Can Bonuses Be Wager Free?
When you claim a bonus at an online casino, whether it’s a no-deposit, matching deposit, cashback or free spins promo to try any of the selected online fruit machines, the vast majority of the time, you will find that it comes with what many industry experts/leaders/operators and people like me who play on these sites refer to as wagering requirements (which are also often referred to as wagering/rollover or turnover requirements).
I’ve joined countless sites to play online fruit machines, scratchies, video poker, blackjack, and roulette, and on each site, I’ve claimed everything from sign-up promos for making my first deposit to hundreds of ongoing daily log-in promotional offers.
One thing I have noticed is that wagering requirements, or whatever you want to call them, cannot be avoided when claiming certain offers.
The question being asked here is, can special offers like these be wager-free? Read on for a qualified answer.
Do All Online Casino Bonuses Come with Wagering Requirements Attached?
No. Some promos are ‘wager-free.’ In my years of experience playing on some of the best iGaming platforms, I’ve found that not all of them have wagering requirements attached to any promo.
The best ones come with zero wagering requirements attached (0x times the bonus amount). Remember that the lower the wagering requirements are, the better it is for you.
Players no longer need to wager as much money within an allotted time before any winnings that have accumulated from bonus promotions can be withdrawn. I’ve also claimed plenty of them over the years on my smartphone and PC with only a 1x, 5x, 10, 15x, or 20x wagering requirement attached.
However, most of the time, I think you will find that any matching deposit, free spins or no deposit offer you claim will have a 25x, 30x, 35x, 40x, 45x or 50x wagering requirement attached.
It’s also not uncommon to find them with a 60x or 70x wagering requirement attached. I’ve even found some sites with rewards that come with a 200x wagering requirement attached, which absolutely infuriated me. I don’t mind claiming bonuses with a 50x wagering requirement, but nothing higher.
The wagering requirement is essentially the amount of money/times you must wager any free money you receive or any winnings you make from your free money/spins.
To recap, always remember the following:
- Extremely low (the best) wagering requirements are classed as zero (0x times the bonus amount) – ALWAYS WORTH CLAIMING, whether you are on a tight budget or not.
- Low wagering requirements are 5x to 25x – definitely worth claiming.
- Medium/average wagering requirements are 30x to 50x – still always worth claiming
- High/above-average wagering requirements are 60x or 70x – I wouldn’t bother claiming these bonuses, but there’s nothing stopping you from claiming them
- Extremely high (the worst) wagering requirements are anything higher than 70x – which I think are NEVER worth claiming
How Do Wagering Requirements Work?
If you have just claimed a 100% deposit match worth $/€/£100, it requires a minimum $/€/£10 deposit to unlock and comes with a 35x wagering requirement, it means that any bonus money you receive must be wagered 35x times before you can withdraw.
With this reward (the 100% match offer), you will receive free money worth anywhere from $/€/£10 to $/€/£100), so you are effectively doubling up on your deposit. The casino operator will match your deposit dollar for dollar up to the maximum amount stated in the Ts and Cs for that promotion.
In other words, if you deposit $/€/£25 (to receive $/€/£25 free money on top of your deposit), you would need to wager a total of $/€/£875 (including your $/€/£25 deposit multiplied by the 35x wagering requirement) before you can withdraw your winnings.
If you deposited the full $/€/£100 (the maximum amount the promo is worth) to receive $/€/£100 free money on top of your $/€/£100 deposit, you would need to wager a total of $/€/£3,500 ($/€/£100 multiplied by the 35x wagering requirement) before you can withdraw.
If the same promotional offer only came with a 20x wagering requirement attached, you would only need to wager $/€/£500 ($/€/£25 deposit multiplied by 20x wagering requirement) or $/€/£2,000 ($/€/£100 deposit multiplied by 20x wagering requirement). It sounds a lot more confusing than it actually is.
Important Things to Remember About Matching Deposit Bonus, No Deposit Bonus, Cashback Bonus, and Free Spins Bonus Wagering Requirements
The important thing to remember is that you aren’t ever forced to claim special deals like this. If you don’t want one, simply decline it when it’s offered to you.
Wagering requirements must be completed within either a day, week, two weeks, or one month (it’s different on each site and depends on the promotion), and only certain games (online fruit machines and scratchcards, for example) will help you clear your wagering requirements quicker than others, such as the classic table & card variants.
For example, I’ve found that the vast majority of online fruitys on the sites I’ve joined contribute 100% per dollar wagered towards completing my wagering requirements (apart from a handful of selected titles), and things like roulette, baccarat, craps, and blackjack may only contribute as little as 5.00%, 10.00% or 20.00% per dollar wagered.
In fact, some titles won’t contribute anything (0.00%), which is why you should always read the terms and conditions when claiming any bonuses on sites like this.
The other important thing to remember is to only ever claim these types of online promotional offers, whether they are cashback, no deposit or free spin bonuses, on fully licensed and regulated sites because they will be owned and operated by trustworthy and reputable brands. I always find the best deals and best cashback bonuses here on the Ask Gamblers website here at askgamblers.com/casino-bonuses/cashback.
They are a great way to get a quick cash injection, and I would always recommend claiming them based on my experiences with bonuses.
Final Thoughts
Reading the Ts and Cs will also tell you many other important things to ensure you get the most out of any offers you claim. For example, the Ts and Cs might tell you that certain deposit options, perhaps credit cards, are excluded from the promotion you have just claimed, or your winnings may be capped at a certain amount, and so on.
Most of the time, wagering requirements will be attached to your promo, but that doesn’t mean they all come with them.
Loyal people like me, for example, who frequently spend money on the same site, may find that they will start to receive more regular offers with low to medium wagering requirements attached (or zero wagering requirements attached if you’re really lucky). Remember to stay selective about the offers you go for; responsible gambling is all about being circumspect and limiting gambling habits.
I would also suggest never claiming bonuses just for the sheer sake of it and only claiming one at a time to avoid confusion and disappointment. After completing the wagering requirements from one bonus you recently claimed, you can then move on to the next offer.
