Online Casino Bonus Guide

online casino bonuses are offered periodically to new and existing players in New Zealand, giving you more bang for your buck. With such a competitive iGaming industry, an online casino bonus can be used to attract new players to sites. Similarly, a reload casino bonus can also entice existing players to stick around and have more fun for longer – more on these later.

If you’re feeling a little daunted by the prospect of choosing and activating an online casino bonus, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ll debunk the most popular casino bonuses to give you the confidence to start bonus hunting!

Online casino welcome bonus

A welcome bonus is one of the easiest to claim and understand. Most online casinos that accept New Zealand-based players will offer a welcome bonus to incentivise you to become a new customer. It will usually be triggered from the moment your chosen casino verifies your identity and activates your account.

Welcome bonuses are usually dished out in the form of free spins or bonus money to play with on selected online pokies or table games. For instance, the Wildz Casino sign-up bonus lists eight online pokies eligible to use with any free spins awarded.

That’s still not all though, because we give you a 50% deposit bonus on your second deposit too, so you can have twice the fun when you play at Wildz Casino.

Deposit bonus vs no-deposit bonus

Most welcome bonuses at online casinos will either be a deposit bonus or a no-deposit bonus. A no-deposit bonus means you don’t have to make a deposit of NZ dollars into your account before activating the bonus. Instead, no-deposit bonuses are usually triggered immediately after sign-up. They are smaller in scope than deposit bonuses, largely because you don’t need to make a real-money commitment upfront.

Meanwhile, deposit bonuses are an opportunity to get a larger bonus pot matched to the size of your first real-money deposit. Most initial deposit bonuses match 100% of your deposit in bonus funds, up to a maximum deposit limit of anything from $50 to $500.

In summary – no-deposit bonuses are tailormade for online casino novices throughout New Zealand. It’s a risk-free chance to learn how to play online pokies and the leading table games – and who knows, you just might get lucky and win enough to clear your wagering requirements. Deposit bonuses are designed for those who can afford to make a real-money deposit of their own to maximise their betting bankroll.

Free spins bonuses

Free spins promotions are often dished out to new and existing customers. New customers may receive several free spins on predetermined online pokies just for creating a new account. These fall under the no-deposit bonus umbrella too, as they are often awarded with no financial commitment necessary on your behalf.

Free spins are designed to act like any normal spin on a pokie. They typically use all active paylines available, at the lowest coin denominator. For example, if they are used on a 50-payline game with the lowest coin denominator per payline set at $0.01, each free spin is worth $0.50.

Free spins may also be awarded to loyal, existing customers as a loyalty bonus out of the blue. Whenever free spins are dished out, remember that any winnings derived from them will incur wagering requirements. At Wildz Casino, all our free spins bonuses have wagering requirements set at 35x unless otherwise stated.

Reload bonuses

Reload bonuses are reserved exclusively for existing customers. They may be awarded to lapsed customers that haven’t visited the site for some time. Alternatively, they may be awarded to active players as a reward for their loyalty.

Reload bonuses are often designed and marketed in the same way as a deposit bonus. They usually require players to make an initial real-money deposit to trigger a matched deposit bonus. Reload bonuses don’t often commit to a 100% match, but it’s still common to find a match worth between 50%-75% of your initial deposit.

The reload bonus funds come with wagering requirements attached in the same way as a deposit bonus. For example, a $10 reload bonus with 35x wagering requirements attached will need you to wager $350 before any remains of your bonus are considered real, withdrawable cash.

Cashback bonuses

Cashback bonuses are an interesting phenomenon among the leading online casino sites. New Zealanders that plan to play regularly at their chosen casino are advised to select a site that offers regular cashback on losses. Long-serving customers can get 20% cashback at Wildz, with up to a fifth of all losses paid back weekly to their real-money balances.

Cashback bonuses don’t operate in the same way as welcome bonuses where you deposit funds and receive a bonus. Cashback bonuses actually require you to lose money. Every time you lose a wager on your favourite pokies or table games, a percentage of that money is set aside in cashback and returned to you at the end of the week or month.

The benefit of cashback bonuses is that you can receive a portion of your losses back, giving your hard-earned money a second bite at the cherry to win on the reels or tables.

Online casino bonus codes

Although some online casinos will activate bonuses on your behalf, there are plenty of sites that will require you to enter a bonus code to trigger a bonus for your account. If you complete a sign-up form with a new casino and forget to enter the online casino bonus code, it’s unlikely the site will recompense you for the error down the line.

Most reputable and transparent online casino sites should make it clear and obvious a) what the bonus code is and b) where and when those bonus codes should be entered.

With all Wildz bonus codes, Kiwis will be notified by email, SMS or both means if you have a bonus code promotion sat waiting in your account to be unlocked.

On occasion, you may find bonus codes reserved exclusively for mobile casinos. These codes are designed to encourage more players to try HTML5-powered casino games on smartphone and tablet devices.

High-roller bonuses

A high-roller bonus is usually given to customers deemed high-rollers by online casino operators. High-rollers are those that wager the most money and therefore provide the most turnover for the casino. As a ‘thank you’ for the custom of high-rollers, many online casinos will give away exclusive bonuses to those VIP customers.

To be considered a high-roller, players will often need to be at the top tier of a casino’s loyalty program. High-roller bonuses are often designed and marketed to operate in the same way as a deposit bonus. However, they also commit to matching much higher real-money deposits in bonus funds, often upwards of $1,000 or more.

High-rollers may even be given matched deposit bonuses with smaller wagering requirements attached. This gives a casino’s VIP customers a better statistical chance of turning bonus funds into real, withdrawable cash.

Campaigns and promotions

During the course of the year, most online casinos will also launch ad hoc marketing campaigns and promotions which include one-off bonuses or initiatives for players. For example, a casino may choose to give players daily free spins for an entire week. Some operators also have prize wheels that customers can spin at random daily to try and win additional prizes and bonuses to enhance their betting bank.

It’s also common for online casinos to run slot tournaments or pokie tournaments that customers compete in to try and finish at the top of the leaderboard. Ad hoc pokie tournaments may be held, with some offering free entry or free spins to use towards a pokie tournament.

What are wagering requirements?

Wagering requirements are a staple when it comes to most online casino bonuses. Consider these requirements as the metaphoric strings attached to any deposit bonuses or free spins. Wagering requirements state how many times a bonus – and any winnings derived from the bonus – must be wagered before it can be withdrawn or used within your real money balance.

The industry standard for wagering requirements is around the 35x mark. This means that if you were to get a deposit bonus of $100, you would need to wager this – and any wins – 35 times before it can be considered real money. Let’s say that you won an additional $50 with your $100 bonus, topping your bonus balance up to $150. You would then need to wager this 35 times ($150 x 35 = $5,250).

You may be fortunate to find some smaller casino bonuses with little or no wagering requirements attached. For example, some no-deposit free spins offers are wagering-free, but the spins are restricted for use on pokies with high volatility i.e. payouts are more infrequent than pokies with lower volatility.

It’s also important to check which casino games you can use to clear your wagering requirements. Most online casinos will allow 100% of all wagers on pokies to count towards wagering requirements. However, some casino games like blackjack, roulette and video poker will only have 10%-20% of the value of wagers contributing towards wagering requirements.

It’s a fine balance to tread – every cent you wager on pokies clears the wagering, but you’re statistically more likely to lose all your bonus money by exclusively playing online pokies. It’s a decision only you can make!

FAQs

How does a deposit bonus work?

A deposit bonus is a bonus where we match the amount you deposit up to a certain amount or percentage.

How do I get a bonus code?

We occasionally send bonus codes as a promotional offer or for marketing reasons, usually via SMS or email. Support can't give out bonus codes.

What is the wagering requirement?

The wagering requirement for most bonuses is 35 times. You must play through any bonus funds 35 times before withdrawing bonus winnings.

How do I activate my bonus?

If you received a bonus, head to your account and go to the "My Rewards" section. Here you'll be able to see all bonuses, activate them and find the necessary information.