Welcome bonuses are among the favourites of online gamblers. The majority of Irish online casinos have generous bonuses on offer for newbies that are exploring them for the first time. The latter fact gives everyone access to numerous opportunities to repeatedly boost gaming bankrolls without much fuss.
There are various types of casino welcome bonuses, but they are all linked to the first deposit. A casino might decide to match a portion of it or even the whole thing. Players might occasionally get a surprising 100+% on their first deposit.
But the perks of welcome packages do not end there. Joining a new casino tends to be a generally riveting and entertaining experience.
Welcome bonuses, as we mentioned, are based on the player's first deposit. But this might not mean much to you, so let us give you an example. A casino might offer a 100% cash boost to all newbies making a deposit for the first time. This means that if you choose to deposit €10, you start your gaming journey off with €20. This boosted sum can be used for all sorts of games (with the occasional restriction), but you cannot withdraw it immediately. The latter is the biggest difference between it and real money.
As an Irish player, you will often find a staunch difference between the cash offers of various casinos. One casino might only match 50% of your initial deposit, while another might go above and beyond and offer 200% or more. Every offer has its own terms and conditions that we will elaborate on soon.
Welcome bonus offers are often accompanied by free spins. A cash boost might, therefore, come with 10, 20 or even more free spins that are meant for a particular slot or selection of slots. These are used as real money spins, and their winnings are added to your bonus balance. Free spins are, therefore, part and parcel of welcome bonuses with a lack of an exact value.
The majority of online casinos make claiming welcome bonus offers as easy as possible for newcomers. The bonus tends to be triggered after the first deposit because new players are expected to adore the bonus and play with it. You might want to play without a bonus, in which case you ought to contact customer support prior to betting and ask them to remove it.
Players might be prompted, especially if their bonus offer comes from a third-party site, to enter a unique welcome bonus code. This can be requested during the registration, depositing or whilst claiming a bonus. No matter the case, these special codes allow you to claim a bonus and give the casino a way to pinpoint your desired offer.
The funds that a player is promised are made available the moment he receives a welcome bonus offer. These bonus funds can then be used as your usual money. However, be mindful of the differences between actual cash and bonus money. Bonuses tend to be linked to certain restrictions and requirements that players have to fulfil. The most common ones that Irish players should be wary of are:
The infamous term “wagering requirements” or wagering is part and parcel of almost every casino bonus. Welcome bonuses are no exception in this regard. The latter term describes the amount a person has to play before bonus funds are freed for withdrawals.
A €100 welcome bonus with 35x wagering is eligible for withdrawal only when a player bets a total of €3500 on the appropriate games. If one attempts to withdraw money prior to clearing the wagering requirements, they risk forfeiting the bonus.
A player is not home-free when he or she receives a welcome bonus. They still have to follow a set of rules that casinos impose. One such rule are restricted games that tend to be listed under the terms and conditions of a bonus. Restricted games are games that you cannot play whilst using bonus funds. The latter can range from table games and specific slots with high RTPs to certain progressive jackpot games.
Certain Irish casinos have measures in place that prevent players from partaking in restricted games altogether. However, this is sometimes not enforced. The latter reason is why you should always study the rules prior to jumping into the action. If you are unsure, even after consulting the documentation, feel free to contact the customer support.
Game contributions have a deep connection to wagering requirements. Certain bets that are made on certain games do not contribute the full wagering amount. Let us look at an example. Let us say that you bet €1 on a slot, and this slot clears €1 from the wagering. If you happen to bet €1 on roulette, it may contribute only €0.10 or, in the worst case, nothing. This is exactly why you should stay on top of game contributions when playing.
A welcome bonus will often force you into following the maximum bet rule. The latter limits the highest bet a player can make on any given slot spin, hand in a card game, roulette spin and so on. This restriction is usually placed at around €5, and you can find the exact number in the relevant terms and conditions.
This rule might seem annoying and a hindrance, but the reason behind its existence is very practical. Maximum bet rules on welcome bonuses exist to prevent players from exploiting these promotions. Without this rule in place, a casino might be open to various types of manipulation. The reason on the casinos' part is not malicious at all, and honest players can state their case in front of support and attempt to have the maximum bet limitation manually removed.
Players from Ireland tend to have two major types of welcome bonuses presented to them, the sticky and the non-sticky bonus. The difference between them might seem minor to an inexperienced player, but it is actually quite staunch. The non-sticky bonus is much more player-friendly, and we are about to see why that is the case.
You might have already guessed that the name has something to do with it. A sticky bonus is activated when you deposit and claim a bonus offer. Its bonus money is linked to your cash, and your entire balance is, in essence, locked until you clear the wagering requirements or simply spend it all. You might win something whilst playing with your money, so without even touching the bonus balance, and still be unable to withdraw until you clear the wagering.
Non-sticky bonuses are much better in this regard. The bonus money is not linked to your deposit, and the amounts that you win are, in essence, yours. Let us say that you have €100 in cash and €100 in bonus funds. If you win while still using your original €100, you can cash out everything but the bonus without having to clear the wagering.
Non-sticky bonuses are more user-friendly because wagering appears only when bonus funds are used for betting. At that point, you would be bust if not for the bonus, so it is, in essence, a second chance that otherwise would not have existed.
The most obvious advantage of a welcome bonus is the additional cash that you get your hands on. Doubling your gambling bankroll from the get-go can extend your playtime. This, in turn, gives you more goes at a big bonus on slots or edging away a decent cashout.
Another, more hedonistic, positive aspect of welcome bonuses is entertainment. They allow you to prolong your attendance at a casino by giving you more playtime. This can be especially handy if you want to have fun and deposit something like €10 or €20. Having €40 available instead of only €20 can make a world of difference, especially because most slots demand a spin worth at least €0.10.
Lastly, there is also the aspect of a challenge to consider. A welcome bonus gives you the goal of beating wagering and cashing out the remaining funds. This gives you a clear goal to pursue and makes you feel as if you accomplished something. A gameplay plan of any sort can help entertain you and assist in managing a bankroll whilst making more withdrawals instead of overextending and losing.
You will find it difficult to dispute bonus money, but there are some innate downsides to welcome bonus offers. The most apparent one are wagering requirements. You will not be able to stop and cash out after claiming a bonus until you clear wagering. This can prove quite annoying and bothersome when you hit big and simply cannot withdraw the money but are forced to play instead. Occasionally, this makes a 180 and ends up getting you even more money to cash out, but those scenarios are rare and far between. Most of the time, you will end up giving back a lot of money. This is not ideal, but a trade-off that you have to accept in order to play with a welcome bonus.
You might occasionally chance upon time limits that casinos make rather reasonable for players from Ireland. However, this is not always the case. Some only give you a few days to clear the wagering requirements before the bonus disappears. The latter includes pressure that may prove undesirable.
A world of possibilities opens up when you load a welcome bonus into your account. You will find messing things up at this stage to be difficult, but you will still require some luck to clear the wagering requirements. However, there are certain strategies that increase your likelihood of meeting the wagering and keeping some cash in hand.
Firstly, you do not have to be too scared of risks when playing with bonus funds. You cannot cash out a penny until you clear the wagering, so you naturally want to pursue a position in which you turn over the initial amount thirty-five or even forty times. This approach will require a solid win to keep the momentum going.
You can, therefore, consider playing a bit higher than you normally would to be beneficial when using bonus cash. Furthermore, locate slots with a solid potential of producing big wins. Partaking in a game with low volatility might seem reasonable, but wagering requirements are usually shaped so that you have low chances of clearing them without a few big hits.
Almost every new player starts their online gambling journey with a welcome bonus. Let us say that you have never claimed a bonus, and you are unsure where to start. Do not worry. These easy steps have you covered from the moment that you sign up to the second that you start playing your favourite casino games.
This might prove to be a hassle, so check our detailed casino reviews to expedite the process. We take every vital area into consideration, and your chosen casino will serve you well in the long run.
We cannot emphasize this point enough. The terms and conditions of a bonus offer are vital since they contain the wagering requirements, required deposits and qualifying games, along with other vital aspects that you have to be aware of before committing.
After joining a casino, you should know exactly how to trigger a bonus offer prior to depositing or playing games. This will usually include a visit to the Promotions tab within the casino lobby.
Every bonus has set requirements that punters have to fulfil prior to withdrawing winnings. The latter can include total wagering, minimum deposits and clearing offers based on a timeframe. All of this feeds into quick withdrawals.
| Casinos | Bonus | Min. Deposit | WR | Payment Methods | Claim Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Stake Casino | €2,000 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | €100 | 40x (Bonus & Deposit) | 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | |
 Casino Empire | €2,000 welcome200 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | €20 | 50x (Bonus & Deposit) | 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | |
 Joo Casino | €1,000 + 100 Free Spins 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | €20 | 50x (Bonus & Deposit) | 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | |
 N1 Bet Casino | €1,000 + 150 Free Spins LETSGO 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | €20 | 50x (Bonus & Deposit) | 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | |
 VAVADA | €1,000 18+ Only, T&C Apply. | €1 | 35x (Bonus & Deposit) | 18+ Only, T&C Apply. |
It is more than apparent that welcome bonus is a very broad term that covers most promotional offers of an online casino. But rest assured, the top online casinos will group two or more of these bonuses and offer newbies enticing bonus packages. The most common online bonuses include:
No Deposit Bonuses This form of bonus gives players bonus credits that can be gambled without requiring a deposit. The low risk of this bonus requires casinos to enforce wagering requirements and limit withdrawals to a low maximum in the case of winnings.
Cashback Bonuses This is probably the best way to offset losses from the perspective of a player. A casino will return a percentage of your lost money. These types of promotions can usually be found in ongoing form, and players can claim them on a weekly or monthly basis.
Deposit Match Bonus Deposit bonus offers give you the best bang for your buck and tend to be the most popular online bonus. The casino puts forth a percentage-oriented bonus aimed at your first deposit. This match deposit can range from 50 up to 500% and does not have a maximum withdrawal despite being impacted by wagering requirements.
Free Spins This infamous type of bonus sees casinos give players a set number of free games of a selected online or mobile slot. Said free spins are free of a deposit, but they do usually have wagering requirements for the won sums.
NWR Bonuses You will very rarely find no wagering requirement bonuses since they allow players to snag a bonus and withdraw after a single bet. This single bet is usually required to be the full value of the bonus, and withdrawals are minimal.
Wagering requirements are also known as playthrough requirements. WR are part of the terms and conditions for a no deposit bonus. Wagering requirements are multiplier rules associated with the promotion. It indicates precisely how many times Players must rollover the bonus before they can withdraw any funds.
A $20 no deposit bonus subject to a 30X wagering requirement means that players must wager their bonus amount a total of 30 X ($600 in bets) before cashing out any payouts. Any attempt to withdraw without meeting the playthrough requirement will invalidate the bonus + payouts in the account.
The portion of the offer that is subjected to wagering requirements is usually indicated in the bonus terms and conditions. Wagering requirements can be applied to both deposit match bonuses and free spins bonuses, and in some cases, wagering requirements may also be applied to your deposit amount.
The flood of bonuses that today's market holds and the number of superb casino sites on offer can prove overwhelming when you have to choose an offer whilst searching for a safe casino. The following are our tips for juggling these two demands and finding the best possible options:
A comparison of welcome and ongoing bonuses. The benefits of an online casino include an understanding of the welcome bonus that a newbie receives. But things start to get murky once this milestone is achieved. Online casinos, thankfully, offer a plethora of riveting promotions, reload bonuses, and giveaways that punters can partake in. The following is a side-by-side comparison of welcome and ongoing bonuses.
| Welcome Bonus | Ongoing Bonus |
|---|---|
| Available only to newbies | Longer playtime |
| Gambling with less risk | Multiple types of bonuses |
| Limited losses | Rewarding loyalty |
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Approved Stake Casino
Excellent reputation since its establishment.
Plenty of casino table and card games.
Always helpful live chat support.
Payouts are processed between one and three business days.
Bitcoin is supported by this brand.
It is essentially a cash boost that new players can use on their first deposit. The welcome bonus will usually match the total sum or a percentage of said deposit.
This differs from casino to casino, but all you have to do is deposit. Some venues might require a unique welcome bonus to be used, but you will be prompted to do so by the casino, so worry not.
This does not have a clear-cut answer. A welcome bonus is a good idea if you want more fun and longer playtime. However, using a bonus locks you into wagering requirements, so you have to decide for yourself what is best for you.
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