poker or table games and 5 points for every €1 you bet on real money. A really generous loyalty programme can make the difference between earning a profit or incurring a loss over the course of the year.
If you place a high volume of bets or you are classed as a high roller, you could qualify for VIP treatment. Such benefits may include:
Some online casinos will offer unique bonuses for playing on their mobile casino, although these are pretty rare now. It used to be the case that casino sites would encourage players to offer bonuses as a way of encouraging them to play via mobile. But these days almost every casino has a mobile-first strategy in place, which means the sites are designed to work just as well on mobile as they do on desktop.
Some operators go further, and create top casino apps that you can download to a smartphone or tablet.
Here are some of our favourite casinos to play on mobile:
Many casinos will reward you for encouraging friends and family to sign up for an account. The bonus you receive will generally be tied to the amount your friend deposits.
Of course, this casino bonus will also have terms and conditions, including wagering requirements, and a limit to how many times it can be used, so as always, read the small print!
Live casinos are well established in Ireland today, with demand growing all the time. As competition is fierce, some casinos try to stand out by launching promotions for live games.
If you sign up to this kind of bonus, you can play all manner of table games and other exciting games, while interacting with the dealer and your fellow players. However, even the best roulette sites will probably feature bonuses with more challenging wagering requirements than their promotions for slots.
Here are some of the best live dealer casinos to sign up at today:
You will often notice that casinos tie a casino bonus to certain games. Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Twin Spin are common slot games that you will find tied to the latest casino bonuses.
You may also come across bonuses linked to new games, as the game developer, casino, or both try to encourage you to give the new game a go.
We recommend the following casinos for their outstanding selection of games of all types:
Claiming the latest casino bonuses is simple. Just follow these steps:
Remember, you can only make a withdrawal once you have completed the wagering requirements for your sign up bonus. Once you've claimed your first deposit bonus, you'll be a fully-fledged member of the casino and be able to receive reload bonuses and other ongoing casino promotions.
Colm Phelan Digital PR Manager
Colm Phelan has spent several years working in the iGaming industry and has plenty of experience when it comes to writing, researching and rigorously testing online casinos and sportsbooks. While Colm has invested a lot of his time into the digital marketing world but his other passions include poker and a variety of sports including golf, NFL and football.
Casino bonuses are a kind of reward from a casino you are a member of. It is sometimes given as a welcome package or to show recognition towards loyal players, in the form of a deposit match, free spins, a reload bonus or loyalty points which can be exchanged for prizes.
For example, the deposit match bonus will grant you a percentage of your qualifying deposit back. If the bonus is a 150% match and you deposit €100, you will be granted an extra €150. Free spin bonuses, on the other hand, are free rounds given for slot games.
A good bonus in the case of a deposit match would be a high percentage, such as 100%, 150% or 200%. However, these bonuses usually come with wagering requirements, and the lower the wagering requirement the better. Other bonuses can be judged on the number of free spins or cashback you receive.
Casino bonuses come in many forms and vary from casino to casino. The most common bonuses are: deposit match (X% back from your deposit), free spins (free rounds on games), welcome bonus (usually a deposit match + free spins), no deposit bonus (granted without a deposit), reload (a percentage back on losses or percentage of bets), VIP rewards, and refer-a-friend.
The most popular and widespread casino bonus is the deposit match aka the deposit bonus. As mentioned above, they are usually bundled into welcome offers with free spins. Deposit match bonuses can also be claimed on your weekly spend and go by other names like reload bonuses.
Many Irish casinos provide outstanding bonuses, so we advise you check out the best online casinos listed here as they all have bonuses available on a regular basis that can be played in different games, such as slots, live dealer games or classic table games, so there's something to suit all players.
Yes, you can win money using a casino bonus, however, there are usually further steps before you can unlock any cash. The most common step you have to overcome is fulfilling any wagering requirements included. These can be anywhere from 1 to 50 times the bonus amount.
Yes but how much effort it takes depends on the casino's terms and conditions. Most of the time a wagering requirement will need to be met before you can withdraw any winnings. On the other hand, some goodwill or cashback bonuses can be withdrawn right away.
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