Wagering Requirements - How Low Can You Go?

If you’ve ever visited an online casino then you’re sure to have come across multiple promotions offering bonus cash, free spins or a combination of both. Each of these almost always come with wagering requirements attached as standard.

Wagering requirements are sometimes also called playthrough requirements, and these will vary from site to site, and even between promotions. The small print will usually tell you what the requirement number is, so always make sure you read the boring bits.

But what do you do with this information? What constitutes a ‘too high’ wagering requirement? It’s important to understand what you’re signing up for, and exactly when to stay away. Here’s everything you need to know about zoning in on low wagering requirements, and making the most of your bonus.

A wagering requirement is a multiplier that represents the number of times you have to play though a bonus before you’re allowed to withdraw any winnings.

Sometimes the wagering requirements apply to free spins rather than bonus cash. This means that any winnings you earn with your free spins need to be wagered in exactly the same way as any direct bonus cash.

Once you sign up to a promotion, the real cash you deposit becomes tied up with your bonus cash or free spins. That means you’ll need to meet the requirements in full before you can withdraw either the real or bonus cash.

You should never sign up to any promotion or deposit any money before you’re completely clear on what conditions need to be met before the deposited cash can be withdrawn.

If you still feel in the dark about how wagering requirements work, the next section should clear things up.

As we mentioned briefly above, a wagering requirement is a multiplication of the bonus that the player receives. But what does this mean in practice? The best way to explain is to give you a practical example.

Let’s assume that the online casino imposes wagering requirements of 35 x on all bonuses (this is considered to be a fair, even low, requirement). If you’re given C$10 in bonus cash on a 35 x requirement, this means you’ll need to bet a total of C$350 for any of your winnings to become withdrawable. That’s 35 x 10 = 350.

Now, I hear you wondering, how on earth am I supposed to wager C$350 with just C$10?! That’s a good question. I’ll answer it next.

Obviously the lower the wagering requirement, the faster they can be met. So choosing a promotions that’s running with a low requirement is the best place to start. Next, you’ll need to decide which games to play so you can start working toward your goal. Be sure to check out the terms and conditions of each promotion because different games will contribute different percentages of your wager to the requirements.

Some games might be entirely excluded from contributing. Slots will usually contribute 100% of your bet to the requirements, so they should be your first choice. On the other hand, table games and card games usually contribute just 50% or even less, so if you have a penchant for Roulette or Blackjack, you may have to leave this at the door.

Another important thing to check out is the variance of your games and the RTP (Return to Player Percentage). Games with a lower RTP have a higher variance, which means that they don’t pay out as often, but when they do, it’s in much larger amounts. Starting with these kinds of games will potentially help you to increase your bankroll. Once you’ve accumulated a decent balance you can switch to lower variance games, which pay out smaller amounts more frequently.

The simple answer is that to meet wagering requirements players will need to ‘churn’. You use your bonus cash as seed money to build capital, and then you bet that too. If you’re lucky the cycle will continue until you’ve hit the required number, and then exceed it, at which point you can walk away a winner.

No. As long as the online casino is upfront about the requirements, then they’re perfectly above board. They’re only ever a scam if the casino refuses to pay out once all the conditions are properly met.

That being said, a site that restricts bonuses with really high wageringing requirements could be described as unethical. This is because they’re setting an unrealistic bar, which most players will struggle to meet. That’s why your first port of call is to always look out for promotions with low wagering requirements attached.

Any wagering requirement up to 40x the bonus sum can be considered low. A 35 x requirement is generally a fair deal because the online casino will usually pair it up with 100% cash match offers, which leaves you a decent amount of seed money with which to try and meet the playthrough requirements.

In rarer cases wagering even drops below 5 x – and that’s when you’ve really got yourself a good deal.

When you’re up against low wagering requirements, you have a much better chance of turning your bonus funds into real money because it’s easier and quicker to withdraw your winnings since the bet requirements are lower. Let’s sum up the benefits:

• You’ll need to less real cash to wager with
• The stakes are much lower
• You’ll get higher returns

When it comes to wagering requirements, the rule of thumb is the lower the better.

This will depend on the terms and conditions attached to the promotion. On average, most bonuses are valid for a month. Others need to be met in a shorter amount of time (especially if they are very generous).

Initially it might seem like very little time to wager a relatively large amount of money, but if you log on and play relatively regularly, it can easily be met.

On the other hand, if you’re the kind of player who only plays online once every few weeks, then it’s probably best for you to bypass any promotions with wagering requirements attached altogether.

Most online casinos have caught on to the realization that many players have begun to reject high wagering requirements, wising up to their impossible demands. The response has been an increase in the trend of low wagering requirements.

It seems more than likely that down the line, promotions will become increasingly more beneficial to the player. This is largely due to the fact that reputable gaming licenses like the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) are tightening the reigns and forcing online casinos to be more transparent and fair. This means that low wagering requirements (or even no requirements at all) should feature far more often as the online casino industry continues to boom.