Online Bonus

Bonus. We're all pretty much familiar with the concept. From a free drink at the bar to an additional 3 months to your VOD subscription, everything you get as a reward can be classified as a bonus.

In the meantime, we've pretty much migrated to the world of the Internet. Work, Entertainment, investments. You name it, we can do it on the internet. So, it's only obvious that you get online bonuses too. And that's exactly what we're all about, evaluating and listing the best bonuses we find.

We've developed this platform to get you on board with all kinds of online bonuses found there. It's the journey we're going to enjoy together as we include more and more bonuses over time. Let this be your ultimate guide to the world of online bonus.

What is an Online Bonus and Why Do Companies Offer It?

Before you can start utilizing the bonuses various industries are offering in Canada, you need to understand what a bonus is and what's the purpose behind it. Sometimes this is obvious l but typically there's more to it than meets the eye.

A bonus is a reward for the customer. Now, the provider of the bonus can be a business, an entrepreneur, or even a big-name corporation. As the scalability of the business changes, the caliber of the bonus offered for the customers changes with it.

Let's say you're staying at a regular hotel in Ontario because you're there to witness the breathtaking beauty of Niagara Falls. If it's a decent hotel, you may get a complimentary breakfast for the duration of your stay.

Now, if you were to stay in a luxury hotel or resort, you get way more amenities than just breakfast. You may get access to the pool, a direct view of the falls from your room, and whatnot.

While both of the advantages we discussed can be classified as a bonus, the caliber is different because the business modality is different. Also, you're spending more to get the additional benefits at the luxury hotel. That's something you need to keep in mind as well. None of the bonuses are actually “free”. We have a dedicated section where we're going to cover the potential terms and conditions for the bonus.

As for an online bonus, think of the same concept but over the internet. It's obvious that you can only get an online bonus if you're taking online service.

The next logical part of our discussion is why online businesses offer bonuses in the first place. Let's try to understand.

Customer Acquisition

This is the biggest reason behind an online bonus or any other type of bonus you can think of. Before you decide who you want to take the service from, you evaluate the pros and cons of your potential experience. The modern audience is very smart so there's no reason to doubt that every business is under the microscope.

The services of any two competing businesses might be identical. They could employ the most competent group of people to provide the best-in-class service. But what's the deal maker or breaker?

Maybe a bonus!

If you see that you're getting the same service along with a bonus, you're more likely to sign up for it and the business meets its customer acquisition goal.

Customer Retention

After a business gets new customers, that's just the beginning. If you're not aware, repeat customers are usually the biggest source of revenue for online businesses, therefore it is typical that existing customers keep getting bonuses for their tenure with the brand.

It's simply because if the businesses are not keeping the customers happy with extra rewards, they'll just go for a better offer.

Customer Satisfaction

This is very much connected to the previous two points. For a customer to turn into a “repeat” customer, they must be satisfied with both the service and the bonus. If the bonus is good but the services are not, that's not ideal for retention as well. Consequently, this is why online businesses are always trying to balance both.

Expanding Awareness

If you get an amazing bonus, chances are you can't wait to tell your friends about it. Hence, you're automatically spreading awareness about a business. After hearing about your experience, your friends may opt for the service and tell their friends about it. That's one way an online business builds credibility and it's one of the most authentic and organic ways to do it.

To Get Ahead of Competition

Although we're not living in ancient times anymore, “survival of the fittest” still applies to businesses. There's intense competition in pretty much every industry you can think of and businesses need ways to get ahead. It's especially true for new ventures.

Different Types of Online Bonuses You'll Encounter on the Internet

Now that you know what exactly bonuses are and what their purpose is in life, it's time to introduce you to some of the most common and impactful online bonuses of our time. You may already know about some of them. Nonetheless, it's going to be an exciting journey for all of us.

Online Casino Bonus

In the world, as is, online casino bonuses are the most common. In fact, if you type in “online bonus” on Google or any other search engine, the first few SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) will only include casino bonuses.

These bonuses also happen to be the most popular because you can directly withdraw real money. At least, in most cases. As online casinos are currently one of the largest areas of entertainment in Canada, it's an excellent starting point for you.

There are many types of online casino bonuses. Let's cover some of the most common ones.

Welcome Bonus: This is designed for new customers only. It “welcomes” them with a bang. In most Canadian online casinos, you can expect to get a 100% match on your first deposit. For example, if you deposit $100, you’ll receive a $100 bonus. You may also get free spins or even a cashback as a welcome bonus too. More on both of them very soon!
No Deposit Bonus: For the most part, you need to deposit real money first to get a bonus. In case you don’t have to, that’s a no deposit bonus. These are considered the rarest because very few operators offer them. Also, keep in mind that no deposit bonuses usually have a higher wagering requirement than other bonuses. If you don’t know what it is, wait till we explain it to you in the terms and conditions section.
Sign Up Bonus: A signup bonus is a reward you get right after the registration. In most cases, you need to verify your account to get them. Also, signup bonuses usually belong to the no deposit category.
Free Spins: If you’re familiar with online slots, you may know about the “spins”. Many casino operators offer them for free and they come in sets. So, you may get 10 free spins, 20 free spins, 50 free spins, or something along the line. Another important thing to note here is that the wagering requirements don’t apply to free spins directly. Rather, you need to wager the winnings you generate from the spins.
Cashback: When you're gambling, you'll lose money eventually, even with the best beginner's luck in the world. Many operators credit a percentage of your losses back so you don't lose the motivation to play any further. For the most part, cashbacks are either weekly or monthly promotions and you can expect to get up to 20% of your real money losses back during that time.
Loyalty Programs/VIP Programs: Some online casinos design an “invite only” VIP program while others directly enroll you as soon as you start real money wagering. You may get additional free spins, higher withdrawal limits, higher cashback percentage, birthday bonuses, etc. as part of loyalty/VIP bonuses.
Tournaments: From time to time, online operators launch tournaments in association with software providers to make things competitive among the players. There’s usually a prize pool where players get rewarded based on the leaderboard. Slot of Week, Game of the Month, Drops & Wins, etc. are all famous tournaments you can participate in Canada.

Online Sports Betting Bonus

Online casinos are a major part of the online gambling industry but it's not all. There are online sports betting sites too! And just like online casinos, they offer bonuses for punters in Canada. There was a time when you couldn't bet on single matches in the country but thankfully, that's not the case anymore. It resulted in a boom in the online betting industry.

Here are the bonuses you can expect to find.

Free Bets: These are essentially betting credits. Once you get them, you can only use them to place bets on real money sports events instead of withdrawing them directly. If you’re familiar with vouchers, free bets are pretty much the same thing. Once the bet you place settles, you can withdraw the winnings (if you win, of course) minus the free bet. Interestingly, free bets can be both deposit and no deposit bonuses.
Risk-Free Bets: Think of these as free bets on steroids. The modality remains the same but you get the added benefit of not losing anything. Basically, if you lose the first bet using the free bet, you get the value of the bet as a bonus. And if you win, you get to keep the winnings as you did with the regular free bets.
Odds Boost: The online betting industry is more or less dependent on odds entirely. Odds project your potential winnings as well as how likely the selection is to win. Odds boost is exactly what it sounds like. You get a boost when you win. It simply means you can win more than what you were originally supposed to.
ACCA Boost: ACCA is a fancy way of saying accumulator bets in the sports betting industry. If you include 4 or more selections within the same bet, it's considered an accumulator. If you're not familiar with the term but the concept, you may know it as parlay bets in Canada. Parlay is the more commonly used term in the USA and Canada. As for the ACCA Boost bonus, you get boosted odds for your accumulator winnings. As these bets are originally designed to boost your winnings in the first place, the results from these bonuses are massive!
Bet of the Day: Many online bookmakers try to utilize the “bet of the day” modality where every day, you get a special bet where you can expect the most accurate tips. Bookmakers label it as the “most confident bet” on a sports fixture. It might be football, cricket, ice hockey, American Football, or any other sport in Canada.
Bet Insurance: It’s pretty self-explanatory. The overall modality is very similar to risk-free bets but this time, you need to place a real money bet. If your selections don’t perform as you think they would, the bookmaker covers for the loss. Of course, you need to check beforehand which bets qualify for the insurance.

All of these bonuses can be both deposit and no deposit online bonuses based on how the operator designs the policy. Also, you can expect the usual deposit match bonuses and cashbacks for sports betting as well.

Payday Loans

We're going out of the gambling industry and expanding our horizons to other areas. Payday loans are a very popular concept in first-world countries. These are short-term loans that you take on at high-interest rates. And you're supposed to pay it back when you get paid, aka your “payday”.

However, different industries have different payroll management so it's not feasible to decide on a generic range and call it payday. Rather, payday loans are credited for 14 to 62 days. The longer you keep it, the more interest you have to pay.

Although it's not technically a “bonus”, payday loans can be a boost to whatever you need to do. You can expect to get up to 50% of your total monthly income if everything else plays out as it should.

Also, the policies for payday lenders vary from province to province. So, you can't really expect to get the same amount across Canada.

Let's go over the things that you should be aware of before you go for such a loan.

Credit Checks: Before the payday lender credits the loan to you in cash, through a prepaid card, or in your bank account, they'll perform a credit check. Thankfully, you don't need a flawless credit score as you're paying a high enough interest.
Interest Rates: As we said, the longer you plan on keeping the loan, the higher interest you need to pay. And it can go up to 60% of the loan amount annually! This is according to bill C-26. Then again, it can vary from province to province. For example, Quebec caps the annual interest rates for Payday loans at 35%. In Ottawa, however, the loans can go up to 700% as the regulations allow lenders to set an interest rate they see fit.
Repayment Methods: If you have a steady income source, it shouldn't be hard to pay off the loan within the agreed-upon timeframe. However, if you have limited credit options, which is most likely the case because you're getting a payday loan, you can go for a consolidation loan from your bank. If you don't qualify for that, you may as well go private and get the money from a subprime lender.
Additional Fees: Apart from the interest, you might need to pay additional fees if you're not able to pay the loan off in time. It varies greatly from province to province as well as from lender to lender. So, it's your interest that you don't let the payday loan go past the repayment deadline.

Crypto Investment Bonuses

Crypto is a term we're all very much familiar with. It all started with Bitcoin back in 2009 and now we have more than 6,500 cryptocurrencies in circulation. It’s arguably the most popular investment vessel for Canadians as well as for the rest of the world.

One of the main reasons crypto spreads like wildfire is because it's decentralized. So, no governments or financial institutions are trying to regulate it and impose taxes. Also, the price of the tokens multiplies hundred fold every couple of years. So, if you're on the right side of the transaction, you may as well be set for life.

Seeing the boom in the industry, many online casino operators have also included the concept of crypto in their operations. They either run the games on blockchains or offer cryptocurrencies as deposit/withdrawal options. Some operators even do both!

So, it's safe to assume that a lot of the casino bonuses we discussed previously will come in handy as crypto bonuses as well.

But that's not it. Most of the crypto investment platforms offer online bonuses to encourage more people. These are mostly bonuses based on how much you spend or exchange. You get the bonuses in fiat currency equivalents of cryptocurrency.

Terms & Conditions That Come with Online Bonuses

One of the main things you need to understand about an online bonus is that they’re not really “free”. We mean in the sense that you can’t just take the bonus and call it a day. There are many terms and conditions that you need to adhere to.

The reasoning behind this is simple. Every business is in the field to make money. So, if they just let the customers claim a bonus and not do anything else on their platform, it’s not feasible. In many cases, spending real money from your pockets is involved if you want the full potential of the bonus.

Let us try and include the most common type of terms you can expect to find for any of the online bonus you claim in Canada.

Wagering Requirements

Although most commonly used in the iGaming industry, this restriction can apply to any online bonus. It basically means how many times you need to use the bonus before it’s unlocked for withdrawal. Wagering requirements are represented as multipliers.

For example, if there’s a 50x wagering requirement on a $100 bonus, you need to spend ($100 x 50) = $5,000 before you can withdraw the $100 bonus. It might not make sense to a lot of you right now. But if you have plans to spend a long time with a business, an online casino in Canada may be, claiming and wagering the bonus is worth it.

If you want, you can skip on the entire bonus paradigm. Most businesses provide a method to opt out if you’re not up for the bonus. In those cases, you don’t have to complete the wagering requirements.

Expiry Dates

Nothing lasts forever, even cold November Rain. This is true for. Let alone the online bonuses as well. Pretty much all the bonuses you can get online will expire sooner or later. The problem arises when you’re not aware of it.

That’s why we always recommend reading the terms and conditions page first. Every website has one, even ours. We know it’s a tedious thing to do but for your own sake, you should do it. At least, read the bonuses and promotions section. It’ll give you an idea of what you can expect from the online bonus.

Another important thing to keep in mind here is that there can be two different expiry dates. One for using the bonus and the other one for wagering it. A good website will distinguish between the two clearly.

Maximum Bonus Limits

This is primarily for the bonuses you get at online casinos or online sportsbooks. If it’s a deposit match, it doesn’t mean the casino will credit a $1 million bonus if you can do a $1 million deposit. There are limits to how much the bonus can be, known as bonus caps or maximum conversion limits.

The same goes for free spins or any other bonus. When you’re in the T&C section of the website, you can use your browser’s search engine to look for the term “up to”. It’s because almost all online bonus in the world will have an up to value to indicate the maximum bonus.

How Many Times You Can Get the Bonus

Most businesses tend to offer only one bonus per customer. If it’s an online casino or sportsbook, you can expect more than one bonus but never the same one twice. Once you’re done with the welcome bonus, that’s gone for you.

Payment Restrictions

As real money is involved with an online bonus, there’s most likely an online payment method involved as well. Some businesses might limit the bonuses to specific payment methods. If you don’t use any of the preselected methods, you can’t get the online bonus.

Special Terms

Apart from all of the terms and conditions we just discussed, there’s room for special terms. They’re “special” in the sense that they’re unique and don’t really apply to other industries.

A good example of such a term would be max bet restrictions at online gambling sites. It means that you cannot bet over a specific value when you’re completing the wagering requirements. It’s something that doesn’t apply to any of the other bonuses.

The Best Picks

By now, you've gathered a lot of information about online bonuses. You know what they are, what kinds of bonuses are available, what terms & conditions are usually there. The thing you don't know about is the actual bonuses.

So, in this section, we're going to include the most popular type of bonuses from each of the industries we've discussed on this page. Let's go!

ComeOn Casino Canada - Up to $1500 in Welcome Bonus

The welcome bonus is usually the most generous bonus in an online casino. Thankfully, Canadian operators are one of the most generous in our experience. Take ComeOn Casino for example! You can win up to a whopping $1,500 spread across your first 3 deposits! This is a live casino bonus which means you can use the funds on live casino games.

This bonus also comes with a free golden chip that you can use on Adventures Beyond Wonderland Live, Quantum Roulette Live, Quantum Blackjack live, and Sicbo Deluxe.

Or, you can go for the regular welcome bonus where you can win up to $1,000 (still awesome) for a minimum deposit of only $20.

As for the wagering requirements, it's 40x the deposit and bonus combined. You need to complete it within 7 days and the max bet restriction is $8.

Although ComeOn Casino offers some other bonuses, the sportsbook welcome bonus, for example, knows that you can't claim them while the main bonus is active. What we're trying to say here is that you can't have more than one bonus active at the same time.

BetFinal Sportsbook Bonus - Monday Madness

Betfinal is one of the finest online sportsbooks in Canada and it designed a fantastic paradigm for bonuses. The one we like the most is Sports Monday Madness $10 Risk Free. Remember the Risk-Free Bet we discussed in the sports betting bonus section? It's one of those!

Every Monday, you get to place a $10 bet on a live selection. Just keep in mind that you must use real money. So, if you have any free bets lying around, don't use them accidentally.

If the bet loses, you get it back as a free bet. You can go for a maximum of 5.00 odds. And if you win, you get to keep your winnings as usual. Either way, you're not losing any money.

If you do get the free bet, you can use it on Bundesliga, La Liga, English Premier League, Serie A, and Ligue 1.

At the same time, Betfinal offers ACCA insurance, a game of the week tournament, a casino bonus, and even a live casino bonus. As you can see you can't really go wrong with Betfinal in Canada

TradeStation - Up to $2,500 in Crypto Bonus

The online gambling industry isn't the only one where the customers get massive bonuses. We've already hinted a little about the crypto investment bonuses. And the more you invest, the more bonus you can expect. These bonuses are calculated based on the fiat equivalent of the crypto.

TradeStation is our best pick in this regard because you can land up to $2,500 in crypto. The bonus starts when you invest at least $5,000 in fiat currency. You get $200 in crypto.

As you invest more, say $10,000, you get $500 in crypto. For a $100,000 deposit, you get a massive $1,000 crypto bonus. Last but not least, if you're a Highroller and deposit $1,000,000, you can win up to $2,500 in crypto bonus.

Also, keep in mind that these offers are always changing. So, when you finally start investing with TradeStation, the offer might not exactly be the same.