The Best No Deposit Bonuses

What is a No Deposit Bonus?

When a claims a no deposit bonus, funds are automatically credited to their account, entirely on the casino’s behalf. This isn’t free money, however, as there are several conditions to bear in mind. The first is that compared to matched deposits, no deposit bonuses tend to be far smaller in size; the second is that the terms and conditions of no deposit bonuses are likely to be more stringent than other bonus offers, particularly the wagering requirements.

Nevertheless, no deposit bonuses can be highly valuable bonus types by online gamblers, and it’s worth making use of them if you get the chance.

How to Claim a No Deposit Bonus

Here’s how you can claim a no deposit bonus from an online casino.

1. Consult our list of the best no deposit casinos and bonuses
2. Read our user-focused guides and compare welcome bonuses to find the right site and offer for you
3. Once you’ve found a site you like, click through to the sign-up page
4. Sign-up to the casino by entering in your personal information – the casino is required to carry out various identification checks here, which will involve players submitting some documents to verify who they are, such as passports and recent utility bills
5. Before you finish the sign-up process, make sure you opt-in for the no deposit bonus
6. Your no deposit welcome bonus funds will appear in your casino account, ready for use

Terms and Conditions of No Deposit Bonuses

Online casinos aren’t all that keen on giving away money without no strings attached, so these bonuses are often saddled with terms and conditions. To determine the true value of any bonus, it’s important to read the small print in full. Here are some of the terms to look out for and what they all mean.

Wagering Requirements

As with most casino bonuses, the thing to look out for with no deposit offers is wagering requirements. These are an obligation set by the casino that determines how many times players must wager your bonus funds before they can request a withdrawal. Standard wagering requirements sit somewhere between 25-40x the value of the bonus, but since no deposit offers don’t ask for an initial deposit, these requirements can be higher than the average threshold.

For example, let’s say a player received a £10 no deposit bonus after signing up to a new site, with a wagering requirement of 40x. This would mean they’d be required to wager a total of £400 (10 x 40) before they could claim any winnings gained from the bonus.

Time Limits

Casino bonuses – and their wagering requirements – are also likely to come with time limits. Some sites give players a few days to satisfy all the terms and conditions of a bonus, while others might give them a month. Make sure you’re aware of the ticking clock, because if it runs out, your bonus will become invalid and any associated bonus funds will disappear.

Winning Caps

Also known as cash-out caps, winning caps restrict the amount players can win from any one bonus. It’s important you take note of these limits before you spend more than you can win. What’s more, rather than viewing winning caps as an impediment to any gambling success, you can see them instead as a useful on-site limiter.

Available Games

Online casinos are likely to limit the number of games that are eligible to be played on bonus funds. Before you claim a bonus, make sure you’ve taken a look at which games are available to play to avoid any disappointment further down the line.

Game Weightings

Perhaps more of a limitation than game restrictions are game weightings – a mechanism enforced by gambling sites that affects contributions to wagering requirements. Most video slots will be weighted at 100%, meaning that 100% of the wagers placed on that game will chip away at the wagering requirements. But wagers on other categories of games – in particular table and live dealer games – are often weighted at much smaller rates, sometimes as low as 5%. Completing wagering requirements is already a significant obstacle; it becomes impossible if players’ wagers aren’t stretching as far as they can.

No Deposit Bonuses vs No Wagering Bonuses

Of course, no deposit bonuses aren’t the only offers players can receive from an online casino. As well as matched deposits and free spin bonuses, players might also come across offers relating to wagering requirements, such as no or low wagering bonuses. Both no deposit and no wagering bonuses are highly valuable bonus types, so let’s see how they compare.

No wagering bonuses remove the need to fulfil any wagering requirements, but will be dependent on a minimum deposit into a casino account. Once a player has done this, however, any potential funds will be available to enjoy, with no further wagering required. No deposit bonuses, by contrast, will be issued as soon as a new player signs up to the site, before they’ve even made their first deposit, and are likely to be subject to strict wagering requirements.

On the surface, both of these types of bonuses will be less generous than other offers, but the removal of qualifying deposits or wagering requirements means these bonuses can be more valuable to players than other more lucrative offers.

Best No Deposit Bonus Casinos