History of Deposit Bonuses

When online casinos first became available to gamblers they were rare and there wasn't a need to compete for the attention of players. The first few casinos were offered in the late 1990s and they provided players with the ability to gamble online. This was revolutionary, and no bonuses were offered. It wasn't until the industry began to mature, and more casinos started to pop up that bonuses were required, and many of those offers were impressive compared to what we have today.

The Early Age of Online Casino Bonuses

When only a few online casinos were available to choose from, there was little need for a deposit bonus. It wasn't until the early 2000's as technology improved that more casinos began to pop up. As competition in the online gambling industry increased, the number of bonuses and special offers increased as well.

Simple Offers with Few Terms

One thing most people complain about today is all the terms and conditions attached to bonuses. It can be difficult to understand exactly what you're getting from a bonus offer, because of all the terms attached to that offer. Initially, bonuses had few rules and restrictions. You could look at a bonus and know what it would give you if you met its conditions. Today, you have to look through all the rules before agreeing to use a bonus, otherwise, you risk making a serious mistake.

Small Deposit Bonus Offers

The first bonuses encouraged gamblers to make small deposits into a casino in exchange for a generous bonus. Back then, casinos were attempting to convince players that online gambling was safe and reliable. Offering a small real-money bonus to interested gamblers was the perfect way to help them feel more relaxed while playing at the casino.

Bonuses Grow and Become More Complicated

The first few years of online bonuses the offers began to evolve. They started as simple and easy to claim, but eventually began getting more rules and greater values. Casinos had to be able to compete with each other for their bonuses, which meant they had to make them larger and flashier. This is when many casinos began raising bonus values and making the bonuses more difficult to use effectively. This is why you must read through deposit bonus offers at most online casinos today. If you don't carefully read the terms of a bonus you may think you're effectively using a bonus only to find out later that you don't qualify for it.

Bonus Abuse Becomes an Issue

The early casinos offered reliable benefits to players without requiring them to risk too much money. The bonuses offered to early players were almost always small deposit match bonuses. When using one of these offers players could claim enough bonus money to double their initial offer in many instances. Some bonuses even offered a larger deposit match bonus overall. Many of the bonuses were legitimate, but a few casinos began offering bonuses that gamblers could never actually claim. The offers were for bonus cash that couldn't be claimed. The offers began showing at unreliable casinos and gamblers learned they could not trust every online casino.

Bonuses Evolve and New Types Emerge

As the years went by the bonus opportunities available at online casinos grew more varied. Simple welcome bonuses and deposit match bonuses became cash-back offers, free spins, no-deposit bonuses, and so many others. Now most casinos offer dozens of different bonuses and it can be overwhelming to decide which offers to use. You must spend your time getting familiar with the different offers and choosing the ones you like and the ones to avoid.

Deposit bonuses grew alongside the online casino industry itself. The first bonuses were small and basic, and over time things became larger, more complex and more difficult. Today you must spend time getting to know the casino bonuses to claim them properly.