Casinos often announce bonuses and promotions to increase traffic to their website.
However, to use the bonus you must fulfill some specific criteria. One of these is casino wagering requirements. In this article, we’ll discuss in detail what are wagering requirements and why you need to understand them before making your next bet.
What Are Wagering Requirements?
Before explaining wagering requirements, let’s first understand what the term wagering means. Simply put, a wager is a bet you make in a casino. Now, the wagering requirement is the minimum number of times you need to wager to withdraw any winnings. It is also called playthrough requirements or rollover requirements.
In simple terms, wagering requirements tell you how much you need to play before withdrawing your winnings. It’s the minimum amount you need to spend before you can ‘unlock’ the bonus to cash out.
Why Do Casinos Use Wagering Requirements?
As mentioned earlier in the wagering requirements explained above, a player enters a casino with the motive of making money. The casinos are in this business with the same purpose. So, they give attractive offers to get more players in. However, giving out free money to players (as a welcome bonus) is not best for business. Hence, bonuses are given with attached wagering requirements. These bonuses help casinos attract players and get them to sign up.
Another reason why these requirements are implemented is to stop people from misusing bonuses and to ensure that players actually use the platform instead of just taking the bonus and leaving.
How to Calculate Wagering Requirements
Now that you understand what wagering requirements are, let’s look at how to calculate them. The wagering requirements are always mentioned along with bonuses that casinos offer. There is a simple formula to calculate the total bet you need to make to withdraw the bonus.
Total Bet = Bonus x Wagering Requirement
Let’s understand this with an example. Suppose you deposit £10 and receive a £10 bonus with a 10x wagering requirement. The total bet would look like this:
£10 x 10 = £100
At times, some casinos include your initial deposit in the wagering requirements. In that case, the above-mentioned formula changes to:
Total Bet = Bonus + Initial Deposit x Wagering Requirement
Using the same example from above, the total bet in this case would be:
£10 + £10 x 10 = £1000
The numbers might seem daunting; however, that is not the reality. You can use the money won from the bonus to reach the wagering requirement.
Types of Wagering Requirements
There are mainly three different types of wagering that you can find when playing new casino games:
- Bonus Wagering: It is the amount that you must bet before withdrawing the bonus. The first example in the previous section defines this type of wagering requirements.
- Deposit + Bonus Wagering: When both the initial deposit and bonus are included along with the wagering requirements. The second example in the above section clearly explains what deposit + bonus wagering is.
- Game-specific Wagering: Not all games contribute equally to wagering requirements. The games that have poorer returns tend to contribute more to wagering requirements, while the games with the highest chances of returns mostly contribute less to wagering requirements.
Understanding Contribution Rates
As explained above, not all games contribute equally toward meeting the wagering requirements.
Slot games generally have a 100% contribution to the wagering requirements. A game like Roulette counts just 50% towards the wagering requirements. Games like video poker, blackjack, and baccarat gameplay have a contribution rate of just 10%. Some games might not even contribute anything toward the wagering requirement at all.
So, what does this mean? If a game has a 100% contribution rate, every £1 you bet counts as £1 toward the requirement. However, if a game has only a 10% contribution rate, every £1 bet counts as £0.10, so you’d need to bet more to meet the requirement.
Let’s understand this with the same example used above: Suppose you deposit £10 and receive a £10 bonus with a 10x wagering requirement. If it is a case of bonus wagering, you need to bet £100 to win the bonus amount.
If you decide to play blackjack with a 10% contribution rate towards wagering requirements, you need to divide the wagering requirement (in this case, 10x) by 10% to understand the times you need to play through the bonus to convert it to real cash. In this case, it would be:
10/10% = 100
Hence, you will have to play the game of blackjack 100 times to become eligible to withdraw the bonus amount as cash.
Managing Wagering Requirements Responsibly
By now, you would have understood what are wagering requirements. Here are some strategies to manage the wagering requirements for different games:
- Some casinos allow you to remove the wagering requirements. This can help you play with peace of mind, without worrying about the bonus and all the conditions tied to it.
- If the option to remove wagering requirements is unavailable, you can choose a casino bonus with low wagering requirements. The lower the wagering requirements, the sooner players can withdraw their winnings.
- The wagering requirements are mentioned in the terms and conditions of a casino. You should thoroughly read it to understand all the nuances. You might be penalized for breaking any of these requirements, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
- The best slot games that you can try to cash out your bonus are the ones that contribute 100% to wagering requirements and have a higher RTP (return-to-player, which looks at how frequently a player wins back the wagered amount). Here, you’ll have to understand slot volatility or variance as well. A low-slot volatile game has higher chances of payout (but the payout is generally small) when compared to a high-variance slot.
- At the end of the day, you need to bet real money to cash out the casino’s bonus. You should always have a cap on the amount of money that you can bet. Remember, betting should always be a fun activity and not something that can make you anxious.
Making Informed Choices with Wagering Requirements
Wagering requirements are important for casinos to run their business. A thorough understanding of the same can help players meet these requirements and withdraw winnings securely. There are various ways by which you can meet the wagering requirements. One of the easiest ways to do it is to read the terms attached to any bonus to ensure they fully understand the commitment involved.
FAQs:
Are wagering requirements the same for all casino games?
Every casino, in fact, every game has different wagering requirements. Make sure to read and understand the terms before placing your bets.
Can I withdraw my bonus without meeting the wagering requirement?
Players have to meet the minimum criteria in order to withdraw the money. This includes the wagering requirements explained above.
How can I keep track of my progress toward meeting wagering requirements?
If you are playing an online casino game, tracking the progress is easy. Click on My Account to view the rollover percentage. It slowly increases with each game you play. Once it reaches 100%, the wagering requirement have been met.
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