To say that today’s online casinos have come a long way is like saying the sky is blue. While the iGaming sector has been around since the 1990s, it hasn’t enjoyed this much attention and notoriety lately. Thanks to massive technological leaps and broadband Internet, the American online casino scene is worth tens of billions. But how do these sites continue to draw legions of new members and increase profits? The answer lies with no-deposit bonuses. Of all the casino promotions, the no-deposit bonus is the one that’s highly coveted.
No-Deposit Bonuses for Acquiring New Members
No matter how impressive an online casino’s gaming library is or how many rave reviews it has, joining and partaking in one is a financial investment. Usually, the standard new member bonus is a deposit match bonus, 100% up to $1,000. Or, with some traditional online casinos, second-chance credits to help refund losses. Either way, members must make a deposit, which always leaves the chance of losing it all.
However, the elite sites offer the no-deposit. Without making a deposit, new members who create accounts get a free chip to play most of the casino games and win real money doing so. Taking the no-deposit bonus to the next level, all online sweepstakes casinos have a no-deposit to attract new members. However, because these sites can’t accept real money wagers, they load up the no-deposit bonus with hefty gold coins and a handful of sweepstakes coins for participation.
Behavioral Impact of No-Deposit Bonuses
The conversion rate from no-deposit bonuses is extremely high. Without having to risk real money, the likelihood is great that these members will make the first deposit to trigger the welcome package. The odds of this increase tremendously if they’ve managed to win real money from the no-deposit bonuses.
Basically, the no-deposit bonus is the casino’s way of getting the fish on the hook, so to speak, to make steady deposits for even more lavish rewards. It’s common for real-money online casinos to package the no-deposit bonuses with the deposit matching bonus. The great ones even have exclusive promo codes to help increase the value of the no-deposit and welcome bonuses to make it hard for prospective players to say no.
Higher Player Engagement
The best way to understand no-deposit bonuses is to see them as the tip of the iceberg. Another way to compare them is like loss leaders at a grocery store. Sometimes, grocery stores like the now-defunct 99-Cent Only Stores would intentionally sell certain goods at a loss to get shoppers inside to spend even more money to make a profit.
In many ways, no-deposit bonuses work with the same intention. With players hooked, they are more likely to open their wallets and make more substantial deposits, especially to benefit from reload and cashback bonuses. For real-money casinos, cashback bonuses help refund players a certain amount, usually up to 10% of previous game losses, to keep them spending money and engaged.
Reload bonuses work like deposit-match bonuses; however, they are not as lucrative. However, reload bonuses keep members inspired and willing to make deposits. Social casinos keep their members engaged beyond the no-deposit bonus by having lucrative daily challenges.
Usually, logging into accounts daily is enough to trigger free gold coins worth thousands. Some social casinos take that step further by increasing the free daily coins with each passing day logging in. It is often common to find lucrative sweepstakes coins to compete for gift cards.
Creating Brand Loyal Members
The holy grail for successful online casinos is to keep adding new members. New members, hopefully, will contribute financially to the brand. However, the base and ultimate long-term success rests with maintaining the current members. For that reason, most online casinos have some sort of VIP club or reward system.
While no casino player likes to lose, losses come with the territory because casino games are games of chance. However, even when losing, casino members can still lose bets by building reward points. It’s common for these VIP clubs to have many levels, with the top level being by invite only. The higher a casino member climbs, the more lucrative the rewards come, including welcome no-deposit bonuses for reaching a new VIP level. Even losing bets can lead to VIP perks like a dedicated concierge and, all-paid expenses, and hotel stays.
Long-Term Member Retention
To sweeten the deal and to build upon the extensive VIP section, online casinos often have a referral system to further retain their members. By receiving free credits, reward points, or free spins, current members remain inspired to get their friends and family to sign up for these benefits. A happy online casino player is one that is likely to stick around for years to come.
Conclusion
As technological improvements continue to get online casinos to launch at breakneck speed, the need to retain customers and inspire new ones to join will continue to grow. While the deposit bonuses are meant to compete, having a no-deposit available is usually the deal maker and the ice breaker to get new members to join and become permanent members.