Online Casinos are famous for providing dime-a-dozen promotions and benefits to entice new players. The whole reason online casinos offer fabulous bonuses is to attract new customers still, it is the players that ultimately gain because their initial and re-load deposits more than double giving them a better chance at winning something big. Casino bonuses are really great to have, no matter how small or big they are. Before you register at an online casino, there are some details you need to know about these bonuses, what they are and how they actually work. Knowing the ins and outs of these bonus offers helps you distinguish between offers and make intelligent choices. Some players say that bonuses are nothing but a lot of hot air. Not true! Bonuses can be used in place of real money it can be used to play the online games and win real money. True, you might not be able to withdraw the bonus but nothing stops you from using the bonus money to play and win real cash.

As the name suggests, a sign-up bonus is something given to you at the time of signing up (i.e. registering at the online casino of your choice). You don´t have to deposit anything. Just the act of signing up with an online casino makes you eligible for claiming the sign-up bonus. A sign-up bonus usually ranges from a couple of dollars to 20 dollars depending on the generosity of the online casino. A signup bonus cannot be withdrawn it can only be used to play a game at the online casino. This is a fantastic incentive just to give you a little taste of what is to come. You do not have to deposit anything. Just register at the online casino site and you can use it at any game. You have to enroll a credit card and have it verified in order to have the sign up bonus to be accredited to your account. The sign-up bonus is a simple, straight forward lump sum amount credited to your account and there are (usually) no restrictions on what games you can play using the sign-up bonus.

These bonuses are offered as a percentage of the first cash deposit you make. Some sites will not have sign up bonuses but they will have a bigger deposit bonus. The deposit bonus ranges from 50% to 100% and more. Again, just like the sign-up bonus, the deposit bonus cannot be withdrawn  it can only be used to play. However, any winnings can be withdrawn. A deposit bonus along with the sign-up bonus is a great incentive for a new player as it instantly swells the available cash. However, be sure to read the fine print. Some online casino sites will insist that any winnings should also be used to play games a certain number of times.

Each time you make a deposit (i.e. all deposits after the first deposit) are called reload deposits and most online casino sites will offer a minimum of 50% of your reload amount as a bonus. So if you deposited $100, online casino will add no less than $50 to your account. The reload bonuses can go as high as 300%. Here too the re-load bonuses cannot be withdrawn. A re-load bonus can only be used to play games and there may also be restrictions on when winnings from re-load bonuses can be withdrawn.

Some online casino sites might limit reload bonuses to 4 or 5 deposits after the first deposit. Others might not have any such restrictions. In any case, be sure to read the fine print because sometimes the conditions are such that the big $$ signs prominently displayed might not really be all that big.

Special bonuses are usually offered in the form of loyalty or bonus points. These points can be accumulated and it can be exchanged at the cashier as cash. Not all casino sites will offer loyalty points and these are usually seasonal additions. Depending on the company and the online gaming site, they will offer different promos that might include special bonus points. Special bonuses when earned can be exchanged for cash and withdrawn.

Some sites offer a 100% Deposit Bonus and 50% Reload Bonus. In some setups, the site will offer a small sign-up bonus which is split and on your first 3 deposits. This is a pretty intelligent setup since we all like it when the bonus exceeds 200%. They will market 750% total bonuses. The first one will be on the first deposit. It increases to 250% on the second and 300% on the third one. After that, the online casino site might still offer much lower reload bonuses but they may prefer not to offer anything but give bigger promos. Other online casinos offer small bonuses all throughout but when you see their promotions and prizes, you will be surprised as to how massive and generous they are. Online casino sites will tap on different motivations to appeal to the clients. Some are established enough so they don´t need to make over-the-top offers. It is the newer online casino sites that offer mouth watering array of bonuses.

Be sure to always check the terms and conditions on bonus use. Know that sign-up, initial deposit and reload bonuses cannot be withdrawn. Other than that it can be used like real cash to play online games. Most online casino sites will insist that winnings from bonuses too should be played a fixed number of times before it can be withdrawn. Do your math. Calculate the actual money and not the percentage. We are all enticed to see bonuses from 300% to 1000%. They are great but they might only be used on a particular game that you do not even like playing. Read the fine print. See to it that they are flexible enough to offer bonuses that can be used across a number of games.