Wagering Requirements Explained

There is a reason why the online world of casinos is as popular with the general public as it is. For one, there are many top-notch online casinos that give away irresistible goodies in the form of bonuses and free spins. This only helps players to increase their winnings without increasing their bets. It is kind of a win-win situation. The online casino gets more players, and the players win more rewards.

Now, one must remember that these casinos are business enterprises after all, and any commercial agency must protect its assets. This is exactly what online casinos do by establishing wagering requirements for the players. These requirements can get a little complex, so let’s take a look at them and give you the low down on all you need to know about wagering requirements in regards to casino bonuses and free spins. Here we go.

Wager Requirements

What Are Wagering Requirements?

First up, what exactly is a wager requirement? Simply put, it is a safety lock that online casinos use to make it a little bit harder for you to walk away with their big prizes without spending any money. In other words, they do want you to win, but they don’t want you to win on a lark. So, we have wagering requirements.

Let’s make this easier for you to understand by providing an example.

Let’s say an online casino requires you to spend 15x your deposit for you to cash out their welcome bonus, which is pegged at £100. What you will then need to do is bet at least £1,500 (£100 x15) before receiving the bonus.

Wagering requirements are also known as play-through requirements, so don’t be confused if you come across either term.

The other thing that you need to know about these requirements, and this is particularly important, is that they are created by the risk management team employed by a particular online casino. We have had vast experience trying various requirements at different casinos, and we have observed one simple rule: the higher the bonus, the higher the wager requirement. The converse is true as well. For a low value bonus, you may have to deposit 15 times the amount, and for a high value bonus, the deposit amount may go as high as 40 times the amount.

Now that you are all caught up on wager requirements and what they stand for, let’s move to the next segment topic.

Why Do Casinos Have Wagering Requirements

The easy answer is that they don’t want players to just bet the minimum and win the maximum. In order to attract more players, online casinos allow anyone to have a shot at the bonus jackpot. With bets as low as 1 cent, imagine if a player betting 1 cent were to strike it lucky and walk away with a £1 million in bonus. This is where wagering requirements come in. They ensure that you pay the required amount in order to cash out on your luck.

You need to realize that the online casino is a really tough business, and competition is cutthroat. For the casinos to survive, they need to ensure that their most precious assets, namely bonuses and free spins, are not given away too easily.

Another reason why wagering requirements exist is to tempt players to play a particular casino’s bonus and free spins instead of its rivals. This is achieved by lowering the wagering requirements even for high value bonuses.

Typical Problems Associated With Wagering Requirements

At first glance, wagering requirements may seem like a good enough carrot for casinos to chase. However, this issue is not as simple as it looks. Online casinos are smart operators indeed and will not have you walk away with their bonuses and free sins without paying your dues. One of the major problems associated with the requirements is that they are different for different games. Roulette may have a different wagering requirement as compared to Blackjack. You need to be aware of the different rules before you partake in the game.

Examples of Bonus Wager Requirements

The thing about wager requirements is that the house does not really stand to lose much even if you strike it rich. Keeping this in mind, the online casinos offer various kinds of bonus wager requirements. We have listed an example from Mr Green. Here they have a wagering requirement of 35 times your deposit to cash out their welcome bonus (£100). So, you need to actually play through £3,500 (£100x 35) worth of bets to cash out the bonus.

Examples of Free Spins Wager Requirements

The free spins wagering requirements operate on a similar principle to the bonus requirement. Case in point being the Leo Vegas wager requirement for free spins. Here you would need to deposit 35 times the win amount. The other examples include lesser deposit amounts for lower wins.