How to calculate wagering requirements

Online casino bonuses have become something of a tradition. Online casinos offer these bonuses not because they want to be philanthropic, but because they want to encourage punters to play.

Often, many UK casino players don’t understand what all the terms attached to a casino bonus mean. They tend to ignore them and think that they don’t have a significant impact on the game-play. One such term that tends to pop up is the wagering requirement. Also known as ‘Playthroughs’, wagering requirements play a pivotal role in the world of online gambling.

How come, you might ask. Since they come part and parcel with casino bonuses, they are involved in every casino game you play. Whether you an online slots lover, live blackjack or a Roulette game aficionado, wagering requirements apply in almost anything bonus-related at UK casinos.

You might further wonder what role do the wagering requirements play in casino games, so today we will discuss the part of wagering requirements, how to calculate them, and how to beat them.

What are wagering requirements?

To better understand this multifaceted issue and the purpose of wagering requirements, you need to comprehend its role in the casino industry.

Since the online casino industry is rife with competition, casinos are always coming up with no ways to capture your attention. They do this in several ways, but most prominently, it is done by attaching them to casino bonuses in the UK.

To understand the complex issue and reason for the existence of wagering requirements, you need to understand its role in the online gambling world.

A signup casino bonus is a match bonus that is given to players when they sign up to a casino and make a deposit for the first time. If you are new to casinos, you might think that the casino is giving you free money, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. This is where the wagering requirements come in.

Casino bonuses should be used for the purpose for which they are intended; to play games. However, the online casino industry has, in the past, witnessed a widespread occurrence of bonus abuse by players, and casinos had to incur huge losses, as players would open accounts and cash out the signup bonuses awarded to them. Now, this abuse had to stop at all costs and to offset this financial risk; online casinos had to introduce specific rules to accompany the bonus offers.

Wagering requirements encompass the number of times that a player must wager their bonus before they can withdraw their winnings. Likewise, when you claim a casino bonus, you cannot withdraw the free money. Instead, it is converted into bonus cash, which you can use on casino games (Some games might be restricted).

Since the terms and conditions of casino bonuses can be long, many players tend to ignore them, hoping there was nothing significant within that would concern them. On the contrary, the terms and conditions tend to include bet limits, any potential caps on winnings, bet limits and the wagering requirements.

Over the years, casinos bonuses have branched out. The most common type of bonuses you will find in the majority of online casinos are the match deposit bonuses and no deposit bonuses. The former is given to players for signing up and making a deposit, while the latter is provided without the player having to make a deposit first.

It is for this very reason that casinos in the UK have implemented wagering requirements to save themselves from financial ruin, money laundering and/or deal with bonus hunters. Sure, the rules are something which casino players never want to hear about, but they are necessary to cushion online casinos against fraud, which usually culminates in significant financial losses. Of course, these requirements typically don’t affect genuine casino gamblers, who are out to have fun and win the right way.

How Wagering Requirements Work

In most cases, players have to wager a set number of times to meet the wagering requirements and cash out their winnings.

The amount often varies from one casino to another, and that’s why you need to do some homework to find bonuses with the lowest wagering requirements. Every online casino has its playthrough requirements contained in the terms and conditions; hence, you won’t be hard-pressed to locate them.

How to calculate wagering requirements?

Now that you understand the basics of wagering requirements, you need to comprehend better how to calculate them to save yourself any unnecessary hassle with too-good-to-be-true bonuses.

Let’s imagine that you want to sign up to a new casino that is providing you with a generic casino bonus as follows: 100% match bonus up to £200 with a wagering requirement of 20x. This is how you would calculate the rollover:

£200 (bonus) x 20 (wagering requirements) = £4,000

This is the amount that you need to wager before you are free to cash out any withdrawals. This, however, only applies to your bonus. Although this sounds harsh, it is not intended to punish you as a player. The requirement is only there to discourage fraudulent players who are out to rob the casino of millions of dollars. Remember, if the casinos don’t put a proper system in place to keep fraudsters away, they (online casinos) will go down, and genuine players will be deprived of the opportunity to have fun.

Hence, wagering requirements are a preventive measure meant to ensure that casinos exist.

Many casinos in the UK throw in your own funds into the mix along with the bonus money. In that case, the amount you need to wager is as follows:

£200 (the bonus) + £100 (money deposited) x 20 (the rollover) = £6,000

You can understand why meeting wagering requirements, can be difficult, especially if you claim a bonus with higher than average wagering requirements. Between 30 and 35x is considered the industry’s standard but anything higher than that should be avoided, as you will not meet them.

What are wager-free casino bonuses?

There is a silver lining, however. There is something called the wager-free casino bonus that are extremely rare, almost as unique as a £20 no deposit bonus.

A wager-free casino bonus is a bonus that has no wagering requirements attached to it. Since it has 0x wagering requirements, it means that whatever you win, you can cash it out or use it on other casinos games. Regardless of what you want to do with the winnings, they are yours to keep.

It can come in various shapes or forms, but in general, it comes either as wager-free spins or as a wager-free bonus. Both are advantageous since there are no playthroughs to me. At first, you might be dismayed when you see the size of your wager-free bonus, but remember, what you win is yours. You can check out our no wagering casinos page here if you want to get your hands on great deals.

Casino Games & Wagering Requirements

Probably not the best news you want to hear but, many casino sites assign some of their games (games which count towards meeting the playthrough requirements) a percentage. For instance, you may find that online slots are allocated 100%, meaning that every bet you place on a slot machine, moves you closer to meeting the wagering requirements.

In games such as live roulette, the percentage can be as low as 5%. This means that for every £100 bet, only £5 will count towards the playthrough requirements. As already mentioned, it is particularly crucial to know the wagering requirements of any online casino before joining. Yes, the lower the wagering requirements, the better they are for players, but there are dozens of less reputable online casinos with playthrough requirements as high as 50x.

This alone should raise a red flag.

Tips & tricks to beat wagering requirements

Once you fully comprehend how wagering requirements work, it is incredibly easy to spot a good casino bonus deal from a bad one. Don’t just sign up to any new casino with a big deposit bonus, unless you wish to play for fun and not win money. Follow our top tips and tricks below to help you on your only casino journey.

Do your homework when it comes to casino bonuses

Just because a casino bonus looks overly generous, it does not mean it’s beneficial for you as a player. As already mentioned, if you want to play for fun and not win money, go ahead, but if you're going to stand in the chance of cashing out your winnings, then read the fine print. In our experience, the smaller a casino bonus tends to be, the kinder the wagering requirements are.

Even so, it is already recommended that you read the terms and conditions, to see what the playthroughs are. Furthermore, always do proper checks before you sign up and provide your personal and financial details. Is the casino licensed and secure? Of course, if the casino you want to sign up to is listed at GambleGenie, then you can rest assured that it’s been adequately vetted.

The reason we stress the importance of a casino license is that, casinos are subjects to numerous regulations as dictated by the respective gaming authority. If you are struggling to find any terms and conditions and you can’t seem to find contact details to customer support, avoid at all costs.

Going through the terms and conditions, you will be able to discover any other inconveniences, such as caps on winnings, betting limits as well as wagering percentages on specific casino games.

Sign up to No Wagering Casinos

No wagering casinos are all the rage these days. That being said, they are still hard to find. Their signup casino welcome offer tends to be wager-free. It does not mean that all the bonuses on offer at a no wagering casino are free.

Let’s take an example of a no wagering casino. Take PlayOJO Casino for example; This online casino gives new signups, the opportunity to claim up to 50 wager-free spins, depending on the amount the player wants to deposit.

Refuse the bonus

If you prefer one casino over the other and provides you with a great online gambling experience, but a so-and-so bonus with hefty wagering requirements, you always have the option to turn it down.

This means that you will play with your funds and no bonus whatsoever. Whatever you win from your own funds is yours to withdraw.

Are wagering requirements avoidable?

Not unless you want to claim casino bonuses. At some point or another, the temptation of claiming a casino bonus will be too big, and you will find it difficult to resist. You can always refuse the bonus, but playing with a bigger bankroll might be a little too tempting for some of us.

A casino bonus has many benefits. It can triple and even quadruple the money in your account, which gives you bigger and better opportunities at striking it big at a jackpot game.

Claim an online casino bonus UK

Now’s the time to sign up to the best UK Casinos with the lowest wagering requirements. Whether you are looking for a no deposit bonus or a great free spins offer, look no further. Check out the below GambleGenie-approved bonuses.