Bonuses at online casinos should be immensely exciting, and often they are, at least until you read the small print. There are so many different ways that online casinos put caveats into various promotions, that it can feel a bit confusing and end up with players feeling substantially less excited about bonuses.One of the types of casino bonus that can often be tough to follow is cashback bonuses, but if you understand how they work, they can also be some of the most profitable.
What is a cashback bonus?
Cashback bonuses come in a few forms, they could be a one-off bonus, a promotion that runs for a set period of time, or a continuous promotion at a casino. In all variants, the idea tends to be more or less the same, when you play selected games and lose, a percentage of the money you have lost will be returned to you, normally in the shape of a casino bonus as opposed to cash.It may seem like a strange choice for a casino to refund you on your losses, but there are a couple of reasons why they do.One of them is simple, the industry is incredibly competitive, with a huge number of rivals for a site to battle against, the more impressive the promotions offered, the more likely an online casino is to capture the attention of prospective customers.The latter is that the casino doesn’t necessarily make a loss, by giving players cashback in casino bonuses, this has to be reused within the casino, and there is no guarantee that games played with it will be successful. To that end, casinos can usually ensure that losses will not be too large when it comes to cashback bonuses, and still offer players a chance to win some compensation for any losses they accrue.
Types of cashback bonus
As mentioned, cashback tends to come in one of three common forms. In all cases, the average amount is between 5% and 25%, although on rare occasions this can be higher.
One-off cashback bonuses
One-off bonuses are normally, but not exclusively, offered to players as part of the whole of a welcome bonus when they first sign up to a new casino.The highest maximum loss will normally be greater here than in the other forms of cashback bonus due to there only being one. The reassurance that cashback is available on losses is something that can relax customers, safe in the knowledge that they will see some money back even if their casino play is less than fortunate.
Temporary promotions
Temporary promotions exist at almost every online casino, these can be seasonal, connected to an event, a new game release, or just to keep their players happy.In this case, you will have a set amount of time in which cashback bonuses are available, they may be offered once a day, or be a refund of losses across a day, a week, or the length of the promotional period.If you are a sporadic player, it is worth keeping your eye out for such promotions, because they will take a percentage of the risk away from casino play.
Consistent promotions
Sometimes, you will find a promotion that is consistently available at a casino. This is often the case with welcome bonuses, but obviously, they can only be accessed once. However, there are also some promotions that can be constantly on offer, and these are often cashback bonuses.This will mean similar to the temporary bonuses, except there will be no end point to when you can claim.Cashback on losses will come daily, weekly, or monthly, but there is normally quite a low maximum limit on how much money can qualify for the bonus.
Loyalty programs
There is one other way you can access cashback bonuses, and that is through loyalty programs. Loyalty programs are offered by some sites, and they involve rising through the stages of a program as you deposit and wager increasing amounts of money at an online casino.As you make your way through the stages, you will be eligible for larger bonuses, and this will often include cashback bonuses.For example, if you have a four-stage loyalty program, you might get 5% cashback on losses at the first stage, 10% at the second, 15% at the third, and 20% at the fourth.Loyalty problems are best suited to high rollers, those who deposit and wager large amounts, so if you are this kind of player, it’s worth checking out the cashback bonuses available within a site’s loyalty program.
The benefits of cashback bonuses
There are many benefits to cashback bonuses in comparison to deposit bonuses and other promotional rewards.One of the biggest downsides to bonuses is often the wagering or playthrough requirements. This means that you often have to deposit and wager many times the amount of the bonus before you can access any winnings that you gain from it.Wagering requirements are not unheard of with cashback bonuses, but they are certainly less frequent than with most others.Another benefit is simply peace of mind, the fact that however much you lose, you will always get something back if cashback bonuses are in play.Then you have the ease of access of a cashback bonus. Most bonuses must be claimed via a withdrawal request, and then you have to wait for your bonus money to come into your account so you can play with it.Usually, in the case of cashback bonuses, you will be told the time period in which cashback will be collected on losses, and at the end of that period, the bonus money will be automatically deposited into your account, usually without you having to do anything, and usually immediately.
Things to be aware of
When it comes to any aspect of the online casino world, there is normally one thing that is of the utmost importance, and that is that a player must read the terms and conditions of a site, of a game, and of a promotion before moving forward, otherwise disappointment may follow, and no complaint will be possible due to not having read the terms.A decent percentage of online casinos will offer a cashback bonus, which means that they come in many different forms. You may have spent time playing at a site that offered such a bonus, and understood it completely, but that does not mean that the cashback offer at the next casino you play at will be in any way similar to that one.Some of the points to keep an eye out for in the terms and conditions of a cashback bonus:Specific games or days – A site may only offer cashback on certain casino or slot games, or on certain days of the week (or both.)Wagering requirement – As stated previously, wagering or playthrough requirements are not always in play with cashback bonuses, but it’s always worth checking, because they might be.Cap on losses – It is rare that any promotional is unlimited (although not unprecedented) so there will normally be a cap, and this is true with cashback bonuses.These caps can vary greatly, one site may only give you cashback on £5 worth of losses maximum, while another may go as high as £500.Cashback percentage – It may automatically thing that the online casino with the highest cap is the one with the best deal, but that depends heavily on the percentage of cashback. For example, a 1% cashback bonus with a £500 cap may only get you £3 more than a 20% bonus with a £5 cap.If the cashback bonus you are claiming is part of a loyalty program, then you must read the terms and conditions of the program as well as the bonus, which may not be on the same page.
Where are the best bonuses?
This is a question that every online casino player would love to know the answer to, but the truth is, it’s impossible to say, because it is far too subjective.If you are a high roller, then you will probably want to aim for loyalty programs or high caps, because you are likely to always be spending up to the maximum.However, if you are a more cautious player, then this may not be the case for you. There is no point in taking a bonus with a higher cap but a lower percentage, if you are never going to get up to the highest point of the cap. Obviously, nobody wants to lose money, and certainly doesn’t plan to, but be aware of how much you plan to deposit, and how much your losses may be, then find the deal that offers you the best amount back for what you’ve put in, and for what you’ve lost.Cashback bonuses do often seem somewhat confusing, and can seem like more complication than they are worth. To be fair, in some cases this is probably true, but if you find the right bonus at the right online casino, then you could end up picking up a nice cashback bonus to make those losses hurt a little bit less!