The Whole Truth About Refer-a-Friend Bonuses And When You Should Use Them

Have you ever been gambling on your favorite casino, and an offer pop-up stating you should invite your friends or family through an affiliate, or refer-a-friend scheme that lets you get some free money, spins, or other bonuses?

We know that this can seem tempting, and it can be used well – but in today’s article, we take a look at refer friend bonuses, why you should use them, and when you should use them.

What is a Refer-a-Friend Bonus

A refer-a-friend bonus (otherwise known as an affiliate) is a bonus that some casinos and other companies offer to you as a pre-existing member or player in order to gain another customer or player. For casinos, if you’re a player who has played on their casino for a while and the casino feels you may know some friends who would love to play too, they may offer you an incentive for helping get your friends and family to play with you on the same casino.

An example of this, may be that you and your friend are playing on one device, on your account on Bet365. Bet365 offer you a refer-a-friend bonus that lets you invite your friend to give you a 50% deposit match of your friend, as well as their own bonus for joining through your link. This means, that if your friend used this link to sign up for Bet365, and deposited £100, they would give you £50.

In most cases, these earnings are capped and so is the number of friends or family that you can invite at any one time, as it is a casino bonus that benefits you rather than the casino (initially).

Why Should I use a Refer-a-Friend Bonus

The hard facts are that if you have friends that are like you, or even family members that like to watch you gamble – then you should invite them. The likelihood is that they may want to sign-up to a casino anyway, but because of offers at the time, they may not want to.

If you can invite a friend or family member to the casino you play on through an affiliate, or refer-a-friend scheme then you will be able to not only benefit from them joining and depositing, but you’re also helping your friend out with some amazing bonuses just for joining too. This is typically a win-win for both fo you to start with, as long as the gambling is fair and in good practice (knowing when to stop). For more information about the refer-a-friend bonus, or knowing when to stop – click here.

When Should I use a Refer-a-Friend Bonus

Although there are typically no differences depending on when you use a refer-a-friend bonus, you should be careful with who you send the bonus links to, and how they may react. Remember, you are getting something out of this, but you don’t want to put your friends at risk or cause any issues with their gambling that was influenced by you.

This means, that if you have a friend who has had a gambling issue in the past, we would recommend staying clear from this. In fact, it would be more beneficial for you to find a friend who likes gambling, but has never taken the dive into it, because they will know what to expect, but can experience it first hand before it gets out of hand. We also suggest that you send it to people you know, or speak to occasionally as randomly spamming a link to a casino may be quite annoying for some people!

What do I get for a Refer-a-Friend Bonuses?

You will likely always get “something” for a refer-a-friend casino bonus, however this really depends on the casino. There are a few variations of bonus you will get. This includes;

• Deposit Bonus
• One-Time Bonus
• Recurring Bonus
• Free Bet/Spins

A Deposit bonus means that when your friend accepts the bonus, and signs-up for the casino, as soon as they deposit you will receive a percentage of their deposit. For example, mFortunes refer to a friend scheme that provides up to 50% deposit bonus but this is capped at £100. This varies from casino to casino unfortunately.

One-Time bonuses are also quite common, where your friend can deposit a set amount, and depending on the amount they deposit you may get a fixed fee. This could be something like your friend has deposited £101, and because it’s within the £100-£500 path, you may receive a £25 bonus. This again, is very much dependent on the casino you’re referring your friends to.

Recurring bonuses are some of the best to get if your friend is likely to come back. Although you don’t get any funds or bonuses at the very start, once your friend starts to wager their balance, you will likely get a % of the house-edge from the casino. This means that if your friend deposits £10, but wagers a value of £10,000, you will receive a bonus for the wagered amount rather than the deposit amount. This is typically 1% of the house-edge (usually 1.05%) – meaning you get roughly 0.005% of every bet, win or loss from your friend. This varies based on the casino, but can really add-up for you.

Free Bet/Spins are also a way that casinos may offer to pay you out. In most cases, this means that once your friend has joined, wagered and deposited a certain amount – you may be able to claim a £5 free bet, or 50 free spins etc. on a slot game. This is one of the weakest bonuses, however usually comes with the easiest requirements, and in some cases your friend may not even have to deposit.

Why does a Casino offer a Refer-a-Friend Bonus?

Although the casino is losing initially, they’re getting both you and your friend to play in their casino rather than a competitor. Getting new players for a casino is way more important than profit initially, and at the end of the day – most casinos live by the rule, “the house always wins”. The casino uses this as one of their most successful marketing strategies as there is no manual work needed once it’s set up.

Conclusion

Overall, casinos want you and all your friends to play on their casino rather than a competitor, and a refer-a-friend scheme or affiliate scheme is just another way that they can achieve this. Why not give it a go with a friend or family member and see how they feel about it!