The first thing that grabs new online casino players' attention is the signup bonuses offered. After all, some of these signup (a.k.a. welcome) bonuses are worth up to $10,000 or more, which is an insane amount of money. But before you go jumping at the first huge bonus you see, it's important to understand how these rewards are earned.

Online Casino Signup Bonus Basics

Casino welcome bonuses come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they're usually expressed in terms of a match percentage. For example, a signup bonus might offer players a 100% match up to $200 on their first deposit. So if a player deposits $200, they'll be trying for a $200 reward.

Other welcome bonuses are offered across a series of deposits such as a 100% match up to $5,000 on your first 10 deposits. So in this instance, you could be playing for a 100% match deposit bonus up to $500 on the initial 10 deposits you make. 

Online Casino Bonus Wagering Requirements

After making a deposit, the next step involves actually earning the bonus by meeting wagering requirements. These requirements are set forth by online casinos because they don't want people getting a deposit reward, then cashing out before playing any games.

Wagering requirements are usually multiples of either the bonus, or bonus plus deposit amount. Using the aforementioned 100% match deposit bonus up to $200 again, you might have to wager 20 x the bonus ($200) plus deposit ($200), which would be a total of $8,000. If you only had to wager a multiple of the bonus, you could have to bet 40 x the bonus ($200), which would also be $8,000.

Time Requirements

As you can see, it takes betting a lot of money to earn the full amount of your online casino signup bonus. Fortunately, most casinos give players an ample number of days to meet the full requirements. So if you had to bet $8,000 before 90 days were up, you'd need to wager an average of $89 per day to meet the betting requirements.

One more point worth making here is that you should always read the terms and conditions behind every casino bonus before playing. After all, there could be some strange conditions behind a reward that makes it not worth going for.