The Bitcoin gambling industry struggled in the early days, with many consumers wary of cryptocurrencies and many regulators turning their backs on the industry. But it persisted, it thrived, and a lot of that was down to Bitcoin casino bonuses.
These bonuses attracted players away from their usual haunts and helped to give the cryptocurrency gambling industry the shot in the arm that it so desperately needed. Bonuses had to be bigger, better, and more enticing, and they were.
In fact, even years later, when the industry found its feet and cryptocurrency casinos are just as common as their fiat currency counterparts, bonuses still tend to be bigger and better.
What are Bitcoin Casino Bonuses?
The online casino industry is highly competitive and it operates on a unique structure. Casino operators work with aggregate companies who provide them with their platform, games, and licenses. The only thing that’s left is for them to create a unique theme and brand story, and then offer a series of bonuses.
Not only are these bonuses one of the few things that differentiate one casino from the next, but they are also a great a marketing tactic. Casinos use them to convince you to join their site instead of a competitor’s, and while it seems like they are throwing good money away, these bonuses actually cost them very little in the long run and it’s a cheap and effective way to market.
Like all things in an online casino, bonuses are carefully structured to ensure that a casino’s losses are kept to an absolute minimum. The casinos have done their research and they know that many things will fall in their favour and ultimately leave them with more money over the long run, these include:
1. They Keep Your Deposit
The house always wins.
This is one of the most clichéd phrases in the gambling industry, but it’s cliché because it’s true. The problem is, it’s often misunderstood.
This phrase doesn’t mean that you will lose every time you sit down and play. If that was the case, we wouldn’t have professional gamblers, jackpot winners, and other profitable players.
What it means is that for every 1 winner, there will be 2 or more losers; for every 1 jackpot winner, there will be hundreds of small losers. It’s a numbers game, and it’s always in favour of the casino.
Imagine that you have a 20-sided die. 11 of those sides are Heads and 9 are Tails. If you roll that die once or twice, there’s every chance that it will favour Tails. Even if you roll it 10 times, it may lean more towards Tails. But when you roll it 1,000, 10,000, and even 1 million times, it will almost certainly show more Heads than Tails.
In this example, the players are Tails and the casinos are Heads. A player may profit every now and then when the die shows Tails, but over the course of an entire day, week, or month, Heads will be more common and will always favour the house.
When you deposit 1 BTC and collect an additional 1 BTC in bonus credits, you may eventually withdraw a profit after clearing your wagering requirements. But the casino won’t care, because for every player as successful as you, there are several who lose everything.
2. Long-Term Use
The casino hopes that you will stick around long after the bonus has expired, giving them money and keeping their coffers full. Ask any salesperson and they will tell you that once you get a customer through the doors and let them hold the product, the odds of them making a purchase increase significantly.
This is why supermarkets giveaway so much free food; it’s why some promotional events let you have your first few drinks for free.
When you start playing at an online casino and find your groove, the odds that you will make another deposit and continue playing are pretty high. This is true even after you have blown through your Welcome Bonus.
A new player is an incredibly valuable asset to an online casino. In the United Kingdom alone, gamblers lose over £12 billion a year, amounting to an average of several thousand pounds per player. Once you consider the sheer quantity of wagers placed by a high-roller, also known as a “whale”, you have a situation where a single player could generate tens of thousands of pounds for your business.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone loses, and as noted above, it is possible to be very successful gambling online. You just have to make sure you are part of the minority and not the majority.
3. Wagering Requirements
Wagering requirements are carefully considered to provide the average player with enough opportunities while still giving the casino an edge over the long-term. The average rate for a wagering requirement is between 30x and 50x, but some go as low as 20x and some go as high as 65x.
In the context of a 1 BTC welcome bonus, a 50x wagering requirement means you need to wager a total of 50 BTCs. This may sound like a lot, but you have to consider that every wager counts, whether you lose or win. If you bet 0.001 BTC per spin on 1,000 spins, you’ve wagered a total of 1 mBTC, but you may have won an additional 2 or 3 BTCs, which you can then wager again to bring that number down further.
Wagering requirements are high because casinos know that the more you bet; the more likely things are to tilt in their favour. This is also why you’re also limited to a relative low maximum bet, one that often equates to just $5, and why they don’t let you play games of Roulette.
If you had a 1 BTC bonus and a 20 BTC wagering requirement, you could just bet everything on Black or Red. 1 would become 2, then 4, 8, and 16. You’d be close to meeting your wagering requirements in just 4x 50/50 bets (or as near to 50/50 as you can get).
If all players did this, bonuses would be more of a gamble for online casinos. And believe it or not, they don’t want to gamble. That’s the job of the player, not the casino.
What are the Types of Bitcoin Casino Bonus?
Bitcoin casino bonuses come in several shapes and sizes. We have discussed each of these at length elsewhere here at Coinbuzz.com, so we won’t repeat ourselves, but they can generally be condensed into one of the following categories:
- Welcome Bonuses: A Welcome Bonus is the most common type of Bitcoin casino bonus and one that you can find on multiple websites. It is a bonus designed to lure you into a casino and one that we have discussed multiple times in this guide. Often introduced in the form of a Matched Deposit Bonus (see below) this offer is also available in other forms. When a Welcome Bonus includes a Matched Deposit Bonus, Cashback, and Free Spins, it is also known as a Welcome Package Bonus.
- Matched Deposit Bonuses: A Matched Deposit Bonus “matches” your deposit with an additional sum of money. A 100% Matched Bonus will effectively double your deposit, giving you “100% more”. Generally, the match range goes from a low of 25% to a high of 200%, and this bonus is used both as a Welcome Bonus and a Reload Bonus.
- Free Spins: As the name suggests, Free Spins give you a fixed number of spins on a specific slot machine or series of slots. They are used to promote slots and developers and are also often added to other bonuses. Click the link to read more about Free Spin Bonuses here.
- No Deposit Bonuses: A bundle of Free Spins or bonus credits that don’t require a deposit. Oftentimes, you’ll be asked for some kind of verifying ID, but many casinos will provide this bonus based purely on your home address, name, and email.
- Loyalty Schemes: Many of the best Bitcoin casinos have Loyalty Schemes, also known as VIP Schemes and Loyalty Clubs, or some variation of these terms. These bonuses encourage regular play by giving players Loyalty Points every time they spin the reels, play a game of cards, or take a chance on a game like Roulette. These points can then be converted into prizes and/or cashback, and many of them also have multiple tiers, with bigger depositors earning a higher status and more prestigious rewards.
- Cashback Bonuses: These bonuses are very popular with brick-and-mortar casinos and have also become popular in the cryptocurrency gambling sector. Cashback Bonuses give you a fixed amount of cash back on all of your losses. They rarely apply to all wagers, however, and when they do, they often take the form of Matched Deposit Bonuses.
How do Bitcoin Casino Bonuses Work?
Bitcoin casino bonuses tend to be much bigger than the ones available on fiat currency casinos. In fact, even the casinos that offer both Bitcoins and traditional currencies tend to favour the former.
Take Oshi Casino as an example. For a long time (and potentially still now, depending on when you are reading this) it offered a bonus of 5 BTCs to all new players using Bitcoins. At the same time, fiat currency players could collect just €/$500.
To give you some perspective, Bitcoins were valued at $11,000 at the time, which means that Bitcoin users were offered close to $50,000 more.
But of course, this money wasn’t released as a single lump sum.
In fact, many Bitcoin casino bonuses are structured more like online poker bonuses, whereby players are given a fixed sum based on their deposit and are then told to earn this sum over time.
For instance, you may unlock a total bonus of 5 BTCs after a deposit of the same amount, but instead of getting these Bitcoins all at once, you need to earn them by placing bets. You could be given 0.5 BTCs for every 20, 50, or 100 BTCs that you wager. This doesn’t sound as impressive as a typical Welcome Bonus, but it basically means your wagering requirements come before your bonus and not after.
In the long-run, it’s all pretty much the same thing. Deposit big, wager frequently, and you’ll get additional credits to use however you see fit.
Tips for Using Bitcoin Casino Bonuses
Before you join a new casino and collect a Bitcoin bonus, make sure you keep all of the following in mind:
1. Focus on Quality, Not Quantity
Sometimes, a bonus that offers 1 BTC is better than one that offers 5 BTC. It all depends on how that money is released and how you can use it.
For instance, a 5 BTC bonus may be spread across multiple deposits, requiring you to wager lots of money each time and only releasing the credits when you make lots of wagers as a member. A 1 BTC bonus, however, may be released at once and give you lots of Free Spins and other perks as well.
2. Check the Wagering Requirement
Look at the bonus terms and conditions to see how big the wagering requirements are. And don’t just focus on the number, as some terms are fixed against the bonus, others are fixed against the deposit, and some count both.
For instance, let’s imagine that you deposited 1 BTC and got an additional 1 BTC in credits. If the wagering requirements are 50x and are set against the deposit or the bonus amount, you’ll need to clear 50x or 50 BTCs. If, however, it covers both the deposit and the bonus, that respectable 50 BTC suddenly becomes 100 BTC, which is over $1 million based on the price of Bitcoin at the time of writing.
The length of time that you have to clear this rate is also important. The bigger it is, the longer it will take to clear. Ideally, you need a bare minimum of 1 week for every 20x. Anything less is just going to make your task impossible, especially if you’re not a frequent gambler.
3. Don’t Forget about Cashout Limits and Game Limits
All bonuses restrict you to specific games and wagers, and they do this to prevent you playing Roulette and sticking everything on Red or Black. In most cases, your maximum bet will be fixed at the equivalent of $5 (you can bet more than this, but the extra money won’t count toward your wagering requirements) and only slots will count 100% toward your bonus.
Some table games may count for between 5% and 25%, and everything else, including select slot machines, won’t count at all. Furthermore, you may be limited to how much you can win with a single spin and/or a single bonus. Both of these terms need to be considered before you accept a bonus.
After all, most players like using these bonus credits to take a stab at progressive jackpot slots, but what happens id those slots don’t count or you have a cashout limit that restricts all major jackpots?
4. Play the Right Games
The best way to clear your Bitcoin bonus wagering requirements is to play slot machines that have a high Return to Player (RTP) average, preferably over 97% or as close as you can get.
You should also focus on high volatility slots and keep your stake to a respectable level. Don’t be tempted to increase it, and don’t take too many risks. Just play as you usually would, focus on winning as much as you can, and when you make it near the end, you can consider switching to low volatility games.
The truth is, there really is no easy way to clear these requirements. Casinos make sure of that, as they prevent you from wagering too much money on a single spin and they also prevent you from playing low house edge table games like Blackjack and Baccarat. The result is that you’re often forced to abide by the casino’s strict rules and this can be hard on your balance.
Play steadily, focus on each spin as it comes, and you’ll get there eventually.
FAQs About Bitcoin Casino Bonuses
Got a few questions about how Bitcoin casino bonuses work, what you should do if you have an issue, and other queries? Take a look at these frequently asked questions.
Does a Casino Owe me a Bonus?
If you read through any online casino’s review page you will see a plethora of bad reviews complaining about unpaid bonuses, dodgy terms and conditions, and other similarly themed issues.
For instance, a player may join a site to collect a bonus, only to be refused that offer, leading them to complain and to threaten the casino with everything from legal action to official complaints. The question is, does the player have a leg to stand on?
The short answer is no, the longer answer is…it’s complicated.
Believe it or no, a casino doesn’t owe you anything and doesn’t have to give you anything, even if they promised to do so. They are governed by their Terms and Conditions and if they include terms that are seemingly unfair and use this to “rob” you of your bonus, there isn’t much you can do.
For instance, they may insist that your bonus be cleared in just a few days. They may require it to be activated by first speaking with the customer support team. It’s a messed-up process, but when it comes to freebies, there isn’t much you can do.
It’s a different story if they refuse a withdrawal or suspend your account and stop you from getting your money. But when it comes to bonuses, you have very little recourse for action.
Can US Players Use Bitcoin Casino Bonuses?
In the past, Bitcoin casinos have provided a loophole for US gamblers. These casinos have focused on making life easier for players and they have often done this at the expense of regulators.
For instance, with many Bitcoin casinos, you can join via your mobile device and confirm your account using a phone number or email. It allows you to sign up quickly and without issue. The problem is, it also makes it easy to access the site from restricted countries like the US, as all it takes is a good VPN and a little patience.
Countless US players rushed to collect bonuses and join these casinos. They deposited using Bitcoins, they collected their bonuses, and they played without issue.
After a while, either because they made large withdrawals or triggered an automated process, they were asked for verification details and were quickly suspended.
It’s still possible to use this loophole, but we would not recommend it. You’ll be constantly walking on eggshells, awaiting the day a withdrawal is suspended and the casino pulls the rug out from under you. Take your gambling elsewhere, stick with casinos that are actually regulated in your country, and if there are none…it’s hard luck.
Can I Collect Bitcoin and Traditional Bonuses?
Many Bitcoin casinos have separate wallets and bonuses for Bitcoin and fiat currency players, but that doesn’t mean you can collect both. In fact, it almost certainly means that you can’t.
You have to remember that once you have collected your Welcome Bonus, the casino has you where they want you. They may invite you to a Loyalty Scheme or offer some smaller Reload bonuses, but they’re not going to offer you another hugely generous bonus to convince you to join a casino you have already joined.
Can I Collect Bitcoin Bonuses on Mobile?
Bitcoin bonuses are available on desktop and mobile, and the terms for both of these platforms tend to be very similar. In some cases, you can collect larger and more unique bonuses on mobile, but generally, the offers are the same regardless of the platform you use.