In any competitive industry, like the online gaming industry, brand differentiation is essential. Online casinos powered by the same software provider offer the same range of games and therefore look alike in that respect. One way that online casino owners achieve differentiation is by offering different bonuses. Bonuses are cash incentives given to online players for the express purpose of wagering at the casinos.

Almost all online casinos offer Match Deposit Bonuses. This bonus requires the online player to make a first deposit. Then the online casino offers to the player a matching amount as a bonus. Usually the matching amount is 100% of the first deposit but it is known to vary from 25% to 200% of the first deposit. Another way of creating differentiation in this bonus is by the maximum amount that is offered as bonus. Some casinos extend the Match Deposit Bonus to the second or third deposit as well.

Match Deposit Bonuses come to play only after the player has made a deposit. Some online casinos have gone one step ahead and are offering bonuses without the player having to make a deposit. Hence these are known as No Deposit Bonuses. They are one-time bonuses given to enable the player to check out some of the games and to familiarize himself with the processes. Since they do not require a matching contribution from the player they are usually much smaller than the Match Deposit Bonuses. 

Match Deposit Bonuses and No Deposit Bonuses are targeted to attract new players to the online casino. However the casino also needs to prevent its existing members from defecting to other online casinos. This explains the genesis of Monthly Bonuses. Like in the case of Match deposit Bonuses the players are required to make deposits and the online casino matches a specified percent of those deposits. The difference is that usually the bonuses are offered on all deposits made during the month. Also the cap is not on individual bonuses but the total amount offered as Monthly Bonuses during the month.

In order to remain competitive online casinos have to offer a large number of deposit options. But for the sake of convenience they would like to handle only a few options. Hence they offer bonuses known as Banking Bonuses in order to channel deposits through preferred methods. These are again offered as a percent of the deposit with a limit on the maximum amount of the deposit.

The best publicity for an online casino is the word of mouth publicity. In order to facilitate this online casinos offer Refer A Friend Bonuses. In this bonus each for friend a customer brings to the casino the customer is offered a bonus. Usually this is offered as a flat amount per friend referred and is released after the friend makes his first deposit. Some online casinos offer the Refer A Friend Bonus as a percent of the deposit made by the friend.