When I first started playing online casinos, I thought the process was going to be pretty simple. You log on, you make a wager, and you start playing. More fool me. As a beginner, I was completely unaware of the requirements surrounding wagering, and this very nearly – not quite, but nearly – cost me a good chunk of winnings.
So how is this the case and how can you make sure that you follow wagering requirements properly? Well, in order to make sure the same doesn’t happen to you, I’m going to walk through all the things beginners need to understand about wagering requirements and why it’s important below.
What are Wagering Requirements?
Let’s start by talking about what exactly wagering requirements are. For those unaware, wagering requirements refer to how many times you must bet or ‘wager’ a bonus amount – or the bonus plus deposit – before you’re allowed to withdraw any winnings. Let’s say you’re checking out Mr Vegas’ eight free Halloween spins – as seen on www.johnslots.com/en/ – and you want to beat the wagering requirements on offer. If that casino were to add a 30x wagering requirement to your winnings from those free spins, you’d need to wager those winnings thirty times before you could cash out. So, if you won $10 from the spins, you’d need to bet $300 in total before you see any of that money into your account.
Sounds a little harsh, right? But actually, I’ve realized the wagering requirements across online platforms make a lot of sense. For starters:
- Bonuses aren’t really ‘free money’. iGaming businesses need a way to make sure players are actually engaging with their features and not just cashing out right away
- Wagering requirements give us, the players, more incentives to explore the games, try new strategies, and extend our gameplay.
- If deposits and bonuses are played with some thought, it can be quite lucrative, especially if the reels stop spinning injust the rights spot.
If they really were free money, everyone would just jump from one bonus to the next without ever really playing, and that would be that. I don’t know about you, but that’s not what online gaming is about for me.
They Differ Depending on the Game
Another thing to understand is that wagering requirements will differ depending on the game you’re playing. I had quite a nice moment the other day when I moved from classic table poker to a slot, only to find it would count 100% towards meeting my requirements. This is generally the case on every platform. While slots count 100%, many tabletop games, including poker, might only contribute 10% to 20%, which means the former can be the best bet if you’re trying to clear a bonus quickly. This is something I figured out very early on: if I wanted to maximize my chances of hitting those wagering targets, I needed to focus on the things that helped me progress faster. So, make sure you pay attention to how various bets contribute to the wagering requirements.
Time Limits are Important
It’s also important to remember that most iGaming companies will impose a time limit. In other words, you don’t have forever to clear a wagering requirement – if you don’t complete it within a certain period, you’ll lose out on the bonus and any winnings that were associated with it. Always – and I mean always – read through the terms of a wagering requirement if you don’t want to be caught out. Each company has its own rules and regulations, and what you may have experienced on one platform isn’t necessarily going to be the same for another.
You’ll also get an opportunity to check out the maximum bet if you do this. Some iGaming platforms, of course, place a maximum amount you can bet while using bonus funds in order to stop people from placing large bets quickly just to meet them.
If you bet over your limit, you could invalidate your bonus, but you’ll only know that you’re doing so by reading the small print!
Don’t Go For Every Wagering Requirement
Lastly, I want to note that not every wagering requirement is going to be right for you. Bonuses with high wagering requirements, for instance, can be quite difficult to clear, especially if the number is over 40x. Unless you’re making a lot of money to contribute to your bankroll, it’s essential to evaluate whether the bonus is really worth the effort, as the last thing you want to do is drain your bankroll before you can cash out – otherwise, what’s the point?
Conclusion
These are just a few things that are important to remember if you’re a beginner to wagering requirements. As I mentioned before, when I first started out, I didn’t know a whole lot about them, and I certainly didn’t take the time I should have to check over all of the restrictions and limits. This was a shame because due to all the latest digital advancements making iGaming companies a little more innovative – including the bonuses they offer – a lot of them are too generous to gloss over or miss out on. So make sure that you don’t make the same mistake!