What Are Coupon Codes?

A third of UK gamblers don't know how to use coupons correctly

9 min

Coupons or promo codes are physical or virtual tickets that give access to specific discounts. New gamblers have no idea how to use these discounts and benefit from the offers. So let’s see together how to make the most of them and their best use in gambling!

Understanding how coupons work

Understanding how coupons work

Coupons and promo codes have become ubiquitous in the world of shopping, allowing savvy gamblers to save a lot. 

But how exactly do they work their magic? 

At their core, coupons provide a discount by reducing the amount you have to deposit. 

In the casino world, promo codes give bonus cash, free spins, or other perks to provide value to players. While casinos take a short-term loss, they aim to build long-term loyalty. Understanding how to maximise coupon perks without overspending takes skill.

The mechanics behind coupons provide value to consumers and insight to retailers. 

Is couponing worth it in gambling?

Yes! These offers are advantageous for both clients and companies.

For the first, the primary benefit is that they are easy to use and, sometimes, the promotion could be substantial. They can also be used on a mobile device.

Companies, on the other hand, may use these tools for marketing purposes, mainly to see if a coupon campaign was successful or not and whether to continue using or discard it.

This is extremely helpful for those looking to assess and address the needs of their target audience, but also for the people involved who will receive offers akin to their preferences.

Each offer with its specific coupon code

Online casinos have created bonus coupon codes for different advantages that they can use for one of the following deals: 

The four types of casino coupons

  • Percentage offers: a percentage set by the company is subtracted from the original price of the item;
  • Public promotional codes: they are addressed to anyone who will enter that specific website;
  • Bonus codes for new customers: as already implied, only new clients can benefit from these ones;
  • ‘Rewarding’ codes: these are specifically directed towards people who have consistently made purchases in the same place and, thus, have spent a fair amount of money and effort into it.

Gambling companies use coupons to benefit themselves and their customers

Companies choose to provide promo codes to their customers in order to fulfil some professional objectives as well as to satisfy their customers’ needs:

  • To grow their client database: most of them are based on either subscription or on creating a special account on that particular platform. So, in time, clients constantly receive other promotions that may tempt them to make purchases.
  • To analyse their audience: this is especially useful for creating online metrics and statistics and capturing the behaviour of that particular category of clients – such as conversion rates and customer retention rates.
  • To improve the social media algorithm: think about social media channels, such as Instagram, Facebook and others. Businesses may create specific bonus codes for each one according to their audience so that, when you’re scrolling through your feed, you will get exactly what you’re interested in.

Promo codes general knowledge

Promo codes general knowledge

Now that we’ve answered: “What are coupon codes?”, it’s time to see how they function!

Promo codes have become increasingly sought after so much so that many online and offline businesses adapted to this trend and included them in their marketing scheme.

Simply put, you can find them literally anywhere!

In ‘offline environments’, you can get one mostly via:

  • Newspaper;
  • Leaflets or flyers;
  • Product packaging.

The online switch

In this case, the primary rule customers must obey is to rely only on secure sites. Otherwise, they risk losing their money and even having their card details stolen.

They are, indeed, more practical than the classical printed ones and, implicitly, easier to access, yet they also imply patience and an extensive market study.

Can anyone use promo codes?

Anyone can successfully access such voucher codes, be they new or regular customers.

It is possible for some companies to offer a promo code only to those who have just arrived on their website upon subscription.

On the opposite end, suppose someone has been ‘loyal’ to the same company for a while, they might be rewarded with a special kind of promo code.

The gambling industry relies on the same principle.

One thing to remember is that most promotions are directed towards new players rather than regular ones, although the latter may receive more substantial earnings if they get into the VIP club.

5 tips to check when using a coupon

5 tips to check when using a coupon

Here is what you must keep in mind if you wish to go further than simply answering “what are coupons?”:

Ensure you wrote the code correctly 

One of the most common mistakes that impede the correct and efficient use of promo codes is misspelling them.

Since they vary so much, you must pay attention to the manner in which they are written. This highly depends on the company policy, so you should consider even the finest details: from letters in caps to numbers and even special symbols or blank spaces.

Double-check each one to ensure complete accuracy.

All the available codes displayed on our website are placed at the beginning of each bonus description. If you click on one, it will automatically be copied and ready to be inscribed onto the official online casino site.

The clock is always ticking

Most such offers have a set amount of time to be used before they expire. The exact date is usually stated in the promotion itself or within the terms and conditions.

There are cases, however, when the site chooses not to specify a time limit. This case may lead to confusion, so it’s best to get in contact with the website if there is a Live Chat feature at your disposal.

Enable gambling on secure sites

In this day and age, you can very well encounter scams at every corner, and you should know how to divert them as fast as possible. There are two aspects that make the difference between a safe and a sketchy site:

  1. The licensing of any kind – from specialised industry regulatory companies to governmental bodies);
  2. The reputation – here, we are talking about ratings given by customers either on the official website, other forum sites or even social media, or reviews written by people with vast experience in that respective domain.

Our diverse and experienced team is always here to decide between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and shield you from any mischievous encounters! Both their experience and the constant analysis of the market stand as our prerequisite for finding and displaying only the most secure discount vouchers, all of them attested by renowned institutions, like the United Kingdom Gambling Commission or the corresponding EU institution, the Malta Gaming Authority.

Read the terms

If you’re on the lookout for a specific item or casino bonus you wish to receive and hope a promo code could be attached to it, we advise you to pause for a second before jumping in and reading the Terms and Conditions.

Truth be told, many sites impose conditions when it comes to the applicability of their promotional palette that range from the type of payment to the actual benefits.

Skrill and Neteller have some restrictions, especially when it comes to Slot sites. Generally speaking, neither can be used for extra rounds bonuses, and this is commonly stipulated within the promotion description.

Facts about couponing you probably didn’t know

Facts about couponing you probably didn’t know

Coupons have set themselves to be one of the most used methods to persuade customers to join a certain website, but also a manner in which clients themselves choose to do their purchasing. They are easy to use and may offer great profits.

Nonetheless, due to this reason exactly, some have gone to extremely great lengths to avoid any costs and create a coupon strategy which led to the so-called extreme couponing phenomenon.

The extreme couponing phenomenon

The use of this concept has spread in recent years throughout the entire globe. It relies on mastering the art of buying as much as you can with little to no money (as impossible as that sounds, it is feasible).

If some people ask themselves what coupons are, some make it their daily challenge to buy more for less to no spending.

Of course, it implies a careful analysis of the market and of all the available options as well as a vast but concise comparison between numerous products. It takes tremendous time and effort and may even develop into an obsession.

The psychology behind it

Usually, those who resort to paying for anything with coupon codes have an incredible sense of creating and sticking to a budget. One psychological reason could be that they were forced to do so in order to survive and provide for themselves early on in their lives, so much so that it has become a habit.

It is true that many donate the things they buy to charity, yet the habit itself never disappears; it has become an intrinsic part of themselves.

The negative impact of promo codes

Online businesses have directed their strategies more towards the client’s behaviour by making statistics, collecting data based on previous purchases, using social media algorithms and so on, specifically in order to create personalised promo codes that respond with clarity to their client’s desires.

The high frequency of use by both parties has also been noticed in the online gambling industry. So much so that some choose to grab as many as they can without thinking about the serious after-effects, such as gambling addiction or bonus abuse.

We at CasinoAlpha, encourage only responsible casino play, and our experts make sure to keep you informed on gambling addiction and its consequences, as well as how to overcome it.

Anca Iamandi
AuthorAnca IamandiSenior Author & Editor at CasinoAlpha

Anca's analytic skills developed in Generative Linguistics allow her to bring you clear and concise gambling-related content. Her texts will help you understand casinos, bonuses, fees, and rules and forget about all the gambling myths that pull you down. She's a strong advocate of safe gambling.

Adina Minculescu
ReviewerAdina MinculescuSenior Author & Editor at CasinoAlpha

Adina’s analytical way of thinking is what gamblers need to understand the casino market. With her expertise in this niche combined with her studies in linguistic typology and hermeneutics, you will get the essential help to make informed financial decisions. Let her be your reliable guide!