No matter if you’re a seasoned gambling veteran or a rookie just starting, you can always learn a thing or two more about wagering requirements, the casino players biggest enemy. In this article, I’ll talk about them and teach you some tricks and tips on how to beat them when playing online casino games.
I’ll start at the very beginning. To know how to beat them, we have to understand what they are and how do they work. A wager is a certain bet placed on a game of your choice, be it casino slots, video poker, blackjack, or anything else. With online casino bonuses, wagering comes with certain conditions and requirements attached to it. A wagering requirement is a conditioned number of times the player has to play through the bonus before he can cash out the bonus money. These requirements usually come in two forms. In the form of a minimum withdrawal limit or a classic numbered wagering requirement.
This part isn't exactly the most glamorous part of your gambling experience, but it can help you greatly during your play time. When you understand the rules, it will be much more easy to meet your goals. I’ll use a simple, rounded up example. Let’s say that a casino offers a €100 dollar deposit bonus if you deposit at least €20, and sets a 5x wagering requirement. This is how the wagering requirement will work:
Understanding how wagering requirements work and being able to calculate them will help you a lot when playing. Another import aspect of wagering is the RTP (Return to Player). Why am I mentioning the RTP in this context? Because it measures how significant is the potential loss you will have during wagering. It's important to understand it as well and know what the difference is between a 98% RTP and 95% RTP. To put it in other words, if I wager €10 000 on a 98% RTP game, my losses are capped at €200, while on a game of 95% RTP would be a staggering €500, which is a big difference and can mean a lot when wagering.
Online casinos are required to operate in accordance with specific rules and regulations. All of the requirements have to be clearly listed in the casinos T&C’s. You can usually find them on the casino's main page. Like I’ve said before, wagering requirements vary from case to case, so you'd want to know all of the details about.
Even though this is the case, make sure you go through the entire T&C document and read all of the fine print. Sometimes there are certain caveats or conditions that can hinder your experience. For example, many casinos not only have the wagering requirement, but a time deadline tied to it. If you don’t wager the bonus during the set time, you will forfeit all winnings and bonuses. This leads me to my next point.
I can't stress the importance of choosing the most suitable casino before you even start playing. You have to look at multiple aspects when choosing a suitable casino. Its reputation, privacy and security options, and of course the bonuses and wagering requirements. Reputable casinos will always be straightforward with you and list bonuses and requirements right off the bat, which will save you the time and stress of trying to look for them.
Besides these deal breakers, there are also minor things you should watch out, like if the casino has a minimum and maximum deposit and withdrawal limit, and what is the registration and identification process like.
As more experienced players may know, different game genres don’t contribute to wagering requirements in the same way. For example, blackjack and roulette games, though they have a lower house edge, aren't fully eligible to wager your bonus. They will only produce a 50% or even less for every wager, while slot games will almost always fully contribute to the wagering requirements. That’s why I'll focus on the slot games as a mean of reaching your wagering requirements. I’ll share with you a few providers and games that can be effectively used to meet wagering requirements more efficiently. I’ll stick only to slot games that have a 97% or better RTP.
These were just a few of the best slot games to play when trying to meet the wagering requirements. Though I’m sure you can find much more if you put a little research into it, I’ve played all of the games mentioned above and can confidently tell you that they are tested out and have proven quality.
Though they are the best way to wager and win your bonus money, not all slots are the same. Through understanding slot variances and game types, you will be able to reach the wagering requirements more efficiently. Depending on your style of play and your end goal, you’d want to choose a slot game that best suits you. There are three types of slot games:
The meaning behind this is to give you the best chances of coming out on top. The best way you can beat the requirements is to combine high and low variance playstyles. Ideally, I would recommend you to start with high variance just for a few rounds, to try to hit a sizable win. When you manage that, you would like to switch to low variance games and slowly build your way up to the required wagering number. You have to be very strategic while doing this, as high variance games can quickly eat up your entire budget if you don’t play carefully.
The shortest answer I can give you is yes, but, you need to know that you won't get any big money this way. Some casinos offer no wagering requirement free spins bonuses as well as money bonuses, but this is nothing more than pocket change, up to a maximum amount of €10 or €15.
Currently its hard to imagine a casino that is completely free of wagering requirements, though that can be a possibility in the future. More and more casinos are diverting from the classic and well-tested option of a welcoming money deposit and are shifting to the free spins bonus methods to give new players a taste of the game before they deposit their money. But, as it stands as of writing this article, wagering requirements for bonuses still take up the majority of the bonuses on the casino market. I hope this article has been helpful and that you will use my tips to have a more profitable and satisfying gambling experience.