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What is bonus hunting? A guide to the bonus hunt concept of casino streaming

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Updated on: 1 Mar 2024
Dan-Louis K

Bonus hunting is a concept that originated from the casino streaming niche that started with CasinoGrounds in 2016, attracting thousands of viewers when they go live.

A bonus hunt is when you're playing online slots to trigger the games' bonuses, exiting them once done to save them for opening later.

Note: As the goal of bonus hunts is to collect as many free spin bonus rounds as possible, deposits are usually matched with good casino bonuses, doubling the amount of money the streamers (and you) can play with.

Join our bonus hunts, and win cash, merchandise, and more by guessing how much our streamers will win after all the bonuses are opened in our community forums.

Table of contents

Did you know? Bonus hunting is also associated with advantage players who knowingly target and exploit casino promotions to gain an edge and profit from it.

How it works: the concept of a bonus hunt explained

  • Play slot games that have free spins as a bonus.
  • When the bonus triggers, exit the game.
  • Save up a list of collected bonuses and open them later.
  • Write down the win amount of each bonus game played, and summarize the total amount won at the end of the hunt.

Tip: If you're looking for hints on what games you can collect bonuses on, see our list of feature buy slots - all of them have free spin bonuses.

Planning

Our streamers plan these and post details of when and what on our CasinoGrounds Promotions section

Streaming the bonus hunt

Viewers familiar with the streaming schedules wait before the stream starts, closely followed by those subscribed to notifications. The number of viewers quickly reaches the thousands in a matter of hours after the stream starts.

Community participation

Although bonus hunts are at the discretion of the streamers, they would not be possible without the community joining in.

That's why our streamers engage as much as possible with those who are watching. It makes it more fun for everyone.

Examples of community participation:

  • Submitting total win amount guesses.
  • Suggesting what games to play during the stream.
  • To vote on continuing or picking a different game if a game doesn't trigger a bonus within an ex-amount of spins.
  • Suggest or vote on picks when multiple options are available in a prize.
  • To help new viewers find information or explain the concept directly in the stream's chat.

Tip: if you're unsure what to suggest or can't remember the title of a game, see our best and most popular slots listed here, where you can use the search bar and get all game data, including RTP, paylines, provider, volatility, release date and more.

Rewarding those that participate

The most common way of rewarding participants is to pay those closest to guess the win in cash, usually by bank transfer or via e-wallets such as Paypal, Revolut, or Neteller.

Important: To qualify for participation and get paid if you're lucky enough to win, submit your guess with a valid email address used on your player account on one of the required casinos listed in the guessing thread. It is mandatory due to KYC (read more about Know Your Customer here) and responsible gambling to prevent underage gambling.

Two styles of bonus hunting when playing slots

There are two ways to approach a bonus hunt:

1) Playing with a raw balance

2) Playing with raw balance and bonus funds

There's a third, called "fake money balance hunt," as well. In short, it's when your starting balance is +€250.000, and the streamers' reactions when they win are as if they're watching paint dry.

Playing with a raw balance

A raw balance bonus hunt is a clean deposit that does not have bonus funds added to the player's balance.

  • Raw starting balance.
  • The streamers risk their own money.
  • No bonus money.
  • More genuine, entertaining streams.

It's also practical, as deposit bonuses have terms and conditions that limit how much you can bet per spin and what games you can play.

Playing with a raw balance and bonus funds

It is rare to see a streamer start a bonus hunt using raw balance and bonus funds. When it happens, it's usually because of one or two things.

1) The bonus given is a no-sticky bonus.

2) The streamer has favorable bonus wagering terms and conditions compared to regular players.

The no-sticky bonus (also called "parachute bonus") got its name from only coming into play once the real money balance reaches zero. It doesn't stick to the original deposit money, separating the two balances.

It's unclear who started doing bonus hunts during their streams, but it's no secret that the concept gained traction once LetsGiveItASpins and NickSlots began doing them in 2016. The concept quickly became popular due to the new way of engaging their viewers, taking them on a journey, from picking which games to play, triggering bonuses, collecting them, to opening them in order later.

Another reason for the quick success was the charity streams where Nickslots and Kim from LetsGiveItASpin would donate all winnings they ended up with, plus donations from the community to charitable, non-profit organizations.

Some examples of such charity donations include:

*No one knows what the future holds, but there is a certainty that the CasinoGrounds community and streamers alike will rally together for years to come, again and again, to support each other and charitable organizations. *

Beware of fake streamers and fake bonus hunts

We won't mention names, but there is no secret that the streaming scene anno 2022 versus 2016 is chock-full of fake money and unscrupulous streamers who play with play money on unlicensed casinos.

Calling this a problematic practice is an understatement. Some people play with insanely high money balances regularly. The same people also engage in malicious activities to artificially make their channels appear more popular than they are.

All streamers on CasinoGrounds must complete a mandatory introduction to responsible gambling and redo these courses annually. The money they put on the table is theirs, and the wins and the losses are real.

Tip: if you want to learn more about fake streamers and viewbots, head to our streamers section and scroll down the page for a long read on this topic.

When you're not reacting to winning €10.000, and losing 100s thousand a day, and possibly even streaming from your momma's basement, something's off.

That is not gambling but marketing - with play money. No gambling streamers in the world who stream daily can sustain €50.000 losses per day through a whole year. It's a charade, put up in front of +10.000 viewers per stream where a good chunk of the viewers are fake viewbots and comments.

Bonus hunting when playing slots summarized

Bonus hunts are popular because they appeal to everyone who has ever played and triggered the bonus round of a slot game.

Legitimate streamers put responsible gambling in the front-row seat while building a community based on caring for the people who empower its growth, not just the money they bring in.

From start to finish, the viewers partake in streams where they can chat with thousands of other like-minded people and engage by guessing the total win amounts, winning prizes, and continuing the conversation on the community forum afterward.

Casino streaming has become a powerful niche in its own right in online gambling, leading to good and bad things. From legitimate streams with raw balances to downright fake and dishonest people and brands that facilitate manipulated views, subscribers, player balances, and wins.

While the not-so-good parts are dealt with by educating players, representatives with roles in the iGaming industry watch the better ones with keen interest as communities of online gamblers and streamers have forced game developers to innovate.

As such, NetEnt, Big Time Gaming, and Nolimit City make up a trident, whereas Evolution Gaming (who acquired them all) make up the tips of this three-pronged spear.

These studios owe part of their success to streamers and communities who started bonus hunting on slots years ago.