If you like to play at , then you may have come across what appears to be a goldmine – sites that claim to have a long list of no deposit bonus codes that you can use right now.
These enterprising websites invite you to pay a small fee, and in return, they supposedly give you lifetime access to their exclusive list of casino no deposit bonus codes. While this sounds too good to be true—and it is—there are better ways to score free casino money without spending a dime.
This article explains what no deposit bonus codes are, where to find them, and two superior methods of getting free chips to use at your favorite real money online casinos.
What Are Casino No Deposit Bonus Codes?
Online casino sign up bonus codes are sets of letters and numbers that you enter into the appropriate field when joining an internet betting site or claiming a promotion from within your account.
When entering a no deposit bonus code at an online casino, you’ll typically receive free casino chips that don’t require a deposit. These no deposit bonuses can appear as an option during the signup process, or you can claim them from your account page underneath the “redeem bonus” or “refer a friend” tab.
After entering the correct code, your account will be credited with the relevant amount of complimentary credits. Of course, there are always some strings attached, but more on that later.
Where to Find No Deposit Promo Codes for Online Casinos
The primary way to acquire these promo codes is through online casino reviews websites. When you search for phrases like “no deposit bonus codes for US casinos,” you’ll find dozens of results promising to sell, gift, or reveal lists containing these magical strings of characters. But do they work? Let’s find out.
Do Casino No Deposit Bonus Code Websites Work?
No. At least not reliably. The people behind these websites aren’t hackers who’ve discovered a method of breaking into online casinos. They’re marketing gurus preying upon wide-eyed gamblers who mistakenly believe that they can beat the system.
Anyone claiming to sell online casino no deposit bonus codes is either delusional, a con artist, or both. If you pay for such a list, you’ll probably gain access to some actual promos, but so would hundreds or thousands of other players. Moreover, those codes are often expired or for insignificant offers that aren’t worth your time.
Even if you somehow got your hands on a list of valid no deposit bonus codes for US casinos online, it wouldn’t be worth the trouble. After paying for the list, you’d still need to join numerous online casinos and claim multiple bonuses to make it financially viable. Instead of wasting your time and cash, I’ll show you how to get free casino money without jumping through hoops.
free online poker game2 Better Ways to Get Free Casino Money & Chips Online
Instead of buying lists of dubious value, consider the following proven ways to acquire free chips and casino cash.
1. Signing Up to Online Casinos
The most obvious and effective means of obtaining free casino money is joining online gambling sites. It isn’t common for to offer no deposit bonuses, but when they do, it is a great opportunity for new players to win real money without risking anything.
You can think of no deposit sign up bonuses as a digital business card that online casinos extend to potential customers. It costs the casino very little to credit new accounts with $10 to $30 worth of free chips, and if you like the site, they’ll hopefully receive a sizeable influx of cash when you make your first deposit.
There are even a few that go above and beyond by crediting new players with several hundred dollars in free casino cash. Although you’ll need to jump through some hoops to clear the bonus, it is far superior to starting your online gambling journey with nothing but a depleted bankroll.
If you’d like to learn more about this subject, I wholeheartedly recommend reading our guide on . Another helpful resource is our constantly updated list of the .
2. Loyalty Rewards & VIP Programs
Another effective method of earning free casino chips is climbing the VIP ladder. All serious online gambling operators feature loyalty rewards, and the best schemes dispense tens of thousands of dollars worth of no deposit bonuses every month.
The only catch is that you need to wager thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars at the online casino to qualify for the upper echelons of the VIP program. But if you enjoy playing slots and table games, you’ll likely earn enough points to redeem no deposit bonuses on a regular basis.
As a final point on this matter, I want to dispel a common misconception. You don’t have to lose $100 to win a $10 no deposit slot jackpot and earn a net profit of $90. All slot wins are paid in site credit, so you’ll need to issue a withdrawal order to take your cash out of the online casino. In other words, if you want to win money online, you must jump off the escalator and remove your winnings from the casino.
Now that you know how to obtain free casino chips using proven methods, it is time to discuss the finer points of no deposit bonus codes and why they rarely live up to the hype.
Understanding the Catches Attached to Casino No Deposit Codes
All online casino promotions come with terms and conditions, and no deposit bonuses are no exception to this rule. Any website purporting otherwise should be avoided because they’re either ignorant of the facts or trying to pull the wool over your eyes. With that said, let’s look at some typical terms and conditions attached to no deposit sign up bonuses.
Wagering Requirements
Wagering requirements are also known as playthrough or rollover, and it represents the number of times you must gamble the total of your no deposit bonus before it becomes eligible for withdrawal. This condition exists to prevent people from joining an online casino, winning $30 on slot machines, and withdrawing $30.
For example, let’s say that you claim a $30 no deposit bonus with a 60x wagering requirement. That that means you must place bets totaling $1800 before you can cash out a cent. If you play slots, the wagering contribution might be 100%, which means that any bets you place on those games count towards clearing the requirement.
It gets tricky when you play table games because blackjack, baccarat, craps, and low house edge games usually carry a lower wagering contribution. It isn’t uncommon for these games to only count as 20% wagering, which means that a $10 blackjack bet only fulfills $2 of the 60x waggering requirement. American roulette often carries a higher table game contribution of 40%, while video poker and casino poker games rarely count towards the playthrough.
west virginia casinos locationsOf course, not all wagering requirements are set at 60x. Some no deposit bonuses have larger rollovers of 80x, while others are surprisingly low at 10x or 20x. As a general rule of thumb, I wouldn’t accept a promotion unless the wagering requirement is 30x or less.
Expiration Dates
No deposit bonuses usually expire after a certain period, which could be anywhere from a couple of days to several months. If you fail to clear the requirement before the promo expires, you lose everything. This includes any winnings and the initial no deposit bonus. Therefore, there is no guarantee that you’ll end up with free casino cash; you could end up with nothing.
Game Weighting
In addition to varying wagering contributions, different online casino games contribute differently to clearing the wagering requirement. Each game has a monetary value (known as weight), and the contributions vary from title to title - and sometimes even between titles by the same developer/game.
For example, a $1 bet on a slot game that weighs 100% will contribute $1 toward meeting the playthrough requirement. However, a $1 wager on a game that only weighs 50% will only count as $0.50 toward clearing the requirement.
In addition to variations between games based on their volatility (risk level), individual titles can even vary in weight when playing the same game. For instance, Quick Hit J Payday and Quick Hit Platinum both by Bally’s have different weights at some casinos. The former tends to weigh in at 100% while the latter typically comes in at around 20%. This is just one example, but I bring it up because I have seen many bonus hunters focus almost exclusively on Playtime Payday to try to meet playthrough. However, once that game stops being so favorable, they are left scratching their heads wondering what happened.
The importance of reading the fine print cannot be overstated. Every single promotion at every single online casino carries these sorts of nuances and variations. No two promotions are alike and even promos for the same amount at the same casino can differ greatly depending on the game you choose to play.
I recommend looking at each promotion as a unique event and read the terms and conditions carefully to understand exactly how much that particular bonus is worth under the specific circumstances of that promotion at that casino. Only by considering these details can you hope to accurately evaluate whether a particular bonus is worthy of your time.
Bet Maximums
To prevent people from claiming a no deposit bonus and immediately placing a $3, 000 bet and winning a $6,000 jackpot, online casinos cap the amount you can wager per hand/spin/fold/etc. During the promotion.
online casino top 5Any winnings greater than the maximum bet amount would not be eligible for withdrawal. Imagine claiming a $30 no deposit bonus and hitting a $7,000 jackpot on a table game with a $5 maximum bet multiplier. Since your winning bet was greater than five times your account balance, the casino would only approve a withdrawal for $300 ($30 no deposit bonus + $270 of wagered funds).
The maximum bet multiplier can cause problems for bonus hunters because you need to assess the optimal spin size to clear your wagering requirement efficiently. If your slot play is worth $25 per spin and you need to wager $10,000 to clear the requirement, it will take 400 spins.
However, if the max bet multiplier is set at two, then you’d only be able to place 200 $25 bets, and your total wager would also be $5000. This scenario means it would take twice as long to clear the requirement without maximizing your spin, but you’ve only used half of your bankroll. Now would be a good time to play smaller and stretch out the playing time, but you might not be cut out for such selflessness.
��lined Roulette 2023 -- Play Roulette Games Online at Top-Rated CasinosOne last thing to keep in mind with max bet multipliers is that they differ between games. Slot players usually have the lowest multipliers, set around 10% to 20%, whereas table game players typically have it much worse, ranging anywhere from 25% to 100%+. I once saw a no deposit bonus at a major casino where the max bet multiplier on video poker was 5%, meaning you were only allowed to play for 5c/Hand. Needless to say, it bore no attraction for anyone targeting the playthrough.
Games Contribution
We briefly touched on this topic earlier, but it bears repeating: not all games contribute equally toward clearing wagering requirements. This fact opens the door to savvy bonus hunters using volatile slot machines to clear requirements quickly.
Slots are the greatest games for this purpose because they have a 100% table game contribution, while RNG table games usually range between 20% to 40%. Video Poker, meanwhile, is the bane of the bonus hunter’s existence, with contributions ranging from 5%-20% at most online casinos. I know folks who target playthrough at places with low VP weights, but that kind of specialized knowledge and experience takes years to develop.
Games Restrictions
Live dealer games, such as Live Roulette, Live Blackjack, and Live Baccarat, are usually off-limits when using no deposit bonus codes or any other type of casino bonus. Even when you can play live dealer games with a bonus, they barely contribute toward clearing the wagering requirement, and the max bet multiplier is extremely high.
Eligibility
Not everyone can claim no deposit casino bonuses. Some promotions are only available to new players, while others are restricted to residents of certain states. Additionally, players from certain countries aren’t permitted to join online casinos or claim sign-up bonuses.
Furthermore, some promotions cannot be used in conjunction with other offers, and you may be prohibited from claiming further bonuses once you’ve joined the site. Finally, suppose you win a significant amount using a no deposit bonus. In that case, the online casino might request a ton of personal information to verify the validity of your account, address, and payment methods before processing your withdrawal request.
Some people refer to this procedure as a “red flag,” but it is simply standard due diligence on the part of the casino. If you’re playing with your own money, it can be frustrating to wait for the verification process to complete, but at least you know your hard-earned cash is safe. However, when you’re playing with free casino chips, it can seem like an unnecessary delaying tactic.
Withdrawal Limits
Most no deposit bonuses come with a maximum withdrawal limit. This could be in the form of a cap on winnings from the bonus alone or the entire account balance, including your deposit (in the case of match bonuses). Regardless, you need to check the T&C to see if your winnings are subject to any withdrawal limits because it affects how valuable the promotion really is.
Are Casino No Deposit Bonus Codes Worth It?
At this point, it should be apparent that online casino no deposit bonus codes are not a reliable way to earn free casino money and chips. Anyone selling lists of promos is engaging in deceptive practices because they know most codes are expired or available to hundreds or thousands of other players.
Moreover, the fine print attached to these bonuses usually makes them far less generous than they initially appear. If you speak to anyone with experience hunting online casino bonuses, you’ll discover that it frequently takes $80+ of play to clear a $30 no deposit bonus, thanks to steep wagering requirements, max bet multipliers, game weightings, and other catches.
In summary, the best ways to acquire free casino money and chips are signing up for real money online casinos and climbing the loyalty reward tiers at serious gaming sites. If you’re interested in taking advantage of the second method, I recommend checking out this page about casino VIP programs. I also invite you to read our guide to the overall best online casino bonuses if you haven’t yet signed up to a top gaming site.
Adam is a sports tipster, sportswriter, and dedicated sports bettor who holds an MA in Sports Journalism. He has contributed to a variety of national publications including Fox Sports, Coach Magazine, Bridge Squad, and the Sportsman. But his proudest accomplishment is winning his university's betting tournament in his final year.
