One of the first depressing things I learned about online gambling was that deposit bonuses rarely work with blackjack. If you look at the terms and conditions of any gambling bonus, you will often see them state that you cannot clear this bonus with blackjack.
That’s a real bummer because blackjack is an awesome game from the player’s perspective. It has a low house advantage and it’s a lot of fun to perfect your own strategy. Casinos are reluctant to give out blackjack bonuses because they know that if you play the game well, you can easily clear the bonus and grind out a tidy profit.
The good news is that not all casino bonuses restrict blackjack. The industry does realize that there are lots of blackjack players out there and a few casinos do offer bonuses that you can clear with blackjack. Here’s a look at a few of those bonuses.
These bonuses are not perfect, so I’m going to explain more at the bottom of this post. Give the whole thing a read before you rush off to play blackjack with real money.
Note: the expected value of each bonus is calculated assuming a house advantage of 0.65% and maxing out the casino bonus. This isn’t a perfect number, but it’s pretty close based on the rules that I can find at most online casinos. Also, see this post for more information about calculating the house advantage of bonuses.
1. WinPalace Blackjack Bonus
Ignore the standard welcome bonus at WinPalace. There’s a special bonus on its promotions page that will give you a 100% bonus worth up to $500. You can redeem this bonus up to ten times. Use the bonus code WINBJ to claim this bonus instead of the regular bonus.
- Clearing requirements: 100 times the bonus + deposit amount
- Cashable: No
- Minimum deposit: $21
- Note: The terms and conditions page says this has a 25x rollover, but if you read a little further, you’ll see that blackjack only counts 25% towards meeting those requirements.
- Total rollover for maximum bonus: $100,000
- Expected value: –$150
2. Begado Casino
The Begado blackjack bonus is awesome thanks to its large maximum and low rollover. Use the bonus code BEGADOTB before you deposit and you’ll get 100% for up to $1,000. This one has surprisingly low rollover requirements and a nice expected value.
- Clearing requirements: 30 times the bonus + deposit amount
- Cashable: No
- Minimum deposit: $21
- Total rollover for maximum bonus: $60,000
- Expected value: +$610
3. Slots Jungle
Slots Jungle has a blackjack-only bonus that you can claim with the bonus code JUNGLEBJ. This is a 100% up to $500 deposit bonus that you can claim up to 10 times. Not the best blackjack bonus in the world.
- Clearing requirements: 100 times the bonus + deposit amount
- Cashable: No
- Minimum deposit: $21
- Note: This bonus has a 25x rollover, but blackjack wagers only count towards those requirements by 25%
- Total rollover for maximum bonus: $100,000
- Expected value: -$150
4. Buzzluck Blackjack Bonus
Buzzluck has a pretty good welcome bonus that works with blackjack. It is a 100% bonus worth up to $868. Use the coupon code BUZZLUCK to claim this bonus.
- Clearing requirements: 50 times the bonus + deposit amount
- Cashable: No
- Minimum deposit: Not stated
- Total rollover for maximum bonus: $86,800
- Expected value: +$303.80
5. Lucky Red Casino
Ignore the standard welcome bonus and get the one that is for table games. You can get this bonus by using the bonus code LUCKYRED100 before making your first deposit there. You’ll get a 100% bonus worth up to $1000.
- Clearing requirements: 50 times the bonus + deposit amount
- Cashable: No
- Minimum deposit: $20
- Total rollover for maximum bonus: $100,000
- Expected value: +$350
- Note: Lucky Red Casino also has lots of reload bonuses that frequently have no wagering requirements and no game restrictions. These bonuses are awesome. Get an account at Lucky Red and wait for promo e-mails from them.
Wow, I thought casino bonuses weren’t profitable anymore!
Don’t take out a loan on a new Ferrari yet. There are three things to keep in mind here:
First, these EV calculations are based on you depositing the maximum amount and using perfect blackjack strategy. If you deposit less, your expected value won’t look as impressive. It will still be positive though.
Second, the whole concept of expected value is confusing. EV does not mean you will win or lose exactly that much money while clearing any one bonus. This is just a calculation that shows what the bonus would be worth over many, many trials. Your mileage will vary in the real world.
Third, these EV calculations change based on the rules implemented at each casino. I did the best I could in determining the exact rules in play at these casinos, but not all the information was available. I went with a 0.65% house advantage as a rough estimate.
I don’t say this to deter you from getting any of these bonuses. Any time you can find a +EV blackjack bonus online, it is a beautiful thing. I just don’t want you to go in expecting to get rich overnight.
Geez, those total wagering requirements are massive…
Yea, the wagering requirements tend to be pretty high for blackjack bonuses. But remember, the above “total rollover” numbers are based on you maxing out the bonus. If your original deposit is smaller, you’ll have lower total wagering requirements.
But let’s say you have the bankroll to max out these bonuses. If you have to wager a total of $100,000 and place $5 wagers, you’ll have to play a grand total of 20,000 hands to clear the bonus. If you can play 2 hands per minute, that is 120 hands per hour. At that rate, it would take 167 hours to clear the whole bonus.
Bump it up to $20 per hand at 120 hands per hour, and that is roughly 42 hours of total play time. It’ll take quite a while to clear these bonuses if you bet relatively small amounts on each hand of play. Consider the value of your time, how much you love blackjack and how important the bonus is to you.
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