Wagering Requirements

Before you can cash in any free bonuses, you need to complete the wagering requirements for that bonus. All online casinos will specify different wagering requirements for each of their bonuses and you need to be clear on the requirements before you even accept the bonus. Wagering requirements are the limits that are set on a bonus with regards to how you can cash in the bonus money. The wagering requirements will specify which games you are able to play with the bonus money and how much you need to wager before you can withdraw the money.

Some casino may require you to wager the bonus amount before you can withdraw any winnings and some may require you to wager the deposit amount, plus allocated bonus amounts.

Reasons for Wagering Requirements

If casinos did not place wagering requirements on the bonuses that they offered, there would be no reason why customers could not claim the bonuses and immediately withdraw the cash without even playing at the casino. The whole object of the casino in terms of their bonuses and promotions is to encourage you to begin playing at the casino in the hopes that once you have played there, you will continue to play there. If players were able to simply withdraw the cash immediately, there would be nothing to stop them from casino hopping and collecting as much cash as possible. In order to get you playing at the casino, the casino sets wagering requirements to each of the bonuses.

Types of Wagering Requirements

Casino bonuses may limit the games that that you can use the bonus to play. You may be limited in the maximum amount that you can win or the wagering level playable.
Most commonly you will be required to play your bonus through a specific volume of bets. This may be 30 times your bonus winnings. In other words if you won $50 during your bonus session you would be required to bet $1,500 (30 x $50).

To those who are not used to playing with free bonuses, this may seem like an impossible wagering requirement, however, commonly a customer plays around 100 bets per session, meaning that the target is in fact quite attainable.

Many casinos limit the maximum bet amount payable with your bonus money. This is in order to prevent a player from getting lucky with a single large bet. Some casinos, such as free play casinos will require that you place a certain number of bets with your bonus money before you can cash in your winnings. Other restrictions may include the fact that progressive jackpots are not available to bonus players.

Some casinos will offer their bonuses sessions in mini casinos with fewer games available for you to choose from. The better casino bonuses will allow you to select games from the main casino games suite. Some casinos will limit the games to only slots or only table games, although better casinos will allow you to choose from slots and table games.