The welcome bonus, read step by step

A welcome bonus is the one offer a casino can only give you once, which is why it's the loudest thing on every homepage. Big numbers, though, hide very different deals. Some pay out on your first deposit and stop. Others drip across four deposits and only reach the advertised total if you keep paying in. And two offers with the same "35×" can ask you to bet amounts that differ by half.

The coupons above are sorted by what the first deposit costs to clear. This page covers the parts a single number can't show.

Four-step packages versus one straight match

7Bit's package is the textbook case: 325% up to C$10,800 plus 250 free spins. Split it up and you get four separate bonuses.

• 1st deposit: 100% up to C$800
• 2nd: 75% up to C$1,200 (code 2DEP)
• 3rd: 50% up to C$800 (code 3DEP)
• 4th: 100% up to C$8,000 (code 4DEP)

To collect the full C$10,800 you'd deposit C$800, then C$1,600, then C$1,600, then C$8,000. That's C$12,000 of your own money. Most players will never see more than the first step or two, which makes the headline more of a ceiling than an offer.

Now the version most people actually play: four deposits of C$100. The bonuses come to C$100 + C$75 + C$50 + C$100 = C$325. At 35× the bonus that's C$11,375 of turnover and about C$455 of expected cost at 96% RTP, against C$325 of bonus. Each step carries its own 14-day clock and a C$2 max bet, so even the first C$100 bonus means at least 1,750 spins inside two weeks.

KatsuBet's Canadian welcome works the same way but is tied to Interac: 100% up to C$400, 75% up to C$600, 50% up to C$1,000, then 100% up to C$4,000, with 125 free spins on Big Bass Splash at each step (codes INTERAC1 to INTERAC4). The total is C$6,000 + 500 spins at 45×. Three caveats from our notes. The homepage banner says 100 spins rather than 125. The only minimum deposit stated is €25. And the terms don't say whether 45× applies to the bonus or to deposit plus bonus. On a C$400 first deposit that gap is C$18,000 of turnover versus C$36,000. Ask support in writing before you deposit, and remember KatsuBet doesn't take players from Ontario or New Brunswick.

A single match is simpler to judge. Casino Days gives 100% up to C$2,000 plus 100 spins on one deposit; Alexander gives 100% up to C$150 plus 100 spins. One clock, one set of rules, done.

Wagering on the bonus or on deposit plus bonus

This is the clause that decides more than the percentage. Boomerang and Wazamba both offer 100% up to C$750 plus 200 spins, both at 35× deposit plus bonus. Casino Days asks 35× the bonus alone. Same multiplier on paper. Here's what it does to your turnover.

At C$750 the gap stops being academic. Boomerang's bonus is worth C$750 and is expected to cost C$2,100 to clear, so you're about C$1,350 behind on average. Casino Days' C$750 is expected to cost C$1,050, leaving you C$300 behind. Neither is free, but one leaves you four and a half times further behind.

Time and stake limits sharpen it. Boomerang gives 10 days with a C$7.50 max bet, so C$52,500 means at least 7,000 spins, 700 a day. Casino Days gives only 7 days, but with a C$10 cap the minimum is 2,625 spins. Wazamba's max bet isn't published anywhere we trust (one summary says C$150, which looks like a typo), so assume a cap exists and ask.

If you like Boomerang or Wazamba for other reasons, deposit small. The D+B penalty scales with the deposit, and C$30 is the minimum at both.

Sizing the first deposit

With a match bonus, the deposit you choose is also the size of the job you're signing up for. Bigger isn't automatically better: every extra dollar of bonus adds 35 to 45 dollars of turnover, and the clock doesn't stretch to match.

A rough rule we use: pick the deposit whose turnover you could finish comfortably at your normal stake, inside half the expiry window. Then work back. If you spin at C$1 and can manage around 300 spins an evening, a 7-day bonus at 35× fits a first deposit of about C$30 to C$40. Push it to C$200 and you've signed up for C$7,000 of bets in a week.

Clocks vary a lot across the coupons above. BitStarz gives 7 days for 40× and releases its 180 spins 20 a day. Rolling Slots gives just 5 days at 45×. Alexander allows 30 days at 30×, and Wildz is reported at 60 days for its two 100% steps up to C$1,000 each, though that figure comes from a single summary we couldn't open. Same percentage, very different evenings.

And if none of it fits, a smaller wager-free deal is often the better start; see no-wager bonuses.

Sticky or cashable: which one you're holding

A sticky bonus can be bet but never withdrawn; it's deducted when you cash out. A cashable (non-sticky) bonus sits behind your own money, and you can often walk away with your cash before the bonus is ever touched.

Casino Days is described by review sources as cash-first: your deposit is played before the bonus. Say you put in C$50, get C$50 of bonus, and your cash climbs to C$180 before you've touched the bonus. Under a cash-first rule you can usually withdraw the C$180 and give up the untouched bonus. That option is worth real money, and it's why we'd take a cashable C$100 over a sticky one every time.

For most other brands on this page, our sources don't spell out the order, so look for the sentence about which balance is used first. And note one trap at Mirax: its terms require deposits to be wagered 3× (10× on table and live games) before withdrawal, bonus or no bonus. Our wagering guide has the full mechanics.

The free spins bundled with the match

Spins make a package look bigger than it is. Wazamba's 200 spins are worth C$0.10 each, so C$20 of play, released 20 a day for 10 days with each batch expiring after 24 hours. Winnings carry 40×. Expected winnings at 96% are about C$19.20; turning that over 40 times means C$768 of bets and roughly C$31 of expected cost. On average the spin winnings don't survive, and you're relying on one lucky feature to clear them.

Elsewhere: Casino Days' 100 spins are C$0.20 each on Gates of Casino Days Super Scatter, 35× on wins. 7Bit caps free-spin winnings at C$200. Rolling Slots only releases its 200 first-deposit spins on a C$70+ deposit and caps their winnings at C$150. Rizk's 50 spins are reported as wager-free, though one older source says 35×.

Our free spins page compares spin values across casinos.

When we'd turn the welcome bonus down

Declining is a legitimate choice, and sometimes the better one. We'd skip it if:

• You mostly play live tables. Live games count 0% at 7Bit, KatsuBet and Mirax, and Bizzo and Rolling Slots count only slots. See live casino bonuses for offers built for you.
• You play blackjack. 7Bit weights it at 5%, so a C$3,500 requirement becomes C$70,000 of hands.
• Your usual stake is above the max bet. C$2 at 7Bit and KatsuBet is low for many players.
• You're depositing a large sum somewhere with D+B wagering.
• You plan to pay with Skrill or Neteller at Casino Days or Wazamba. You won't get the bonus anyway.
• You won't have the hours. A week-long clock on thousands of spins is a commitment.

Without a welcome bonus your deposit stays real money (Mirax's 3× rule aside), and weekly offers like Boomerang's 1× cashback often give more back per dollar than a 35× match ever will.