What Is a Wagering Requirement?
Essentially, a wagering requirement is the terms and conditions attached at any casino bonus that is claimed by a gambler, whether it’s a welcome bonus, no deposit bonus, or and bonus from your loyalty rewards program. Basically, a wagering requirement will state that should a player accept the bonus; the bonus amount will need to be wagered a set number of times before the player is able to withdraw the bonus money.
These wagering requirements are in place to protect casinos. Just think how quickly they’d go bankrupt if there were no requirements like this. Players would be able to deposit a few hundred dollars, double or triple their deposits and then immediately cash out and take the money. No online casino would be able to survive this.
How Does a Wagering Requirement Work?
The way a playthrough requirement works is by placing a number of times a bonus must be wagered before it can be withdrawn. This typically sits between 30 and 50 times. Let’s say, for example; you’ve accepted a 100% deposit match bonus up to $100. So, you deposit your $100 and get an additional $100 as your bonus. However, it has a 40x wagering requirement attached to it.
This means that you will need to wager your $100 bonus 40x, which equals $4000. Keep in mind though; this does not mean you have to make $4000 worth of deposits; it just means all your wagers need to total $4000 before you can cash out the bonus.
It is also worth keeping in mind that many casinos will also require players to wager the initial deposit amount. If we continue with our example, this would mean that the total wagering requirement would become $4100.
Pay Attention to the Wagering Requirement
If a player is going to accept a bonus from any casino, they have to understand the T&Cs. Most claims that an Internet casino is a fraud are due to players winning money with their bonuses and trying to withdraw it, only to be told they can’t. If they’d understood the playthrough requirement, many of these claims would not happen.
Players should also be aware that different games will count differently towards fulfilling the wagering requirement. Slots, for example, typically count 100% towards the wagering requirement. Simply put, for every $1 you wager at an online slot, it counts $1 towards the wagering requirement. Other casino games, such as many table games, will count significantly less and some not count at all. If a certain game only counts 10%, for every dollar wagered, only $0.10 will count towards your wagering requirement.
Are Wagering Requirements Worth It?
So, with all these terms and conditions, are worth the hassle, or should you leave the bonuses alone and gamble with the money you deposited? That’s entirely up to the player. We still think casino bonuses are worth it, as it gives players a lot more freedom to try different games. However, there’s nothing that forces players to accept bonuses, and they can opt-out if they choose to do so.