Online casinos offer a wide variety of bonuses. However, these offers generally break down into two categories: slots and table game deals.
If you like online slots and table games, then you may wonder how these bonuses differ from each other. Furthermore, you might want to know which type of deal is more valuable.
The following guide discusses the intricacies of table game and slot bonuses. It also covers the high and low points to each type of deal.
Basics of a Slots Bonus
A slots bonus applies to one or more of an online casino’s slot machines. It can come in various formats, including a deposit bonus, no deposit bonus, or free spins.
Here’s a brief description of each offer:
- No Deposit Bonus – Complete your account registration to receive a free bonus.
- Deposit Bonus – A bonus offer that’s worth a match percentage of your deposit amount.
- Free Spins – These spins allow you to play real money slots for free.
The key aspect to a slots bonus is that you must play slots for real money to earn it. However, these deals can sometimes include keno, online scratch cards, and other games. You just need to check the terms and conditions to see what qualifies.
What Makes Slots Bonuses Special?
Slots bonuses are by far the most common and popular deals at online casinos. You can see what makes them so sought-after below.
Lower Playthrough
Playthrough is one of the most important terms behind bonuses. It determines how much you’ll need to bet before withdrawing the funds.
Slots bonuses typically feature the lowest playthrough in the casino. This means that you won’t have to wager as much when unlocking your bonus.
The average online slots bonus features around 40x playthrough. If you were going for a $100 bonus under these circumstances, then you’d need to wager $4,000 total.
Table game offers, on the other hand, usually carry really high playthrough. You might have to meet up to 100x playthrough or more on these offers.
Widely Available
Slots bonuses are a dime a dozen in the gaming world. You can randomly pick pretty much any online casino and find at least one or more of these deals available.
Most gambling sites feature a large slots welcome bonus when you first join and deposit with them. For instance, you might be eligible for a 100% match bonus worth up to $1,000.
Assuming a casino doesn’t have a bonus to your liking, then you’ll easily be able to find a better offer just by looking around.
No Deposit Bonuses Available
You don’t even have to deposit to take advantage of slots deals. After all, many online casinos are willing to provide no deposit bonuses for online slots.
As mentioned before, these offers require you to complete registration to qualify. Afterward, you’ll receive cash or a certain amount of free spins.
You can use this bonus to drum up winnings. You’ll be able to cash out the winnings after meeting playthrough and other terms and conditions.
Downsides of a Slots Bonus
Slots bonuses have definitely earned their popularity due to the reasons covered above. As discussed below, though, these offers don’t come without their drawbacks.
Involves Games With Lower RTP
Online slots pay considerably better than their land-based counterparts. The average mobile slot features 96.0% RTP in comparison to around 93% for a land-based machine.
Even still, online slots don’t quite deliver the same payback as table games. Of course, much depends upon the exact game you’re playing.
Caribbean Stud, for example, pays less than the typical mobile slot. Then, you have other games, such as baccarat and blackjack. These games deliver around 99% RTP. Blackjack can even offer up to 99.8% payback in certain situations.
With that said, slots bonuses force you to deal with lower-paying games. This factor somewhat nullifies the previously covered low playthrough.
Restricted to a Single Slot
Some bonuses are purely meant to promote specific games. The same offers may be restricted to a single online slot.
This scenario is very common with free spins. You may receive 50 free spins, for example, that are only for RTG’s Storm Lords.
You may not mind having to play a specific game because you’re still getting a chance to win free money. Nevertheless, it’s always nice to use a bonus however you want.
Fast Play Rate
You probably aren’t going to get as much entertainment out of a slots bonus. After all, online slot machines move at a very fast pace.
Depending upon the game, you may play between 400 and 600 rounds an hour. Even with just a $1 wager, this leaves you risking $400-$600.
Of course, certain table games like baccarat can also play quickly. But on average, table games play slower than slots and, thus, provide more entertainment while earning bonuses.
Basics of a Table Game Bonus
Table game bonuses cover a broad range of games. Here’s a list of common games that fall under these offers:
- American Roulette
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Caribbean Stud
- Craps
- European Roulette
- French Roulette
- Hold’em Poker
- Let It Ride
- Pai Gow Poker
- Red Dog
- Ultimate Texas Hold’em
Most table game bonuses are deposit deals. However, you can occasionally find table game no deposit bonuses at online casinos.
What Makes Table Game Bonuses Special?
Like slots offers, table game deals also feature unique characteristics. Here’s a look at what makes these bonuses interesting.
Play Games With High RTP
Table games collectively give you the best chance to win at online casinos. Some of these games feature over 99% RTP.
Blackjack is especially favorable with regard to payout percentages. Certain single-deck variations can offer between 99.5% and 99.7% RTP.
Baccarat and French Roulette are also high-paying games. They deliver 98.94% and 98.65% payback, respectively.
Enjoy a Broad Range of Games
If you like variety from your gaming experience, then you’ll appreciate what these deals have to offer. You can typically play up to a dozen or more games through a table game bonus.
You may feel like meeting playthrough for European Roulette one day. The next day, you might head to the cyber baccarat tables.
Of course, slots bonuses also allow you to play a variety of slot machines. However, the gameplay from one table game to the next typically varies more than what’s seen with slots.
Slower Play Rate on Average
The average mobile table game moves slower than a slot. With real money roulette, for example, you’ll need to wait several seconds in between wheel spins. You’ll have to wait even longer when switching where you place chips on the board each round.
Roulette is another example of a slow-moving table game. It features several rounds and offers an opportunity to pull back one-third of your bet in two of these rounds.
Long story short, you won’t be playing as quickly with most table games. You’ll get more entertainment when chasing bonuses under these circumstances.
Downsides of a Table Game Bonus
While table game deals certainly have their merits, they also come with some downsides. Here are the main things that you want to consider before going after one of these bonuses.
Higher Playthrough
Online casinos raise playthrough on table game bonuses to counteract the high RTP. They don’t want to feature the same playthrough on baccarat, for example, as they would on a slot with 95.8% RTP.
The combination of high RTP and high playthrough can work out in your favor in some circumstances. Regardless, you’ll need to bet a lot more when earning these deals.
Not as Common
Again, you’ll have absolutely no trouble finding online slots bonuses. They’re available at nearly every mobile casino. Table game bonuses, on the other hand, are a different story.
The majority of casinos offer these deals. However, you shouldn’t be surprised to find a gaming site that doesn’t.
The good news is that you can simply visit more internet casinos until finding what you’re looking for. But you may find it inconvenient that table game bonuses aren’t as freely available.
Fewer No Deposit Bonus Opportunities
No deposit bonuses are certainly some of the most-popular offers at gaming sites. They give you a chance to win something while hardly doing anything.
Slots no deposit bonuses are pretty common in the gaming world. Table game no deposit bonuses, however, aren’t as prevalent.
You might find the occasional blackjack no deposit bonus or a similar offer for another game. But you won’t have an easy time doing so.
Finding Value Between Table Game and Slots Bonuses
You’ll find it somewhat difficult to judge the value between table game and slots bonuses. After all, certain aspects make them hard to compare.
Nevertheless, you can separate each type of deal with a little effort. You simply need to know a game’s RTP and playthrough to make such comparisons.
Here’s an example on doing so:
Table Game
- You qualify for a $100 bonus.
- Playthrough is 150x.
- 150 x 100 = $15,000 must be wagered
- You play French Roulette (98.65% RTP).
- 15,000 x 0.9865 = $14,798 in theoretical winnings
- 14,798 + 100 = $14,898 in total theoretical winnings
- 15,000 – 14,898 = $102 in theoretical losses
Online Slot
- You qualify for a $100 bonus.
- Playthrough is 40x.
- 100 x 40 = $4,000 must be wagered
- You play a slot with 96.5% RTP.
- 4,000 x 0.965 = $3,860 in theoretical winnings
- 3,860 + 100 = $3,960 in total theoretical winnings
- 4,000 – 3,960 = $40 in theoretical losses
You can see that the slots bonus is more valuable, despite involving a lower-paying game. In another situation, however, it could easily be reversed.
Assuming the table game had 60x playthrough, for instance, then it would be the more valuable offer.
Of course, other factors can come into play, like the type of games you enjoy better. But if you’re simply looking to measure deals on a dollar-by-dollar basis, then the above example will do.
Conclusion
Slots bonuses almost always feature lower playthrough when compared to table game offers. The latter, however, usually involve games with higher RTP.
With that said, you can’t automatically look at a slots bonus or table game bonus and assume that one is more valuable than the other. Instead, you need to evaluate them by looking at their rollover and RTP combined.
Either deal can be more valuable depending upon the circumstances. Everything just depends on the numbers involved. You can just use the examples in this post as guides when making these determinations.
