No deposit bonuses from online casinos are fantastic. For the players claiming them, these promotional offers represent a free way to try out new casino software, operators, and games. However, that’s not why the punters really love them. The real reason is that no deposit bonuses offer a chance to win real money without making a deposit. This means they’re one of the few bonuses that are 100% risk-free!
When we say a no deposit bonus is risk-free, we mean that you don’t need to use any of your own money to claim them. However, dodgy casino platforms do exist and all no deposit bonuses require a deposit prior to withdrawal – it’s to register your payment details and all part of a legitimate casino’s obligations to prevent money laundering. Although you’re not risking your own money through actually gambling, if the casino you’re playing at is a dodgy one, your money is still potentially in jeopardy.
We’ve produced the following article to help you avoid questionable casinos offering no deposit bonuses. At reputable iGaming venues, it’s fair to say that these deposit-free promotions are indeed risk-free. We think all players should be able to enjoy them that way too!
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Deciding Whether a Casino is Trustworthy
Once you’re at a casino operator’s website, it’s reasonably easy to determine whether they’re trustworthy or not. Since online gambling is much more regulated these days than it once was, there exist agencies who award licenses for operators meeting the highest standards of fair play and security. Examples of the more prestigious licensing bodies include the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission.
Seeing either of these agency’s logos on a casino website should immediately inspire trust from players. It costs a lot of money to work with either the UKGC or MGA and operators boasting licenses from them must show that all terms and conditions and services offered are completely fair.
In the event that something does go wrong, the agency will also provide options for legal recourse against the casino operator. This makes online casino gambling much safer than it was in the early days of the industry.
Just seeing the UKGC or MGA’s name on a casino site (usually at the bottom), is not necessarily enough to be sure of a trustworthy casino though. It wouldn’t be difficult for a scam online casino to steal the UKGC’s logo and claim a license. That’s why it’s very important to check with the agency themselves before trusting a casino.
Just head to the website of whichever licensing agency the casino claims to work with. They will have their own database of licensees that you can check against. Just search the casino’s name to make sure they do indeed have a license from the regulatory body.
Sounds Like Hard Work? Here’s a Shortcut?
The problem with the above is that it just shows you how to check an online casino is legitimate once you’re at the website itself. If you’re looking for legitimate casinos offering no deposit bonuses, it will take a lot of guessing at random online casinos before you’ll stumble onto one that allows you to play without spending any money.
One way to significantly reduce the time you spend looking for online casino bonuses is to use a review website. Services like those provided by NoDepositKings will provide players with large lists of promotions at different iGaming operators. All they need to do is pick one that appeals to them, register, and start playing.
Since these services check the licenses and test the bonuses themselves, they really help you to stay away from black sheep casinos whilst providing useful recommendations and occasionally very generous bonuses. They can reduce the amount of time spent searching for a trustworthy no deposit bonus from hours to just seconds!
How to Maximise Your Expected Value When Using a No Deposit Bonus
Once you’ve found a no deposit bonus at a legitimate online casino, you’ll want to play it in the most optimum way possible. Although you can’t lose any of your own money, you can increase the likelihood that you’ll bust out of your free credits before you complete wagering by making bad bets.
When looking at different no deposit bonuses listed at sites like those mentioned, pay attention first to the number of rollovers or playthroughs required. You want as low a number as possible here. Next, check which games contribute 100% to these requirements.
You should absolutely avoid any games that contribute less than 100% to wagering. If you actually win when playing them, you’ll increase the amount of bonus cash you have without reducing the wagering obligation at all. Voluntarily increasing the wagering requirements is very poor strategy.
Of the games that do contribute 100% to wagering, you’re looking for those with the highest return-to-player ratings. This refers to the amount of money a slot or table game is expected to pay out for every $1 you put in. The higher the average return-to-player rating of the highest rated game, the better. You can find the RTP rating of a different slots by Googling “[slot name] RTP”.
You should also only ever play with optimum strategy on the game you pick too. This means setting the size of your bet to the lowest it can be and setting the number of win lines to the maximum. Playing with fewer win lines almost always reduces the maximum return-to-player rating of an online slot machine.
Stick with Trusted Casinos
Although unlicensed casinos certainly exist and many no doubt offer a decent player experience and are fair when it comes to paying out, with the amount of legitimate iGaming venues these days there’s no good reason to risk playing at them. Plenty of reputable casinos offer no deposit bonuses and playing at these affords you the piece of mind that, if something were to go wrong, you’d have the clout of an agency like the UK Gambling Commission or Malta Gaming Authority fighting your corner!