5 Things You Must Never Do With No Deposit Bonuses

No deposit bonuses are amongst the most sought after online / mobile casino bonus offers by players around the world for one simple reason – they are 100% free to claim and use, which means they don’t require a deposit of any kind to unlock. This means that you can join a casino and play one or more real money games with real cash all ‘on the house.’

That said, like all types of online casino bonus offers, these too come with a lengthy list of terms and conditions which you must strictly follow, and more importantly, not flout or you’ll risk losing your bonus, your bonus winnings and even your casino membership. With that in mind, here we’ll discuss 5 things you must never do with no deposit bonuses.

Before we get to those 5 things, however, it should go without saying that each and every no deposit bonus is strictly aimed at new players, i.e. players who haven’t already registered for a real money account at the respective casino. In other words, if you already have an account at a casino with a no deposit bonus offer, you are not eligible for the bonus.

5 No Deposit Online Casino Bonus Dont’s

1. Never claim a no deposit bonus offer if you already have an existing real money account with a casino

If an online casino discovers you already have a real money account with it – regardless of how long ago you registered it – it will likely remove your no deposit bonus plus any winnings you may have generated there from.

All remote casinos – desktop or mobile – only permit one account per household, computer or IP address. They take this very seriously because the one thing they (and land casinos for that matter) do not abide is cheating and / or fraud, especially when it comes to free real money funds that they award new players for free.

Similarly, online casinos will revoke your bonus and/or membership if they find that you provided wrong or misleading information when you signed for a new account; if you are a resident of country, territory or jurisdiction in which online gambling or online casinos are prohibited by law; or if you fall below the legal gambling age.

2. Never claim or opt in for a no deposit bonus offer without first reading its terms and conditions

T&Cs accompany all online casino bonuses and are in effect the bonus ‘rules’ as well as ‘dos and don’ts.’ They’re designed to protect you, the player, as well as the casino, which is why you must always read and understand them.

The reason is that if you ignore, bend or blatantly flout any of these no deposit terms and conditions, online casinos will not hesitate to cancel your bonus, confiscate your winnings and in extreme cases, kick you off the casino and bar you permanently. By following the bonus T&Cs to the full, you have the best chance of cashing out.

Some casino bonuses – particular that of the no deposit or free spins variety – have particularly strict terms and conditions, particularly wagering requirements. But as long as you know this going in and are prepared to play around them, you’ll have the best opportunity to get the most out a bonus – whether luck smiles on you or not.

3. Never use a betting strategy that might expose you as a ‘bonus hunter’

Bonus hunters are players whose sole aim is to cash out bonus money with no intention of ever depositing. Online casinos view bonus hunters with the same disdain as cheats or fraudsters. In fact, many casinos consider bonus hunters the same as cheaters.

Although you may see nothing wrong with this practice, casinos see it as attempting to exploit them which is why they monitor bonus play to identify betting patterns used by bonus hunters. For instance, playing the minimum bet on games with the most lax wagering requirements and the lowest house edges always raises flags.

This is why most no deposit bonuses at online casinos have terms and conditions with stringent wagering requirements, and some even restrict bonus play on games with low house edge. Casinos like players that are out to have fun with their bonus cash or free spins, but if they sense you’re a bonus hunter they’ll ban you for life.

4. Never let your no deposit bonus offer expire or you’ll lose your winnings

Most no deposit bonuses have an expiry date which is typically a predetermined number of hours, days or weeks depending on the casino and respective bonus. You’ll typically find this expiry date highlighted clearly in the no deposit bonus terms and conditions.

The expiry date (or time) starts to count down from the moment you redeem your bonus. As long as the bonus is valid you can login and logout of the casino as many times as you want and continue to play games with no deposit free spins or bonus cash. Your bonus balance should remain unchanged from your previous session.

However, if you let your bonus offer expire before you have fulfilled its wagering requirements, you’ll lose it and any winnings you may have accrued up until then. This is why it crucial to check bonus T&Cs for their expiry date before you redeem them i.e. ‘start the clock.’ Don’t risk losing your bonus winnings because of inactivity.

5. Never request a withdrawal of your no deposit bonus winnings unless you‘ve 100% met the bonus wagering requirements

If you try to cash out no deposit bonus winnings before you’ve completely met the wagering requirements as laid out in the bonus T&Cs, the respective casino will no doubt deny your withdrawal request.

In other words, the onus is solely on you to ensure that you have wagered or played through the bonus amount the minimum specified times, and that you have used the bonus to only play games specified in the terms and conditions. Failure to do so may result in the cancellation of your bonus and the confiscation of any winnings you may have accrued.

Do not expect casinos to send you ‘notifications, alerts’ or warnings’ in cases where you are not adhering to the bonus T&Cs. Only when you try to make a withdrawal will you find out if you’ve met the necessary requirements or not. A successful cash out request means you have while an unsuccessful request means you haven’t.