How to be savvy about online casino offers

Sarah Parker
Authored by Sarah Parker
Posted: Monday, August 9, 2021 - 15:15

You only need to be watching a mainstream television channel from 6 pm to find a torrent of gambling-related TV ads. These adverts are usually broadcast from well known, UKGC licensed casino operators that are reputable and trusted. After all, the cost of such adverts is only affordable to the established 'big name' brands. Even with these adverts waving plenty of new player bonuses in your face, it's always a good idea to keep in mind that it's not where you play but sometimes how you play casino, slots, and lotto games online.

Throughout the past decade, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has enforced many new gambling regulations and advertising conditions to help shape and define the once 'Wild West' online gambling industry.

Thanks to new such rules, UK based punters can now play casino games and slots online with peace and mind that their chosen gambling site is safe, fair and has plenty of responsible gambling tools to help them stay in control. These new rules have also forced casino operators to behave more fairly, putting their customers rights first and have, as a result, sprung many more perks and rewards for the unassuming punter.

In today's casino world, savvy casino players know it's not all about which casino site you play at, it's the type of casino bonuses that you play with. Thanks to new regulations stopping casinos from luring new customers with a bonus that was traditionally never as good as it sounded (and was never really 100% free) online casinos have been looking for new ways to attract customers in a competitive, saturated market that’s now also highly regulated.

Since casinos are no longer allowed to advertise the once popular 'free spins no deposit' type offers (unless they were entirely free which is a huge cost / risk for the operator) they've sought new ways to be enticing. The result? No wagering bonuses! To begin with, a smaller no wagering bonus wasn't that appealing to casino veterans; however, it was soon understood that, whilst a no wager bonus was a bit smaller, it came with zero wagering requirements, or in simpler terms no strings attached, so it meant that anything you won whilst playing with the bonus, was yours to keep without restriction. If you're reading this and you're not sure what wagering requirements are; they're simply the playthrough/ betting restrictions that a customer must complete in the casino before any cash out restrictions are lifted by the site.

Wagering requirements are common with most casino bonuses, until the arrival of new no wagering bonuses that was. Wagering requirements were initially put in place to protect online casinos from the risk of huge financial losses from casino bonuses that were given out for marketing/retention purposes. Thanks to the UKGC now enforcing fairer casino bonuses, it means that a casino could no longer slap on a high wagering requirement which made sure a customer would never cash out their winnings, plus they cannot advertise a ‘free’ bonus unless it was 100% free for the customer.

No wager bonuses have started to become more popular and savvy casino players know that these bonuses are much better in the long run. Many top casino operators are offering no wagering bonuses because it’s what people are searching the internet for. Nowadays, casino punters want fair and square bonuses with the highest possible chance to cash out their winnings.

The first casino to go all out and offer a no wagering bonus was PlayOjo Casino, a long-established casino that’s now affectionally known as the "The NO Wagering Casino". Many leading gambling site review guides often focus on recommending UK casino sites offering these bonuses because what you win is what you keep. This is not to say that traditional casino bonuses aren’t good, because some are, but again, it's best to be savvy; playing with casino bonuses with the lowest wagering requirements is the way to go.  A handy check list has been compiled by leading gambling sites guide iGamblingSites.com to help prospective online gamblers find safe casinos with the fairest bonuses online:

How To Choose a Reputable UK Online Casino?

Licensing: Always, always play at UK licensed casinos and gambling sites. Even if an offshore operator is offering a more lucrative bonus, it's not worth chancing it. The reason why licenses exist is to protect UK consumers against rogue and unfair online gambling sites.

Payment Options: Look for a casino operator that offers a broad range of safe and secure payment options. If they have PayPal, even better because you needn't add any of your financial details into your casino account when you use PayPal. Often, you can claim casino bonuses when you deposit /withdraw with PayPal too.

Low/No Wagering Bonuses: As highlighted above, the best casino experience goes hand in hand with no/low wagering bonuses; not bonuses that come with high wagering requirements that makes cash-outs impossible. The best bonuses are no wager bonuses because everything that you win you can cash out. However, if you find a low wagering casino that you like, it’ll still put you in a better driving seat too.

On Going Rewards: A top casino will also do its upmost to reward their players with on-going bonuses and loyalty programs when they've used the sign-up bonus. If not, they know all too well that there's a whole world of new casinos vying for their customers’ attention. Picking a casino that offers on going rewards every time you play will put you in a better position because you'll get more back for the money you put in every single time you login.

These are just a couple of tips to help you find the best casino offers online. To summarise, always check that a casino is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission before you play any real money slots or casino games online, and if possible - always claim no wagering bonuses / low wagering bonuses so you get with withdraw what you win.