Sticky Casino Bonuses

Sticky casino bonuses, also known as “phantom casino bonuses” are slightly different in nature from traditional cashable bonuses. There are two types of sticky bonus, type 1 and type 2. Generally in sticky bonuses the bonus amount cannot be cashed out even after wagering requirements are completed, but bonuses are only used for wagering purposes.

For example in sticky type 1 bonus 100% up to 100€, you get 100€ sticky bonus when depositing 100€ your own money making your starting balance 200€ total. If you have for example 300€ balance after playing some games you like (and completing wagering requirements) and you decide to cash out, then the bonus part of the balance, 100€ is removed from your withdrawal and you get 200€ back to your ewallet account / credit card.

This might sound that sticky bonuses would only help to get player´s money last a bit longer, but sticky bonuses offer interesting types of strategy options to thinking players. Sticky amount of the balance can be used as a leverage to make large bets trying to gain large wins fast making half or full bankroll bets, trying to reach certain target, for example 3X(deposit+bonus). An example can make this a bit more clear. In our example a player gets 100% up to 100€ sticky type 1 bonus with wagering requirement of 20xBonus. All games are allowed. Now the player´s idea is trying to reach a big target with large, risky bets and then if succeeded, grind the wagering requirement. Player sets himself a target gain of 3x(deposit+bonus). He decides to play single zero roulette by betting on numbers 1-12 (1:3 win if hit). He puts his whole balance on the line in the first spin (using sticky bonus amount as a “leverage” in addition to his deposit amount). Now 12/37 times he wins, so his balance will be 600€. After that he grinds out the wagering requirement in blackjack, losing 10€ on average. So after completing the wagering, his total balance is 590€ and if he decides to withdrawal at this point, he gets 490€ back to his deposit method, resulting him a 390€ gain. 25 out of 37 times he loses his roulette spin, so he loses his deposit of 100€. We can count that (12/37 * 390€) – (25/37 * -100€) = 126€ – 66€ = +60€ in EV! So the sticky bonuses are profitable. The riskier the large bets are (the higher the target) the higher the EV will be. Of course the busting rate is also higher so variance gets bigger.

In sticky type 1 bonuses the bonus amount is removed from your account at the time of first cash out. In sticky type 2 bonuses the bonus amount remains on the account for further bets even after the first cash out (but the bonus amount cannot be cashed out). There are slight variations listed below.

Grand Virtual Casinos

At Grand Virtual casinos the player is given a sticky type 2 bonus upon his first deposit. Bonus amount is not removed from the balance after withdrawal. One strategy is to complete the wagering requirement (look at the allowed games list from bonus T&C) and then cashing out the cash balance. After that you can continue to play with the bonus amount, always withdrawing after each won hand in e. g blackjack. This way you can retain 99% of the bonus amount (100% – house edge in the game you decide to play). So the EV is practically the same as if the bonus would be cashable.

Chartwell Casinos

Chartwell casinos offer sometimes cashable bonuses and sometimes sticky type 2 bonuses. The sticky ones work pretty much the same way as in Grand Virtual casinos. The bonus amount cannot be cashed out, but it is not removed upon first withdrawal. So after completing the wagering requirement and cashing out the cash balance, you can cash out each win gotten from the sticky part of the bonus if you wish. There are usually fees for several neteller withdrawals during the same month, so you should use moneybookers instead.