Few issues in the realm of online gambling are quite as contentious as the issue of the wagering requirement. Many commentators argue that some of these requirements are unfair and prohibitive. Yet is that really the case?
Or do people just have unrealistic expectations about what a genuine casino bonus should constitute?
To examine this issue in more detail, let's first understand what a wagering requirement is and take a look at a typical example from an online casino.
What is a 'wagering requirement'?
A wagering requirement is the amount of money you have to bet using your free casino or sports book bonus in order to allow you to transfer the money from your bonus cash account, to your real money account and thus, be able to withdraw it to your personal bank account.
Until you meet the wagering requirement, any money you generate from your bonus funds will be kept in your bonus account, however all real cash transactions will be credited to your cash account and can be withdrawn freely. Any winnings from your real cash play are also added to your cash account.
What is important to note is that a wagering requirement refers to bets placed, not money won. Therefore, if you have a 100 bonus and place it on a single roulette number and it comes up, you would win 3500. However, you have still only contributed 100 in bets towards your wagering requirement. How much you win is irrelevant, unless you then use these winnings to place more bets that contribute towards the wagering requirement.
Why do casinos have a wagering requirement in place?
This is a fair question and the answer to that is quite simple; without them in place the bonus offers from online casinos and sports books would be extremely easy for punters to manipulate to ensure themselves a profit. As such, this would mean casinos and sports books would incur huge losses in offering these bonuses.
In the early days of online gambling, the first online bonuses were, somewhat naively, credited to a players real cash account. It did not take long for wily punters to realise that by depositing £10, they could receive £10 free, place a £10 bet on a low risk market, withdraw the bonus £10 to their account and thus, they guarantee themselves no loss and a good chance of making more money from the casino or sports book from the bet.
It took online establishments just a few days to realise that such a policy would leave them exposed to huge financial losses, hence the requirement was brought in for punters to bet through a certain amount of money with their bonus before they could withdraw it.
Over time, as bonuses at online casinos and sports books have become more creative and dealing in larger sums, these requirements have been adapted and altered to suit the bonus on offer from the casino.
Currently, almost every casino and sports book offers new customers a signing up bonus of some form and with that, there will be a wagering requirement in place in almost all cases.
An example of a wagering requirement from Lucky Nugget Casino
The best way to see a wagering requirement is by using a real example and for that we are using the popular Lucky Nugget Casino.
With Lucky Nugget, users have a choice of two bonuses, a high roller bonus of 100% up to 1,000 or a lower level bonus worth 150% worth up to 200.
When a player selects which of these deposits they would like and places the money in their account, they receive their bonus cash immediately and when they check the Terms and Conditions, under section 5.7.1, they will find details of the Wagering Requirements as thus:
"Bonus amounts are subject to a minimum wagering requirement of up to 50 times (“Play- Through Requirement”) before it can be transferred from your Bonus Balance to your Cash Balance. The Play- Through Requirement imposed will vary at our sole discretion per game, promotion and/or region to region. For example, if you deposit 100 and receive a 100 credit bonus, the Play Through Requirement will be 50 x 100 = 5000. Any winnings attributed to the Cash portion of your balance can be withdrawn at any time, subject to meeting all of these terms and conditions. In order to meet the wagering requirements, please see the contributing percentages below."
Wagering requirements will differ from casino to casino, depending on a number of factors such as the type of bonus on offer (casinos tend to have higher wagering requirements than sports betting sites, for example) and how big the cash bonus is that will be paid to the user.
Are wagering requirements fair to the player?
Many people will look at a wagering requirement such as the one from Lucky Nugget Casino shown above and feel that a 50x wagering requirement is unfair. After all, it is unlikely that a player will receive a bonus of 100 and then use that money to win enough bets, so they can make 5,000 worth of bets.
It is easy to see why some players may feel aggrieved at this and that somehow this doesn't offer them good value.
Yet, this is an utterly false view to take.
It is important to remember that the wagering requirement only applies to your bonus money. The cash money you deposit into your account is yours to bet with, or withdraw as you see fit. Any winnings you generate from your own cash, is yours to keep in full.
Therefore, you are not losing anything at all. Your bonus cash is precisely that; bonus.
If casinos made it very easy for punters to generate double their deposit and then withdraw the money, they would be closing down due to financial ruin very quickly. Your bonus is you playing with the casinos cash and as such, they have every right to impose any restriction on it they deem as financially viable.
Yes, the vast majority of players may not be able to turn their 100 bonus into 5000 worth of bets and then withdraw funds at the end of it. That really isn't what the bonus is for though.
Your bonus is your casino offering you the chance to play its selection of games as a thank you for joining and playing. Yes a fortunate few may be able to realise their bonus, but for the majority of players, the bonus should be seen as what it is intended to be. A chance to play more casino games at no extra cost to the player.
Once you realise this, you realise that wagering requirements are indeed fair, regardless of how low or high they are. They are there not to stymie a player, but to ensure that the great bonuses casinos and sports books offer, are financially viable, while still offering the player a great chance to play far more games at the casino than their initial deposit would merit.
Next Post: Turning a loss into a positive: Tips for coping with a bad beat
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