Best Casino Promotions: How to Identify Them and Avoid Others

Finding the best casino promotions is a great way of getting started in style and increasing your chances of winning. Choose a good deal and you can play more with less of your own money. Having said that, it's not a bad reflex to be wary of things that appear to be too good to be true. This is why we will look in this article what to be careful of when deciding if you want to take up a casino on their deposit bonus and free spins offers.

High Numbers Aren't Always Better

Some sites will encourage you to sign up by offering casino promotions with huge numbers or incredible prizes. While this sounds good, you should bear in mind that bigger amounts aren't always better bonuses.

Part of the reason for this is that it may be extremely difficult for you to convert the bonus money to real money that you can withdraw. First deposit offers for Canadians often have very strict requirements attached to them. This is something you can find in the terms & conditions, which is a subject we will look at in detail in this article.

Casino Promotions Terms and Conditions

All of the casino promotions that you come across will have Terms and Conditions on them. This is to prevent people abusing them and ruining things for everyone else. These details also help to make it clear to the player how much they need to deposit or bet to earn a bonus, as well as any other relevant information.

However, the exact conditions listed here could stop the offer from being as beneficial to you as you might initially think. There are many online casinos out there with anything but reasonable conditions. Below, we will look at the main things to look out for and anything that you should definitely avoid.

Wagering Requirements

This is a figure that lets you know how many times to need to bet your casino bonus before you can withdraw it as real money. If it is higher than 60x the bonus amount it should be avoided, as it is going to be extremely difficult for you to convert the bonus money into real cash.

Another aspect to look out for is if the wagering requirement only applies to the bonus amount, or if it applies to the initial deposit you make as well as the bonus amount. In the latter case, you should steer clear of any casino promotions that have wagering requirements of higher than 30x.

Maximum Winnings

Another term to look out for with online casino offers, is the maximum payout figure that is usually mentioned. This puts a limit on the amount that you can win using the bonus money.

If it is a reasonable amount like $5,000 or $10,000, you will only run into issues if you hit a jackpot (and may wish to opt for lower volatility games instead). On the other hand, if the limit is low, you should avoid the offer entirely.

Maximum Stake

The maximum amount that you can bet on each spin will also be listed in the t&cs in most cases, while free spins will generally have a fixed bet amount on them.

This might not be a problem, but it really comes down to your style of play and the amount you like to bet. Take a close look at this section of the casino promotion, to make sure that it is suitable for you. If not, opt for another offer, as betting more than is allowed gives casinos the right to cancel the bonus and/or any winnings made.

Eligible Games

You probably won't be able to bet on all of the casino's games using bonus funds, and only some of them will count towards clearing the wagering requirements. You can find the list of eligible games in the t&cs, with a percentage listed in those cases where the full stake doesn't count towards the wagering requirements.

There is no problem with this point, provided that you check the list carefully and find games that suit your interests. In the case of free spins bonuses, these are usually only available on a single slot.

Bonus Expiration

You don't want to run out of time to take advantage of the offer and meet the wagering requirements. Some deals for Canadian players won't give you a lot of time to do this, which might not fit in with your needs. If you don't have time to play through the full bonus amount, it will expire before you can withdraw anything.

It is also worth bearing in mind that this issue can make the percentage of the bonus more important than the maximum amount, as not many players can clear these amounts anyway. It may make sense to deposit less and make it easier to squeeze every last dollar out of the deal by clearing the wagering requirements comfortably.

Competitions in Casino Promotions

This type of offer sees you compete against other players in tournaments or different types of competition. The top prizes are often very exciting, but how realistic are your chances of winning one of them?

Try to find previous promotions from the same casino that were run in a similar way, to see how achievable the idea of finishing in a top spot in the rankings is.

Arcanebet's First Deposit Bonus

A good example of a solid casino bonus is the arcanebet deal using the CANADA300 code. This gives 100% extra up to 300 CAD + 100 free spins on Book of Dead. The rollover is only 17.5x the amount of your deposit + bonus + free spins winnings, and you get 30 days to clear these wagering requirements. You can bet up to €5 (around 7 CAD) per spin, plus there are no maximum winnings limits in place.