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No deposit bonuses are like the extra gem that everyone wants from their casino. After all – no deposit bonuses are as close to a completely free perk as you’ll ever get from your casino.
We’ve got the full story on no deposit bonuses right here: how they work, where to find one, how they stack up to other bonuses and more. We’ve also got essential information about terms and conditions – the stuff you need to know before you claim any bonus.
Like free money? This is the casino bonus for you.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Links to operators may earn us a commission; bonus terms are checked by hand and can change at the operator.
The explanation of this type of bonus is in the name itself: no deposit bonus. It is a bonus that certain casinos offer their players even before they’ve made a deposit with the said casino. That’s right, you can start getting benefits from a casino before you’ve put any money into your casino account.
An online casino will either offer you free cash (usually nothing above the C$50 amount) or free spins (anywhere between 10 – 40 spins). No deposit free spins are not to be confused with normal bonus free spins.
Of course, you can imagine that since no deposit bonuses are ‘free’ – not every online casino offers them to players. You have to go looking for them specifically. But don’t worry, we’ve sorted that for you up above.
Just like it sounds, claiming a no deposit bonus doesn’t require you to deposit any of your own money. All you need to do is create an account with the casino, and you’ll be given a small amount of bonus cash, which you can use to start betting with immediately.
This makes no deposit bonuses normally the only slot bonus that has zero financial risk.
Boosted deposits, cashback bonuses, even receiving free spins – for any of these offers the first thing you’re going to have to do is register and deposit some of your own money. With no deposit bonuses, you don’t even have to hand over any bank details.
The bonus cash appears in your account and can be used to gamble however you like, just as if you had transferred it there yourself. If you get lucky and manage to win some money, it’s yours to keep. Providing, of course, you complete the wagering requirements attached to the bonus money. More on that later.
If you end up losing the money, well that’s hard luck. But you still have no obligation to deposit any of your own cash, and you never even have to play again if you don’t want to.
Theoretically, you could claim a new no deposit bonus at a new casino every time you go bust, and continually play for real money totally free. It would probably end up being a lot of effort, but there’s absolutely nothing stopping you.
The sum of bonus cash you receive from no deposit bonuses tends to be quite small – certainly smaller than the amounts available with enhanced deposit bonuses. $10 or $20 in bonus cash is common, while you can easily claim hundreds of dollars in boosted deposit bonuses.
It’s worth remembering that you generally can’t claim both either, so you’ll have to choose which one is more valuable to you.
All this makes no deposit bonuses ideally suited to smaller stakes players and those who either don’t want or aren’t in a position to make much of a cash deposit themselves. But they’re also just great for anyone who wants to try out some real money games for free.
No deposit bonuses open up the doors for all kinds of players, old and new, to get involved with online slots.
With more people accessing online casinos on their devices, casinos are putting a lot of work into making sure their products are mobile-friendly. On mobile, the casino has to look just as good and perform even better than it does on a desktop device – they simply can’t risk players getting bored of waiting and wandering away! Everything that is available at the casino on desktop has to be available on the mobile version of the casino, and this goes for no deposit bonus offers too. If you’re wondering whether you will be able to use your deposit-free bonus while playing on mobile, the answer is yes!
There’s nothing that puts us off slot bonuses more than a convoluted claims process. In our experience, the best bonuses are simple and intuitive – both in how they work and how you get them. We’re happy to say that no deposit bonuses tend to be very black and white.
No deposit bonuses are only really offered as a welcome bonus, and the vast majority of the time you’re going to need a bonus code to claim one.
A bonus code or promo code allows you to unlock a welcome bonus. Usually, you’ll be prompted to type it in as you go through the registration process, but sometimes you’ll be able to do it afterwards in your profile or in the promotions section of the casino. You can find bonus codes in all kinds of places. Sometimes casinos have special deals with certain partners or advertisers, which give you access to exclusive codes if you access them through their sites. Sometimes casinos just advertise their codes freely on their sites and even prompt you to put it in when you register.
The shortcut for all this is to stick to our list of recommended sites above. We’ve put in the leg work and gathered all the bonus codes in one place, so you don’t have to.
We really like that no deposit bonuses are largely easy to claim and simple to use. Here’s a free $10, good luck on the reels. Things start to get a little more complicated however if end up winning off that $10…
If you’re ready to rock and roll with a no deposit bonus at a casino, here’s what you need to do to claim it:
By following these simple steps you will have successfully claimed your bonus. All that’s left to do after this is to get playing your favourite casino games.
No deposit bonuses are fairly common. Casinos know how attractive it sounds to offer up free money, with absolutely no commitment required from players – and in return, they get lots of customers, many of whom end up depositing some of their own money. At casinotrust, we keep a running tab of all the top offers for Canadian players, including plenty of sites with no deposit bonuses.
Check out our list of recommended sites above. If you sign up using our links we can help you claim your bonus and start playing for free today.
When choosing this kind of bonus at a casino this is what you should keep an eye out for:
Non-Cashable Bonuses
Cashable Bonuses
Right about now, we would forgive you for thinking that this all sounds too good to be true. Casinos handing out free money? No bank details required unlike many casino banking options, no questions asked? There must be a catch…
And there is. Sort of.
The money you receive from a no deposit bonus isn’t like regular cash. Instead, it’s bonus cash: money paid out as part of a bonus that can’t be withdrawn. This makes sense – passing out free $10 and $20 bills to everyone that enters your casino isn’t much of a business model.
Bonus cash can only be used to gamble, and it must be gambled with a certain number of times before it turns into regular cash that can be withdrawn. This is known as the wagering requirements, and no deposit bonuses generally have some of the highest of any promotion.
Let’s take an example. Imagine an online casino is offering $10 free, just for creating an account, with wagering requirements of 50x. That means that before you can withdraw one cent you’ll need to place bets on the site totalling $500 – basically you’ll have to run that initial $10 up a long way.
Now, this is by no means impossible. And you can still have ups and downs as you play through the money – your total bets just need to end up at $500, you don’t have to necessarily win that much right off the bat. And this is after all a shot at winning totally free money. Try your luck and if it doesn’t work out for you – c’est la vie.
Usually, the wagering requirements attached to other bonuses (like bonus cash from a deposit bonus) are smaller than with no deposit bonuses. You will also have a limited time with which to complete the requirements, maybe a week or two after you first sign up. If you don’t manage to turn the cash over by then, you lose it.
Wagering requirements are the number one thing to look out for when claiming a no deposit bonus. An achievable rate is essential for the bonus to be truly valuable.
No deposit bonuses are once-off and for brand new players only, so you’re probably going to have to make a choice between claiming one of them and claiming an alternative welcome bonus. Here are some reasons to take that free cash!
Of course, not everyone always picks no deposit bonuses. Here are some of the reasons people opt for other bonuses instead.
Yes, they are. They’re not completely free of any strings, but they come closer than any other bonus or offer you can get from a casino.
Essentially, you have zero of your own money in your casino account – but you still have either no deposit cash or no deposit free spins to play around with!
If you have no deposit cash, you can use it to take your chances on table games and live casino games along with slots. If you have no deposit free spins, you can use them on the eligible slot specified by the casino itself.
There is absolutely no risk involved in this, and no way you’ll regret it. Even if you are unable to keep what you win or withdraw your winnings from the no deposit bonus (more on this below), you can just walk away having had your fun playing real casino games.
So – no matter the case – claiming and using your no deposit bonus will always be super worth it. And that goes for any player out there, Canadian or not.
Yes, no deposit bonuses are totally legal. As long as you make sure you are playing at a legitimate site with a gambling licence, you have nothing to worry about.
Not exactly. No deposit bonuses are genuinely free and won’t cost you a thing to claim. However, you can only use the money to gamble in the casino. Eventually, if you win money off the back of your no deposit bonus you can withdraw your winnings.
Yes, if you choose a cashable no deposit casino bonus you can win real money. Anything left after you meet the playthrough requirements, will be yours to withdraw.
They are similar to casino bonuses in that they are offered to players as incentives to sign up or play more. Usually, they come in the form of free spins so after signing up or accepting players can use these free spins without having to make a deposit at the casino.
No, in fact, they are one of the least likely bonuses to be used to scam players . However, make sure you always check the terms & conditions to avoid any issues and only play at safe online casinos.
When using no deposit free spins, much like regular free spins bonuses, the casino will likely pick the eligible slot for you. This means you can’t use your free spins on whatever slot you want. Keep in mind that no deposit bonus wagering requirements are usually different from the normal wagering requirements. You can check out our respective casino reviews to find out what the no deposit requirements are. Or, you can comb through the Terms & Conditions set forward by the casino to check it out yourself
Yes, these bonuses can be used whether you’re accessing the casino on desktop or on mobile.