Charles Ingel - Monday, 07 February 2022 - Features
Tired of trying to figure out what you need to do in order to cash out the winnings you earn off of your bonuses? Well, you probably don’t know your wagering requirements, and that’s a huge issue since you should be picking bonuses according to these requirements. In this guide, we’ll be explaining what wagering requirements are and how to meet them. Read on to find out why they matter and learn how they apply to various online casino bonuses. We will also cover other important terms and conditions you must know. Let’s go!
So, what are wagering requirements? A wagering requirement is simply a multiplier that determines how much you have to wager to withdraw your earnings. When online casino operators give you a bonus, they don’t want you to cash it out right away. They expect you to play their games to make sure that you are getting free money for nothing.
Let’s consider JackpotCity’s welcome bonus. New players are eligible for a 100% match bonus up to $400. The offer is available on the first four deposits, so the total bonus amount is $1,600. And there is a wagering requirement of 70x. Simply put, you must wager your bonus 70 times so you can cash out any winnings.
Casino players ought to pay attention to casino wagering requirements for a number of reasons. First of all, the vast majority of casino bonuses will have these requirements, so you must know how they work to withdraw any winnings. Secondly, high wagering requirements will cripple your chance to make real money off of your bonus. This means that a lucrative bonus can easily become useless if the playthrough requirement is unfriendly.
To make the most of casino bonuses, it’s essential to know the wagering requirements beforehand. And the only way to do this is by reading the bonus terms and conditions or fine print. Lucky for you, we do the hard work and check the wagering requirements imposed by each Canadian casino listed here. All you have to do is read our casino reviews and check the applicable bonus rules.
All online casino bonuses differ in one way or another and there are various types of bonuses as well. You will come across match bonuses, bonus credits, free spins, and no deposit promotions, among others.
Although the idea of wagering is generally the same, casino wagering requirements will apply to different bonuses in different ways.
No deposit bonuses are self-explanatory – you don’t need to deposit money to claim them. They often come in the form of free credits with relatively higher wagering requirements so that casinos can protect their interests. A good choice is 888 Casino’s no deposit bonus worth $88 with a 50x wagering requirement. You must wager $88 x 50 or $4,400 on slots to cash out your winnings from the bonus.
Unlike free cash bonuses, wagering requirements are applied to your winnings when claiming no deposit free spins. Let’s say you are claiming 100 no deposit free spins at Spin Casino with a 50x wagering requirement. In that case, the amount to be wagered will depend on the amount won. If you win $15, for instance, then you must wager $15 x 50 or $750 to withdraw any winnings.
Match bonuses are among the most popular promotions casinos use to welcome new players. They often offer the juiciest perks and are characterized by a percentage bonus. If you join JackpotCity Casino as a new player, for instance, you will receive a 100% match bonus up to $400 on your first deposit. But you must meet a 70x wagering requirement. Let’s say you’ve joined and deposited $100, so your bonus is $100. Here, you have to wager $100 x 70 or $7,000 in total.
Note that casino wagering requirements for match bonuses can apply to the bonus alone or bonus plus the qualifying deposit. In the latter case, the amount you need to wager will be significantly higher. Using the previous example, you would need to wager 70 x ($100 + $100) or $14,000 if the wagering requirement applied to the deposit and bonus amount.
With deposit free spins, you can either wager your free spin winnings or deposit plus free spin winnings. At 888 Casino, you can win 30 free spins by spinning the Wheel of Fortune with a deposit of $20. If you win, your free spin winnings are converted into a bonus and are subjected to a 30x wagering requirement.
A win of $5 means that you have to wager $5 x 30 or $150. That’s all! What if the wagering requirement applied to the free spin wins and deposit? Well, you would have to wager 30 ($20 + $5) or $750, which is a pretty big amount.
As you can see from our previous examples, the size of casino wagering requirements can affect your winning chances immensely. High wagering requirements make it extremely difficult to win anything with a casino bonus. With that said, most of these requirements range from 30x to 70x, depending on the bonus type and the chosen casino.
Here is how we rate them:
Wagering requirements are not the only bonus terms and conditions you need to keep an eye on. You can find all bonus rules by reading the general bonus T&Cs or specific rules for each bonus.
We have explained the most common bonus terms below:
A win limit simply restricts the amount you can win with a bonus. This means that you can only withdraw a certain amount of money. Any amount above the win limit will be removed.
Casinos usually set the amount you can bet per spin when claiming some offers, such as free spins. The pre-defined bet amount could be $0.15 per spin. But most casinos will cap your bet per spin at $5 per spin. You have no option but to wager the set amount until you exhaust your free spins.
Online casinos usually exclude some online slots from wagering requirements. In other words, not all slot games on a casino site will contribute towards the playthrough requirement. The excluded games are most likely to be highly volatile slots that can award massive wins. As with bet limits, the goal is to reduce your chances of meeting the wagering requirement with a few spins.
Different types of casino games don’t contribute equally to online casino wagering requirements. Most of the time, online slots contribute 100%, but other games have varying contributions. When the wagering requirement is less than 100%, it means that you must wager more money.
Game eligibility is a popular requirement when claiming casino bonuses in Canada. In simple terms, not all casino games will qualify for a particular bonus. When claiming free spins, you will notice that casinos will pick specific slots. And the only way to use the bonus is to play the selected games.
Casino bonuses are not infinite since there’s always a maximum amount. For example, match bonuses come with a maximum bonus limit. And casinos can only give you a specific number of free spins. The best-case scenario is to have a huge number of free spins or loads of bonus funds with reasonable wagering requirements.
As stated earlier, casino games differ in terms of wagering contribution or game weighting. It helps to understand how game weighting works especially if you want to use a bonus on casino games other than video slots. With slots, every bet generally contributes 100% to the wagering requirement. This means that you can easily meet the requirement when wagering a bonus on slot games. But things can get a bit hard if you are using a bonus on table games and other casino games.
Have a look at the following examples:
Example 1: 100% welcome bonus up to $400 on slots with a 100% wagering contribution and a 30x wagering requirement on the bonus amount.
Let’s say you have deposited $400 and thus received a bonus worth $400. If you claim the offer on slots, you only need to wager $400 x 30 or $12,000 to convert your bonus to withdrawable money.
Since slots contribute 100% to the wagering requirement, you will spend $12,000/1.
Example 2: 100% welcome bonus up to $400 on table games with a 50% wagering contribution and a 30x wagering requirement on the bonus amount.
Let’s assume you have deposited $400 and received a bonus of $400. You are also claiming this bonus on table games rather than slots. Since the wagering contribution is 50%, you have to wager $400 x 30 and divide the amount by 0.5. That is, $12,000/0.5 or $24,000. So, it’s better to use the bonus on slot games than other casino games.
Some generous casinos offer bonuses with no wagering requirements. Such casinos are rare to find, but they do exist. You don’t have to search for them because we have identified some great options for you. Check our list of wager-free casinos below and pick a bonus with no playthrough rules.
With so many casinos offering bonuses, you must know how to find the ones with the best deals. Don’t worry if you don’t know how because we have you covered.
Here are the key factors to keep in mind when choosing casino bonuses with wagering requirements:
Charles Ingel is our resident casino and bonus review expert. He makes sure that every bonus on our site is active and tests for fairness. Charles sees to it that we have the best no deposit promos of any online bonus site.
Sign Up To Our Newsletter To Take Advantage Of Our Fantastic Offers.
EN (EN)
DE (DE)
FR (FR)
IT (IT)
NL (NL)
NZ (EN)
