What Are Wagering Requirements?

Wagering requirements are the cumulative number of wagers you need to place with a bonus before you are able to make a real money withdrawal. In the case of deposit-based bonuses, these wagering requirements will be listed as 20x up to 40x the bonus amount.

What this means in practical terms is that the cumulative value of the bets you place must be equal to or greater than the bonus amount multiplied by the wagering requirement. When dealing with Free Spins the number of credits you win from these free games becomes the target of the wagering multiplier.

Your bonus value will always be represented in the Bonus Balance and will only become available in your Cash Balance once it can be withdrawn. Attempting to withdraw any winnings before completing the wagering requirements will result in your forfeiting both the bonus and your current winnings from it.

Wagering Requirements as Part of AML

Not many players ever consider how online casinos are at risk of misuse by less scrupulous members of society. One of the primary concerns raised by international financial control groups is the danger of online casinos being used by criminal organizations to clean dirty money.

If online casinos allowed high-stakes deposit bonuses without the control mechanism of a wagering requirement there is a very real chance that a lot of illegal cash would make its way through the system in the form of quick deposit bonuses which are immediately withdrawn.

This one simple control measure ensures that international anti-money laundering (AML) protocols are enforced worldwide without any game-breaking adjustments to how you and I play our favorite casino games.

How to Avoid Wagering Requirements

While most gamblers understand and respect the need for wagering requirements many regular players opt to reject bonuses from the casino in order to avoid having to meet any wagering requirements.

For the most part, wagering requirements are an unavoidable part of claiming both bonus credits and no deposit free spins, however, they do significantly increase your bankroll which gives you more buying power when playing to win a big jackpot.

If you find yourself in the camp that prefers to gamble free from such restraints, there are however a few options you can explore. Bonuses based on cashback percentages are free wagering requirements as well as any bonuses offered by the casino which specialize in wager-free bonuses.

Are There Wager-Free Casino Bonuses?

The name of the bonus type says it all, these are legitimate casino bonuses that you can claim without having to meet a wagering requirement prior to making a real money withdrawal. These bonuses can either be based on losses as is the case with cashbacks or be wager-free spins or wager-free deposit bonuses.

What you will notice is that while you gain the benefits of not having to meet a 20x-40x wagering requirement in order to cash out your winnings the bonuses themselves are dramatically smaller than their wager-bearing counterparts.

This is due to the fact that the online casino offering the bonus needs to protect itself from abuse, and the best way to achieve this is to limit the potential downside of each individual bonus given.

It is worth noting that wager-free is not synonymous with free-of-cost as these bonuses will most likely still require that you make a minimum qualifying deposit before making a withdrawal. To dissuade bonus abusers the deposit is often more than the value of the bonus.

Our Handpicked No Wagering Bonuses

If you are interested in trying a no-wager bonus here is our list of trusted online casinos that offer these bonuses to new players.

Sign up and claim the bonus to trial wager-free gambling for yourself:

Top No Wagering Bonus Codes

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The Math Behind Wagering Requirements

We stand by the adage that “knowledge is power”, especially when it comes to an activity where you will be investing both your time and your money. To ensure that you understand how wagering requirements are calculated we have included a few practical examples below that cover the terms for free spins and deposit bonuses.

How Free Spins Wagering is Calculated

We will begin with calculating Free Spins wagering requirements as they are the slightly more complicated of the two options. Let us assume that you received 50 free spins with a 20x wagering requirement on the Starburst slot, where you won $10.

  • Wagering Calculation: $10 (Wins) x 20 (Wagering Requirement) = $200

Given the details above you will now need to take the $10 and place cumulative wagers to the value of $200 before you would be allowed to withdraw your winnings. It is possible to win more money, over and above the initial $10, during this wagering process which will all become available for withdrawal once wagering is fulfilled.

Real World Free Spins Example

Right now, you can get 20 Free Spins on Masks of Atlantis (using this code: 20ATLANTIS) when registering at Raging Bull Casino. Here are the details:
  • 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

How Deposit Bonus Wagering is Calculated

In this scenario, we will assume that you claimed a 100% deposit match bonus with a wagering requirement of 30x. If you make a deposit of $20 you would receive a bonus of $20 which is where the wagering requirement is applicable.

  • Wagering Calculation: $20 (Bonus) x 30 (Wagering Requirement) = $600

In this case, you will need to place total cumulative wagers to the value of $600 in order to be eligible to make a withdrawal from this bonus. The upside of this process is the chance of winning a sizable jackpot while playing through the wagering requirement and then being able to make a sizable withdrawal.

Real World Match Bonus Example

Right now, you can get 250% up to $Unlimited Match Bonus when registering and making a deposit at Raging Bull Casino. Here are the details:
  • 1st Deposit: Unlimited amount
  • Wagering Requirements: 15x D
  • Max Cashout: Unlimited amount
  • How to Claim: Request at cashier

What Does “Deposit + Bonus” Mean?

There are some online casinos that apply the wagering requirement to not only the bonus amount but also to the deposit amount. When reviewing the bonus Terms and Conditions it will read something like “wagering is 30x (times) the deposit and bonus”.

Revisiting the deposit bonus example above this would mean that your wagering calculation would be as follows:

  • Wagering Calculation: $20 + $20 (Deposit + Bonus) x 30 (Wagering Requirement) = $1200

As you can see this minor adjustment to the wording of the promotion has a profound impact on the value of the wagers required before making a withdrawal. This is why we always recommend reading the full terms and conditions of any bonus you intend to claim.

Right now, you can get 300% up to $1000 Match Bonus + 100 free spins on Bonus Wheel Jungle when registering and making a deposit at Lion Slots Casino. Here are the details:
  • 1st Deposit: USD1000 + 100 Free Spins on Bonus Wheel Jungle
  • Wagering Requirements: 40x B + D
  • Max Cashout: USD1000
  • How to Claim: Request at cashier

How To Learn About Bonus Wagering Requirements

Thankfully, we live in the age of regulated and licensed online gambling. This means that as part of their licensing agreement online casinos are required to clearly display all essential terms and conditions for the bonuses they offer.

This includes a visible display of the total wagering requirement applied to a bonus claim and a description of how it is applied to free spins, wins, and whether it includes your deposit amount.

As we discussed earlier a simple change to the wording of a bonus can double the wagering requirement and severely limit our chances of making a withdrawal which is why we always encourage our readers to read our reviews of a bonus and to then read the full terms and conditions available on the casino site.

This way you can rest assured that you are fully aware of the requirements linked to the bonus you are claiming.

Finding Online Casinos with Low Wagering Requirements

While we only promote the most trusted online casinos there are those who offer exclusive bonus codes and special Welcome Bonuses with better than average wagering requirements.

Here is our list of leading casinos with the lowest wagering requirements:

No Deposit Bonuses with Low Wagering Requirements

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When making your choice to sure to strike a balance between an enticing offer with low wagering and the following key metrics:

  • Is there a minimum deposit to claim the bonus?
  • What is the maximum withdrawal limit?
  • Do they offer a reasonable bonus expiration period?
  • Are the eligible games ones you enjoy?
  • Have they been stingy with the max bet size?
  • Pro Tip
    By finding the bonus offers that serve you best across most of the key criteria you will end up enjoying your experience at the casino far more than just focusing on how big the base bonus is.
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Jenny Landsdowne Written by Jenny Landsdowne