Everyone loves a no deposit bonus. It's free money, after all! But what are they really, and is it really free? We all know the saying – if it's too good to be true, then…
So let's get to the meat. What exactly is a no deposit aka a free play bonus? In short, it's free casino credit. Usually online casinos offer them to new players when they sign up, so that they can try the casino before deciding to put some cash down. They tend to be small, one-time offers, with strict limits on winnings. Some are better than others, and we've chosen our favourites here.
These come from tried-and-tested casinos with good player reviews, and are some of the best no deposit bonuses all round. For new players, there is nothing more important than knowing that the casino can be trusted. It's a waste of time playing at casinos that don't pay out and it's possibly even dangerous exposing your information at less than secure casinos.
We only list reputable, licensed online casinos. What's more, we only list casinos that have licenses for the UK – not only for our UK players who are only allowed to play real money casino games in casinos approved by the Gambling Commission, but also because the UK license is considered the strictest gambling license today.
How to Claim a No Deposit Bonus
Since no deposit bonuses are for new players, you need to find an online casino where you don't have an account. Luckily for you, this is easy – our site keeps an updated list of new online casinos so you can easily find somewhere to play.
Once you've found a casino that tickles your fancy, go to their site and sign up for an account. Sometimes the bonuses we list are exclusive, and you can only receive them by going through our link. Sometimes, you might have to enter the listed bonus code when you register. The registration process is quite easy – most of the time, you just need to put in your name, email and address. Credit card information is not necessary here. Do put in your real name and contact info though, because when you win and want to withdraw the cash, the casino will require that you provide documents to prove you are who you say you are!
Once you've signed up, you're logged in, and you should find the credit listed in your casino account. From there, you're ready to rock and roll.
Two Kinds of No Deposit Bonuses
No deposit bonuses come in two different flavours:
- Your average promotion gives you a small amount of casino credit of £5 or £10, and you can use it to play any game you want.
- No deposit free spins are spins a casino offers for a specific slot. For example, you might get 10 spins on Starburst automatically when you sign up. This is obviously targeted towards slot players.
No Deposit Bonus: Special Terms to Understand
There are a few things to understand when it comes to No Deposit Bonuses. To begin with, it's free, but not really, because it comes with these special conditions:
Limits on Your Win
You might get lucky and win £300 while playing with a £5 no deposit bonus. Well, it's hard to say if you're really lucky then, because most of these deals cap their wins to pretty low amounts. So you might only be able to keep £30. That's why if you're serious about winning money, you should make a deposit. Which brings us to our next point
Deposit to Win
If you win, you will have to make a deposit to keep that win. The deposit doesn't need to be big, sometimes even £10 will do the job. But if you like that casino and plan to keep playing there, we do recommend that you put a bit more cash down, because you'll be eligible to claim a much more generous Welcome Bonus with your initial deposit. With these, winnings are much less restricted.
Time to Play
Usually a no deposit bonus is only valid for a limited time – maybe 24 hours, sometimes even less. So get ready to play!
With all this information, you can now start off on your casino adventure. If you want to learn more about general conditions behind casino bonuses, check out our Bonus page, where we've explained everything you need to understand the T&Cs.







