Wagering Requirements at Online Casinos

For new players, wagering requirements are an alien concept meaning that they can forfeit their bonus winnings without understanding why. Fear not, Lenny and his team are here to explain how wagering requirements work and why they exist.

For new players, wagering requirements are an alien concept so SuperLenny will enlighten you. Wagering requirements are a series of conditions set in place by the casino. They are designed prevent players from grabbing bonus cash and simply leaving the casino with that money without ever having made a deposit or possibly even played.  However, they should always be fair and easy for the players to understand.

Lenny’s thoughts: casinos are required to be transparent so you should never get caught out by these requirements – especially not after reading this article!

Why do casinos have wagering requirements?

While you might think that all wagering requirements are completely unfair, there is not necessarily anything wrong with them as long as they are fair and reasonable. Often, casinos put wagering requirements in place simply so that players don’t take advantage of them and drive the casino out of business – which would obviously not be a desirable outcome for anyone.

In this sense, wagering requirements are simply a way of ensuring that the benefits of the casino bonuses – a little extra cash in your pocket – can be equally and fairly spread out among the players who sign up to the platform. If they didn’t have these in place, they would be too easily open to abuse by certain players. It is only when casinos make these too restrictive, unfair or unclear that wagering requirements become an issue.

Don’t forget that the ultimate goal for casino bonuses is to bring in players, with their money, and get them to stick around. That’s hardly going to happen if they can walk away freely when they win.

Wagering requirements are the number of times players will need to play through any bonus cash or winnings gained by using that bonus cash before they can withdraw this money from their account. For the most part, failing to meet any of the wagering requirement stipulations will result in the bonus money, and winnings are coming from the bonus, being removed from the player’s account. Each casino will have different rules, so it is always important to check out the terms and conditions before signing up to what may seem like a very good bonus.

So let’s look at an example to illustrate further how these work. Wagering requirements are always represented as the number of times play through is required, and it looks like this – 20x, 30x, 35x, etc

This simply means that if the bonus cash was £5, and the wagering requirement is 20x, the player must play that £5, 20 times through before they can retrieve any money. This means that £100 must be wagered in total.

Can casino wagering requirements be beaten?

Many players are put off by what can seem like an impossible challenge to meet these requirements. Especially when they’re on a budget and were taking what appeared to be some “free bets”, however, players forget that they will make winnings along the way, and these winnings can then be recycled back in and will count towards the wagering requirement. It can take time, but with a little patience, and the right game, these requirements can be met, and you could still walk away with a decent bit of cash. Here’s SuperLenny’s advice on how to beat wagering requirements at an online casino.

⚡Read the terms & conditions

⚡ Pick games that count towards the wagering requirements like slots

⚡ Find online casinos with low wagering requirements

What casino games count towards wagering requirements?

” Not all games will count towards these requirements and even if they do, not always to equal amounts or percentages. If you’re trying to beat an online casinos wagering requirements go for slot games” – SuperLenny
If you are planning on beating these wagering requirements, then it is important that you do so in the best way. The first thing to look at is which games will count towards the wagering requirements. For the most part, slot games always count as 100% of what you bet towards the wagering requirement, so this is the fastest and safest way of fulfilling the wagering stipulations.

Other games, such as virtual table games, often do count, but not to the same extent. Frequently, they can count for as little as 5-20%, which can be very disheartening if you’re trying to play through a large amount. Poker games are sometimes not included at all, and the same is often true for live dealer games. It’s very important that players check each casino carefully about these games as there’s nothing worse than playing through the wagering requirements only to find they have not been met and the withdrawal cannot be made. Players who prefer live casino games should choose online casinos that offer specific live dealer bonuses.

Choosing the best bonus to beat wagering requirements

Due to most casino bonuses having wagering requirements attached, it is important to look at this aspect of a bonus when choosing to sign up to a new casino. The lower the wagering requirement, the better chance you stand of meeting that requirement – it’s not all about the biggest bonus. Think about what you can realistically reach so that you will walk away with some money. For example, a deposit bonus offers a 100% match to £50 with a 40x wagering requirement. You’ll have to play through £50, 40 times, which is a whopping, £2000.

Or, you could choose what seems like a lower bonus – 50% match on £100, but this has a 20x wagering requirement. Here you’ll have £150 to play with after the bonus has been awarded but will only have to play through this up to the value of £1000. It may not seem so much of a difference, but it really is. As a rule, Lenny suggests avoiding requirements that are above 35x. Generally, though, casinos are around 20-25x, although if you’re lucky, you can find them as low as 2x. Fear not,  the SuperLenny team has carefully selected the best casino bonuses so you can make the most of your online experience.

No Deposit Bonuses

Some online casinos don’t have wagering requirements in place on their bonuses. However, these bonuses are often small amounts. One of the most popular wager free offers is no deposit extra spins. Any money that has been won from this bonus cash can be withdrawn at any time, so essentially you can walk away with some extra cash, which cost you absolutely nothing.

Is there a catch on no deposit bonuses?

No, free spin offers without deposits when offered by a reputable casino are completely above board. However,  the casinos will still do something to thwart you from completely walking away. Usually, there are still withdrawal limits in place, so if your winnings don’t reach the minimum requirement, the money will still be stuck in your account. Sometimes casinos will also prevent a withdrawal taking place until money has been deposited using that transaction method. In this way, you normally end up having to make a deposit of some kind anyway, just to retrieve your cash and the casino has managed to achieve what it wanted – a deposit.

Low Wagering Casinos

Low wagering casinos are a good choice for UK players as it will be much easier for you to withdraw your winnings from the platform. If the requirements are too restrictive, it could take you months before you could hit them, costing you substantial amounts of money in the meantime. In short, playing at a low wagering casino means that you get much more bang for your buck!

Players may hate wagering requirements, but they are here to stay. If you pay attention to what they are, how to fulfil them and are careful when selecting the casino and bonus you play with, then there should be no problems. Keep your eyes peeled for those rarely seen no wagering bonuses and snap them up the second you do.

Lastly, if you still have any questions for Lenny and his team please check out our list of casino FAQs and read more about Lenny’s review process.