What Are Welcome Offers, Precisely?

In Greece, the country with such a rich history and vibrant culture, online gambling has grown enormously in the last few years. One of the greatest attractions to invite new players is the casino welcome bonus, often also referred to as registration offers or first deposit offers — in short, the same. Welcome bonuses are the first award you receive when you open an account with an online casino. For the most part, they are an "incentive" for online casinos to continue bringing in new players. Keep in mind that competition is fierce within the industry, and even in Greece, where legalized casinos and online gaming sites are partially limited compared to abroad, competition is still fierce.

So, what exactly are welcome offers? This particular bonus is activated once a player deposits for the first time and registers on an online casino or betting platform. Upon depositing the initial amount, which is credited to their account, the player is also given an additional amount corresponding to the deposit amount at the same instance, which is added to their balance. The player has the choice of utilizing both the funds deposited into their account for wagers on sportsbook, casino, poker, or for that matter any kind of gambling game played on the chosen site. But life is not so simple, and there are some conditions and terms. We will refer to these later in more detail.

Standard Types of Welcome Offers

In most standard use, welcome bonuses translate into a proportionate cash bonus based on the player's first deposit. As an example, a 100% welcome bonus of up to €200 indicates that if you deposit as much as €200, you get an extra amount equal in value to the deposit as part of the offer. Thus, if you put in €150, you will get an extra €150 to bet with a balance of €300 in your betting account. In case you deposit €300 to begin with, you will get €200 because you have passed the offer level. 

You will be betting with a balance of €500 in your account. Take another typical example. In this second case, there is one player who receives a 50% welcome bonus of €100. If they deposit €100, they would receive an additional €50 — half of the deposit — to wager with €150 in their account. Similarly, if they deposit €200, they would receive only €50 from the promotion since they are outside the €100 deposit limit of the promotion. Thus, in practice, they currently will be gaming on a balance of €250 in their account.

In Greece's expanding internet gambling market, acquaintance with these promotions and the optimal means of exploiting them is valuable for gamers who wish to maximize early investments.

Terms and Conditions Applied to Welcome Promotions

Welcome offers currently include standard terms and conditions that must be met prior to the player being able to claim winnings. This is obviously reasonable. Imagine this: you put in €100, the internet casino topping it up with another €100 as a result of the promotion, and you withdraw €200 straight away. It would essentially be as if the casino had handed you free money. If you were to do the same on all legal online casinos and Greek betting websites, you can quite easily make one or two salaries in minutes. But it's not quite that easy.

There are some conditions, which are simple to meet at times, not so simple others. It is wholly dependent upon the terms and conditions of the betting website or casino that you play on. It is a requirement every time, prior to accepting any offer of any kind, to look through the terms and conditions on the site. It's all there, so you know exactly what you need to do and how much effort or time it will take.

Typically, a wagering requirement is on the deposited sum and/or the bonus amount acquired from the welcome package. That means you have to place bets a number of times before it can be withdrawn. Also, keep in mind that a time limit, say one or two months, is usually provided to fulfill these requirements. If you do not qualify during this time, after the offer has expired, your earned bonus amount simply gets deducted from your account. Your deposited funds by you are still there, though.

Below is an example to show you this in a practical context. A €100 100% deposit bonus has to be wagered the deposit plus bonus six times within two months before the deal "unlocks." If you deposit €100, you receive another €100 to gamble with a balance of €200 in your account. You will be required to make bets worth €200 x 6 = €1,200 in two months. This amount may look large at first glance, but it is not that bad.

The majority of games within a casino will reimburse most of the players' stakes in the long term. And with regular sports betting and not a ridiculous success rate (average is fine), you can simply meet this requirement within two months with around €20 average daily wagering, one or more wagers.

Is It Always Worth Taking the Welcome Offer?

Welcome bonuses come with conditions to fulfill before withdrawing can be done. This is reasonable and prevents people from taking advantage. On the other hand, you do not need to stress about completing all the terms at the last minute. Simply play normally just as you would with your own cash. Once the promotion is over, any other money made from the bonus will be withdrawn from your account, but you do not lose your own cash.