Yes, and It’s Important to Understand Why.
One of the first things I do when I see an online casino promotion is check to see if there are any wagering requirements. If there are, I’m not interested in claiming it.
In my opinion, wagering requirements take the fun out of a casino promotion. That’s why I stick to promotions that are wager-free. Why? Because wagering requirements means I don’t get my winnings right away, while no-wagering means I do.
If you didn’t know that or are a little fuzzy on the key differences between wagering and no wagering requirements, this one’s for you.
Wagering Requirements Vs. No Wagering Requirements
To understand the difference between the two, you need to know the rule(s) that apply to each and how these rules work/are implemented by an online casino.
👩💻 Mia’s Note: This post is specific to bonus wagering requirements. For a more detailed explanation about casino bonus terms and conditions (T&Cs), in general, check out my post – Online Casino Bonus Terms and Conditions – What Does it All Mean?
What are wagering requirements?
A wagering requirement (also known as a playthrough requirement or rollover requirement) is a rule enforced by casinos on their promotions.
A casino wagering requirement is a multiplier. This multiplier represents the number of times you are required to play through a bonus to withdraw any winnings you received from the bonus.
To calculate how much you’ll need to wager before your bonus winnings are converted to withdrawable cash, multiply the total bonus amount you received by the wagering requirement multiplier.
For instance: 20x wagering requirement x $50 Bonus = $1,000 – In this case, you will need to wager $1,000 before any remaining bonus wins are converted into cash you can withdraw.
Casino wagering requirements rules differ from one casino to the next
There is no one-size-fits-all wagering requirements rules. In other words, not all requirements enforced by online casinos are the same. They may differ in the following ways:
- The multiplier size – A wagering requirement can be anywhere from 5x to 50x or higher. The higher the multiplier, the bigger the amount you’ll need to wager.
- Different wagering types – The casino may have:
- Bonus Wagering – Only the total bonus amount you receive applies to the wagering multiplier (e.g., $50 Bonus x 20x).
- Bonus + Deposit Wagering – The bonus amount plus your deposit amount is combined as the total amount that applies to the wagering multiplier (e.g., $50 Deposit + $50 Bonus = $100 x 20x).
- Free Spins Wagering – Your total win from spins is applied to the wagering multiplier (e.g., 100 spins win $72 x 20x).
- Order of funds used for wagering* – The funds used to clear wagering requirements may be taken from both your cash balance (funds you’ve deposited or won prior to claiming the bonus) and bonus balance (the bonus funds you received from the casino and any winnings from that bonus). Or they may be taken from your cash balance first followed by your bonus balance once your cash balance is out of funds, or vice versa.
- Bet size restrictions – To prevent players from betting the full amount and completing bonus wagering requirements right away, bet size restrictions are enforced (e.g., $5 max bet per game). Restriction sizes may also differ depending on the game type.
- Contributing games – Typically, only certain games contribute 100% toward fulfilling wagering requirements. The more games you play that contribute 100% of your bet toward meeting requirements, the faster you’ll complete them (note: this usually limits you to playing select slots).
- Expiration – All wagering requirements must be fulfilled by a certain time. If they aren’t completed by then, the bonus will be cancelled, and any associated wins will be removed from your account. Expiry varies from casino to casino.
For instance, 888Casino gives Ontario players 90 days to complete its welcome offer’s 30x wagering requirements.
Meanwhile, BetMGM gives its Ontario casino players 14 days to complete its 15x welcome bonus wagering requirements.
*👩💻 Mia’s Note – Some online casinos use a mixed wagering model. For this, a portion of your deposited cash and a portion of the bonus funds are used to play through the bonus. The plus side is if you don’t complete requirements before the bonus expires, you still get to keep the portion of wins that was added to your cash balance.
What are no wagering requirements?
No wagering requirements means that whatever you win from the bonus is paid as cash to your bankroll. You are not required to wager the bonus (or bonus + deposit or free spins win) amount before winnings are converted to withdrawable cash.
However, after claiming and using a no-wagering bonus, most online casinos do require you to risk the reward at least once before you make a withdrawal. This means that you are required to make a minimum of one wager (of any size) on any game in the casino before you can make a withdrawal.
That might sound sneaky, but online casinos do this to ensure players are not just claiming no-wagering rewards for the sole purpose of withdrawing free funds. Casinos aren’t in the habit of giving away free money, after all.
For instance, the following screenshot shows the no-wagering bonus conditions for PlayOJO and Betty Casino.
Unlike casino wagering requirements, no-wagering requirement rules are pretty standard. Beyond being required to wager only once after fully using the bonus to withdraw funds, no other bonus rules specific to wagering apply. Essentially, if you’re looking into how to beat wagering requirements, the best way to do it is to choose a no wagering offer.
Which One Is Better?
Many players (me included) think promotions with no wagering bonuses are better than promotions with bonus wagering requirements.
Why? No-wagering is straightforward – Play the entire bonus before it expires and whatever you win is added to your cash balance and can be withdrawn after a single wager of any size on any game of your choosing.
However, there are other players who think bonuses with wagering requirements are better.
Why? Although you might have to fulfill wagering requirements, often these bonuses are bigger, can be played on a wider range of games, and the RTPs at these casinos are sometimes slightly higher. Unlike wagering bonuses, typically those with no wagering are limited to free spins.
All that said, regardless if you prefer bonuses with wagering requirements or not, it’s important to read the terms and conditions of any promotion you claim to find out exactly what rules apply. This is the only way to know:
- How to claim it
- What you’ll get
- How it works
- When it expires
Understanding the bonus terms and conditions is how to ensure that you don’t make the mistake of being in breach of the promotion rules, which can result in losing your wins.
Mia’s Final Thoughts – It’s No Wagering for Me
I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in playing at online casinos that have bonus wagering requirements.
To me, the idea of having to bet the bonus amount I receive (and sometimes the deposit amount as well – depending on the casino) a certain number of times sounds like a lot of jumping through hoops just to obtain wins that I feel are rightfully mine. On top of that, if you’ve ever read the T&Cs for bonuses with wagering requirements, your eyes are likely to cross. I almost feel like I need a lawyer to help me understand them. 😵💫
This is the reason why the two Ontario online casinos where I currently choose to play (Betty and PlayOJO), don’t have wagering requirements with their promotions. That was a huge draw for me and continues to be when I look for new sites to try. Maybe one day I’ll sign up at one that has wagering requirements just to test out how the entire process works. Perhaps I’ll find it’s not as bad as I assume it is. 😂
If you’re interested in me documenting that experience, let me know.
Also, I’m curious to know about your thoughts on wagering requirements if you’ve experienced them. Was it good? Okay? Bad? Are there benefits I don’t know about? I’m all ears. 😁
Until next time, good luck and have fun.
Mia 👩💻
**I’m not affiliated with anyone.
***All links and images in this post are for informational purposes only.
