Wagering Requirements Defined and Clarified
Almost all casino bonuses have wagering requirements attached, except for 0x wagering types. On this page, the team of experts from arepasandempanadasdistrict explains these punter obligations, how they work, and what aspects of gameplay they affect. You can rely on our pages, crafted after team effort, and based on our online casino industry knowledge.
What is the wagering requirement?
Why is the wagering requirement so important?
How does the wagering requirement work?
Elements affected by wagering requirements
Final comments
What is the wagering requirement?
The wagering requirement attached to a bonus (or any other casino incentive) represents the number of times you have to play the sums received/derived from the casino. We provide you with two fictitious examples to illustrate wagering on two different bonus types for the sake of clarity.
For example:
- Wagering on bonus funds. Let us suppose that you receive $50 as a welcome bonus from an online casino. Continuing our imaginary example, let us say that the casino asks you to play them 35 times. In this case, the wagering rule will look like this “wagering: 35x B”. The formula will then be “35 x $50 = $1750”. To cash out, you need to roll $1750 in the casino’s gaming lobby.
- Wagering on spins. Suppose that you signed up for an online casino and they give you 25 spins on a popular video slot to start your journey. Again, we have to suppose that the wagering is 35x. It will apply to your initial wins, derived after you spun 25 times. Thus, if you initially win $10, you need to multiply them like so “$10 x 35 = $350”. Usually, wagering on spins is written as “wagering: 35 x B” or “wagering: 35 x W”.
Note: Wagering requirements have several other names. You might find it under the names of “rollover”, “turnover”, and “playthrough”, respectively. It depends on the choice of the casino you’re using.
Why do wagering requirements exist?
There are two main reasons why casinos have imposed this rule over the years.
Firstly, online casinos impose this feature on players to prevent bonus abuse. If playing and withdrawing would be easy and fast, many folks would try to take advantage of the monetary opportunities.
It would have negative impacts on both the casino and the player. The casino would eventually lose funds too easily, while players would gamble for too long.
Recommendation: Some websites have a self-imposed limit feature for the gaming sessions that you can use to keep your gambling in check in terms of time.
Secondly, casinos also take this precaution to follow the USGC statements regarding anti-laundering situations. If the money put in need to be rolled over and kept for a while, then chances of illegal activity are minimized.
Note also that US-licensed casinos will ask you to prove the source of your funds, for the same reason.
The best games to complete them on
A pro-tip for arepasandempanadasdistrict
If you believe that your wagering will take a while, and you are looking for the best game to choose to move things faster, we got you! From our experience, slot machines are the best choice. This is because, almost always, casinos assign the most significant importance to slots when deciding contributions.
As we have seen, slot games with an exceptionally high RTP are not usually included in the game list accepted for wagering.
What is RTP?
It is the theoretical percentage of guaranteed payback over a period of time, containing consistent bets. Modern video slots have this feature pre-set, and you can check it before playing. Please note that shorter sessions may not reflect this number accurately!
Tips:
- Check the game settings/game features and choose a slot with low or medium volatility, to protect your funds.
- As compared to slots or bingo, table games, such as Poker, Blackjack, or Roulette, usually have a smaller contribution.
Can you “beat” wagering requirements?
Unfortunately, fair casino play does not allow you to avoid them. Even though we see this question floating around in the industry, we strongly recommend you follow the rules of the casino you’re a client of.
However, using our guides and advice, you will be able to complete them using smart strategies. In the long run, these will result in fewer losses and be mindful of your time.
Why is the wagering requirement so important?
In an overwhelming majority of cases, you will be unable to withdraw your winnings unless you complete this. If this situation is a tad unclear, follow the hypothetical example that we gave.
For example:
You have received a bonus from Queen Elizabeth Casino (a fictive casino!). The bonus rules state that you have to play the funds 50 times before cashout. If you are anywhere between 1 and 49x in your wagering requirement completion, you will not be able to take out what you have won.
Alternatively, youcould take out the money you have deposited initially, to qualify for the bonus. Note, please, that the bonus will become nullified and be deleted from your player account in such cases.
The bottom line is that your bonus funds will not be transformed into cashable credit as long as you still have the incomplete turnover to finish up. In plain terms, you will not be able to cash out the money you have deposited, received, or even the ones you won.
Where can you find these rules?
According to the United States Gambling Commission, casinos have to clearly write the required wagering, either in the main terms of use or in the specific bonus policies. It is part of the casino’s responsibility to be transparent to US punters. This includes not hiding essential information.
Tips: Make sure you find, read, and understand the casino messages written in fine print, as essential things, like wagering, can be stated there.
Recommendations: Bonus policies may also be called “Bonus conditions” or “Significant conditions”. The wording varies from site to site.
How does the wagering requirement work?
Now that we have explained this casino feature’s baseline let us continue with our line of examples and talk about how these requirements reflect monetary value.
For example:
- Let us say that Queen Elizabeth Casino’s welcome bonus offers you $100 to play on all games from their lobby. The rules of the bonus say that you need to play the offer 35x. The formula would be: 35 x 100 = 3500. Thus, before you cash out, you need to play a total of $3500.
- The $3500 you need to put into play is not a loss, as it can be derived from the bonus play. Usually, these things will happen in the bonus policies‘ timeframe, up to a month at most.
Tips: According to multiple arepasandempanadasdistrict analyses, the industry average for wagering is anywhere between 35x and 45x.
Be aware: Make sure you have read the terms of the site and how they organize the bonuses. Some moves may disqualify you.
Where can you find this information on the casino sites?
As established before, wagering requirements on casino incentives must be written somewhere obvious. From what we have noticed so far, there can be three main places that host this kind of information:
- In the site’s/offer’s terms. Naturally, it would be best if you looked for this information next to all the promotional rules or the gambling website’s general rules.
- In the FAQ sections. Some casinos have answered this fundamental question you may have in FAQ pages. If they have a subsection dedicated to bonuses, you might find it there.
- If the first two items do not hold the answers, you can always use the support team‘s help. Our advice is to formulate your questions beforehand and ask them via chat, email, or phone.
Elements affected by wagering requirements
Again, we have to reinstate the importance of wagering requirements. To prove this, we have created this section to show you all the aspects that are modified by the existence of turnover.
Stick around to know more about:
- The difference between bonus and credit funds;
- You accepted maximum bet;
- The availability of the offer;
- Accepted games.
Bonus funds and real-money funds
You will see this distinction quite often if you play in the online casino world. The real-money funds are the ones you deposit in your gaming account. For this reason, real-money funds are also called “deposit money” or “cashable credit”.
Let us exemplify.
For example:
Let’s say that you want to partake in the bonuses of Queen Elizabeth Casino (Note: a made-up example) and you make the payment they require. If you make a payment of $35 to your gaming account, these pounds will be your real-money fund.
On the opposite side, the funds that you receive from the casino, as a partial or full incentive, are your bonus funds. It is important to note that they can’t ever be taken out. They can only be played in the gaming lobby.
Let’s illustrate that!
For example:
Suppose Queen Elizabeth Casino offers you a deposit match of 100%. So, if you make a $35 payment, you will receive $35 in bonus funds. These are the ones that cannot be cashed out and have more rules imposed on them, then the money you brought in initially.
All the rules should be stipulated in the site’s terms.
Which one comes first when rolling over?
We, unfortunately, cannot give you a universal answer. This is a decision which depends solely on the casino policy. Some sites allow you to start consuming your bonus funds first, while others go the other route. This detail should be presented in your bonus rules. If not, you should ask support for this information.
The maximum bet allowed
Generally, casinos will put a cap on the sum you can wager in one bet, in any kind of bets placed within the website. As an extension of this rule, bets are capped when you are wagering a bonus too.
Again, this detail should be found somewhere in the wagering rules or the main terms of use. This is essential to know, as a bet exceeding what is allowed will disqualify you from the offer. Depending on the casino, disqualification may mean lose the bonus, but it can also mean account suspension.
Bonus availability
You have to be careful when playing an online casino bonus since most of them are only active for a pre-set period of time. According to the analysis we have done on the topic, the average is of 30 days since you claim it. But we have also seen cases where bonuses can be played just withing a week.
Tips: Generally, spin bonuses have a lower availability limit, as compared with money-related promotions. Spin bonuses average time limit is set at one week.
If you don’t finish your turnover in the period of time stated in the rules, you will lose both your offer and your deposit, if that is the case.
Excluded games
More often than not, casinos have curated list of games that cannot be played when a bonus is active in your account. Thus, not only do these games not contribute to your wagering requirements but playing them may be against the bonus rules.
Just like any other rule-breaking scenario, it can trigger anything from losing your bonus to losing your gaming account on the website.
Recommendation: Some casinos explain what is wagering and how they handle it. We recommend those, but if another casino caught your eye, then you can use this page.
Are wagering requirements legally enforced?
When you agree to the terms and conditions, you are entering a sort of contract. Thus, if the wagering rules are stated there, you have to follow them once you agree to them.
When you break your agreement, the casino has the right to suspend the service given to you, partially or totally.
Final comments
We have reached the end of our informational page relating to casino bonus wagering requirements. We have defined them, and explained their importance, firstly. Then we went even more in-depth and gave you tips on what games will help you complete them faster, as well as other aspects that have to be taken into account when wagering a casino bonus.
We hope we have helped and remember to stay gamble aware!