A wagering requirement is therefore an obligation to make a wager in an online casino. Most online casinos Canada have a wagering requirement you have to fulfil in order to play with a bonus. No Wagering Requirements Although it is still unfortunately a rare beast, the no wagering requirement deal does exist and it simply means that after joining a casino and potentially receiving some sort of.
With the online gambling marketplace becoming so competitive, it is perhaps no surprise that gambling sites use clever marketing ploys in order to entice new players their way.
One of these tactics is through seemingly generous sign up or welcome bonuses, which grant new players a host of free bets or cash bonuses for opening an account with them. These can take the form of matching your first deposit with free cash, free bets when you stake X amount, or even just free money – no questions asked.
That sounds pretty good, what’s the catch?
The only fly in the ointment from a punter’s perspective is wagering requirements.
What are wagering requirements?
These are essentially the hoops that you will have to jump through in order to get your hands on your bonus and any winnings that come from it. This is generally known as the ‘play through’, and will state how much money you need to stake in order to activate your bonus and profits.
Luckily wagering requirements, or play through, is always low for sports bonuses and free bets.
The majority of wagering requirements are also accompanied by a list of terms & conditions as long as the Magna Carta too, so it pays to become acquainted with these as they will outline exactly what you need to do to secure your bonus or free bets.
How Do They Work?
Some examples:
So let’s say that your chosen a deposit bonus which has granted you a welcome bonus of 100% up to £200. Thanks very much!
But there’s a clever bit of wordplay here when you look closely: up to. So it could well be less. This amount is directly linked to your first deposit amount so if you only fund your account with £10 you only get a £10 bonus.
Wagering Requirements Online Casinos
This will all be outlined in those pesky T’s & C’s, so do take the time to check.
To be able to withdraw your bonus if you deposited £50 these are the requirements you’d need to meet:
- You are given a £50 bonus
- A stipulation of 3x deposit + bonus amount wagering requirement is in the T&C’s
- You will thus need to stake a total of £300 to release your bonus cash.
- Any winnings and your bonus will then be transferred to your account balance and you can withdraw or continue betting.
When you look at it that way, it’s not surprising that some people get a little annoyed with welcome bonuses as they’re not always as they seem on the surface. Are they a scam? No but you do need to do your homework.
The 3x wagering requirement is obviously a hugely favourable one for the player, and in most cases will be a lot higher – casino bonuses for example are usually between 20x and 50x.
Tiered wagering requirements
Sometimes a gambling site will offer what is known as a tiered wagering requirement, which is a staggered collection of payments. An example might be:
| Time Limit | Requirements | Bonus |
| 7 Days | £20 | £20 |
| 30 Days | £250 | £30 |
| 60 Days | £500 | £50 |
In this example, even though the tiered wagering requirements make it seem slightly different, the ultimate bottom line is that you need to wager a grand total of £500 within two months of opening your account in order to access your £100 worth of total bonuses.
And whilst this will make it ‘more affordable’ for you, e.g. playing in installments rather than all at once, at the end of the day the financials are still the same.
Wagering Requirements: An Overview
Bingo With No Wagering Requirements
Hopefully this has given you an insight into the sometimes murky world of wagering requirements, which are a bit of a pain after being promised such a great deal by your casino or bookmaker.
But it makes business sense for an online gambling platform to do this; to entice new customers but to protect themselves financially. It is a perfectly legal and above-board way of generating new custom.
As the old saying goes ‘only fools rush in’, so do take the time to read the terms & conditions as specified by your provider. The wagering requirements will be clearly stated here, and ultimately it is your responsibility to understand the implications of accepting a sign up bonus or offer.
Unsurprisingly, many of the complaints that casinos and bookmakers receive are from customers who claim they didn’t know about any wagering requirements, and want their bonus cash pronto. Well, they should have read the T’s & C’s then….
As soon as you sign up for a new account, you have accepted the terms of the sign up offer. There’s no going back now.
Online Wagering Site
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