How to Wager a Casino Bonus?
It is more than often that a casino bonus comes with all sorts of terms and conditions meaning there really are no such things as free lunches. However, there are some major differences between offers as there actually are some bonuses that are totally free or free of any requirements.
You never should dive staright into the deep end of the bonus pool but take a few minutes to go through the small print of each offer including wagering requirements and other rules and regulations.
In this very article we’re taking a closer look on how to wager a casino bonus and what is the best way to tackle the wagering requirements so that you can be sure to get the full advantage of your bonuses in the future.
Casinos With Good Wagering Terms
Wagering requirements
Online casino usually includes a wagering requirement in their bonuses which pretty much means that you have to wager i.e. play your bonus or bonus and deposit several times before you can make a withdrawal.
Let’s start with an example:
- You claim a bonus of 100% up to 100 euros
- This means that the casino will double your deposit so you can start playing with 200 euros
- The bonus has a 10-time wagering requirement
- This means you’ll have to play slots or other games 10 times 100 euros = 1 000 € in total
- When you have made bets in total of 1 000 euros, your bonus money will be unlocked.
- You can now withdraw your bonus that has transformed into real money.
One might think that 1 000 euros/dollars/pounds worth of wagering is pretty much but you’ll have to remember that we’re only taking about the amount of money you’ll have to make spins with and don’t have to invest yourself per se. For the wagering you have your own deposit plus the matching bonus meaning that you have 200 units to start with and only need to roll it over 5 times. Usually slots have a return-to-player percentage between 94-98% so in the long run you’ll only lose 2-6% of your stake per spin.
The wagering requirements vary a lot between casinos as some sites offer bonuses without wagering and some may have requirements as high as 60-times. So there is a significant difference whether you pretty much waste your bonus or take one that has actual value.
A great example of a high-value bonus is the newly refurbished Casino Winner that offers a welcome bonus with 1-time wagering requirement with a reload bonus of no wagering requirement. So the first bonus is extremely easy to unlock and you can keep the winnings from the second bonus straigh away.
How the RTP Affects Your Wagering?
At times the fortune or actually the odds are in your favour and the return-to-player percentage can exceed the calculated average RTP as you can found yourself in a hot streak. If you’re lucky, you might actually end up winning 4-figures with your bonus and you’ll be able to make a substantial amount of cash with your bonus money. On the other hand you may have cold run and your bonus is done within 10 minutes since you started. However, it is all about math and there is a way for you to control your own luck.
If we talk about the RTP, you should actually be able to unlock 40-60% of your bonus in the long run depending on your bonus conditions and your game strategy. For example if you play a 96% RTP slot with a 5.00 bet, you would need 200 spins to wager your bonus with a 10-time requirement. If every spin will take 4%, i.e. 0.20 of your stake each time, you are about to lose 40.00 during 200 spins leaving you still 60.00 of your bonus unlocked as cash.
Bonus – Maximum Conversion and Withdrawal
Some casinos are limiting the amount you can earn with their bonus by setting up a maximum conversion or withdrawal limit for your offer. If there is a limit you might have to settle for example for 1 000 euros etc. Even though you’d win 200 000 euros with your bonus or free spins. If there is a maximum, you cannot withdraw or win even a cent more based on the terms.
Although there are many casinos that do not enforce such restrictions meaning that in the ultimate best-case-scenario you could even win the mega jackpot worth 15 million anytime with bonus money.
Game restrictions
High majority of casinos have also restricted in which games you are allowed to wager your bonus. Reasoning behind this is that in some slots and games the RTP or volatility is so high that it cuts the advantage of the house to bare minimum.
It is easy to understand this as high RTP means higher yields to players as the casino does not want you to get off the hook too easily. For example in blackjack or roulette it is possible to get a RTP if over 99% by playing with the optimal strategy and for this reason the table games are often excluded from the wagering.
The volatility describes how the game disperses its winnings i.e. does it give multiple small winnings frequently or bigger wins more rarely. Slots with low volatility are giving you something back more often which means you should be able to maintain and control your funds longer. This kind of sustainability will give you better chances to unlock your bonus as you should have better possibility of playing longer and get those much needed spins in.
Best Slots for Bonus Wagering
In overall we can state that the best games to use for wagering are the once with the highest RTP and the lowest volatility.
Top 5 slots for bonus wagering:
- Mega Joker RTP 99.00%
- Cosmic Quest RTP 98,95%
- Jackpot 6000 RTP 98,86%
- Chess Mate RTP 98,70%
- 1429 Uncharted Seas 98,63%
You should always check the terms and conditions before you start playing as some of these slots may be excluded from the wagering due to their high RTP’s. Some slots might also have a deducted influence on wagering, for example only 50% meaning that every 10 coins you bet only 5 will be counted towards your requirement.
Bonus Without Wagering Requirement
There are some offers that give players bonuses or free spins that have no wagering requirements. This means that you can keep all the winnings you’ve acquired with your bonus and withdraw them immediately. No wager bonuses are getting more and more popular and list.casino will always be telling about new offers!
Free Spins without wagering requirement
One of the most popular trends in online gaming have been free spin offers that don’t have any wagering requirements for possible winnings. In these days you can find several casinos with these kind of promotions.
For example Videoslots offers you 11 free spins without any requirements meaning you are able to keep you winnings from the spins instantly.