What are Casino Wagering requirements?
Wagering requirements are part and parcel of almost every online casino bonus. They dictate what you need to do for bonus winnings to become withdrawable.
Wagering requirements are presented as a multiple of the bonus amount, the deposit, or both. For example, let’s say you land a 100% deposit match of up to a $50 bonus. To claim this offer, you must deposit a minimum of $10 into your real money account. Now, for the sake of argument, this bonus has an x20 wagering requirement applied.
If the wagering requirements only apply to the bonus amount, you can expect to wager $50 20 times to withdraw your winnings. This comes up to a total of $1,000. However, if the bonus also includes the deposit amount, the maximum you can expect to play through is $60 *20, which comes to $1,200.
Why do US casinos have wagering requirements?
It’s essential to appreciate the purpose of online casinos to understand why they have wagering requirements. Yes, online casinos offer a safe playing environment where you can have fun, but like any other business, they are in it to make money.
To entice as many players as possible to sign up, online casino operators give out bonuses. Now, think about it. What would stop an average player from walking out of the casino after receiving this bonus? Well, nothing, except for wagering requirements.
These obligations set by the casino will ensure you stay engaged for longer. Extending your stay in the online casino will allow you to check out more of what the platform offers and give the operators a chance to recoup some of your winnings.
Most common casino wagering requirements offer
Just like most things in the online casino, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to wagering requirements. Some online platforms demand that you match the bonus amount, dollar for dollar, with your funds. But it is not uncommon to find online casinos that will not accept withdrawal requests until you complete wagering requirements as high as x20 or x30.
How to beat wagering requirements
Now, let’s be clear here. If you use an online casino bonus, you must complete wagering requirements before collecting your winnings. There are no two ways about it.
The best way to beat wagering requirements is to find online casinos that offer non-sticky bonuses. Non-sticky bonuses are casino offers that separate your deposit amount from your bonus funds. This means you can play your deposit before getting into the bonus funds.
Now, if you win using non-sticky bonuses, you do not have to complete wagering requirements if the winnings come from your deposited funds. In this instance, you can withdraw your earnings and forfeit the bonus and its wagering requirements entirely.
Let’s look at a quick example to bring this point home.
The bonus above is on the Hard Rock Online casino. You receive a $1000 bonus for depositing $1000 of your own cash. The casino then separates your $1000 deposit and $1000 bonus. So, even though you have a total of $2000, you can first play with the $1000 of your funds.
Maybe it’s your lucky day, and you end up winning $5000 from your initial $1000 deposit. Since you have not used any portion of the bonus funds, you can claim this $5000 winning and cash out without completing wagering requirements.
Games contribution in wagering requirements
Another vital aspect of wagering is the games’ contribution. The offer above is on the Hard Rock Casino, but we have selected the Partycasino welcome bonus to explain this part of our guide.
What does game contribution mean?
The game contribution represents each game’s weight, or how much each casino game bet goes towards knocking off the wagering requirements. Slot machine games will typically enjoy a higher contribution than table games and other online casino titles.
Where to find the game contribution for each bonus?
You can find detailed information about game contributions in the specific bonus terms and conditions for each offer. Game contribution requirements will differ for each title depending on the return to player percentage. But typically, you can expect the same game contribution for titles in the same casino game genre.
For example, let’s look at the game contribution details for the PartyCasino new players’ welcome bonus.
Slots/Games: 100%
Video Poker / Roulette / Table and live games: 20%
Blackjack: 10%
From here, it’s simple math. But this is the amount that goes towards knocking off the bonus for each game.
| Game | Contributed money (per $1 bet) |
|---|---|
| Slots/Games | $1 |
| Video Poker / Roulette / Table and live game | 20 cents |
| Blackjack | 10 cents |
Wagering of bonus money only / including deposit
As we alluded to earlier, wagering requirements can be applied only to the bonus money or a combination of the bonus funds and the initial deposit. The choice of which option applies is entirely up to the casino operators. Still, you will need to fully familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions before claiming an offer.
Best wagering requirements offers in the US
It’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed when looking for the best wagering requirements in the US. This is because they are many bonuses, and all of them display varied wagering requirements.
So, to keep things simple, we suggest you go for wagering requirements offers with low obligations. These bonus wagering requirements demand multiples like 1x to get your winnings.
You can also look for non-sticky bonuses like we explained earlier and leapfrog all the wagering requirements to your winnings.
Best casino sites no wagering requirements
It is highly uncommon to find an online casino bonus in the United States that does not require some form of wagering when it comes to claiming your winnings. That said, this type of bonus is the best you can hope for when you play online, as you can collect your winnings as soon as you finish using the bonus.
Lowest wagering requirements casinos
In light of the above considerations, we suggest settling for the lowest wagering requirements you can find. Luckily, our casino experts have created a low-wagering requirements page for your benefit. You can find it here.
Conclusion
Wagering requirements are an essential part of online casino bonuses. While they may seem like a great inconvenience, think about it. Would casinos offer online bonuses if they could not use wagering requirements to at least claw some of your winnings back?
So, instead of fretting over the application of wagering requirements to online bonuses, familiarize yourself with each bonus offer. Find the best low-wagering bonuses and use them to your benefit.
Frequently Asked Questions
