Wagering requirements, also known as rollover requirements or playthrough requirements, are a matter of great annoyance to online casino players around the world.
These are the pesky requirements attached to bonuses of all kinds, although they can become quite complex when it comes to welcome bonuses.
If you’ve ever accepted a bonus at an casino site before, you’ll have encountered these bothersome terms and conditions. It’s rare to find a bonus without these strings attached.
In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about wagering requirements, as well as how to meet them and withdraw your winnings.
Wagering Requirements Explained
Quite simply, a rollover requirement is the amount you need to bet in order to withdraw the money in your account.
Wagering requirements are only applicable if you’ve accepted a bonus that has helped you to 1.) generate funds, or 2.) add play money to your account.
Let’s look at an example:
The popular Canadian online casino, Jet Casino, offers a match bonus of 100% plus 500 free spins. This bonus has a wagering requirement of 40x, meaning that the bonus and deposit amount must be played through 40 times before you can withdraw any winnings.
Years ago, many casino sites offered no deposit bonuses without wagering requirements as a means to attract new players and create a loyal player base.
Unfortunately, players took advantage of this sweet deal by withdrawing the bonus amount immediately and proceeding to delete their accounts. Casinos were losing money and swiftly put a stop to these deals.
In rare cases, some sites still offer no deposit bonuses accompanied by — you guessed it —rollover requirements.
Usually, you’ll find that that wagering amounts range from 30x up to 70x.
Wagering Contributions
This is one of the most important aspects to understand about wagering requirements. Different games have different wagering contributions. Some games contribute more towards fulfilling your wagering requirement than others.
For example, slots usually contribute 100%, meaning that for every CAD$1 bet placed, exactly CAD$1 will go towards fulfilling your playthrough requirement.
It’s usually the case that games with lower house edges will contribute more.
The opposite is also true. Games like blackjack, roulette, and baccarat, which have much higher house edges than slots, will contribute much less.
Roulette usually contributes a mere 5%.
As you can imagine, this makes it pretty important to choose your bonus wisely depending on the types of games you enjoy playing.
If you’re a slots aficionado, you’ll probably find that you’ll fulfill your playthrough requirements relatively quickly after accepting a bonus. If you’re a table game fanatic, you’ll have some work to do before you can withdraw your hard-earned winnings.
Top Tips for Meeting Rollover Requirements
By now, you’ve probably established that meeting playthrough requirements can pose a bit of a challenge. Don’t worry too much, though. Millions of online gamblers manage to accomplish the task.
To help you along your way, we’ve gathered a few top tips for meeting your rollover requirements.
- Find out about the timeframe that you have to meet your requirements.
- Play slots to gain higher contributions.
- Play regularly enough to beat the requirements in good time.
- Set a playing schedule to help you plan your playing time.
- Refrain from chasing losses in games with low wagering contributions.