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South AfricaThe easiest way for you to get to grips with wagering requirements and how they work is to go through our essential list below. We cover all of the most important aspects associated with the nuts and bolts of wagering requirements.
What is a wagering requirement?
This is the number of times the casino expects you to wager (bet) your bonus amount. It is always expressed as a multiple – 25x, 40x, 50x and so on. This is how the casino ensures that you play through your bonus before a withdrawal is possible.
For example, if the casino gives you a bonus worth $20, and stipulates that your wagering requirements to get that cash are set to 20x (twenty times), you’ll need to wager a value of $400 or $20x20.
How does the bonus work in your account?
Essentially, when you take a bonus, your account is divided into two parts – your own cash that you deposited with them to get the bonus, and the bonus funds that the casino added to your account. In most casinos, you’ll use your cash to play with before the bonus funds kick in. Once they do, you’ll be expected to meet your stipulated wagering requirements within a given period of time.
What about free spins?
A lot of casinos will include free spins with their bonus offers. This is usually designed to sweeten the deal a bit and make their bonus offer more attractive to you. However, you will also find some casinos offering no deposit free spins bonuses, or giving you stand alone free spins as a promotion.
Here’s what you need to know about free spins and wagering requirements –Any cash you win from your free spins will be considered bonus money, and will be subject to wagering requirements. This cash is treated the same as if you received cash bonus money, and the same multiple usually applies.
Are there specific rules associated with a bonus?
Absolutely. All bonuses include terms and conditions, which are effectively the rules of the bonus. You need to be aware of what these rules are before taking up any bonus offer. Knowing what the main rules are, and what to look for, will ensure that you always grab a good bonus that is ultimately one that you can manage well.
The main elements or rules of a typical bonus that you need to consider include:
- Bet limit sizes (determines how much you can bet per spin/hand)
- Games excluded from wagering requirements (playing these won’t help you to clear your wagering requirements)
- Weighted games that contribute to wagering requirements (games have different contribution percentages, e.g.: slots usually contribute 100%)
Bonus Wagering vs. Bonus + Deposit Wagering – Which one is best?
Here’s something worth considering, and an area where a lot of players make a critical mistake. Some casinos will expect wagering requirements on the bonus money that they give you plus the amount that you deposited. On the other hand, some casinos will only expect wagering requirements on the bonus money added to your account. As a rule, you should always go for the bonus offer that expects wagering requirements on the bonus money only, not on your deposit amount as well.
The reason is quite simple – it is much easier and more realistic to meet wagering requirements on just the bonus amount, which would be half of what a bonus + deposit amount would be.
What are the main wagering requirement types?
The vast majority of casinos will specify one of the following wagering requirements with their bonuses:
Real-world Wagering Requirement Examples
Most casino bonus wagering requirements will range from between 25x on the low end to 60x on the high end of the scale. This means that the casino wants you to bet or “play through” your bonus money the amount of times that they stipulate in their Terms and conditions.
This is also known as “turning over” your bonus. In other words, once you’ve met your wagering requirements, the casino will “turn over” your bonus money to your withdrawable balance.
3 real-world examples of wagering requirements:
To better understand just how wagering requirements work in the real world, let’s take a closer look at three examples that you’ll come across at online casinos.
Example 1 - No Deposit Credits
- Bonus Offer: $100
- Wagering Requirements: 60x B
- Max Cashout: $100
- How to Claim: Request at cashier
- Use bonus code: MIGHTY100
Example 2 - No Deposit Free Spins
- Bonus Offer: 20 Free Spins
- Wagering Requirements: 40x B
- Max Cashout: $100
- How to Claim: Request at cashier
- Valid Games: Masks of Atlantis
- Use bonus code: 20ATLANTIS
Example 3 - Match Bonus
- 1st Deposit: Unlimited amount
- Wagering Requirements: 15x D
- Max Cashout: Unlimited amount
- How to Claim: Request at cashier
No Deposit Bonuses and Wagering Requirements – How Do They Work?
As the name suggests, a no deposit bonus is a type of bonus that you can get without the need to make a cash deposit first. These are usually rewarded to new players if they sign up with the casino.
It is essentially free money that the casino gives to the player as a reward for creating an account.
In most cases, a no deposit bonus is usually quite small, and is more of a token to gain your patronage and future investment with them.
However, it is important to note that a no deposit bonus is still money given to you and, as such, is still subject to wagering requirements. This will apply to a cash no deposit bonus or free spins given as a no deposit bonus. The only difference is that, with free spins, your wagering requirements will apply to the money that you make from the free spins.
Whether it’s a no deposit bonus, or a cash deposit bonus, wagering requirements will work in the same way. However, the main difference is that, with a no deposit bonus, there is no cash deposit to start wagering with (since you haven’t needed to make a deposit to get the bonus), so you’ll wager your bonus right away.
It is also worth noting that withdrawal limits tend to be a bit lower with no deposit bonuses than they do with cash deposit bonuses.
Top 4 No Deposit Casinos Recommended For You
| Min Deposit | $35 |
|---|---|
| Wager | 40x |
| Allocation | Via Cashier |
| Bonus Code | None |
| Min Deposit | $20 |
|---|---|
| Wager | 40x |
| Allocation | Via Cashier |
| Bonus Code | None |
| Min Deposit | $30 |
|---|---|
| Wager | 10x |
| Allocation | Auto |
| Bonus Code | None |
| Min Deposit | $20 |
|---|---|
| Wager | 40x |
| Allocation | Via Cashier |
| Bonus Code | NDK350MB |
The Real Reason Why Casinos Insist on Wagering Requirements
You may be wondering why online casinos created wagering requirements in the first place.
The real reason why casinos insist on wagering requirements with almost every bonus is quite simple. Think about it, a casino bonus is money that the casino gives to you to play with, like a boost to help you get started when playing.
However, the money is not free. The casino is investing in you as a player/customer. They don’t want you to ‘take the money and run’ so to speak. If the casino didn’t add wagering requirements, you could very easily take a bonus, withdraw it and be on your way.
Of course, while playing through the wagering requirements, you may lose your bonus money which would require you to make a deposit to keep playing. Then again, you could win while completing your wagering requirements which means you’ll get to withdraw free cash! This is a way for the casino, as a business, to make money while also keeping players entertained.
A Quick Recap on How Wagering Requirements Work
There are two different balances in your account - If you decide to take the bonus that the casino offers, you will see that two different balances are then created in your account.
- A cash balance (your deposit)
- A bonus balance (added by the casino)
If you play games with your cash balance, you will be able to withdraw your winnings at any time you like. In fact, most casinos will only allow your bonus balance to come into play when you’ve depleted your cash balance.
Once your account switches over to your bonus balance, your wagering requirements will automatically come into effect. At this stage, the casino will begin to automatically deduct bets that you make from your wagering requirement until you have satisfied the wagering requirement multiple.
The deductions occur with every hand that you play (for table games) or for every spin that you make (for slots). This is where game weights are important. The casino decides how much of your bet to deduct, each and every time that you play. This is based on the game or games that you are playing.
The casino will either deduct:
- The whole of your bet amount – As a 100% contribution to your wagering requirements. However, you will usually only find this with slots. Not all slots are included, so it’s important that you check which ones contribute towards wagering requirements, and which ones don’t – before you start playing.
- A percentage of your bet amount – This can vary from 5% to 20% or more, depending on the game in question. You will usually find this to be the case with table games such as blackjack or roulette. However, this again is at the discretion of the casino, and it is up to you to check which table games contribute towards your wagering requirements, and by what percentage.
Take Note: Bets Made Using Bonus Funds Are the Only Ones that Count
It is important to keep in mind that you will only ever contribute towards your bonus wagering requirements when you make bets using bonus funds. If you are under bonus wagering requirements, and you make bets using ‘real money’ (your own money), they will not count towards your wagering requirements.
Getting to Grips with Game Weighting
To get your wagering requirements completed as quickly as possible, getting to grips with game weighting is essential. Moreover, a thorough understanding of just how game weighting works will help you to explore games other than slots (which usually contribute 100%) to complete your wagering requirements.
Find out what your casino’s game weighting policies are by checking the terms and conditions.
For our real-world example, we’ll take a closer look at 777 Casino’s game weight table:
| Game Category | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Video Slots and Slots, Scratchcard Games, Keno, Arcade, Race, Dice and all other casino games that do not fall in this games category table. | 100% |
| All Poker Games, Pai Gow Poker and Triple Card Poker Caribbean Poker | 20% |
| All types of Blackjack Games, Live Blackjack, Video Poker, Hi-Lo, Live Casino Hold ‘em, Power Video Poker, Live Baccarat, Baccarat, all versions of Roulette & Live Roulette | 10% |
| Craps | 5% |
As the above table indicates quite clearly, different game types or categories will contribute very differently towards your wagering requirements. Understanding these kinds of game weighting tables will help you to quickly identify the games that will help you to complete your wagering requirement faster.
The game weighting table also helps you understand how much or how many games you have to play before the casino will convert your bonus money into cash that you can withdraw from your account.
To get to know exactly how much you will have to play, based on each game type, you’ll need to divide your wagering requirement multiple by each of the above percentages. These percentages will have to be converted to decimal points, which we can demonstrate by taking our 777 Casino example a step further.
A Prime Example
Let’s say that you take the sign up bonus at 777 Casino, which in this example is a 100% match on your deposit up to $200. You decide to take advantage of the full bonus offer and deposit $200. 777 Casino set their bonus wagering requirement at 30x.
You get a $200 bonus, which means that you’ll need to wager (play) $6,000 before the casino will convert your bonus money into cash that you can withdraw from your account.
In other words: $200 x 30 wagering = $6,000
Next, we have to factor in that different games cover different percentages of your bet which come towards your wagering requirements.
Slots = 100%
This means that every bet you place using bonus money will count as 100% bet against your wagering requirements. Place a bet of $100 and your wagering requirement of $6000 will be reduced to $5900.
See how it works? If we carry on with the other game types:
Table Games = 10%
Place a $100 bet on a table game and it will only reduce your wagering requirement by 10% of that bet (or $10). A $6000 wagering requirement would not be reduced to $5990.
Video poker = 20%
Place a $100 bet and your wagering requirement will be reduced to $5980 as the bet counts as only $20.
Craps = 5%
Place a $100 bet on a Craps game and it will only count as $5 towards your wagering requirement. Your $6000 requirement will be reduced to $5995.
Clearly, game weighting impacts how much you need to play or wager to meet your wagering requirements significantly.
Do All Casino Bonuses Include Wagering Requirements?
Actually no, they don’t. In recent years, the wager free or no wagering bonus has become quite popular.
You’ll find examples of these at a number of online casinos, like those listed here:
Top 4 Wager-Free Casino Recommendations
| Min Deposit | $35 |
|---|---|
| Wager | 40x |
| Allocation | Via Cashier |
| Bonus Code | None |
| Min Deposit | $20 |
|---|---|
| Wager | 40x |
| Allocation | Via Cashier |
| Bonus Code | None |
| Min Deposit | $30 |
|---|---|
| Wager | 10x |
| Allocation | Auto |
| Bonus Code | None |
| Min Deposit | $20 |
|---|---|
| Wager | 40x |
| Allocation | Via Cashier |
| Bonus Code | NDK350MB |
How Do Casinos Apply Their Wagering Requirements?
When it comes to match bonuses on your deposit, which most sign up (welcome) bonuses are, it is important to read the fine print.
This is because most casinos will apply their wagering requirements in one of two ways:
Obviously, if the casino is applying their wagering requirements to both the money they are adding to your account as well as to your full deposit amount, you will have at least twice as much to wager back.
Rules Worth Considering When Bonus Wagering
While the wagering requirement is a huge element of bonus terms and conditions, there are other elements that you will need to take into consideration when bonus wagering.
Bet Limits
During your wagering requirement phase, the casino will restrict the size of your bets, either per hand or per spin (depending on what game you’re playing). While the limit varies by casino, the average is usually around $5. The main reason why casinos do this, is to limit your chances of successfully converting bonus money into cash that you can withdraw from your account.
Limiting bet size severely impacts bonus wagering, and there are a couple of points to consider.
- Your wins are always a multiplication of your stake at the casino.
- When it comes to multipliers on your wins, the higher the multiplier, the less likely you’ll trigger it.
- Wagering higher numbers means that you don’t have to get a higher win multiplier in order to cover your wagering requirements.
Let’s demonstrate this with a real-world example:
- 1st deposit: 100% up to USD 150 + 100 Free Spins on Dead of Alive 2. Bonus Code: START
- 2nd deposit: 100% up to USD 150 + 50 Free Spins on Strolling Staxx Cubic Fruits. Bonus Code: LUCK
- Wagering Requirements: 40x B
- Max Cashout: USD300
- How to Claim: Request at cashier
- Use bonus code: START
Wagering Requirements – Why They Are So Significant
You may be surprised at how often players overlook the significance of wagering requirements, which often leads to dire consequences. What seems like a great bonus offer, can quickly turn into an irreversible loss for you. This is especially true if you did not take into account the wagering requirements for the bonus offer, and they turn out to be completely unreasonable.
Not only do you lose the bonus, but all of your money is sunk into chasing wagering requirements that you’ll never be able to meet successfully.
Fortunately, we’re here to take the pain and guesswork out of bonus offers, by including the exact wagering requirement of each casino, with their bonus offer. This allows you to save time in reading the fine print of casino bonus terms and conditions and allows you to take the bonus offer that works for you with total confidence.
This is how we rate wagering requirements:
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