New Welcome Casino Bonus Types

When it comes to Australian online casinos that welcome new players with bonuses, there are plenty of fish in the sea these days for customers to choose from. To stand out, casinos roll out the red carpet and regularly put out generous bonuses and promotional offers by giving out no deposit bonuses, free spins, free cash, and various other benefits to players, new and old. One of the most common bonuses are those given out to new accounts and there are various types of casino welcome bonuses. Typically, the newer casinos are more generous in their bonus structure as they try to expand their database and gain a foothold in the market.

What Players Receive as Bonuses

Casinos can give various benefits to new players which basically equate to free money one way or the other. As part of welcome bonuses, players may receive:

• Free Spins: This is the most common component of welcome bonuses, in which casinos give out spins for use in a select few pokies on their site. A typical example would be 20 free spins which can be used only on the pokie "Wolf Treasure". Casinos may give these free spins out as part of a welcome bonus, or as part of other offers, or if they are trying a promote a particular game.
• Free Cash: This exactly what the name suggests - a set amount of dollars is credited to your balance immediately upon registration. A player's balance typically comprises 2 parts. One is a real-money balance which is what you deposit using a debit/credit card, e-Wallet, or bank account, and have no restrictions on their use. The other is a bonus balance which is where the free cash / free spins go into and can be used on certain games and have certain criteria which must be fulfilled before this balance is transferred over to the real-money balance and is eligible for withdrawal. The good thing about free cash (and cash that you win off free spins) is that you can also use it for wagering on table games such as blackjack, instead of being restricted to pokies only, as free spins are.
• Free Play: This takes the form of free coupons or credits which can be used anywhere on the site - however, this bonus type generally has a time period attached to it along with the usual wagering requirements and other terms and conditions.

Types of Casino Welcome Bonuses

There are two main types of casino welcome bonuses. One is the match deposit bonus where the casino matches your first (or first few) deposits up to a certain amount. An example would be a 50% match deposit bonus for up to $200 - using this, if you deposit $100 on the site, then the total balance available to play with will be $150 (which is equal to your initial $100 + another $50 that the casino credits to your bonus balance as part of the match deposit offer). Apart from the bonus cash injection, match deposit bonuses usually also include free spins as part of the offer - so, a typical match deposit offer will sound something like "100% match deposit bonus up to $500 + a 100 free spins!"

The other hugely popular bonus is the no deposit bonus for Australia. In this bonus type, customers do not need to make any deposit, and free spins / free cash / free play is automatically created to the player's account upon registration. Understandably, this is quite popular as players get to try out a casino's games for free and also potentially make a bit of cash on the side. No deposit bonuses are particularly paid a lot of attention as this is the attention-grabbing factor for all new accounts, and can make the difference between a player choosing one casino over another.

After the initial welcome bonus, casinos will try to keep the players on the site by offering other recurring benefits such as reload bonuses, cashbacks, comp-based VIP perks and benefits, freeroll tournament entries, weekly free spins or free cash, birthday bonuses, referral bonuses and so on.

No Deposit Bonus Offers in Australia Casinos

Casinos in Australia have some of the best no deposit offers available. In most casinos in Australia, you simply need to register an account and you will see the free spins / free cash credited to your bonus balance in the cashier section. Some casinos do require a bonus code to be entered during the registration (or they might require you to "Opt-In" by clicking a checkbox) or after logging in, to activate the no deposit bonus, but most operators give it out automatically. To claim this bonus, simply create an account and go to the cashier section - if the free spins have not been credited to your account, head over to the "Promotions" part of the website to know the bonus code to get this offer, or contact the customer support via live chat who will guide you on how to avail this benefit.

Bonus Terms to Look Out For

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and all bonus offers have certain terms and conditions attached to them. If casinos get you on the site with attractive welcome offers, the next part of their job is to ensure that you stay on the site as much as possible.

• Playthrough: Also known as the "wagering requirement", this refers to a minimum amount one must play before being able to withdraw bonus cash or any cash won off free spins. An example playthrough is 20x - what this means is that if you receive $10 as free cash, or win $10 off a free spin, then this amount remains as part of your bonus balance and you must continue using it to wager total bets of $10 x 20 = $200 before the funds can be transferred over to your real-money balance for withdrawal.
• Eligibility: Free spins / cash bonuses are not eligible for all games and are typically for use only in a select few pokies or table games. Additionally, not all games contribute equally towards fulfilling the wagering requirement - bets on pokies may contribute 100% while bets on blackjack or other table games may contribute only 10%. There is usually also a cap on the maximum amount you can wager per bet using bonus funds. Also, keep in mind that players can avail themselves of only one bonus at a time - so if you are using a no deposit bonus or any of the various types of casino welcome bonuses, then you must finish using it before being eligible for other bonuses that are meant for regular customers.
• Winnings Cap: The withdrawable amount off bonus cash/spins is normally capped (though you may find some offers without any restrictions if you are lucky) - this is usually between $50 and $100. A few operators even limit withdrawals to just winnings - for example, if you received $20 as bonus cash and won an additional $30 using the free cash, then some casinos allow only the $30 winnings to be cashed out. Remember to thoroughly read and under the terms and conditions of a bonus offer before using it.

There are two main types of casino welcome bonuses - one that involves deposits and one that does not require any deposit. Both have their positives - deposit bonuses have lesser restrictions on their usage but require a deposit, while no deposit options are typically limited to few games and have strict terms on them but are completely free without any deposit required. Regardless, both amount to "free" play at the end of the day, and are a great way to try out a casino and its products, and have fun, and also hopefully make some cash along the way.