The Ultimate Guide on Wagering Requirements & How to Beat Them

What Are Wagering Requirements?

A wagering requirement is the amount of money (usually a multiple of the bonus amount or bonus winnings) a player must wager before being allowed to make a cash withdrawal.

Fulfilling wagering requirements allows players to convert their bonus money. If they fail to do so, all the money from the bonus will be forfeited.

What Does Wager Mean?

A wager is a bet players place on any online slot, casino, bingo, poker or other casino game, risking money on the outcome of a game or event.

For example, you might bet £50 on a roulette wheel to land on red, or £20 on a hand of blackjack. If the outcome matches your prediction, you win money; if not, you lose your wager.

Why Do They Exist?

Wagering requirements exist to protect casinos and ensure fair play. More specifically, to:

1. Prevent Bonus Abuse: Wagering requirements ensure players use the bonus money to play games rather than simply cashing it out.
2. Encourage Gameplay: By requiring players to wager a certain amount before they can withdraw their winnings, casinos encourage more activity and engagement on their platforms.
3. Risk Management: Wagering requirements help casinos manage their financial risk. By ensuring that players have to bet multiple bonuses, casinos can better predict and control their cash flow, balancing the bonuses given out with the money wagered.
4. Fairness and Regulation: Wagering requirements prevent players from exploiting the bonus system and ensure that bonuses are used as intended.

Are They Avoidable?

Not in the long run, no. If you don’t want the hassle of wagering requirements, you could always renounce your bonus but we don’t really recommend it.

Although you are constrained by a wagering requirement, a casino bonus boosts your bankroll twofold and sometimes threefold. This gives you more chances to win on that jackpot slot game you love.

Wagering Requirements: Examples

If you’re still unsure what wagering requirements are, we’ll provide you a clear overview with examples to make it more understandable.

Explanation of Examples

1. Welcome Bonus: If a casino offers a 100% welcome bonus up to £100 with a 20x wagering requirement, you would need to wager £2,000 (20 times the £100 bonus) before you can withdraw any winnings.
2. Free Spins: If you win £50 from 50 free spins with a 30x wagering requirement on the winnings, you need to wager £1,500 (30 times the £50 winnings) to be able to withdraw the money.
3. No Deposit Bonus: A no deposit bonus might give you £10 free with a 50x wagering requirement. You would need to wager £500 (50 times the £10 bonus) before withdrawing any winnings.
4. Match Deposit Bonus: If you deposit £200 and get a 100% match bonus with a 40x wagering requirement, you need to wager £8,000 (40 times the £200 bonus) to withdraw your winnings.
5. Reload Bonus: A reload bonus might offer £50 with a 25x wagering requirement, meaning you need to wager £1,250 (25 times the £50 bonus) before withdrawing any winnings.

Wagering Game Limits And Contributions

All games have limits to their contributions towards the wagering requirement. If you want to better plan your gaming experience, here’s a breakdown of the wagering contributions for different casino games based on a £1 spend:

1. Slots – 100% contribution. For every £1 spent, £1 counts toward meeting the wagering requirement.
2. Roulette (European/ American) – 20% contribution. For every £1 spent, £0.20 counts toward the wagering requirement.
3. Blackjack – 10% contribution. For every £1 spent, £0.10 counts toward the wagering requirement.
4. Baccarat – 10% contribution. For every £1 spent, £0.10 counts toward the wagering requirement.
5. Video Poker – 20% contribution. For every £1 spent, £0.20 counts toward the wagering requirement.
6. Craps – 0% contribution. Wagers on craps generally do not contribute toward wagering requirements.
7. Poker (Casino Hold’em) – 10% contribution. For every £1 spent, £0.10 counts toward the wagering requirement.

💡Note: These are all average contributions towards wagering requirements, except for the cases where the contribution is 100%.

Here’s an example breakdown of contributions for different games, with a wagering requirement of 25x (the industry average, according to our own data):

Key Points:

• The wagering contribution is calculated by multiplying the amount staked by the game’s contribution percentage (e.g., £10 x 100% = £10 for slots, £10 x 10% = £1 for table games, etc.).
• The wagering remaining is the amount of the wagering requirement still to be completed after each stake.
• The total wagering requirement for this example is £250, as the player must wager 25x the bonus amount of £10.

How to Calculate the Wagering Requirements?

Two factors that will determine how you can calculate the wagering requirements (i.e. how much you have to play before you can withdraw):

1. Firstly, it will depend on whether or not the welcome bonus is a free spins bonus or a deposit match offer.
2. Secondly, it matters whether or not the deposit amount is included or excluded from the wagering requirements.

Calculate Wagering Free Spins

If you claim a free spins offer, you will normally need to work out the requirements based on how much you win. Let’s imagine you’ve claimed 20 free spins with a 10x wagering requirement and you won £5 whilst playing:

Example: £5 (Free Spins Wins) x 10 (Wagering) = £50

As you can see from the above example, the £5 you won have a 10x wagering requirement, which means you’ll need to complete wagering requirements of £50 before your can withdraw.

How to Calculate on Deposit Bonuses?

Here’s how to calculate wagering requirements on deposit bonuses, more specifically:

• Excluding Deposit Amount

If you claim a 300% casino bonus and the wagering requirements exclude your deposit, you only need to calculate the requirements based on the bonus you receive. Let’s say the casino is rewarding you with £60 in bonus money when you make a deposit of £20, with a wagering requirement of 5x. This is exactly how it works:

Example: £60 (Bonus) x 5 (Wagering) = £300

• Including Deposit Amount

Now, let’s imagine that for you to meet the wagering requirements, you must also include your deposit as well. Using the previous example, it would work like this:

Example: £20 (Deposit) + £60 (Bonus) x 5 (Wagering) = £400

Learn More About Wagering Requirements

Thanks to a number of laws and regulations ensuring that wagering requirements are more visible, players should now have access to all relevant information.

By law, every UK casino operator providing a cash bonus offer including free spins, needs to display the terms and conditions. In those T&Cs, you should find the wagering requirements and other information that could hinder you from making a withdrawal immediately.

Make sure to always read the fine print. Usually, the full T&Cs are found by clicking a link in the promotional e-mail or by visiting the promotions page.

If, for some reason or other, you are unable to find the stipulated amount for the wagering requirement, go to the terms and conditions page or else speak to Customer Support. This way, you will make sure that you know what you’re opting for, before parting with your money.

How to Beat Wagering Requirements?

Here’s how to make sure you get the most out of your casino adventure.

Do Your Research and Pick the Right Casino

Before signing up to a casino make sure that it’s licensed by a reputable gaming authority. A licensed casino adheres to a number of laws and regulations that include, amongst other things, high-level security and trustworthiness.

Read the Fine Print

Any reputable casino must adhere to the strict conditions posed by the gaming authority. One of these conditions is to have the relevant terms and conditions clearly displayed. Here, you should be able to find important information regarding your bonus. Things you should check include:

• The minimum deposit;
• The wagering requirement of the offer;
• The winning cap;
• The time limit;
• Eligible games; and
• The bonus bet limit.