Why Doesn’t Blackjack Count Towards Online Casino Bonuses?

Blackjack is easily one of the most popular games at online casinos. It gives you an excellent chance to win thanks to its high return to player (RTP).

Many online blackjack games feature between 99.4% and 99.6% RTP. This payback is better than just about any other casino game. Unfortunately, there’s a big drawback to online blackjack: It doesn’t always qualify for bonus deals.

If you’re somebody who loves chasing online casino bonuses, then you’ll definitely be disappointed by this aspect. Furthermore, you may wonder why blackjack doesn’t qualify under every offer.

To understand why, you must first know the intricacies of casino bonuses. The following guide discusses more on online promotions and bonuses along with why they don’t always include blackjack.

How Do Blackjack Bonuses Work

Blackjack offers aren’t entirely nonexistent throughout the gaming industry. As you’ll see below, they have much in common with pretty much any online casino bonus.

Steps to Qualify for a Blackjack Bonus

When hunting for blackjack bonuses, the first step involves checking if blackjack qualifies for any relevant deals.

You can do so by visiting a casino’s bonus terms and conditions section. Here, you’ll see what games—if any—are excluded from offers.

Assuming blackjack isn’t on the exclusion list, then you should proceed to registering and depositing. You begin the registration process by hitting the signup button and filling out the form.

At some point during registration, you may see a bonus code field. You want to input the relevant code (if required) at this point.

Afterward, you’ll need to place a deposit to finish qualifying. The deposit process calls on you to visit the banking section and select one of the available options.

Internet casinos usually match a percentage of your deposit. For example, you might qualify for a 100% match blackjack bonus worth up to $500.

Terms and Conditions Apply

Gaming sites don’t just hand over bonuses so that you can cash them out immediately. Instead, they want you to earn these funds before withdrawing.


They require you to meet the terms and conditions first. The terms and conditions vary from casino to casino. However, the following terms are rather common across the board:

• Claim – Visit your account section and claim or activate the bonus.
• Claim time frame – You typically have three to seven days to claim the offer.
• Code – Many bonuses require a code to qualify.
• Maximum bet – Online casinos restrict your maximum bet (e.g. $100 or lower) with active bonuses.
• Playthrough – You wager a multiple of the bonus (e.g. 50x).
• Playthrough time frame – Casinos generally allow 30 to 90 days to satisfy playthrough.

You should always look at a casino’s terms and conditions page before assuming anything. Again, though, the terms and conditions discussed above are very common.

Playthrough Is Especially Important

Of the terms listed above, playthrough (a.k.a. rollover) is especially crucial. It determines how difficult a bonus will be to earn.

You certainly want the lowest rollover possible so that you don’t have to gamble as much before cashing out. Here’s a comparison between two bonuses to illustrate this importance:

Bonus #1

• You qualify for a $200 blackjack bonus.
• Rollover is 40x.
• 200 x 40 = $8,000 must be wagered

Bonus #2

• You qualify for a $200 blackjack bonus.
• Rollover is 100x.
• 200 x 100 = $20,000 must be wagered

When looking over a casino’s bonus terms and conditions, you should carefully consider playthrough. Lower is always better when it comes to this matter.

Why Is Blackjack Often Excluded From Bonus Deals?

If you’re somebody who loves playing real money blackjack, then you may become frustrated when online casinos exclude this game from bonus offers. However, gaming sites have a simple reason for not offering blackjack bonuses — it pays too much.

As covered before, a standard online blackjack game delivers between 99.4% and 99.6% RTP. By comparison, the average internet slot offers 96.0% RTP.

Of course, you need to use proper strategy to achieve the maximum blackjack payback. You can’t make common mistakes, such as splitting 10s, and expect to achieve max RTP.

But online casinos don’t really consider the strategy aspect when deciding which games to include in bonuses. They merely look at what’s theoretically possible.

The fact is that slots are more profitable to casinos than blackjack. Therefore, they offer far more slots bonuses. Meanwhile, gaming sites exclude or require much higher playthrough for certain games.

Regarding the latter, an online casino may allow blackjack players to qualify for rollover. However, it will demand 5x the rollover as a slot bonus.


Here’s an example of this scenario:

Slots Bonus

• You qualify for a $100 slots bonus.
• Rollover is 30x.
• 100 x 30 = $3,000 must be wagered

Blackjack Bonus

• You qualify for a $100 blackjack bonus.
• Rollover is 80x.
• 100 x 80 = $8,000 must be wagered

It’s nice that you can still play blackjack and earn a deal in this case. But you’ll also need to wager much more money before unlocking the funds.

Finding Casinos That Do Offer Blackjack Bonuses

As mentioned before, online blackjack bonuses aren’t as common as slots deals. However, plenty of online casinos do feature slots offers.

If you want to find a blackjack bonus, then you simply check the terms and conditions section at a relevant online casino. Once at a gaming site, you navigate to the bonus terms and conditions and check what games qualify for bonuses.

You might need to visit several online casinos before finding one that offers blackjack deals. But the search is well worth it when you cash in on a bonus.

Make Sure That the Deal Is Worth Chasing

Just because a gaming site offers blackjack bonuses doesn’t mean that they’re giving you a great deal. You should always scrutinize each bonus to ensure that you’re receiving a fair shake. The following advice will help you find quality blackjack deals.

Check the Playthrough

Every term behind a bonus is important. After all, violating just one term can nullify an offer. But again, playthrough holds significant importance.

Low rollover allows you to earn a bonus without risking a fortune. Furthermore, you’ll be able to cash out the funds sooner.

Acceptable blackjack playthrough ranges from 40x to 80x. Anything higher than this will force you to gamble an extreme amount of money before collecting bonus money.

Compare the Blackjack Playthrough to Slots

Slots rollover is always lower than blackjack playthrough. Therefore, you shouldn’t compare slots and blackjack rollover like they’re equals.

However, you don’t want an extreme gap between the two either. For example, the slots rollover shouldn’t be 30x versus 200x for blackjack. The latter is just an abomination.

A more-appropriate comparison would be slots playthrough of 30x versus blackjack rollover of 90x or less. This scenario shows that the casino treats blackjack players fairly.

Consider the RTP

Low bonus playthrough is always great. However, it doesn’t make up for a blackjack game with lower RTP.

Again, most online blackjack variations offer between 99.4% and 99.6% payback. But some casino games exist that only feature 99.0% RTP or less.

Such variants don’t reward you properly for the amount of skill that blackjack entails. That said, you should focus on combining bonuses and games with at least 99.4% payback.

Should You Play at Casinos That Don’t Offer Blackjack Bonuses?

You can find online blackjack at countless gaming sites. Therefore, you don’t need to settle on a casino that excludes this game from bonus deals.

After all, you can collect a fair amount of money on the side of your play with bonuses. This is especially true if you’re a skilled gambler.

Plenty of online casinos do offer blackjack bonuses. You should spend time looking for these sites and avoid settling for those that don’t have blackjack deals.

Conclusion

High playthrough is the big reason why some casinos cut blackjack out from bonuses. Simply put certain gaming sites only want to offer bonuses for low-paying games.

Luckily, you don’t need to blindly accept this scenario. There are online casinos that do feature blackjack bonuses—and quality ones at that.

You should scout out casinos ahead of time before registering and depositing anywhere. The goal is to find an online casino that includes blackjack in its bonuses.

Upon finding such a casino, you can deposit and take advantage of the deals. You’ll be able to combine high-paying games with lucrative bonuses.