Casino Welcome Bonuses: Find the Best Welcome Bonuses in the UK

A Welcome Bonus is something that casinos will offer new customers to sign up with the casino. These types of bonuses on offer can include different perks, such as bonus money, free spins or other rewards.

A casino Welcome Bonus tends to be one of these two types:

• A First Deposit Offer – Which, as it sounds, is an offer that the player receives when they make their initial deposit with a casino.
• A Welcome Package – Which is when a number of bonuses are bundled together across your first few deposits on the site and which can be realised in order.

Top Online Casinos with Welcome Bonus Offers on First Deposit

At Slotsia, we always strive to bring you the best online casino welcome bonus deals we can find, which is why we keep our list up to date for you. Our list below will give you a great idea of some of the best value deals we believe are available for customers like you, right now, at a number of great value and highly regarded new online casinos!

Slotsia’s Guide to Welcome Bonuses

What Exactly Is a Welcome Bonus?

A Welcome Bonus is a one-time bonus offer that is offered to new players signing up to a casino. It is not available for players who have already have an account. You can trial a number of different games and slots at the casino using the bonus that the casino gives you.

For some offers, you may need to deposit cash to receive your bonus. But, for others, all you need to do is register and no deposit is required to activate the bonus. Which type of offer you receive depends on the casino. Each offer also has its own terms and conditions attached and often they have wagering requirements, which must be completed for the player to withdraw any funds attributable to the deposit. The only exception to this is if a bonus states it is a wager-free offer.

The Difference Between Welcome Bonus and Sign Up Bonus

You may well have heard some casino sign up offers available being referred to as a Welcome Bonus or Sign Up Bonus. Often, casinos use these terms interchangeably but might refer to two slightly different things (a no deposit offer vs a deposit bonus), as we explained in the previous paragraphs.

Types of Casino Welcome Bonuses

1. Welcome Bonus with Deposit

The most common type of welcome bonus available nowadays is a sign-up bonus that is activated only when you make your first deposit with the casino. Although the general premise of each is the same, the amount of bonus and how it is paid out to you can vary from casino to casino.

Casinos tend to offer deposit bonuses more frequently than no deposit bonus deals. With this type of deposit bonus, you need to go one step further. In addition to signing up with the casino to open an account, you also then need to make a qualifying deposit in order to activate the bonus. A qualifying deposit is an amount above the minimum deposit required as per the terms and conditions.

These offers can generally include a cash amount, but can also on occasions include other incentives, such as bonus spins. A typical example of a decent Welcome Bonus with deposit is:

“Sign up with Slotsia Casino now for a 200% Bonus up to £100 plus 50 Free Spins with your first deposit!”

When you receive a Welcome Bonus, this bonus cash is often deposited into a separate bonus account, although it might appear to be in a single account. One thing to remember is that matched deposit bonuses cannot be withdrawn until wagering requirements on the bonus are met. So, unfortunately, unless it’s a wager-free offer, you can’t use your bonus to make a quick buck from the casino! So in the example above, if you deposited £50 to claim the maximum bonus amount of £100, you may find £150 in your account, but this would be split by the casino into £50 in your cash account and £100 in your bonus cash account.

A crucial aspect of how your cash is used is whether the casino makes you play with your deposited cash first, or whether you play using both deposited and bonus cash together. Casinos that offer you the chance to play with your deposited cash first offer a degree of flexibility for you in that, if you win a large sum before you access your bonus funds, you can cancel the bonus. This would mean that their winnings are not subject to any wagering requirements or similar. With an offer that sees you spend your bonus cash from the start of play, this is not an option. Players love wager-free offers because you can play with the bonus and cashout immediately if you win!

2. Welcome Package

A Welcome Package offer is usually a number of different bonuses put together as a package. You can claim them in sequence over a successive number of deposits at your choice of casino, starting with the first. An example of this offer may look like:

“Sign up at Slotsia Casino and receive 10 no deposit spins + 100% deposit bonus up to £100 on your first deposit + 50% match bonus up to £200 on your second deposit.”

In addition to matched deposit bonuses, Welcome Packages also frequently include Free Spins and a no deposit bonus as part of their offer. Welcome Packages tend to be paid out across your first two to five deposits with a casino.

3. 100% – 500% Welcome Bonus

Let’s say, for example, you have had a look at Slotsia’s list of top UK casinos and found one offering you a 100% match bonus. What does that mean? Well in simple terms, it means that if you make the minimum deposit to receive the offer, then you will receive the same amount of money (100% of your deposit) as bonus cash. So, if you deposited £100, you would receive a further £100 in bonus cash, so you have £200 to spend at the casino.

Now you know that, it is easy to work out that if you have an option of a 500% Welcome Bonus, and deposit £100 into your account, then you will receive a massive £500 in bonus cash! That means £600 to play with at the casino! It’s also common for online casinos to offer 200% bonuses or 50% bonuses – it all depends on the offer.

4. Welcome Bonus No Deposit

When choosing a sign-up bonus it is important to notice that there are different types that offer different bonus requirements. The most popular one by far is the no deposit welcome bonus, but also the others are definitely worth it! Learn more about each of the welcome bonus types in the following paragraphs.

Welcome bonus no deposit offers are highly sought-after and can be difficult to find at times. To receive a no deposit required bonus, you simply need to register your details to open an account with the participating casino. A good example of such an offer might be advertised as follows:

“Sign Up and Get £10 Free Play at Slotsia Casino – No Deposit Required!”

Once you are signed up and your account is open, the bonus should be with you a very short time afterwards (often only seconds later). These bonus offers tend to be in one of two forms:

• A small lump sum of cash which can only be spent at the casino (a good example of this are the £5 free play or £10 free play offers that you can find available at Slotsia), or
• Free Games, most often in the form of Free Spins, on one or more slots.

Each casino may have its own restrictions for their no deposit welcome bonus, and these are stated in the offer’s terms and conditions. A typical example of this is that you may play your received spins on one slot game, or a selection of a few slots as stipulated by the casino. The great news for you is that these bonuses are very easy to activate and can offer you risk-free gaming, at least in the short term!

How Can You Find the Best Welcome Bonuses?

Well, checking our list of great casinos at Slotsia is a fantastic way of locating some great value welcome bonus offers for you, but beyond that list, how can you decide which is the best deal for you?

To help you find that great offer, it is worth looking at the finer detail of some of the bonuses on offer and some of the key aspects to look out for when you are searching for a good deal. At Slotsia, we feel a good offer would include:

• Ideally, a No Deposit Bonus
• If not, then a great, high-value Deposit Bonus
• No wagering requirements
• Some additional enticement (such as Free Spins, or further deposit bonuses for subsequent deposits, or both)

Welcome Bonus Wagering Requirements

Unless a casino is offering a ‘no wagering’ or ‘wager-free’ Welcome Bonus to new players, you will have to complete a wagering requirement on your bonus before you can make a withdrawal. Even if you win with your bonus, your winnings will be paid in bonus money (which you cannot withdraw). A wagering requirement is how many times you need to bet your bonus (and sometimes any winnings attributable from it) at the casino before your bonus money is converted into real money. This is stated as a multiple, for example, a 20x wagering requirement on a £10 bonus, would require the player to wager £200 in cash before they can withdraw funds from that bonus.

The lower the wagering requirement of an offer, the easier it tends to be to meet those requirements. Low-wagering or no-wagering offers are the most popular. If you win with a wager-free bonus, you can cashout immediately! Don’t worry if you don’t manage to meet the wagering requirements in time (casinos often set strict limits). All that happens is that any bonus funds you have not yet spent will be forfeited. Your deposited funds however, are safe.

Welcome Bonus FAQs