Answering What is a Loyalty Casino Bonus?

If you'll look around using your favorite search engine, one of the most popular factors in the articles on looking for an online casino is the loyalty bonus offer. Even if it's the first time you've heard the term, it sounds undeniably attractive. There's 'bonus,' which means free stuff (definitely hard to refuse!) and 'loyalty,' which means that you get all that free stuff just by playing and playing and playing. So what exactly are loyalty bonuses and how can you maximize them in your favor?

The Picture of the Pluses

What exactly are loyalty bonuses? Everyone gets so excited about them, and almost every single article author out there has probably told you to look for some.

Loyalty bonuses on online casinos are exactly what their name suggests. They're rewards given by the online casino operators to players who just keep coming back for more. With loyalty bonuses, the online casino operators are guaranteed the continuing patronage of many players, while the players get, well, free stuff. In the end, everybody goes home happy.

Although it might seem that earning loyalty points would require years of patronage from you, as is the case with land-based casinos and other institutions, most online casinos allow you to stock up on loyalty points from the get-go. While it might sound a little too good to be true, the online casino's motives are pretty straightforward. Because online casinos are, obviously, digital and can be visited at the click of a mouse, it doesn't take much for you to switch from one online casino to another. That's why the online casinos are eager to ensure that you'll keep coming back to them after your initial visit.

But won't the online casino operators lose money if they just keep giving it away to loyal players? Not necessarily. Another reason why the online casino operators can afford to offer you so much in comparison to land-based casinos is that online casinos don't cost as much to operate. The online casino operators don't have to spend as much on facilities, electricity, physical maintenance, and the like. The operators can then devote more money to just enticing customers with gimmicks like loyalty bonuses.

Counting the Complimentary

You've probably seen how the land-based casinos can get to spoiling you once you've spent enough money playing at their machines or tables. It's a common practice in Las Vegas, for example, for loyal players to get accommodations at a swanky hotel or dinner at a fancy restaurant, all compliments of the casino operators. It would obviously be very difficult for operators of online casinos if they were to imitate exactly what their land-based counterparts do. Thus, they came up with bonus offers of their own, some of which are listed below.

Online casino loyalty bonuses, in many cases, can be had as casino credit, meaning that you'll have to spend it on online casino games anyway. If an online casino gives cash loyalty bonuses, you most likely need to sign up for a newsletter or otherwise participate in an offer from the online casino in order to claim your bonus money.

In other cases, your loyalty bonus points could be the ones to get you into special events like big jackpot tournaments or get your membership status upgraded (such as from a Regular Membership to a Bronze Membership). There are some online casinos that do this in order to make their current, oft-playing members feel like VIPs while at the same time enticing casual players to be more like the VIPs (read: spend a lot on the online casino). Most times, there's something special about those events, such as a really big jackpot or a house edge that was somehow decreased in your favor. Whatever sets the games apart, it's a great offer for those who like to be exclusive, even in online casinos.

In still other instances, your loyalty bonuses might translate into simple, free stuff. Some online casinos offer self-branded items, memorabilia, and other gambling paraphernalia in exchange for a player's loyalty points. Sure, it might sound like more advertising on the casino's part because most of the items being offered have the online casino's brand emblazoned on it. On the other hand, it gives you a tangible reward in exchange for your loyalty bonus points, and that means a lot to some people.

Sure, the bonuses from online casinos might seem like spare change when compared to the extravagant rewards given by land-based casinos to loyal patrons. However, you can get bonuses from online casinos a lot more easily and more frequently, in contrast with land-based casinos where you would have to be a very high roller in order to get a free night's stay anywhere. Therefore, online casinos have friendlier bonus terms for casual and small-time gamblers, and that probably includes you.

Picking up Points

An important thing for you to note is that not all casinos have equal bonus policies. Some are more lenient, while some are very restrictive with regards to the bonuses that they give. Here are some of the more common ways with which you could earn yourself some bonus points at online casinos.

Many casinos have a deposit bonus policy, which means that your bonus or reward is proportional to the amount you deposited and will only arrive once you've sent the money. This often comes as a rate that's applied to the amount you deposited, which will then become the bonus given by the online casino. In other cases, it could also be loyalty points rewarded for a certain amount deposited.

Some online casinos are a bit more finicky with regards to where you spend your money or your chips. Some online casinos keep bonus tallies for individual games separate, such as a different listing for credits used on the slot machines and the poker tables. And although they're somewhat (and thankfully) rare, a few casinos only give you loyalty bonus points when you play certain games, with you receiving no bonus points when you play other games.

The varying bonus policy has also become one of the factors for consideration when it comes to looking for a good online casino. Before you decide to play at any one online casino, perhaps you should read their bonus terms or reviews about them first, so that you'll be aware of the kind of bonus policy they use. It would be such a waste if you kept playing and playing, only to find out that you don't get anything from the online casino for your patronage.