Getting the Best Bonuses and Rewards at Live Dealer Online Casinos
The bane of anyone looking to clear most casino bonuses at live dealer casinos is ‘weightings’.
These are the percentages given to bets on table games which count towards clearing your bonus. Play-though can be as low as 5% or 10%, or as high as 35% in some cases.
Finding the best live dealer casino bonuses involves more than finding a reputable casino with reasonable weightings. You’ll need to navigate exclusions, caps and even allowed bets in the case of roulette.
This page will show you what to look out for, and where to find the best live dealer deals in 2024.
In the table below you will see my top recommendation for live dealer casino bonuses.
Live Dealer Casino Bonuses – How Weightings Work
Casino bonuses are set up for slot players, though there are still some good deals out there for fans of live streamed table games.
What you’ll find is that each bonus has a play-through requirement. The best of these are at around 20 times the deposit plus bonus amount. To keep things simple I will use a $100 deposit and 100% bonus as an example:
- Deposit + Bonus = $200 x 20 (play-through) = $4000 worth of wagers required until your bonus can be withdrawn.
Weightings mean that not all of a wager is counted. For example if you find that blackjack has a 25% weighting for your bonus clearance, then you’ll need to wager $16000 in bets before that bonus is cleared.
This makes a big difference to say the least.
Fortunately, with bigger bet sizes than the ‘virtual’ casino games, you can get through these bonuses quicker than you might think! My view is that if you are going to enjoy the live dealer games, then it makes sense to take a bonus even if it only adds a couple of percentage points to your overall returns. Over the long term, these small percentages make a big difference! As you will see in the sections below, loyalty point schemes and other ongoing benefits are usually more important than the initial live dealer welcome bonus deals.
Here are typical ranges of weightings for the most popular live dealer games.
- Blackjack 5% to 25%
- Roulette often 0% or banned, up to 35% for high risk bets.
- Poker (Casino Holdem or 3-Card) 5% to 25%
- Baccarat often banned due to the lower house edge, up to 10% where not
Checklist Before Accepting a Live Dealer Casino Bonus
The fact that a casino has fair weightings is not enough on its own to be sure it is safe to deposit. As I have covered in-depth in other casino bonus articles here at SNG Planet – you need to make sure that the 3 basic requirements of a legitimate casino are met. These are:
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A License issued by a known regulatory body. I personally like to see the license information on the issuing jurisdiction’s site. For us casinos these will be Caribbean islands or countries in Central America. For worldwide casinos you should look out for the European authorities including Malta, Alderney, Gibraltar or the Isle of Man.
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Certification of game fairness, again I prefer this will a link to the website of one of the testing companies such as Technical Systems Testing or iGaming Labs. This gives you confidence that the games / deal is fair. While it does not apply as much to live games where you get to see the deal – it is a positive sign that a casino is legitimate.
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3+ years track record with no major payment issues or scandals. Fast payouts are a must-have and if you see major (not just players crying after losing their cash) problems or suspicions online then never give a casino the benefit of the doubt!
There are more factors, including the number of and types of payment method accepted. By staying with known brands with several years track record of looking after their players well, you should be safe enough to get to the next stage – comparing the ongoing and loyalty reward schemes.
Ongoing Rewards at Live Dealer Casinos
As the bets tend to be bigger in live dealer casinos than other formats, the loyalty and reward schemes put in place by a casino become more important than ever.
I have said many times here at SNG Planet that the ongoing rewards, promotions and extras offered by casinos are actually more important than the initial welcome bonuses. Since those initial live dealer bonus deals will usually be gone in 1 or 2 months, the ongoing rewards will always make a much bigger difference to your overall bankroll.
Here are some of the things to look out for:
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Comp Point Schemes: You earn points for every wager you make, and get to swap these for either cash or for bonuses. Weightings will again play a role here. The best casino loyalty point schemes accelerate as you play more. You can move up tiers after a while, where you will accumulate those points quicker.
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Reload Bonuses: We would all like to make a single deposit and have it last forever. Unfortunately even the best of us need to reload sometimes. Look out for casinos which offer these regularly, and with generous terms (and not too low weightings for your favorite live dealer games).
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Plenty of Promotions: The best casinos change their player promotions regularly and make an effort to include all types of players in these. If you only see slot promotions, then this casino is probably not tuned in to the needs of live streamed game players. No good casino will hide the past promotions, compare the lists and see how you might have benefited.
There are plenty of one-off rewards to mention. If you are playing at a casino with a live dealer offering and have not yet tried it out, then a free $5 chip or $25 in no-lose free play is a common offer to get you to try out these games. Casinos know that you’ll enjoy them a lot more than the traditional ‘virtual’ table games – allowing you to take advantage of the freebies.
Next Steps – My Picks for Live Dealer Casino Bonuses
Here is my top rec for your location again. Hopefully, after reading the info above, it will be clear why these casinos were selected among many others.