Best Welcome Bonuses in Australia 2024

Welcome bonuses are exactly that. An offer presented by an iGaming site to a new player. Almost 100% of the time, an online gambling welcome bonus aims at attracting new players to a site. This is especially important since the iGaming industry is quite competitive. 

Claiming a welcome bonus after registration is simple and fast. Although it often depends on the promotion/bonus in question. Many bonuses require a prior deposit, while some do not. There are basic steps you must follow when claiming a casino online welcome bonus with no deposit required:

If you want to claim a deposit match bonus, the steps are slightly different:

Note that there are instances where you may have to contact customer support to claim a desktop or mobile casino welcome bonus. There are also instances where the operator may ask you to activate the welcome deal from your player account. 

You can categorise sign-up bonuses in different ways. There are deposit and no-deposit bonuses. You can also group them as non-sticky or sticky. The latter is only for wagering purposes. That means you can not withdraw the bonus funds. It will stick to the account until you lose it. The former is much more favourable since you can withdraw the bonus and the winnings from the bonus after meeting the playthrough requirements. 

• Deposit welcome bonuses

  This type of bonus is available to players only after depositing a certain minimum amount prescribed by the site. They are also known as match bonuses since the casino awards the bonus amount based on a percentage of the deposit. 

  For instance, you could come across a 100% deposit match bonus. If you deposit $500, you will receive another $500. That takes your total bankroll to $1000. It’s also worth noting that deposit bonuses come with caps on how much you can receive as a bonus amount. 

  For instance, for a 100% deposit match capped at $1000, the maximum bonus amount you can receive is $1000. That means any amount over $1000 will be discarded by the casino.

• Sign-up bonuses

  The sign-up offer is one of the best online casino welcome bonus options. However, they are quite rare and they often come in small amounts. The best part is you get value since you don’t have to deposit funds to claim the offer. However, you may need to provide a specific bonus code to activate the deal. 

  One of the reasons to go for this bonus is you get a chance to explore a casino without wagering real money. If you like what you come across, you can advance to real money wagering. Casinos tend to issue free spins, free chips, or bonus funds as a sign-up bonus.

• Welcome free spins

  Welcome bonus free spins are also common at Australian casinos. In most cases, these spins come as an accompaniment to a deposit match bonus. For instance, you could find a deal such as a 100% match capped at $200 + 100 free spins. However, there are instances where the spins are available as independent bonuses. 

  Something else to note is that you may either need to deposit a certain amount to claim them or the spins could be available as a no-deposit deal. Another factor to consider is the pokie game you will need to spend the spins on. Generally, the casino will display the name on the offer page or terms and conditions.

Choosing an Australian online casino with the best welcome bonus is not just about looking at the quantity. Quality determines the best casino welcome bonus. And quality lies within the terms and conditions. What appears as a generous deal may end up being horrible. We take a look at some of the most common rules normally attached to a welcome bonus. 

• Wagering requirements

  Also known as playthrough or rollover, wagering requirements usually give players an idea of how much they must play before they can submit a withdrawal request. Casinos apply playthrough requirements to stop people from depositing funds, claiming a bonus, and withdrawing the funds immediately. 

  Typically, how much you must play is a fixed number. For instance, a rollover requirement could be set at 30x the bonus amount. If you claimed $200, you must wager at least $6000 before withdrawing. A favourable bonus will have a wagering requirement hovering around 30x and 35x. 

• Welcome bonus packages

  Welcome bonus online casino options also include bonus packages. Most of these packages tend to include a mixed bag of deals aimed at sweetening the offer. You could get a first deposit that unlocks a bonus match and free spins. Another one could include a reload bonus, giving you an additional amount to wager on a variety of games. 

  Such bonus packages are spread across several deposits. For instance, you could get $3000 as bonus funds plus 200 free spins. The casino could then break down the bonus amount and spins to cover the first three deposits. 

• Maximum withdrawal for welcome bonus winnings

  Most casinos usually have a cap on how much players can withdraw from the welcome bonus. However, some set this cap at a low amount, which eventually writes off the need to claim the bonus in the first place. 

  What the maximum withdrawal limit means is you cannot cash out anything more than the set amount. In some cases, it’s a factor of the deposit amount (e.g.10x the deposit amount) or a fixed figure (e.g. $1000). 

  In the second case, it means you can only withdraw $1000 even if you have $1300 from the bonus. If you deposit $10, you can only withdraw a maximum of $100 (10x$100). If you’re a high roller, you want a high roller welcome bonus with higher caps on the cashout amount.

• Min deposit for claiming a welcome bonus

  This is one condition you will not miss when claiming a deposit bonus. Operators indicate the minimum amount players must deposit on the offer page to become eligible for the welcome bonus. 

  However, you need to check whether the required amount is favourable. The sweet spot is often no more than $25. You also want to check the type of bonus to determine the payment method. For instance, a Bitcoin welcome bonus will require you to deposit funds using Bitcoin.

• Games covered by a welcome bonus

  Some casinos will impose restrictions on certain games you can use the bonus on. Others give you the freedom to explore as many games as possible. Of course, the latter is what you want to look for. But such casinos are rare. 

  In that case, we recommend checking the offer page and the terms and conditions page to find out which games you can use the bonus on. It’s the same situation with free spins where a casino will list the slot games or developers you can use the spins on. 

• Maximum win on a welcome bonus

  Another condition often overlooked by players is the limits on the maximum win. Some casinos impose a cap on the maximum win amount while others have no max win amount. No deposit free spin offers are major culprits of these caps. 

  When you win more than the specified amount, the extra amount will be deducted from your account when submitting a withdrawal request. In that case, we recommend settling for an online casino with no win limits.

• Bonus codes to activate a bonus

  Some casinos will ask players to enter a certain special code to activate the bonus. Take note of the code if the casino displays it because without it you cannot activate the offer. The best way to go about entering it is by copying and pasting it to avoid errors. 

  There are instances where you may need to contact customer support to activate the offer. Others are straightforward. All you need to do is deposit funds and you’re right in it. Know the difference!

• Expiry time for a welcome bonus

  Of course, you want to go for an Australian casino that doesn’t set expiry periods for its welcome bonuses. And while there may be casinos that follow this route, some impose expiry dates. With that in mind, you want to read the terms and conditions before claiming any bonus. 

  Even with a casino that imposes time limits on bonuses, you want to go for a welcome deal that gives you time to meet the wagering requirements. Note that you need to meet the set playthrough requirements within the validity period. Failure to meet these requirements within this period will void the bonus. 

  Another aspect about time is how long a welcome bonus remains available before you can claim it. Most casinos give 7 days for players to claim the offer after which it expires.

• Bet limits in welcome bonuses

  This is one of the finer prints often overlooked by players. A bet limit is a maximum amount you can wager in a game when using your bonus funds. Note that bet limits in welcome bonuses vary from one casino to another. An example is $5, which means you can only place a maximum of $5 per spin when playing a slot game. 

  It’s important to note that the bet limits don’t alter your winning chances. But they affect the speed at which you can meet the wagering requirements. The lower the limit, the longer it will take to complete the playthrough requirements. This could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. It can be good if you want to extend your gameplay.

• Game contribution rates for welcome bonuses

  Another rule players are often unaware of is the game contribution rate. Not all games contribute 100% toward the reduction of the wagering requirements. You can find out the exact game contribution rates by visiting the casino’s terms and conditions page. 

  Pokies often contribute 100% but games such as video poker, roulette, and table games contribute between 10% and 20%. There are instances where an operator completely excludes some games from contributing. 

  Let’s use this example. If you claim a $100 bonus match with requirements set at 25x, you need to wager a total of $2500. If roulette contributes only 10% toward the rollover requirement, it means only $10 of every $100 wagered goes to meeting the $2500. Ultimately, this means you’ll take longer to satisfy this requirement.