Deposit Match Bonuses at UK Casino Sites – The Complete Guide

What Is a Deposit Match Bonus?

A deposit match bonus is a bonus that gives you bonus cash, when you make a deposit. They typically come with a percentage match, as well as a minimum qualifying deposit and maximum match amount. For example a 100% up to £100 bonus when you deposit at least £20.

This example has a 100% match (double your money), a £100 maximum limit, and a £20 minimum qualifying deposit.

Sometimes you’ll see a ‘deposit x play with x’ bonus, for example deposit £10 play with £50. This is still a deposit match bonus, you just need to work out the percentage yourself. For this example, it’s a 500% match, not bad.

Why do Casinos Offer Deposit Match Bonuses?

Casinos offer deposit match bonuses for two main reasons:

• To attract new players
• To keep existing ones

A great welcome bonus deposit match can help a new casino to stand out from the crowd and draw in new players. A deposit match bonus for existing players – often called a reload bonus – helps to reward customers for staying loyal. It’s a win for everyone.

Different Types of Deposit Bonus

Deposit match bonuses are only one kind of deposit bonus. Any casino bonus where you make a deposit can be called a deposit match bonus, but only the ones where you deposit cash and receive bonus cash are deposit match bonuses. Below are several other types of deposit bonus.

Deposit free spins: If you make a deposit, you get free spins to play with.
Deposit cashback: If you make a deposit, you get a percentage back as cashback.

How Deposit Match Bonuses Work

Now that you know what a deposit match bonus is, it’s time to look at how they work. After all, understanding bonuses is the best possible way to make the best use of them! Let’s take a look at a step by step to guide you through the process of choosing and claiming a deposit match bonus, right through to withdrawing your winnings.

1. Find the deposit match bonus you want to claim. Our page on the best casino bonuses is a great place to start, as we’ve checked them all out and rate them.
2. Look at the value of the bonus compared to the terms. Does it have a fair wagering requirement, what percentage is the match, can you use it on the games you want to play?
3. If you’re happy with the bonus value and its terms, then usually you’ll need to sign up to claim it. Click on the register button at the casino and then fill in your details.
4. For all deposit match bonuses, you need to make a deposit to claim them – the clue is in the name! But for some, you also need to manually opt in or use a promo code. Be sure that you do this if necessary, as otherwise the bonus will not be granted.
5. After entering your code, or opting in, make at least the minimum qualifying deposit.
6. As soon as your deposit clears, your bonus will appear in your account ready to use (usually instantly).
7. Use your bonus to play eligible games, keeping in mind the wagering requirement. You’ll need to complete it before the expiry date.
8. Once you’ve completed the wagering, you can make a withdrawal request for your winnings.
9. Depending on the casino you’ve chosen, your winnings will arrive in anywhere from a few minutes, to a few days.

Key Terms to Watch Out For

You may have noticed mention of wagering requirements, minimum deposits, and expiry dates, in that step-by-step guide. But, what does it all mean? Below are some of the key terms that you’ll often find attached to deposit match bonuses.

Tip: Terms and conditions are nothing to be scared of, but they do make a big difference to the value of the bonus. Knowing what the terms mean and what constitutes fair terms is the best way to make sure you only claim bonuses that are worth claiming.

• Wagering requirement: This term arguably has the biggest impact on the value of a bonus. It refers to how many times you need to wager the bonus amount before you can withdraw your winnings. This one is one of the most variable and most complex to understand – so we have a dedicated explainer about it below.
• Eligible games: Some bonuses can only be used on certain games, while others have certain games that are excluded. Often particularly high RTP slots and live casino games are excluded.
• Wagering contributions: Not all games contribute equally to wagering requirements at the majority of online casinos. Usually slots contribute 100%, while table games contribute somewhere between 10 and 50% and live casino games might not contribute at all.
• Maximum bet size while using bonus funds: Most deposit match bonuses have a maximum bet that you can make while using bonus funds (it’s often around £5).
• Bonus expiry times: All bonuses come with an expiry date. This isn’t just the time you have to use the bonus by, it’s also the time by which you’ll need to have completed the wagering requirement. For a deposit match bonus, 30 days is a good number to aim for.
• Withdrawal restrictions: Most bonuses have withdrawal restrictions, also known as maximum wins, or win caps. This is the maximum amount that you can win from the bonus, either expressed as a cash value or as a multiple of the bonus amount.

Wagering Requirements Explained

Wagering requirements are one of the most important bonus terms to understand. They can massively impact the value of a bonus, that’s why so many UK players look specifically for free spins no wagering offers.

How Wagering Requirements Work: An Example

A wagering requirement is expressed as how many times you need to wager the bonus amount before you can withdraw your winnings. Let’s look at an example of a typical wagering requirement:

Get a 100% deposit match bonus up to £150 when you sign up and deposit at least £10. 35x wagering, 30 day expiry.

Let’s imagine you take the full bonus amount of £150. The sum you need to do is:

35 (wagering requirement) x 150 (bonus amount) = 5250 (amount you need to wager)

That means that you need to wager £5,250 within 30 days of claiming this bonus, so that you can withdraw your winnings.

Different Types of Wagering Requirement

The wagering requirement that we worked out above is pretty standard, it’s applied to the bonus amount only and it sits at 35x. Generally anything under 40x is considered good and anything under 30x is exceptional.

However, we’ve noticed that some sites have started to apply wagering requirements not just to the bonus amount, but to the deposit amount too. This is how that affects the value of that bonus. Let’s take the same example as above:

Get a 100% deposit match bonus up to £150 when you sign up and deposit at least £10. 35x wagering on deposit and bonus, 30 day expiry.

That term in bold is important. Now, the sum you need to do changes:

150 (deposit amount) + 150 (bonus amount) = 300
300 (deposit + bonus) x 35 (wagering) = £10,500

On 100% deposit match bonuses, this doubles the wagering requirement. But for matches of more than 100% it’s even worse. Let’s take a look at a different example:

Get a 200% deposit match bonus up to £300 when you sign up and deposit at least £10. 35x wagering on deposit and bonus, 30 day expiry.

150 (deposit) + 300 (bonus) = 450
450 (deposit + bonus) x 35 (wagering) = £15,750

In short, looking out for the deposit + bonus term is really important, as it dramatically affects how much you need to wager.

How Game Contributions Affect Wagering Requirements

The only term besides the expiry date and the deposit + bonus term that affects wagering requirements, is game contributions. This is the percentage that a bet on a game contributes towards wagering. That sounds confusing, but it’s easy to work out. Let’s take the first example again:

Get a 100% deposit match bonus up to £150 when you sign up and deposit at least £10. Slots count 100%, table games count 20%, live casino games count 0%.

We know that slots count 100% towards wagering, that means the figure we worked out earlier of £5,250 is all you need to wager if you’re going to play exclusively slots.

However, table games only count 20%, let’s imagine you’re a keen blackjack player. To work out your new wagering amount you need to find out what 20% is as a fraction. To do this you need to do the following:

Take 20 (percent contribution) / 100. Divide both by their highest common denominator (the biggest number you can divide them both by). In this case, it’s 20, so 20/20 = 1 and 100/20 = 5 so 20% = ⅕

Tip: If you’re finding this tricky – just Google it!

Once you’ve got your fraction, you need to take the denominator (the number at the bottom) and multiply that by the total wagering requirement like so:

5 (denominator) x 5250 (total wagering requirement) = £26,250

That makes playing blackjack a whole lot more expensive than slots – and if a game counts 0% then it doesn’t matter what you wager on it none of that will count towards the wagering requirement.

UKGC Regulations and Player Safety

Now that you know all about wagering requirements, you might be panicking that there’s just no value to be found in deposit match bonuses. That’s not the case! With the UKGC on your side, there are some rules in place to make sure the bonus terms can’t be too difficult to fulfil – and these rules are only getting stricter.

As part of their UKGC licence casinos must:

• Advertise bonus terms transparently: That means they have to be right below/next to the bonus, in clear writing, that every player can understand.
• Have fair Terms & Conditions: Fair is sadly, still up for debate, but this means you won’t see wagering clauses like the enormous ones at offshore casinos.
• Recent changes: There’s been a proposal for a 10x wagering cap but this has not yet been implemented. If it does, then your bonus terms might become a whole lot easier to fulfil!

Different Types of Deposit Match Bonuses

There are a few different types of deposit match bonus that we should look at in a little more detail.

Package deals: Usually a welcome package, these give you a classic deposit match bonus, sometimes with additional free spins, for your first few deposits. At some casinos its 2, at some it’s 3, 4, or even 5.

Hybrid offers: This is a classic welcome bonus, a combination of a deposit match and free spins. Perfect if you love slots! Do look out for wagering requirements as typically they’re different for the deposit match part and the free spins part of the bonus.

High-roller / VIP match: If you spend a good deal of money at the casino then you’re sometimes offered a deposit match bonus for a greater amount of money (e.g., 50% up to £1,000).

Reload bonuses: Reload bonuses are a type of deposit match bonus is well worth looking out for, as it applies when you ‘reload’ your account, not just deposit for the first time. The percentage match is often smaller, but not always!

Strategies for Making the Most of a Deposit Match Bonus

A deposit match bonus can be a great initial boost to your bankroll, but learning how to use one means you can get a better return on your bonus funds. Below are some quick tips:

• Picking the right games for fast wagering: If a game only contributes 10 or 20% to wagering, consider skipping it out until your wagering is complete.
• Balancing high RTP slots with variance: While some high RTP slots might not be available for use with a deposit match bonus – some are! This can be a great way to get some of the hefty wagering out of the way.
• Managing bankroll alongside bonus funds: You might have to top up your account to complete the wagering, but remembering bankroll management techniques (like only wager 1-2% of your bankroll per spin) can help.
• When it’s better to skip a bonus altogether: If you don’t like the look of a wagering requirement, then there’s no shame in skipping out on claiming!
• Timing reload offers to your play style: Reload bonuses can be a great asset, but they often come at weekends or specific days only. Time your deposits to take advantage of them.

Responsible Gambling and Bonuses

Claiming a deposit match bonus can be a fun way to give your bankroll a boost, but bonuses can encourage you to play for longer, or wager more, than you normally would. Below are some good rules of thumb to keep in mind to make sure you only gamble responsibly with a deposit match bonus.

• Set a deposit limit before claiming.
• Set time reminders.
• Know when to walk away.
• Reach out to casino support, or a gambling help organisation if you feel like you need help.