Loyalty Schemes at Gambling Sites

Gambling Loyalty Schemes Explained

You’ll often read about how important a welcome bonus is to new casino player sign-ups, but what about those who like to settle into a site that ticks all of their boxes?

Gambling loyalty schemes are long-term promotions reserved for regular players at a particular site. They can be as creative as the minds behind the online casino allow them to be but, above all, they must offer some sort of player benefit that’s inaccessible to players who play infrequently or hop between different sites. 

Perhaps members of a loyalty scheme gain early access to certain games, or receive credits for hitting certain milestones, or maybe there are tournaments that are only reserved for loyalty scheme participants. Whatever it is, these sweeteners ought to offer an elevated experience above what you’d get from typical online casino gameplay. 

There are many similarities between the gambling loyalty schemes at sportsbooks and online casinos. For example, they’re typically based on comp points systems that allow sportsbook bettors or casino players to gradually reach higher levels and thereby access better prizes and benefits as they climb the rankings. With a sportsbook you may get enhanced odds on a particular match, or free bets on a regular basis, while online casinos may offer exclusive opportunities to enter VIP tournaments — ideal for those harbouring a competitive streak. 

You’ll also find plenty of crossover between loyalty schemes and VIP programmes, with the two often being confused for one another. VIP programmes are more of an enhanced experience for high rollers and are often invitation-only. They offer VIP players features such as:

• Account managers to support an individual’s account;
• Higher deposit limits;
• Faster payouts;
• Invitations to VIP events, holidays, dinners, and sporting events. 

As with any promotion at a gambling site, it’s important to be mindful that with most bonuses wagering requirements will need to be fulfilled in order to make withdrawals against any associated cash. Always read the T&Cs carefully to ensure you’re clued up on the ins and outs of every offer.

Loyalty Rewards

When it comes to what’s on offer, each gambling site is different but there are certain themes you’re bound to come across. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most commonly available loyalty rewards: 

• Free spins or free bets;
• Casino currency in the form of free cash;
• Access to unique tournaments;
• Boosted odds;
• Access to higher levels of games, and across the site itself;
• Points that can be exchanged for free bets, new levels, and free spins on games;
• Special prizes when you reach certain levels or gain enough points.

Types of Gambling Loyalty Schemes

As promotions and bonus opportunities evolve, so too do gambling loyalty schemes. There are quite a few options out there, with many sites overlapping in the general basis of their content. You will find a unique touch to each loyalty scheme so it’s important to have a look through and see what takes your fancy before signing up and accepting a casino bonus. Nevertheless, let’s take a quick look at some of the most commonly found gambling loyalty schemes you’re likely to come across at the best online casinos in the UK.

Points-Based Loyalty Schemes

A points-based loyalty scheme allows participants to collect points and exchange them for certain gifts, credits, or prizes. This could be 50 points for 50 free spins at specified slot games, or perhaps new levels will be unlocked at certain points totals for better prizes and more opportunities. 

You’ll find a lot of variation between the ways in which each casino site plays out the importance of comp points, what their points are called or represent, and the value each one holds. A points-based loyalty scheme is a fun way of reaching goals and targets while enhancing your casino experience. 

Free Bet Clubs

There are growing numbers of Free Bet Clubs managed by some of the best bookies around, however they’re still pretty rare. Free Bet Clubs offer the chance to access free bets for those that opt-in and place a specified deposit, defined by the bookies themselves. 

They’re a reward for loyalty and can be a great enhancement to your usual betting experience. As with most casino offers, there will be minimum bet requirements, alongside other terms and conditions, so be sure to find a Free Bet Club that suits your gambling habits and doesn’t require shifting away from your usual mode of betting. 

Cashback 

These are a popular type of gambling loyalty scheme that sees casino players get a percentage of their money back on lost bets instead of earning points. This cashback can be used against future bets, tournaments, slot games or other casino games of your choice, but sadly it’s rarely withdrawable. The amount you receive in cashback will be determined by the level of bets you make, and the specifications of the casino itself. 

Player-vs-Player Features 

Operators such as Duelz offer player vs player (PvP) features as part of their gambling loyalty scheme. This simply gives the competitive participants among us a more engaging casino experience, playing against other individuals and adding points to a leaderboard. They can be a really fun way of boosting your casino experience, taking on the challenge of a leaderboard, weekly competitions, and the chance of hitting the top spot. 

How We Find the Best Gambling Loyalty Schemes

Seeking out the best gambling loyalty schemes can be a challenge, especially with new casinos emerging at regular intervals, along with loyalty schemes regularly being amended or updated. However, at Gambling Deals, we love to uncover the best options out there for online casino players, and have a strict criteria of what we’re looking for in the best gambling loyalty schemes. 

UKGC Licence

As with all our reviews and recommendations, we will only ever list loyalty scheme gambling sites that are licensed by the UKGC. This is particularly important with regards to gambling loyalty schemes because of the potential shake up to legislation, so we are keeping a close eye on all updated Gambling Commission publications. Not only does the UKGC issue licences to online casinos, it sets a high standard in terms of ensuring operators work responsibly and that casino players are kept safe. Never play at an unlicensed casino — you can ensure licensing of an operator by checking the base of any online casinos homepage where their licence number should be clearly visible. 

Terms and Conditions

Gambling loyalty schemes will, of course, come with terms and conditions attached, and we highly recommend you read through them thoroughly before signing up. However, you can feel confident that we’ve also read through the details to ensure there are no obvious stumbling points or red flags from the outset — if there are, we’ll highlight them in our review. Wagering requirements are undoubtedly going to come into play, even within a gambling loyalty scheme, so it’s important to recognise that they will have a huge impact on your winning potential. With an average of 35x wagering requirement on any bonus, they certainly aren’t accessible to the majority of gamblers.  As well as these, you will find other terms and conditions that relate to deposit and withdrawal procedures, game limitations, payment method inclusions, and any rules stipulated by the online casino. Be sure to know what you’re agreeing to. 

Games and Markets

What we like to see from a loyalty scheme gambling site is a great range of games and betting markets for people to get their teeth into – nobody wants to see a limited library of titles, so it’s always great to see a range of games from the best providers around, as well as some unique titles from smaller studios. There will always be market and betting type restrictions within a casino bonus, however, for us to recommend a site, we want to see the majority of options available. There has to be a reason to join a loyalty scheme, so whether that’s a VIP casino experience, or access to a free bets club, there must be visible benefits. 

User Experience

For a gambling loyalty scheme to be worth the effort, casinos need to have a positive user experience. This can be with regards to how easy a site is to navigate, if there are exciting enhancements and unique areas that regular players cannot access. It could also mean great customer service, smooth visuals, and great mobile accessibility. Whatever is available to make you feel like a VIP is good in our books. 

Best VIP Casino Loyalty Schemes

So, we’ve established what we look for in a gambling loyalty scheme, plus the potential pitfalls and benefits to joining. Let’s take a look at some real life examples, so you can see exactly what’s on offer. 

Best Sportsbook Loyalty Schemes

Similarly to the best casino sites, we take pride in hunting down the most inspiring sportsbook loyalty schemes around. There are, of course, sites that offer both casino and sports betting, and more often than not, the loyalty schemes cover all areas. However, some are purely specific to sportsbooks, so let’s have a look at a few of our current favourites. 

The Future of Loyalty Schemes

The future of online gambling loyalty schemes is currently up in the air, with the UKGC making suggestions that they could eventually be banned or at least highly limited in what they can offer. However, at the time of writing, the UK government has shelved any discussions of amending legislation for gambling loyalty schemes for the time being. There are also rumours of ongoing conversations between the DCMS and the Gambling Commission, with loyalty schemes being top of the agenda, alongside introducing affordability checks and reduced stake limits for online slots. 

Nevertheless, there is no concrete agreement on any new legislation at present, so we’ll continue to outline the best loyalty schemes offered by legitimate online casino sites until things change.

Get Started with a Gambling Loyalty Scheme

To summarise, we at Gambling Deals think there are some fantastic gambling loyalty schemes out there, with a programme to suit everyone’s requirements. Have a thorough read through of our current favourites and click through to sign up on the one that takes your fancy.