Online Casino Bonuses – The Complete Guide

So, what’s the big deal about welcome bonuses? Well, they’re intended to get new players through the door and into the games. They are a convincing push that many players need when they’re on the fence about signing up with a casino. Some welcome bonuses are usually applicable to your first deposit only, but in most cases, the welcome bonus is a package deal where you get rewarded for a series of your initial few deposits, up to three deposits or even more. Most of the time, these are match bonuses. What does that mean? It’s simple. The casino matches a percentage of your deposit with bonus money. And to sweeten the deal some more, some casinos throw in free spins too.

A stereotypical example of a welcome bonus: Get a 100% match bonus + 10 free spins on your first three deposits. This means that if you deposit NZ$100 as your first deposit, the casino will give you another NZ$100 and 10 free spins as well.

No deposit bonuses are one of the newer strategies in the online casino world, and they’re already proving to be a game changer. These bonuses are meant to get you to sign up and try the casino without spending a single cent of your own. It’s a zero-risk, zero-investment bonus—just complete the registration process, and the bonus is yours. In most cases, the bonus is automatically issued after you sign up, or you may have to type in a bonus code or contact the support team to receive the actual bonus.

What do you get? Typically, it’s either a small amount of free cash or a handful of free spins that you can use on selected games, sometimes even on just one specific slot game. It’s a superb way to get a feel for the casino website without having to spend any money from your own wallet. And here’s the best part: if you like what you see and decide to make a deposit, then you’ll likely even get treated to a first-deposit bonus as part of the welcome bonus package. The no deposit bonus is not as common as a first-deposit bonus, but it is still widely available at some of the NZ no deposit bonus casinos that we’ve suggested in our list above.

Free spins are just what they sound like; they are a fantastic way to enjoy slot games without using up any of your funds. Think of it like this: if you have ten free spins, you can spin the reels ten times on an eligible slot game without using any of your cash. Instead, the spins are on the house! However, it's important to know that these spins do come with some conditions.

For one, the bet amount per spin is fixed, and you cannot increase the bet value for obvious reasons. Also, any winnings from these free spins are added to your bonus funds and not your real-money balance. This means you’ll need to meet wagering requirements before you can cash out (more about how wagering requirements work later). Also, free spins are usually only playable on certain eligible slot games; sometimes, it’s just for a selected slot game chosen by the casino administration.

These bonuses give you some extra funds when you make a deposit in accordance with the bonus terms, either on a weekly basis or sometimes even daily. What happens is that the casino matches a percentage of your deposit, which means that you end up with more money to play with than what you actually deposited.

For example, imagine there’s a reload bonus of 50%. If you deposit NZ$100, the casino will add an extra NZ$50 to your account. This means you’ll have NZ$150 in total to enjoy more games. However, the extra $50 is added to your bonus balance, and the actual $100 you deposited is added to your real money balance.

Usually, cashback bonuses are calculated on a weekly basis, based on what you lost the previous week. The cashback amount is a percentage of your net losses from the previous week, in most cases. You’ll often find that the cashback is credited to your account on the same day each week, generally at the start of the new week. Some casinos offer really valuable cashback deals, where the wagering requirement is as low as 1x or sometimes even zero.

For example, let’s assume there is a cashback bonus that offers you a 10% cashback on your net losses every week. Now, let’s say you lost around NZ$50 in the previous week, then you will receive NZ$5 at the start of the next week as cashback. It does not sound like a lot, but weeks turn into months and months turn into years, and the amount of money you save by consistently receiving cashbacks can be substantial.

VIP clubs exist to reward players who are loyal and play regularly at a casino. These programs offer incentives based on how much you play. The more you play, the more rewards you can earn. VIP clubs will generally have different levels or tiers, and as you move up, the perks get better and better. You might start with smaller bonuses and cashback offers, but higher levels can bring with them benefits like expedited withdrawals, exclusive bonuses, a personal account manager, and even special invites and gifts.