Depending on the casino, the types of bonus credit differ extremely, especially when making a deposit. Non-sticky bonus casinos are considered a better option by most players. But is that also generally true? And what are the differences between the individual bonus types?
In addition to the term non-sticky bonus, there is also the so-called phantom bonus. Today we’re going to shed a little light on the bonus jungle and clarify the most common questions.
What is a Sticky Bonus?
Generally speaking, a “sticky” bonus is used to describe casino credit that you can place but not withdraw. In English, sticky means nothing more than to stick or stick. The bonus stays in your account until you have gambled it away or cashed it out.
The Phantom Bonus – The classic sticky bonus
A few years ago this bonus could be found in many online casinos. Especially the providers who only had slots from Playtech or Microgaming in their program were apparently big fans.
The concept is simple and can best be described using the example of the now-closed Vegas casino. There you got a 100% Phantom Bonus on your first deposit. Let’s say you’ve deposited € 100. The credit is instant, which is why you have both a € 100 credit and a € 100 sticky bonus in your account. You first place your bets with your real money. You can withdraw at any time. The bonus would then simply be forfeited.
As soon as you have gambled away your credit, you gamble with the phantom bonus. You cannot pay out this yourself, but you can pay anything that is above the original bonus amount.
Let’s stay with the example of a € 100 bonus and assume that after you gambled away € 50 you suddenly win € 250. Your credit is now at € 300. Of this, you can immediately withdraw the € 200 without any bonus conditions. The Phantom Sticky Bonus, on the other hand, expires with the payout.
Mathematically, this bonus is the most expensive for the online casino for customers who play strategically. And rumor has it that those bonus costs are also the reason why the VegasCasino had to close.
And what is a Non-Sticky Bonus?
In some cases, it would be even better if you could not just play with the bonus but cash it out directly, right? At least that is how most players think these days. But consumer protection in some regulated gaming markets also viewed the sticky bonus critically as a customer deception. Because if a casino promises bonus credit, then the customer must have the chance to be able to withdraw it.
Anything else would be a bit of unfair competition.
Classic non-sticky bonus
You deposit into the casino and get your non-sticky deposit bonus. To unlock this free credit, you have to wager it several times – usually between 35 and 50 times.
You cannot withdraw the bonus until the bonus conditions have been met. However, you can completely dispose of your real money. However, in the event of a withdrawal, your bonus balance would then be removed from your account. This also applies to winnings that result directly from this no sticky bonus.
Nevertheless, this bonus rule is fairer for most players, as you can cash out at any time and still have a more or less realistic chance of implementing the bonus. We have summarized good providers with such a non-sticky casino bonus in this overview:
The bonus is credited in real money or at intervals
That is why an increasing number of online casinos are now offering a more customer-friendly bonus.
Video Slots
As one of the first major casinos, this provider offered a fairly fair kind of non-sticky bonus. You always get the credit at intervals – in real money. For example, if you receive a € 100 bonus at VideoSlots (for review), it will not be in your account immediately. Only when you have achieved 10% of the required turnover, there is 10% of the bonus. This is credited in real money. It is no longer possible to violate bonus conditions. And you can withdraw your money in full at any time. On the negative side, however, we have to mention that this non-sticky casino has a 2 percent lower payout ratio for some slots.
Understand the bonus terms
The fact that we are having this discussion at all is a pond for the emancipation of the players. Just asking whether a bonus is sticky or not would have created more than a little confusion just a few years ago. This development shows that players now attach great importance to the bonus conditions in the small print when it comes to bonuses in online casinos.
This, in turn, puts the providers under pressure and induces them to:
To make the bonus conditions transparent and to display them in a prominent place
To make the bonus conditions fair.
This competitive pressure can only have a positive effect on us players. At CasinoFM, we take our role as an expert portal very seriously in this regard and understand it as part of this information process.
Conclusion: which bonus type is better?
Which offer you should choose depends primarily on your style of play. Casinos like LeoVegas and VideoSlots are the best choice for those who want to withdraw at any time. Because all too often, gambling is also a matter of gut instinct. I myself stopped playing several times after a short time because I just had this strange gut feeling. Maybe you know that. Then it would definitely be appropriate to have full control.
However, if you are sure that you will play through the bonus – or lose everything, we have summarized the best casinos with a 200% bonus in a separate article. It was important to us to only list non-sticky bonus casinos that have fair bonus conditions and the lowest possible turnover.
Of course, we look forward to your experience with the Non-Sticky Online Casino Bonus. How is your personal feedback?
