ETH Casino Bonus

Welcome bonuses at crypto casinos are very common and after bitcoin- and tether bonuses (arguably also an Ethereum bonus - we use ether (ETH) and Ethereum interchangeably here), Ethereum bonuses are the most valuable and readily available. This tells us that ETH is highly desired by crypto casinos. They want your ETH! And are willing to give you more ETH in return of you trying out their casino product. There is of course a catch.

All bonuses are ways to get us to start playing or play more. For welcome bonuses it is the former. Ethereum bonuses are never free ETH, although advertised as such. They can still be of value but do not expect to get something for nothing.

Let us go through how Ethereum casino welcome bonuses work, what different components they have, and how to use them to your advantage.

Types of Ethereum Casino Welcome Bonuses

A “welcome bonus” is simply the name of a bonus that is given to welcome and attract new players to a crypto casino. It does not by itself imply anything of its contents, although within the context of Ethereum we expect it to either;

1. Activate by us parting with some ETH, or
2. Reward us with some ETH.

For the first point we get a natural transition to introduce the first two main types of Ethereum casino bonuses: The Deposit- and No Deposit Ethereum Casino Bonus. They are self-explanatory. The first requires a deposit and is in turn also one that come with a bigger reward.

The No Deposit Bonus in the context of welcome bonuses is mainly a sign-up bonus: In return of your email addy (or other personal info) you will get (small) reward, in the hopes of converting you to a depositing customer in the future – usually drawing you in with an attractive deposit bonus.

Uniqueness of Ethereum Welcome Casino Bonuses

Welcome casino bonuses are unique in that they come in packages, often spanning our first three, and sometimes even more deposits to the crypto casino. Compared to Ethereum bonuses that become available after the welcome bonus is used up, even the separate parts of welcome packages are magnitudes bigger.

Many gamblers therefore pack up once they consumed the welcome package and move on to another Ethereum casino welcome bonus. For this reason, Ethereum casinos often structure their welcome casino bonuses in a way that starts off with a big reward on the first deposit, followed by a smaller one for the next one (or two), and finish with a banger. This way the casino gets at least one deposit somewhat cheap.

In the list above we do not list the full packages but focus on the first deposit bonus. It is a better way to compare Ethereum bonuses and what is relevant here and now. In our main list of crypto casino welcome bonuses you can compare full packages.

1. ETH casino bonuses are widely available. This, combined with that ether is easy to get our hands on – both from exchanges and through crypto casino’s onramp solutions - means that they are accessible to most.
2. After BTC, and about tied with USDT casino bonuses, they are also the most generous. It is easy to find Ethereum casinos offering up to 20 ETH on our first deposit! Even if many ETH casino bonuses have a high upper limit, their lower deposit requirement is rarely higher than 0.01 ETH. This makes them some of the most flexible crypto bonuses around.
3. Compared to bonuses denominated in other tokens on Ethereum (mainly USDT, USDC and DAI), it is much more convenient that ETH casino bonuses do not require another token. This is a weak selling-point compared to other L1s, but it is nevertheless a good thing as we can avoid swap fees (which can be rather high on the Ethereum main net).

The Bear Case for ETH Casino Bonuses

1. Volatility is something most crypto enthusiasts are used to, but combined with a wagering requirement that locks up our ETH until fulfilled, it can become frustrating as many crypto casinos denominate games that counts towards the wagering in fiat; Yesterday we were spending 0.001 ETH per game round, and today we have to spend 0.0015 to wager the same amount. Thankfully it is rarely this extreme, but the issue remains.
2. Wagering requirements will be the main drawback in any discussion about crypto casino bonuses, and ETH casino bonuses are no exception. Make sure you know what you get yourself into; how many times do you have to wager the bonus, and how much time do you have to achieve this?
3. Although we made a case above for ETH casino bonuses having low minimum deposit requirements, those can be rendered meaningless when GAS fees are high. This is less and less an issue since Polygon, Arbitrum and other L2s have taken some load off the Ethereum network, but is worth taking into account if you have a small budget.

The best Ethereum casino bonuses are those that match your deposit. They are sloppily referred to as deposit bonuses, but a matched deposit bonus is a better description for the best type of Ethereum bonuses. They are expressed as percentages up to a limit. Let us demonstrate with an example.

100% up to 10 ETH means that any deposit up to 10 ETH will be fully matched by the casino and credited as a bonus amount. Maxing it out would give you 20 ETH to play with. Depositing 20 ETH would leave you with 30 ETH, as you would hit the limit.

The great thing about ETH deposit bonuses is that they are very flexible. Even though there always is a minimum required deposit to qualify for matched deposit bonuses, it is rarely higher than 0.02 ETH - which in our example make it suitable for players with a budget from the minimum required, all the way up to 10 ETH. In other words, the matched deposit bonus is dynamic and caters to a wide range of players without extra administrative burden for the casino.

The Best Ethereum Casino Bonus for your Budget

Deciding which Ethereum casino bonus is best for you will depend on two things: your budget and your risk level. These two are directly related to components of Ethereum casino bonuses.

Your budget should influence what type of max value to look for. With a smaller budget you should also keep an eye out for higher match percentages as they have better torque, giving you more for less.

Risk level is connected to the wagering requirement. Here it is not always as straightforward as just looking at the number, although if all things are equal, lower is better. The wagering requirement will in many cases lock your funds which means that taking on a hard to beat wagering requirement implies high risk of losing your deposit and bonus ETH. See our in-depth explanation of wagering requirements on our main crypto casino bonus page for what to look out for.

• If you have a gambling budget below 0.5 ETH, look for bonuses that include some free spins.
• If you have a gambling budget up to 5 ETH, you are in a sweet spot and can pretty much go for anything in our list of Ethereum bonuses.
• If you have a gambling budget over 5 ETH, look for a cashback casino bonus – they are great to mitigate risk and does not lock up your big bankroll in the same way a matched deposit bonus does.

Above we covered the basics on how matched deposit Ethereum bonuses work. But there are two delineations and approaches to further complicate things. These concepts describe how a bonus is credited, how it can be used, and most importantly how or if it can be made available for withdrawal. Let’s jump in!

No-Sticky Ethereum Casino Bonus

This is the most common ETH bonus. No-Sticky tells us that it can be turned into withdrawable ether. This is done by fulfilling a rollover requirement (more on that below).

A No-Sticky bonus will be credited to our main account, or bonus account depending on the casino. In most cases our deposited amount will be used first. When we fulfil the wagering requirement the bonus ETH will be ours, available for immediate withdrawal. If we initiate a withdrawal before fulfilling the wagering requirement, we will forfeit the bonus.

An important point in the terms and conditions of No-Sticky bonuses to look out for is if wagering only counts when we start using the bonus amount. If that is the case, the difficulty to wager the bonus increases significantly.

Sticky Ethereum Casino Bonus

An easy way to think of this bonus is that it is stuck at the bottom of your account. It can never be turned into withdrawable ether. Often a Sticky Ethereum bonus will be marketed as a bonus without wagering requirements, which is technically true, but also kind of irrelevant in the context.

So, what is the point of a Sticky bonus, and how do I make use of them in a good way? A Sticky bonus is still a pretty nice thing. It will work as a cushion:. When you run out of your deposited ETH you will start using your bonus funds, and a win will be credited as withdrawable ETH. That ETH will now be prioritized until depleted.

Sticky ETH Casino Bonus Example

Say we have 0.5 ETH stuck at the bottom of our account and we have lost our initial deposit. In other words, there is nothing left to withdraw. All we can do is play, so that is what we do.

• We wager 0.005 ETH on a slot and hit a 100x win! We now have 0.0495 ETH stuck at the bottom our account, and 0.5 ETH on our main account.
• We can now withdraw that 0.05 ETH and forfeit the 0.0495 stuck at the bottom of the account. Or keep playing until we win even more, or run out again and start using the 0.0495 bonus ETH...

“Free spins” is a bonus type that credits our account with a number of free rounds in a selected online slot game. Rarely are free spins denominated in ETH but they are often rewarded in conjunction with a matched EHT deposit bonus. If free spins happen to be denominated in fiat or USDT the winnings from the free rounds will come in ETH.

Some details worth knowing of Ethereum free spins bonuses are:

• Wagering requirements are applied to winnings rather than the total value of the spins.
• Free spins are less flexible than other ETH bonuses, as they are tied to a specific game and to a (often low) bet level.

To make it possible to compare casino free spins we have set up a dedicated page on the subject. There we have listed all free spins bonuses in USDT to make them comparable, but most (if not all) can be claimed by an ETH deposit of equal value. Or you can make it easy on yourself and swap some of your main-net ETH into USDT. That way you can easily separate your gambling- and hodl stacks.

Giving away ETH in return of us giving up our personal information, as in the case of most no deposit welcome bonuses is unheard of. It is more common that free spins are awarded and if your account is denominated in ETH, winnings from the free game rounds will ultimately land as such.

The above also holds true for most other no deposit Ethereum casino bonuses. In general it is uncommon to get straight up rewarded with primary cryptos like ETH. In addition to free spins you will likely get player points or other tokens that can be exchanged for ETH.

The no deposit bonus category is extremely broad: anything but making a deposit. But it will in most cases be connected to you turning over ETH in the casino, which in turn implies that we have done at least one previous deposit. If we do not let that disqualify us to call it a “no deposit bonus” the following are popular and the best no deposit Ethereum bonus types:

• Turn-over based ETH bonuses. Reach milestones of total wagers and get rewarded for it. This is the foundation of most Ethereum casino VIP programs.
• Ethereum cashback bonuses give you a percentage back of your losses. You have 10% cashback and lose 10 ETH. The Ethereum casino will credit your account with 1 ETH.
• Ethereum rakeback bonuses give you a percentage back of the house edge. Say you play a slot with 96% RTP, the house edge will be 4%. Say you bet 100 ETH over a period and have a rakeback rate of 5%. We would get 5% back from the 4% (0.4 ETH). This is paid out no matter if you win or lose.

Finally, we also have gifts. These seemingly out of the blue bonuses are a way to pull players back in. Do not be surprised if you get an email stating that “We miss you! So much that we have credited your account with 50 free spins.” The crypto casino figures that once we use up the gift we will stay and maybe even make a deposit. These are rarely worth much but can offer some cheap fun.