The welcome bonus, broken down

A welcome bonus is paid once and is meant to open an account that then stays. That is why it is more generous than anything that follows, and why the longest set of conditions hangs off it.

Four numbers that only make sense together

What sits inside an offer

Percentage	says nothing on its own — 200 % on 50 euro is 100 euro
Maximum amount	the ceiling on the bonus, often lower than expected
Minimum deposit	decides whether the maximum is reachable at all
Validity period	usually 7 to 30 days; the open remainder lapses after that

Read from the source on [object Object].

Only the four together say anything. An offer of 100 % up to 500 euro with a 30-day deadline is better for most readers than 300 % up to 100 euro with seven days — even though the second number looks three times as big.

Why the package is stretched across several deposits

Many operators spread the welcome bonus across the first three or four deposits. The headline total is then the sum of all the parts, and the part somebody actually receives the first time round is a fraction of it.

That is not dishonest, but it changes the comparison: what belongs side by side is the first instalment, not the totals.

The deadline is the underrated condition

A factor of 35 is relaxed over thirty days and an obligation to play daily over seven. Miss the deadline and you lose the open bonus and everything not yet cleared out of it.

The comparison that takes a minute

1. Write down the maximum amount, not the percentage.
2. Write down the wagering factor and what it is calculated on — the basis is half the information.
3. Look up the maximum stake that applies while wagering runs.
4. Look up the deadline and hold it against how often you actually play.

Editorial order. Bonus offers change without notice, which is why what stands here is the operator and not the promotion.

Where the buttons on this page lead

The casino the buttons on this page lead to

A cashier in six currencies, a licence that can be looked up in the authority's own register, and a bonus whose wagering factor is written as a number in the terms.

• 150 % on the first depositfrom the equivalent of 20 euro
• Six currencies at the cashiercard is not one of them
• Licence in a public registersearchable by domain

To the cashier

18+ · play only with a limit you set beforehand

More on the bonus

The remaining pages of this section, each on a question of its own. Online Casino Bonus pulls them together.