One of the benefits to playing blackjack online versus a brick and mortar casino is that you have the opportunity to participate in a deposit bonus.
A deposit bonus is a promotion for first time depositors. They come in many forms. Sometimes it’s instant (free) money or cash back. In most cases, though, deposit bonuses are match bonuses. The casino offers to match a percentage of your deposit up to so many dollars.
For example, say the casino is offering you a 100% match bonus up to $500. For every $1 you deposit, the casino will give you $1 in return. Deposit the $500 (or more) and you’ll receive $500 free, for a grand total of $1,000.
Pretty cool, right?! Deposit bonuses are a great way to boost your bankroll, not to mention give you multiple opportunities to hit a hot streak or win that jackpot. At the same time, bonus money can shield you from streaks of bad luck. Either way you’re in good shape.
While fewer of them are available, there are deposit bonuses for blackjack players, too. Below we have listed our favorite ones. Just click on a link to get started, and you’ll be on your way to earning free money before you know it.
Best Blackjack Bonus for 2017
We recommend players play online blackjack at Bet365. New users will receive 100% up to $100 dollars first time deposit bonus!
No Deposit Blackjack Bonus for 2017
There are currently no deposit blackjack bonuses available. We recommend the 100% up to $100 at Bet365.
Be Aware of These 5 Blackjack Bonus Facts
Deposit bonuses aren’t all gumdrops and unicorns. There are potential downsides to bonuses, especially for blackjack players. With that in mind, here are 5 facts to remember about blackjack bonuses.
1. Most Casinos Prohibit Blackjack From Being Played to Clear the Bonus
If you read the terms and conditions of 80% of the casinos online, you’ll notice that they prohibit players from playing blackjack while clearing the deposit bonus. In fact, they prohibit players from playing craps, roulette and video poker, too. Players are usually limited to games like slots, keno and scratch tickets.
Why?
I’m not 100% sure. If I had to make an educated guess, I’d say it’s because the house edge in any of these games are too low. Using basic strategy, blackjack can be played at a .5% edge (in favor of the house), which in the short term doesn’t necessarily mean the casino will make any money. So a blackjack player could very well break even or win at blackjack, all the while clearing a free money bonus.
2. Casinos That Allow Blackjack To Be Played Have Absurd Clearing Requirements
Play through requirements for games like slots, keno and scratch cards will be something like 20x the deposit plus bonus. That means that if you make a $500 deposit for a $500 bonus, you’ll have to wager $20,000 before you’ve “earned” the bonus money.
However, if the casino allows you to play blackjack for the bonus, they’ll ask you to wager 2-3x as much. One casino I checked out asks for 2.5x. That means instead of a 20x play through, you’ll need to wager 50x, or $50,000.
$50,000 to earn $500.
3. Blackjack Bonuses Are (Usually) Smaller, Too
In addition to higher play through requirements, another thing I’ve noticed about (many) blackjack bonuses is that they’re much smaller in comparison to bonuses for slots players. Because of how likely they are to lose, slots players are offered massive bonuses. Upwards of $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 and more.
But blackjack players? Usually a fraction of this.
I’ve seen slots players offered $1,000+ for their deposit bonus, but blackjack players were being offered a mere $200. They still had the higher play through requirements, too.
4. Terms and Conditions (May) Have Hidden Clauses
Duh. Right?!
Seriously though, if you read the fine print you’ll notice that in addition to wacky play through requirements, all casino bonuses will have an expiration date and withdrawal clause.
The expiration date puts a timer on when your bonus ends. For example, if an offer expires in 90 days, you have to clear the play through requirements before time is up, or else you run the risk of voiding whatever amount of the bonus you failed to complete. In some cases, where the bonus isn’t awarded in small chunks, you risk losing the entire thing.
So not only do you need to wager 30-80x your deposit plus bonus, you have to do that within a time frame of 30, 60 or 90 days.
Withdrawal clauses state that you cannot request a withdrawal until your bonus is complete, or time is up, whichever comes first. If you try to withdraw your funds, you risk voiding your bonus and possibly any money you may have won with your bonus money.
5. Blackjack Bonus Play Through Requirements (Usually) Include Deposit Plus Bonus
I’ve hinted at this already, but another rule you’ll want to look for is whether or not the play through requirements is a multiple of the deposit, or the deposit plus bonus.
Often it’s the latter. It makes a big difference, too.
For example, a multiple of the deposit only (using my example above) would mean that we’d have to wager $25,000 to clear a $500 bonus. However, a multiple of the deposit plus bonus means we have to wager $50,000. Twice as much money to earn the same bonus.
Either way it’s a lot of money, but it’s a factor that can make or break whether or not you choose to participate in a particular promotion, namely a blackjack deposit bonus.
