Wagering requirements

1 What are wagering requirements?
2 Why do casinos award bonuses and link them to wagering requirements?
2.1 Comparison of wagering conditions
3 How exactly meet the wagering conditions?
4 What about the wagering requirements of free spins?
4.1 Different games contribution to the wagering requirement
4.2 How difficult is it to meet wagering conditions?

Online casinos attract new players with generous deposit bonuses, free spins and other offers so you can get more out of your game. However, any bonuses you receive from these casinos are in most cases conditional. These are the so-called wagering requirements. This is because the amount received is not kept as real money in the player’s account, but as bonus credits.

So you can not withdraw it immediately, but must first play with the credit in the casino. The bonus conditions must be fulfilled in order to convert the bonus money received into real money. In the following article we would like to explain with an example, how this thing with the turnover condition works exactly.

This guide fully covers wagering requirements and how to take an advantage of them. We’ll be answering to the following questions:

What are wagering requirements?

If you are new to an online casino and the casino of your choice offers a bonus, you will usually receive a bonus amount on your first deposit. The types and amounts of bonuses vary from casino to casino, but the most common variation is the deposit bonus.

For example, a common welcome offer would be the following: If you make your first deposit at the casino and you deposit any amount up to £100, the casino will give you the same amount as a bonus. Such a casino bonus for new players is then usually described on the website of the casino: 100% bonus up to £100.

This means that you will receive an additional bonus amount on your deposit amount. However, the pro-rata bonus money does not belong directly to you and must first fulfill the wagering requirement before it becomes real money and can be cashed out.

Why do casinos award bonuses and link them to wagering requirements?

The reason is simple: online casinos are companies with profit motive and not charities. Attractive offers are designed to attract new players. If the bonus were not tied to a condition, then it would be as if the casinos were giving away cash money. As a result, thousands of players would open an account, withdraw the bonus and then never play at the casino. The casino could then close its doors within a very short time and go bust. The wagering requirements are therefore unfortunately a necessary consequence of the bonus offers, even though they are of course not very popular with the players.

However, with the right strategy and a bit of luck, you have the opportunity to convert the bonus into real money in the end. And even if it doesn’t work out, you won’t lose anything in the end, because the money was given by the casino. So you should consider all deposit bonuses and free spins as a nice addition to the game, so that players can familiarize themselves with the casino and the games on offer.

Comparison of wagering conditions

When choosing an online casino, it is always worth investing a little more work. Even if an offer looks good at first glance, it may end up being less attractive than a smaller bonus due to the turnover conditions. When it comes to comparing different offers from online casinos, we must therefore take a close look at the bonus conditions on the website. These contain all information about the bonus offers, including the wagering conditions. However, if you read the Casinomucho’s experience, you can save yourself this work, because we will write out all the details of the casino bonuses for you.

Generally, the wagering conditions are given as a factor. This describes how often the bonus amount has to be wagered in the casino’s games before it is converted into real money and can then be paid out. In some cases this factor also refers to the sum of the deposit and bonus amount. In most cases this factor is illustrated as follows: 20x, 35x, 40x, 50x.

For example: 100% up to £100 with a wagering requirement of 40x the bonus

So if you deposit £100 in this example, you will receive an additional bonus of £100. This would give you £200 to play with. In this example, the bonus terms and conditions state that the bonus amount is to be wagered 40 times (40x), so the player must place wagers equal to 40 times the bonus money received (£100). In this case this would be £4,000. Once this wagering amount has been reached, the bonus and the resulting winnings are converted to real money.

How exactly meet the wagering conditions?

Let’s say the previously mentioned wagering requirement of £4,000 applies and you have £200 in your casino account. Basically, all you have to do now is play as usual. Every bet you place will lower the wagering requirement. If you bet £1, £1 is deducted from the wagering requirement. If you bet £2, £2 will be deducted from the turnover condition.

Assuming that you did not make any profit with your £200, your account balance would be £0 and £3,800 would be left from the turnover condition. This example would be very unlikely, as when you play a slot machine there are always winning and losing rounds in play. While it is unlikely that you can wager the sum of £4,000 with a bet of £200, it is theoretically possible with a few high winnings. It is especially beneficial if you are on a winning streak right at the beginning. Then you can continue playing with your profit and have a much higher chance of reaching the turnover conditions in the end.

What about the wagering requirements of free spins?

The wagering requirements for free spins are slightly different than for deposit bonuses. In this case, the wagering requirements apply to the winnings that you have earned from the free spins. So if you win a sum with your free spins, you must convert this sum to a certain factor. For example, if you win £3 and the wagering requirement is x40, you must wager £120. It is therefore not very easy to convert a win from free spins as the winnings are usually not very high and you do not have much credit to play with. That’s why the free spins are often an addition to your first deposit bonus. In some cases, online casinos now even offer free spins without a wagering requirement.

Different games contribution to the wagering requirement

At this point, things get a bit complicated as it can happen that your wagers will count differently towards the wagering requirements depending on the type of game. This is because different game types also offer different chances of winning. So if you play a table game such as Roulette or Blackjack, you will have a higher odds of winning (RTP – Return to Player) than if you play a slot machine. Of course, the higher the chance of winning, the higher the chance of losing. Therefore, slots should be considered the best way to wager a bonus.

Here is an example from the bonus conditions of the Casumo online casino:

Here, you can see that at Casumo all bets on slot machines at £100 are taken into account for the wagering conditions. This is not the case at all online casinos, so you should read the bonus terms and conditions carefully, as at some online casinos, slot machines are excluded or use lower credit rates. At most casinos, certain games are completely excluded. NetEnt’s first Blood Suckers game, for example, can usually not be used to meet the wagering requirements, as it is one of high-RTP slots. Return to player has been lowered in the following game – Blood Suckers 2.

How difficult is it to meet wagering conditions?

It should be mentioned again that online casinos would not make a business if you would give away amounts of money just like that. If your bonus was unconditional, you could simply cash out the money and the casino could probably close very soon.

Whether or not you can benefit from your bonus is much more about whether or not you get a fair wagering condition. There are bonuses that are hardly worth accepting, but others can really help you make a big profit. We have tried to meet wagering requirements several times, but it has never been too easy.

As with any casino game, all you really need is the right amount of luck. And should the winnings not arrive as expected, each bonus will at least extend your playing time and the fun that comes with it.