This may be off topic, but is there a recent ranking check of the casinos that currently offer the best welcome bonuses? I would probably start with them as a beginner.
I have not come across such ranking of late, and I do not think that there is any thread on this forum currently with such ranking of casinos with the best welcome bonuses, for if there was, I think such thread probably would have been one of the most active threads on this board at the moment, since majorly every gambler is usually interested in bonuses, and a welcome bonus is one new gamblers are particularly always interested in.
If this is what you are looking for actually, I did say you take your time and visit every casino thread, do some reading in their site to find out if they have any welcome bonus for new registrants - but then, I think this will be very much time consuming, and before going into this quest, you have to first think about the possible or potential reward, is it, or will it be worth the time and stress?
Second option is to search on Google to see if there is any recent article of such comparison, there are some online gambling casino review sites that specializes in such reviews and ranking, try Google and see if you can find any recent article on casinos ranked based on their welcome bonus, that the welcome bonuses are still active.
If also welcome bonus I what makes up for the best casinos then you will be having almost all the casinos on the same list and ranks, because almost all the casinos give out a welcome bonus to players who just registered and funded their account on the casinos since that is the first point of marketing and means of getting players to make deposits after registrations, so I think bonus is more are less a trap to the gambler instead being perceived as a quality or plus for the casino.
Yeah, exactly the point actually, most gamblers (especially the new ones) don't actually understand that; let me say, like 90 percent of casinos welcome bonus is nothing but a trap just as you have pointed out.
And why did I agree?, when we look at the amount that is placed as a wager requirements that a gambler must meet before he or she can be able to withdraw the bonus, it's most of the time very exorbitant, and at the end, we discover that most of the gamblers who take advantage of the welcome bonus sometimes lose all the money they deposited, lose the bonus (if the bonus is gamblable) and lose what ever amount they won in the process of playing to meet the wager requirement, end up with an empty bankroll and still will not complete the wager requirement, this actually is the reason why I stopped giving attention to welcome bonuses and some other bonuses as well.
As Fivestar4everMVP mentioned we haven't seen a list that contains ranking of casinos according to whatever criteria that been use to select them, reason being that ranking doesn't mean much to the community because all that matters to a gambler is to have a few things from a casino such as good reputation, and activiness in delivering they services this is what matter most to us as a community and any casinos that have those qualities regardless of the popularity or what have you, their will still attract and sustain good customers in the community.
You are completely right and I agree with you, for in the end, what is the essence of a welcome bonus when after depositing, you can't withdraw your money because you have just been scammed? Welcome Bonuses are one of the easiet way or means through which scam casinos lure users into depositing their hard earned money into the casino, money the gambler likely will never get back.
So, reputation is all that really matters, and bonus is like an added advantage when it's offered by a casino that has already built a good reputation and is well trusted.