From this casino deposit bonus guide, you can pick out the best first deposit bonus casino for you. We'll explain what makes the best casino bonus to help you take your pick, while also adding the latest casino bonuses in UK so you don't miss out. NOTE: UK players need a verified account to play with a casino bonus.
If your first deposit is $50, you will receive $50 as a bonus and will play with $100. If you are given a 200% match bonus and you deposit $100 you will get the $200 first deposit bonus and your bankroll will be $300, etc. There are online casinos which offer ongoing (staggered) sign up bonuses meaning you get a bonus on the first two, three. While most online casinos offer bonuses that are either a certain percentage (25%, 50%, 75%) of a sum or match up bonuses (100% up to x) you will find some amazing casinos that offer more than 100%, try 200% welcome bonus as well! At this moment in time no online casino offers more than 500%, so this is the absolute best thing you could hope for.
Paddy Power Games offers the best casino bonus in UK for February 2021. On registration and for a first deposit.
EXCL: 20 Free Spins -- code: QUEEN20
PlayUp to 100 Free Spins + up to £1000 Welcome Bonus
Play100% up to £111 / €333 + 77 FS
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Although you can view all our casino bonuses on this page, we handpick a specific casino bonus of the month too. This helps players get started with our best first deposit bonus at the moment. We also have plenty more casinos that we recommend for the month, as well as the entire list of sites that you can go through. Pretty much all of them have a deposit bonus included for first time players. If you want to know more about a casino bonus and how to pick the best one for you, all is explained below.
A casino deposit bonus is a bonus that the player gets when they make a deposit at a casino. It is often given immediately after you make a deposit, with X amount of bonus money being added to your account to play with on top of your own money. This increases your bankroll and allows you to place more bets which gives you more chances to win. However, this bonus money isn’t yet actual money so it cannot be withdrawn until certain requirements are met. Otherwise, casinos would not be making any money.
You will almost certainly be given a casino deposit bonus when signing up at new online casinos. This is because all casinos want you to play at their site and there’s no better way to tempt us in than offering extra funds through a first deposit bonus to play with. However, the best casino deposit bonus sites have more of these offers for existing players to keep them happy. This means they’re very common so you need to know what they look like.
Example. The casino offers a 100% casino bonus up to £100 with a wagering requirement of 25 times the bonus money when you make a deposit. You want to claim the maximum bonus so you decide to deposit £100 which the casino then matches. You now have £200 in your account (£100 of money you deposited plus £100 bonus money offered by the casino). Before you are eligible to make a withdrawal you need to bet at least £2500 on slots before your withdrawal request can be accepted (25 x £100).
Take notice! There are usually other terms and conditions that apply too. These can be for example:
Because it is common that there are other requirements besides the wagering requirements, we always recommend reading the terms and conditions first. If something looks too good on the first sight, it usually is.
There are several things that you need to take into consideration before choosing the best casino bonus. Bigger doesn’t always mean automatically better. Here’s a casino bonus guide that we recommend to evaluate before making that first deposit:
Amount to deposit
How much are you planning to deposit? Usually, the first deposit bonus is the best bonus that casinos offer so you want to get the maximum benefit from it. If you are for example planning to deposit £50, choose a casino that offers the bonus up to £50 in order to get the maximum bonus.
Deposit Bonus Casino
Does the casino with the deposit bonus have a valid license and a good reputation? There are many to choose from so select a good one. Also, make sure that:
Wagering requirements
Keep an eye on this and especially look whether it is bonus money or bonus money plus your own money that you have to wager. A high bonus isn’t great if the wagering requirement is unreasonable. Also, make sure that you can wager money on the games you are about to play. Sometimes slots from a certain provider aren’t allowed in the wagering, for example. There are a few casinos that offer a no wager bonus.
We often include wagering requirements within the quick terms and conditions popup in our casino bonuses list.
Touch or hover over the symbol for each casino bonus’s significant terms
Just make sure to double-check the wagering once you choose your casino sites. We aim to keep all the information up to date but casinos are known to change terms at short notice. Please let us know if you spot anything incorrect.
To figure out exactly what you’ll need to wager, you can use this casino bonus calculator:
Other terms
These vary from casino to casino and there might be something in the small print that makes the bonus practically useless. Things like a too-tight time limit to wager or maximum amount that you can win.
This is perhaps the smallest bonus you’ll see but casinos generally offer more. You’ll see this marked something like 50% up to £50. However, this is the structure for all casino deposit bonuses no matter the size. Let us explain.
The percentage (50% in this case) explains how much the casino is willing to match whatever you deposit. However, they include a maximum cap of “up to £50” in this case. This prevents players from depositing massive amounts in exchange for a huge amount of bonus money.
Let’s use 50% up to £50 as an example and apply some deposits to it:
Also, you often need to complete wagering requirements before you can withdraw any bonus money. Let’s say that you got the full £50 bonus money with 20 times wagering. You would then need to use the £50 bonus money to bet £1000 (20 x £50) on eligible slots or casino games before you would be eligible for a withdrawal. Pay special attention to the terms and conditions here as some casinos require you to wager the bonus + deposit amount. If that was the case and you deposited £100 then it would change to £3000 instead (20 x £150).
This is the most typical casino bonus on offer and is commonly referred to as a match bonus. You’ll see this marked like 100% up to £100 which would mean that a casino will outright match whatever you deposit up to a maximum of £100.
Let’s take this example and assume you deposit £100. The casino will then match your deposit with £100 bonus money. Any higher deposits will be capped at this amount. When using your £100 bonus money, the wagering is set at 20 times which means you would have to play £2000 (20 x £100) on slots before you would be eligible for a withdrawal.
Not as common but there are still a few casinos that offer this bonus. You’ll see a 200 casino bonus marked like 200% up to £200 which would mean that a casino pays twice the amount you deposit in bonus money up to a maximum of £200. Usually, casinos that offer this bonus have a bonus for the second deposit too.
Let’s assume you deposit the same £100 for this example. You will then get £200 from the casino as bonus money. Any higher deposits will be capped at this amount. With the wagering being 20 times you would have to use the £200 bonus money to play £4000 (20 x £200) on slots before you would be eligible for a withdrawal.
Quite rare and at the moment there aren’t really any casinos that offer this type of bonus. However, when they do you’ll see this marked like 300% up to £300 which would see you get three times the amount that you deposit up to a maximum of £300.
You deposit the same £100. You would then get £300 from the casino. Any higher deposits will be capped at this amount. With the wagering being 20 times for the bonus money you would have to use it to play £6000 (20 x £300) on slots before you would be eligible for a withdrawal.
This is more commonly seen than the previous 300% bonus for some reason. It’s marked like 400% up to £400 which would mean the casino pays four times the amount that you deposit up to £400. Remember though that this would be a lot of bonus money which mean quite a lot of wagering to do. Also, keep an eye on the other terms. Benefitting from a bonus this big isn’t usually easy to do. Read the small print.
Let’s assume you deposit £100 again. You would then get £400 from the casino. Any higher deposits will be capped at this amount. With the wagering being 20 times for the bonus money you would have to use it to play £8000 (20 x £400) on slots before you would be eligible for a withdrawal.
These offers are extremely rare but it’s still worth knowing how they work just in case. It’s marked like 500% up to £500 which would mean the casino pays five times the amount that you deposit up to £500.
Let’s assume you deposit £100 for this example. You would then get £500 from the casino. Any higher deposits will be capped at this amount. With the wagering being 20 times for the bonus money you would have to use it to play £10,000 (20 x £500) on slots before you would be eligible for a withdrawal.
In all honesty, this kind of bonus would be best for trying something out rather than converting into real money. That’s because 20 times wagering is considered low and many casinos often double this to 40 times or even higher. It would virtually be impossible for you to wager it in full so you need to consider whether to use it.
Once the percentages start to rise it can be tricky to keep up. However, if you want to know how much to deposit in order to get the maximum bonus then there’s a simple formula. You take the maximum bonus that’s possible and divide it by the percentage which is split into decimal places after the first number. It’s best explained in an example
100% up to £100 – How to max the bonus
Let’s now try a 200 casino bonus example that’s a little trickier.
125% up to £200 – How to max the bonus
NOTE: For percentages lower than 100, you place the numbers after the decimal points – e.g. 50% would be 0.5.
The best thing is you can use this formula every time to quickly find out how to get the biggest casino bonus from each offer. Just load up your device’s calculator and try it out.
It depends. If you are just planning on playing a quick session it might not be necessary since the wagering always takes a while. However, you always get more playing time when you have bonus money in play. The more money you have to play with the better chance you have of winning as well, so a casino bonus can help there too. And if there isn’t any urgent time limit on the wagering, you can always return and continue your session.
When playing at a casino that is licensed by either the MGA or UKGC, the following rules are in place:
One of the ways we help to make an offer more enticing is by getting an exclusive casino bonus. This is an upgrade to the usual deal that a casino offers, with either extra bonus money or something else added in.
We make sure to highlight all our exclusive casino bonuses in several places. Such as above, where we will make a casino with “Exclusive”, “EXCL” or similar. Out of all the options, probably our most popular exclusive casino bonus is from MrQ. To get it, you can either visit their link above or from the MrQ Casino review.
Nowadays most casinos give the deposit bonus automatically after the deposit. In order to decline the casino deposit bonus, you need to contact support before starting to play so that they can inform you how to reject it. If you start playing you cannot reject the bonus anymore unless it is forfeitable.
For casinos that use bonus codes, rejecting the first deposit bonus is generally easier. Just don’t input the bonus code and the deposit bonus won’t be credited after your deposit. However, most casinos don’t use bonus codes anymore.
But why would you actually choose not to take a first deposit bonus?
Winnings Cap
Some first deposit bonus casinos will include a clause which limits how much you can actually win from the bonus. For example, you may well see something like “Max withdrawal amount of £100” within the terms and conditions.
This means that you can only ever win up to £100 in real money. Any wins that went over this amount would be taken away from you.
Limited Game Selection
You may also find that your deposit casino bonus can only be used on a few games. That’s because some sites restrict what the offer is available for.
If it’s a small boost then you might not mind. However, anything from a 100 casino bonus, 200 casino bonus, or higher would mean playing the same slot(s) over a longer period.
Bet Limits
One thing that pretty much every casino deposit bonus has is a maximum bet limit. In most cases it’s £5 – and this means that you can only bet up to £5 per spin on a slot when completing the wagering requirements.
If you happen to accidentally bet more than £5 – even if it’s only on one spin – then the casino will have grounds to remove your bonus and any winnings you made from it.
Too High Wagering
With £5 betting limits, it’s no secret that wagering a first deposit casino bonus can take a while. Therefore, if the wagering requirement is too high then it might not be worth taking up (between x30 – x40 wagering is the usual benchmark).
Anything higher than these amounts would mean you need to spin for longer. Of course, the more wagering you have to do the more likely you’ll lose your casino bonus winnings in the long run.
If you’re not happy with these kinds of terms then we recommend selecting a different first deposit bonus until you find one that’s appropriate.
If you currently reside in Great Britain and you’re looking for the best casino bonuses for UK players, pretty much every casino listed here has offers in British pound. However, all UK casinos must adhere to the rules of their licencing body – the Gambling Commission. Over the years, the Gambling Commission has implemented a few changes which have affected casino bonuses in the UK.
On 7th May 2019, the Gambling Commission introduced rules which meant that players signing up at a new gambling site must have their name, address, and date of birth verified before they can play. This means that a UK player can’t deposit and subsequently get a casino bonus until this ID verification has taken place. In most cases, it happens automatically. Yet, it’s common for sites to ask players for verification documents too.
It was then reported by Forbes that the Gambling Commission had banned the use of credit cards to make deposits at gambling sites on 14th April 2020. Instead, players can use a debit card (or another eligible method) to deposit and get a casino bonus at a new site.
The most common type of casino bonus is a first deposit bonus which all the casinos above offer. This means you will receive a bonus after making your very first deposit which gives you more money to play with before you’ve even placed your first bet. However, not all first deposit bonuses are the same – with some sites being much better than others.
If you’re looking for a popular deposit bonus casino, UK and other players around the world can check out these options:
The best first deposit bonus casino is a casino that is transparent in its terms and conditions. Some may also have additional offers afterwards too for the complete casino welcome bonus package.
Good casinos also allow you to forfeit your bonus after you have already started playing. This is called a forfeitable bonus.
Of course, if you have started playing with the bonus money already then this cannot be done anymore. You used to only see forfeitable bonuses at really good sites. However, they are much more common now after the UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) put pressure on the industry to change (BBC – Betting firms to stop ‘unfair’ promotions). They specifically stated that “players will not be required to play multiple times before they can withdraw their own money” which made it a lot easier to withdraw than before.
Another thing that’s great to see is a cashable casino bonus. This is where you get to keep your bonus alongside any winnings when you go to cash out.
Let’s give you an example – you get a £100 bonus, win £100 with it, complete the wagering, and then go to make a withdrawal:
Of course, it’s always best to play at a casino with a cashable bonus. However, they don’t always make this clear in the terms and conditions. Instead, we often resort to asking the customer support to see what the deal is. This might sound a bit of work to begin with but if you win then it could mean a nice little extra on top.
Alongside manually looking through the available options, you can also search and filter. The search bar at the top of the page allows you to search for a specific casino. If we have it on Casino Professor, you will be able to see a review that will contain their first deposit bonus.
We also have a Categories filter. This allows you to view the first deposit bonuses of specific types of casinos. For example:
Rather than focussing purely on the first deposit, the best welcome bonus casino puts it all together. These sites don’t just offer one casino deposit bonus and that’s it. Instead, they give new players a variety of offers to keep them on their toes.
For example, the casino welcome bonus at 888 consists of MULTIPLE deposit bonuses – with some free spins included too as an added extra. So, once you’re done with the first you simply move on to the next to give you more bonus money to play with (see our 888 Casino review). Other sites may give you cashback if you lose, extra loyalty points, or another form of casino bonus to make the overall package last longer.
Once you’ve settled in at a new site and your casino welcome bonus has been used up, you’ll want to learn of online casino bonuses for existing players. Make no mistake, loyal players should be given extra treats to reward them for continuing to play. Otherwise, players can, rightfully, forget them and move on to a different site where they are appreciated better.
There are many ways that an existing player can get an extra casino bonus quite regularly. The most obvious place is the “Promotions” tab which most sites have under the menu. Here you will find all the casino bonuses that are currently available.
Many casinos also run loyalty schemes and programs for a more personal touch. The best VIP casinos go beyond just casino bonuses as well by offering faster payouts, dedicated managers and more perks. However, one of the best ways that casinos like to reward their existing players is when they turn a year older.
There’s nothing more personal than a reward from a birthday bonus casino. You can log in on the big day and be treated to something special. Of course, a casino won’t publicise your birthday bonus to everyone – so make sure to keep your eyes peeled on your email or ask customer support if they would kindly be able to offer you something.
Also, when it’s the casino’s own birthday, prepare to be showered with bonuses. Sites often like to make a big deal of their own special day with numerous promotions and tournaments for the occasion.
At Casino Professor, we aim for perfection and we try to have the latest casino bonuses available for our visitors at all times. However, a helping hand every now and then doesn’t hurt. If you spotted something wrong on our website, please drop us a line at [email protected] and we will correct it as soon as possible. You can also leave your own review under each of our casino reviews.
Good luck at the tables and remember to check the terms and conditions before making a deposit!
If you want to try out slots and games without using your own money then getting the bonus money straight away can be useful. However, if your goal is purely to win, you may want the extra bonus money as a backup just in case you lose.
For example, if you won £100 and the wagering requirements were x20, you would need to bet £2000 using your winnings before you could withdraw it. You can find more examples within our page.