Considering gambling is fully legal and regulated in Belgium, Belgian online casino players have access to hundreds of online casinos overseen by the authorities. The Belgium Gaming Commission makes sure the online gambling activities in the country are heavily regulated, imposing new laws and restrictions to operators each month. The Commission wants to ensure players are always getting the best of online gambling and wants to be certain that they are treated fairly and respectively at these sites. For Belgium players, this means that they can enjoy safe and secure gambling environments online.
When it comes to games…
… while they are allowed to play all other types of online casino games, they are not allowed to play Live Casino games. This is the only serious restriction when it comes to choosing a game to play. Otherwise, they can enjoy all kinds of slots, table games, video poker, scratchcards, bingo and lottery games.
Luckily, when it comes to promotions and bonuses, operators offering Belgium players’ bonuses cannot refer to those offers as “free” if they come with strings attached. And by strings attached, we mean wagering requirements.
No Deposit Bonuses…
… for instance, belong in the category of "free bonuses". They give you something for a bonus, and they do not require you to make a deposit. Judging by that, you would assume that you are getting an absolutely free bonus. However, these bonuses usually come with wagering requirements, which actually ask something in return. And this is what the Belgium Gaming Commission wants to avoid. With No Deposit Bonuses, players can be tricked into thinking that they will get a free bonus, right until the moment they want to withdraw the winnings. This is the moment when the player realizes that they needed to play through the bonus amount several times before they are able to cash out their winnings. And this is what wagering requirements are, the things that oblige players to deposit and play through a certain number of times before they are allowed to scoop their winnings.
The Belgium Gaming Commission makes sure players do not get confused with these offers, so they require from operators that want to offer such bonuses to be explicit with what’s offered precisely.
Belgium No Deposit Bonus Types
The truth is, the name No Deposit Bonus itself does not exactly say that you’re getting something for free, it just says that you don’t need to make a deposit to get a freebie. However, it does not explicitly say that it comes with wagering requirements either. So, what operators do when offering such bonuses to Belgian players is they highlight the fact whether or not the bonus comes with wagering requirements.
Therefore, the two main types of No Deposit Bonuses we can distinguish are Standard No Deposit Bonuses and No Deposit No Wagering Bonuses.
Standard No Deposit Bonus Offers
When you see a Standard No Deposit Bonus, you should immediately know that it is a bonus that comes with wagering requirements. This is an offer that gives you a cash bonus, which you can use to play one, several or all games available at the casino, except Live Casino versions, as mentioned.
It is worth mentioning that the wagering requirements for these offers are usually fair, reasonable. A wagering requirement on an offer may be anywhere from 5x to 50x the bonus. However, in Standard No Deposit Bonuses, it is usually 20x the bonus. That would imply that for a $10 No Deposit Bonus, you would have to deposit and play through $200, which is reasonable, considering you would probably join the casino and play there for real cash anyway.
No Deposit No Wagering Bonuses
Now, considering the Belgium Gaming Commission wants the terms to be straight when operators are offering bonuses, a No Deposit No Wagering Bonus is the right term for a free bonus, because this is, indeed, a truly free bonus.
Not only does this bonus comes with no deposit requirement, but it also comes without wagering requirements. The only catch here is that you might not get cash to play with or win, but a freebie or a payout in another form. This brings us to the two following No Deposit Bonus types:
Bonus Funds No Deposit Bonuses
A No Deposit Bonus offer that comes without wagering requirements can actually be in the form of Bonus Funds. This means that instead of cash, the casino gives you a certain amount of Bonus Funds to use to play the games from its portfolio. Or, it can give you a cash bonus, but the winnings you receive might be in Bonus Funds.
Essentially, you can use the Bonus Funds to continue playing at the casino, for real money winnings, once you create an account with the casino.
Free Spins No Deposit Bonus
On the other hand, to not give you cash but to still give you a freebie and reward you for joining, the casino may give you Free Spins to use on its slots.
Oftentimes, operators form partnerships with leading developers such as Yggdrasil and Pragmatic Play, or NetEnt and Play’n GO, to give players absolutely free, incredible Free Spins offers. This usually happens when the developer has a new release and wants to promote it, or when it simply has a network-wide promotion. The players are the ones that benefit the most from these offers. They get to claim Free Spins and be the first ones to test-drive the new game.
Why Claim No Deposit Bonuses?
With the exception of No Deposit No Wagering Bonuses, why claim other types of No Deposit Bonuses? The answer is simple. Even though bonuses that come with wagering requirements may not seem that attractive compared to those without wagering requirements, you are still, indeed, getting something for free here.
You get a boost to start your online gambling experience at a particular casino without having to deposit your own money. The fact is, if you claimed the bonus, didn't win anything and didn't like what the casino has to offer, you can simply disregard the casino for future play, and move on to search for a new one to join. You won't necessarily need to play through the wagering requirements if you don't wish to continue playing at that casino anyway.
No Deposit Bonuses are really popular among worldwide online casino players, regardless of whether they are coming with or without wagering requirements. Those players who are certain that they would continue playing at the casino, they would deposit money and play through them anyway. So they decide to claim these bonuses and kick-start their experience with a freebie.
Caps on Winnings and Bonus Codes
The last thing we need to emphasize when it comes to No Deposit Bonuses is that you need to read the Terms and Conditions of the offer before you decide to claim it.
The thing is, by reading the T&C you might learn whether the winnings you can make with the bonus are capped. Sometimes the casinos cap the winnings to, say, $200. If you’ve made, say, $1,500, you won’t be able to withdraw them. So you have to make sure whether the winnings are capped before you claim the offer.
Another thing you should be careful about is whether the No Deposit Bonus requires a coupon or a No Deposit Bonus Code to claim it. The Bonus Codes are the sequences of numbers and letters that are like a key which you need to claim your bonus. Say, the casino gives you 20 Free Spins on Starburst PowerPots. The code for this offer could be 20STARBURSTPP. You need to add that code in order to claim the 20 Free Spins. Bonus Codes are either written on the offer itself or sent to you by email or Live Chat.
