Playing casino games is a popular form of entertainment for adults online, in fact, there are over 24 million people in the United Kingdom who enjoy gambling in their free time.

The gambling industry is growing at a rapid rate. One decade ago, the gross gambling yield in Britain was around $8.4 billion, by 2018 this had almost doubled to $14.4 billion, with almost $6 billion of that coming from remote gambling sources, such as online casinos and betting websites.

Brits enjoy the convenience of playing games online as well as the sheer range of choice there is in comparison to bricks and mortar casino venues. Online slots are by far one of the most popular choices of game and account for around 69% of revenue, followed by roulette, blackjack and poker.

Across the world, citizens in other countries are also enjoying playing online casino games, particularly in the West. Recent law changes in the States has meant individual states can now determine their own online gambling laws, with many states like New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania opting to legalise both online casinos and online sports betting. Canadians have been enjoying online casino gaming for a while with laws allowing citizens to play with offshore providers and those regulated by the government.

A competitive market

As the market is so lucrative and expansive, it is no real surprise that this industry is considered to be a highly competitive one. Each year more and more gambling providers enter the scene offering their games to players.

As a player’s market, online casino operators are fighting to bring in new users and to keep their current customer base. Many of the best casino sites in Canada offer a great variety of different bonuses and promotions in order to remain competitive and stand out from the crowd.

These promotions not only help online casinos to stay ahead of their competitors offering similar games, they also allow them to make use of the consumer data that they have and collect more of it. Data collection enables the operator to spot and analyse trends, player patterns and inclinations.

The benefit of this for current and new customers is that it allows the casino to run more targeted promotions and offer the games and services that customers really want. In turn, happy customers provide word-of-mouth marketing for the casino by sharing their experiences and referring friends.

To target players more personally, online casinos will often utilise smart data to analyse the average time players tend to visit the site as well as the games that players typically play. For example, an online casino will recognise that a player tends to play on their site at around 8 pm on a Friday evening. The player tends to play various online slot games whilst active on the site. An online casino can use this to their advantage by directing a targeted promotion during the afternoon on a Friday for free spins or bonus deals on slot games. The casino could also notify the player of any large bonus rounds available on slot games leading up to the time the player is likely to visit the site.

There are many different types of bonuses and promotions that online casinos can offer, for those new to casino gaming, understanding each of these and the rules that go with them can be difficult to get your head around. Here we profile some of the top casino promotions to look out for and explain how each of them works:

Deposit bonuses

Deposit bonuses are by far one of the most commonly found types of online casino promotion, almost every operator will offer them for new customers when they sign up. Put simply, with this offer the casino will make a bonus available to you when you put a certain amount of money into your account with them.

As this is often reserved for new players on the site, you are likely to see it being referred to as a ‘welcome bonus’.

One example might be a 100% welcome bonus, in this instance if you were to deposit ￡50 then the casino will top this up to ￡100 for you to play with. Be sure to check out the wagering requirements and withdrawal limits with this offer as this will impact when you can withdraw any winnings.

No-deposit bonuses

A no-deposit bonus works the same way; however, it does not require you to add money into the account before trying out the casino’s games. Most of these will have higher wagering requirements and will only allow you to withdraw when you reach a set amount.

These offers are great if you are looking to try out some games but are reluctant to put your cash into an account on a new website.

This type of promotion is one of the most popular and recommended for players who want to try out a new site or new game before depositing their own money. Many online casinos offer a no deposit bonus to attract new players to their site in hope that once they begin playing with the site they will never want to leave or play elsewhere.

A no deposit bonus is a win-win for both parties, with players being able to try out new sites for free and online casinos having the ability to show their services to players in the hope the player will stay.

Free spins

Free spins are a really popular type of casino bonus. This offer gives you a set number of free spins on a certain online slot game without having to pay for it yourself. Slot games are one of the most popular casino games available so there is no wonder people like to take advantage of free spins.

Free spins may be given to new customers or used as a reward or incentive to returning customers. Although the amount you can win from them is unlucky to be significantly high, they are always worth taking advantage of.

As there are thousands of themed slot games available online, free spins just like no deposit bonus offers players the chance to try out a new themed slot game without using their own money. This way if a player decides they do not like the slot game or the particular theme then they feel like they have not wasted their own money.

Free game version modes

Many online casinos offer free versions of their popular games for you to try before you spend any money yourself. These are great as they allow you to get to know the game before you commit any cash to it.

Games such as poker, blackjack and roulette may be offered in a free-demo mode by online casinos so players can try out the games beforehand.

Loyalty programmes

Loyalty programmes are a common type of promotion across all industries, not just online casinos. For example, many supermarkets offer cards for you to collect points every time you spend and then receive discounts when you have collected a set amount.

Online casino loyalty schemes work in the same way, the more you wager the more points you receive. You can often use these points as casino credits or as entry into tournaments for table games.

How can I find these casino promotions?

If you are a player who remains loyal to an online casino site, you will often find the casino site to send personalised promotions through emails or push notifications.

For new players who are wanting to play at a new online casino, the easiest way to find out where the latest offers are is through using affiliate sites, these sites help players identify the best bonuses and promotions quickly and all on one page. Affiliate sites will list and explain what the current offers are and will compare them against one another.

These types of sites also tend to review certain casino pages to help players easily navigate which site will be the most suitable for them. They will post certain site requirements as well as the different features, such as can you receive instant withdrawal and if there is a live casino section or not. An affiliate site will also often round up the main pros and cons of each casino site listed.

With such a vast range of casinos out there, a comparison site is a valuable tool for tracking down the very best promotions.