Article by:Nathan Villania
Nathan is an experienced gamer that enjoys testing and reviewing casinos. He always seeks out the best deals, and guides players on all the benefits and advantages of hundreds of casinos across the world.
Read MoreCompared to other online casino bonuses, the no deposit bonus is relatively uncommon. We will go into further detail as to why this is the case later on in the article.
That, of course, does not mean that there aren’t any such casino bonuses on offer here in Canada. Listed below are some of the best no deposit bonuses we could find from the top casinos in the country.
A no deposit bonus is just one of the many types of online casino bonuses that an operator may offer as part of a promotion. However, the no deposit bonus is quite notable compared to the others on account of the fact that it is relatively uncommon.
The reason for this could be found in the general premise of the bonus: a no deposit bonus, as its name suggests, gives players bonus casino credits or slot game spins to use in exchange for performing actions that don’t require the player to deposit real money.
In other words, a no deposit bonus is practically free money to spend at that real money online casino, which is why it is so appealing to Canadian players regardless of their budget constraints.
Like other promotions that online casinos tend to have, no deposit bonuses can and do come in a variety of flavors. Now, these variations only really show up in the fine print for these bonuses, so we will examine this in more detail in a later section of this article. For the sake of brevity, we will be dividing the no deposit bonus into its two most popular forms based on the rewards that they give out:
This type of no deposit bonus is simple enough: once you complete the actions requested by the online casino site (which is usually just an account registration), you receive a certain dollar amount of casino credit that you can use to place wagers on the games offered at the casino.
The actual amount of bonus cash that you receive will vary depending on the casino operator, but you can expect them to fall somewhere in the range of C$5 to C$20 or even more than that. In addition, the online casino may also limit the types of games that you can use your bonus money on. For instance, the site may only let you use them on some spins when you play online roulette.
The other type of no deposit bonus offered by Canadian casinos is the free spins no deposit bonus. As the name suggests, this type of bonus grants you free plays that you can use on certain slot games just by signing up for an account at that online casino. Depending on the offer, you can expect to get as few as 1 free spin or as many as 100.
As is the case with the free cash bonus, the games that you can use the bonus spins on may or may not be limited by the casino operator. In a lot of cases, the bonus spins are only usable on the casino’s most popular slot titles. You may also encounter some free spins no deposit bonuses tied to slot games from a specific developer.
Now that we have an idea of the two kinds of no deposit bonuses that are available at online casinos in Canada, which of the two is better?
The short and simple answer is: it depends on your preference. With a large but finite range of games available at an online casino, players will eventually come to narrow down their gaming options to one or two types.
It is for this reason that different players prefer one casino no deposit bonus over the other. The value of, say, a casino that offers C$20 dollars as their free casino bonus might be lost on someone that prefers to play online slots. In the same vein, getting free spins from a no deposit bonus casino is not very useful to someone who likes to play live blackjack.
One of the biggest perks about no deposit bonuses is that it is incredibly easy to redeem. While the process might vary a little bit between online casino sites, all of them follow the same basic steps, which we’ve outlined below:
As part of the redemption process for the no deposit registration bonus, some online casinos may require you to enter a bonus code to verify that the welcome bonus has been claimed. The bonus code is usually sent to the email address that you provided during the sign-up process, so if the casino site asks for a code, your email is the first and best place to start looking.
However, we do have to point out that this is not especially common anymore. Instead of a bonus code, casino sites nowadays will usually add the bonus spins or cash directly into your account, so simply check your balance once the signup process is complete.
No matter what type of gambler you are, you probably already know that casinos, online or offline, hide a lot of tricks and traps in the intentionally-difficult wording of the terms and conditions of their bonus offers. This, of course, is to be expected. Casinos are still businesses at the end of the day, and they do have to come up with some way to make money without resorting to rigging the actual games they offer.
Never is this more true than in the case of no deposit bonuses. Because this type of casino bonus effectively gives away free money to players, casinos do need some way to compensate for the cost of such a bonus. We have listed a few examples of these tricks and traps below.
One of the most common tricks for most no deposit bonuses to have is to simply limit the validity time of the offer. In other words, any bonus spins or money that you receive from the no deposit bonus will be forfeited after a certain date.
Aside from when you can make use of the bonus offer, some online casinos will also limit how much of it you can use at a time. This is typically done for bonuses that provide a sizable amount of cash or number of bonus spins, as not having a spending cap could result in a scenario in which a very lucky gambler lands a progressive jackpot slot win with the spins or money provided by the bonus.
Wagering requirements are arguably the most common fine print trap that online casinos like to pair with their no deposit casino bonus. If wagering requirements are imposed on an online casino’s no deposit bonus, then the gambler must place bets at the online casino’s games that equal a certain multiple of the bonus cash provided by the offer before the gambler can withdraw any bonus winnings.
As an example, a common bonus no deposit offer would say something like “C$10 with a 20x wagering requirement.” For this example, one must place 20 times the C$10 bonus amount, or C$200 dollars at casino games before they can withdraw any winnings from the bonus amount—assuming, of course, that there is still any left by that point.
The no deposit bonus is arguably one of the most generous types of casino bonus out there. The premise is, after all, incredibly simple – just complete your registration at the online casino and you can get your bonus and start playing almost immediately. That being said, the devil tends to hide in the details, especially when it comes to the fine print that accompanies these otherwise highly enticing casino bonuses.
We hope that this guide has shared some valuable insights into the no deposit bonus and that you are now armed with the knowledge that you could use to get the most out of this unique perk the next time you join a new online casino in Canada.
Although they are relatively uncommon, there are several online casinos that offer a no-deposit bonus. You can check out the best no deposit bonus offers in Canada by checking out our online casino reviews here at Inside Casino.
A no deposit bonus gives players a set amount of either casino credit or slot game plays for free when they sign up for an account at the online casino offering the bonus.
The difference between a no deposit bonus and a free spins bonus lies in its prerequisites. A free spins bonus will usually need you to actually deposit money into your account, after which you will get the free spins to play around with. A no deposit bonus, meanwhile, does not require any money from you.
Yes, if you win any bets with money from the bonus you received, you can have this withdrawn as real money. However, withdrawing these winnings is subject to the terms and conditions of the bonus provided by the casino operator.
No deposit bonus codes are typically found in an email sent to the address you used to register your account at the online casino. This is to confirm the completion of your application and to verify your status as an active player.
Yes, you can still win real money with the bonus spins or money provided to you by the no deposit bonus. Withdrawing this money from your account, however, is a different matter, and you will need to pay close attention to the terms and conditions of the bonus so you don’t end up losing more money than you received.
The value of any free bonus, especially deposit bonuses, really depends on your personal preferences as a gambler. For instance, if you mostly focus on playing online slots, then you might want to look for a no deposit bonus that provides free spins over straight casino credit.
Beyond that, there is also the concern of limitations imposed on the bonus given to you. Wagering requirements, time limits, and win limits are just a few of the typical traps that casino operators like to hide in the fine print of these bonuses.