Before activating a 100% matching deposit bonus that you have just claimed, there are several things you must do to ensure you don’t miss out and you do get the most out of your promotional offer.
With that said, here is everything an online casino player must consider before they activate their 100% bonus, whether it’s part of the initial sign-up offer or an ongoing promotion, such as a loyalty rewards scheme or a one-off promo.
What is a 100% Match Bonus at Online Casinos?
The 100% match bonus (AKA matching deposit bonus) is one of the most widely used casino promos out there, and it’s super easy to understand. It essentially sees you double up on your deposit. In other words, the operator of the casino that is offering you a 100% match is willing to “match” your deposit up to a certain amount.
Therefore, if you receive a 100% match worth $/€/£100 (or equivalent currency value), it’s basically saying that you can receive up to $/€/£100 ON TOP of your deposit. Let’s just say that you claim this generous offer and top up your account with just $/€/£20; then, in this case, you would only receive $/€/£20 extra.
If you deposit the full $/€/£100, then you will get $/€/£100 extra on top of your bonus. There’s no point depositing, say $/€/£200, especially if this particular bonus that you just claimed is only worth $/€/£100, because you would still only receive the maximum $/€/£100 extra, not $/€/£200 extra.
We’ve also found many sites that offer 25%, 50%, and 75% match bonuses, and others that offer 150%, 200%, and higher match bonuses.
Whenever we are looking for the latest and most lucrative deals, we always head to the world-famous AskGamblers review site because their featured sites are the safest and typically have plenty of attractive promotional offers up for grabs.
Five Important Things to Consider Before Activating Your 100% Match Bonus
Before claiming any 100% match offers, ALWAYS read the terms and conditions attached to those bonuses because they explain everything you need to do to activate and get the most out of your promotion.
For example, some of the most important things to consider are the following
- Find out if your preferred deposit method is included in the promo because you may find that certain digital wallets, like Neteller or Skrill, aren’t included in the promo. In other words, you may need to use a different online payment method than normal to claim the bonus.
- Take a look at how much you have to spend before you can withdraw any winnings you’ve made from the match bonus. This is otherwise known as the wagering requirement. However, it’s sometimes referred to as the rollover, turnover, or playthrough requirement, and it is usually around 30x to 50x times the bonus amount (+ deposit amount).
- See how long you get to complete your wagering requirements and get them cleared before that time runs out; otherwise, you will lose your bonus winnings.
- Is the casino you want to claim a 100% match bonus from fully licensed, regulated, and owned by a reputable company? Never claim bonuses on unlicensed/unregulated iGaming sites.
- Find out which of the games on that site where you just claimed the bonus will contribute most towards getting your wagering requirements cleared in as little time as possible. For example, avoid playing live dealer games and computer-generated table and card games because, most of the time, they only contribute around 0% to 20% per $/€/£1.00 wagered. The best advice is to play online slots and scratchies, which usually contribute 100% per $/€/£1.00 wagered towards completing them. It will all be explained in the Ts and Cs.
If you can remember some of these simple things when you next claim a 100% match bonus at an online casino, it should help you get the most out of it. Too many players fail to read the Ts and Cs, which can often lead to disappointment.
Don’t forget that some bonuses are geo-targeted offers, meaning that bonuses available to Italian or German players may not be available to English or US players, and so on.
What are Wagering Requirements, and Why Do I Have to Complete Them?
As annoying as wagering requirements are, without them, online casino website operators would quickly go out of business. They are attached to bonuses purely to stop players from instantly withdrawing any free matching deposit bonus money they receive and spending it elsewhere.
In other words, wagering requirements, playthrough requirements, rollover requirements, turnover requirements, or whatever you want to call them, prevent bonus misuse. The important thing to remember is that the lower the wagering requirements are, the easier it is to complete them, and the better it is for you.
We’ve found some bonuses with zero wagering requirements (the best online casino bonus) and others with up to 200x wagering requirements attached. However, most of the time, wagering requirements are typically around 30x to 50x times the bonus amount. You also usually have to wager the initial deposit amount on top of the bonus money that you received.
Here’s a quick example. If a bonus comes with a relatively low 30x wagering requirement attached, and you received $/€/£50, it means you would have to wager $/€/£1,500 before you could withdraw. If that same bonus came with a 40x, not 30x, wagering requirement, you would have to wager $/€/£2,000, not $/€/£1,500.
Conclusion
The other important thing to remember is to gamble responsibly. In other words, don’t get carried away claiming countless bonuses. Stick to claiming just one at a time; otherwise, things can get confusing.
Gambling responsibly also means devising a reasonable spending budget before joining a casino site for the first time or before depositing into an existing account. Safer gambling tools are widely available, and setting things like deposit limits is a great way to ensure you don’t overspend.
On a final note, you may find that some match bonuses are for cryptocurrency users only, and others can only be claimed when using your chosen fiat currency, such as pound sterling or US dollars, for example. Additionally, some match bonuses might only be available for players using specific devices, such as smartphones.
Therefore, before activating your bonus, always check that you qualify and that you have deposited the correct amount because there’s usually a minimum deposit amount required to claim them, which might be $/€/£10 or $/€/£20, depending on the bonus, the payment method used, and so on.
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Contributing author to Weird Italy, , a site focused on exploring the distinctive and unconventional facets of Italian culture, history, and modern life.