Types Of Promotions You’ll Find Online Gambling

The advantages that online-based sportsbooks and casinos have over physical ones are many. Some of which include the comfort of playing at home or on-the-go, extended menu of games, and even more promotions.

Let's hone in on the deals aspect because c'mon, who doesn't like a great deal — especially in the middle of a pandemic? For those going the route of gambling online, you can likely benefit from these five types of promotions:

Sign-Up Bonus
The king of all deals is the sign-up bonus, also referred to as a welcome bonus. King because it's the most common promo available industry-wide and usually the most lucrative.

Most bonuses work under the same guise: first you register an account at an online betting platform. Next you deposit money into your playing account. And upon that deposit, the player earns a chunk of free play to use at their own will.

How much free money is actually awarded is where the difference lies from site to site. That's because these platforms choose a certain percentage of the initial deposit to match in free play (e.g. a full 100-percent match or perhaps only 25 percent). Furthermore, they'll also set a ceiling on how much dough they'll give away.

It's not uncommon for betting sites to offer two distinct sign-up promos — one for the sportsbook, the other for the casino. Typically, these two deals will vary on match percentage and max bonus, with casino bonuses being on the higher side both ways.

In rare instances, you'll also find completely-free sign-up bonuses. As the name implies, this promo doles out free money without the player having to insert their own money to start with. Think of this as a no-strings-attached deal.

Reload Bonus
A lot of what we said about the sign-up bonus also applies to the reload one. However, the pair of promotions are geared at completely-different players and that's the ultimate difference-maker.

Sign-up, as you may guess, is geared for first-time players as a way to hook them to the betting site. This contrasts to reload promotions which aim to retain players and have them play again and again. But aside from that, reload bonuses function virtually the same way as welcome: load money into your account and a portion of it — depending on the match and max — is returned in free play.

But the best part about reload deals is they're usually not capped in the number of times it can be earned. It can apply to every single re-up of an account, which if you gamle long enough, really adds up over time.

Refer-A-Friend Bonus
You know what's better than just a great deal? A great deal that you can enjoy with friends. That's the refer-a-friend bonus in a nutshell — a promo where all parties involved win big!

At its core, there's a ton of overlap with the refer-a-friend deal and the aforementioned bonuses for sign-ups and reloads. A player earns up to a certain percent in free money based on what the referred member deposits upon joining the site. And like the others, the bonus award is capped at a certain limit.

Loyalty Program
In recent years, we've seen more and more online-based bookies offer loyalty programs that mimic the “comp” programs one would find in a real-life casino.

Under this loyalty program, reward points are racked up by players on every bet made online. These points then slot the bettors into different reward tiers, each with unique benefits that escalate as you rank up. Moreover, reward points can then be exchanged for perks such as free play, merchandise, sweepstake entries, and other goodies.

Casino Spins Or Tournaments
Last on the list is mostly reserved for casino play. Many Internet bookmakers are known to give out freebies — spins in the slot machines, entries into card tournaments with big prizes, and so forth.

Believe it or not, these can be the most lucrative bonuses IF a player can “luck out” while using them. Imagine entering a blackjack tournament for free and earning first place? Or how about hitting the jackpot on a slot with allotted free play? Obviously, neither are guarantees but the “what if” is certainly a big draw.