Refer a Friend Casino Offers
Offering a great way to bolster your casino bankroll, refer a friend promotions can be found at many of the top rated online casinos.
Generally they're standard promotions - mainly in the form of bonus money added to your account - that are available all year round. If you have plenty of friends who you know will enjoy casino games - and be able to play sensibly - you can make some good playing money and maybe end up as the key figure in landing one of them a fortune.
Never forget though that playing at the casino can result in sometimes heavy losses, so make sure that any referrals you do make are for people that you're sure can handle it and know when to stop.
On this page we'll take a look at what refer a friend casino promotions are, how they work, and what you personally get out of any successful referrals you make. Plus I'll list a handful of the best value refer a friend programs.
What Is A Refer A Friend Bonus?
We all know that casinos are constantly on the lookout for new depositors, and they've very good at devising ways of enticing those new players in. The obvious way to do this is by offering incentives to register, mainly in the form of deposit bonuses and other promotions such as free spins.
Once you're registered as a player - and have accepted any welcome bonuses - there may be reload bonuses and other offers on top.
But the casinos know that the cheapest way to get new players to find them from their existing players.
They're looking to you to recommend friends that might want to play.
They'll pay you for your efforts, and your friends (or family) will also get their normal welcome bonuses too. Plus your friends can refer their friends, and so on.
How Much Can I Get?
How long is a piece of string? Amounts vary, and you'll find different referral bonuses on different sites. Generally they'll vary from around £/€/$20 up to £/€/$100. Not a ground breaking amount by any means, but can soon mount up with a high number of successful referrals.
You may find that on some sites you may get an award equal to or a multiple of the friend's deposit amount, but often it's a set figure paid out on the basis that a specified deposit is made.
It's worth mentioning here that it could pay to look at a casino's welcome bonus package in combination with their refer a friend terms. If you anticipate being able to successfully bring in new players, it might be worth signing up with a casino that offers a lower first deposit bonus for you personally, if their referral bonuses are good value.
How To Claim
The best advice I can give here if you're going to make a friend referral is to read the rules carefully, and watch out for any terms or conditions that need to be met. Rules around referrals can vary from site to site, and sometimes casinos can bury predatory conditions in the small print.
The bottom line though is normally straightforward. There may be a form to complete into which you enter the chosen friend's email address. They'll get the mail, and if proceeding to sign up via the link in the mail and make a deposit, you'll be credited with the relevant bonus. Alternatively there may be an option for you to go straight to a friend, make your recommendation, and when that friend registers there may be fields in the sign up form that ask if they were referred, and by whom.
As long as all the rules are followed, you won't need to do anything else to get the bonus money. It'll appear in your playing account.
When Do I Get The Bonus?
It's obvious that you won't get any bonus award until the casino is actually going to make any money, so just the act of referring itself won't get you the free cash. Once your friend has registered and actually made a deposit - and often once they've actually played with it too - then you'll see the bonus award.
What's The Best Type Of Bonus?
We've already covered the fact that most awards are for one off specified amounts. Normally the higher the amount, the better value it is. But one type of bonus - if you can find it - that can offer exceptional value is one where you'll get a percentage of referred player deposits/losses over time. This could add up to a tidy amount.
Restrictions
Again, the best way to be aware of any restrictions is to read the terms and conditions of each program fully, and understand them. They'll be spelled out either on the refer a friend page itself, or via a link to another page.
One common restriction you may encounter could be in the number of referrals you can claim for, most often within a certain timeframe. Keep an eye open for this one, especially if you anticipate making a significant volume of referrals. This restriction could come in the form of allowed referrals a month, or as a total figure.
If there is a restriction on total number of referrals allowed, think carefully before recommending each friend. You don't want to be using up your quota on friends that just won't be interested.
Always remember that bonuses come with strings attached. You won't be able to withdraw any bonus cash until you've played through the amount the specified number of times. This is known as 'clearing the bonus'. The term 'play through' means actually wagering (but not necessarily losing!) the original bonus value.
Risks
As long as you meet any terms and conditions - and provided your referred friend responds correctly to the invite - there are not too many obvious risks to actually getting the referral cash in your account.
The biggest risk I can see is inherently in the act of gambling itself.
Hopefully you'll already know to gamble responsibly with your own cash, but be aware that your referrals may not know how to play the game. Casinos can drink your money, there's always a risk of losing your deposited cash. And losing is highly likely - playing casino games is best approached by considering it as a form of entertainment that you're paying for, rather than a guaranteed way to win money.
Some people may find it hard to control their gambling, and eventually lose enough money that it hurts either them or those around them. You wouldn't want to take the risk of landing this on one of your friends, so think carefully before making any referral recommendation.
Increasing The Number Of Referrals
It'll be fairly easy to think of those friends you might want to refer, but it's also worth considering how else you could increase the numbers. One great way is by using Facebook. The power of recommendations on Facebook is well known, and if you are an influential figure you could end up making a post which goes out to lots of prospective depositors.
What Do I Do If I Refer a Friend & Don't Get My Bonus?
It's always worth checking on the detail if you think you should have received a bonus but didn't. Try these steps:
1. Check that your friend did actually register and make a deposit, and that the terms of your bonus release have been met.
2. Make sure that your referred friend did click on the link in the mail or invite message they were sent by the casino. If they just went straight to the casino via the URL address bar or a search engine search, then the casino wouldn't have known to credit you with the signup.
3. Get your friend's login name, and contact the casino Customer support team. Explain that this should have been a referral attached to your user ID, and ask them to check.
Finding the Best Programs
To find the best value programs, you'll need to take into account all of the points I've covered above. It all boils down to a balance of the actual bonus values (both your own welcome bonus and the referral bonus available), how often you can actually take the awards, and any restrictions that might be applied.
Of course you'll also need to take into account all of the other factors that go into making a casino a recommended one. Even if the referral program is a great one, there's no point in playing at a casino that doesn't cover all of the trust factors adequately, and the last thing you'd want to do is refer one of your friends to an untrusted casino.
Of course you can always play social casino games where trust is not so important, they're free to play and unless you buy virtual currency to play you won't be losing any money - plus you can still refer friends through any social networking features.