How to Beat Online Casino Wagering Requirements

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a lot of illegal cash would make its way through the system in the form of quick deposit bonuses which are immediately withdrawn.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.

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.

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.

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 50 Free Spins on Red Hot Slots (using this code: NDK50FS) when registering at Lucky Creek Casino. Here are the details:

• Bonus Offer: 50 Free Spins
• Wagering Requirements: See Casino
• Max Cashout: $100
• How to Claim: Request at cashier
• Valid Games: Red Hot Slots
• Use bonus code: NDK50FS

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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.

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 350% up to $3500 Match Bonus (using this code: NDK350MB) when registering and making a deposit at Lucky Creek Casino. Here are the details:

• 1st Deposit: USD3500
• Wagering Requirements: 40x B
• Max Cashout: USD3500
• How to Claim: Request at cashier
• Use bonus code: NDK350MB

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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.