Explained – The Key Welcome Bonus T&C
Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, July 26, 2022
We recently published a post discussing the wagering requirements associated with most casino and sportsbook welcome bonuses, with a view to helping you make more informed decisions when comparing such offers online.
To follow this up, however, we thought we’d drill down a little deeper into the contemporary welcome offers found online in 2023, paying particular attention to some of the key terms and conditions and the type of small print that can have a significant impact on your iGaming experience.
What Are Game Weighting Requirements?
We’ll start with so-called “game weighting” requirements, which are commonplace when opting into any online casino bonus in the current marketplace. In general terms, game weighting refers to the percentage of bets that will count towards the fulfilment of your bonus wagering requirements, so they have a direct impact on how much you’ll have to spend to unlock your promotional winnings.
Remember, wagering requirements are applied as a multiplier of the total bonus value, and dictate how much you’ll have to play through before completing a withdrawal of funds. So, if you receive £10 in bonus funds and wagering requirements of 40x the total bonus value are in play, you’ll have to play through £400 before accessing your winnings.
When it comes to precise game weighting requirements and contributions, it’s important to note that not all verticals are equal. This has a direct bearing on how much you’ll have to spend to fulfil your wagering requirements, so it’s crucial that you understand the current industry averages across the most popular verticals. Here’s a brief but detailed breakdown
#1. Slot Games: Slot games generally have a 100% weighting, which means that every penny wagered through this vertical will go towards reducing and meeting your wagering requirements. Sure, some specific slots (particularly high variance or progressive jackpot games) may boast a slightly lower percentage, but even in this instance, this vertical usually offers the best vale when attempting to fulfil your wagering requirements within the requisite timeframe.
#2. Table Games: Next up are table games, which belong to the second most popular online casino vertical in the UK. However, disciplines like blackjack and roulette are treated very differently to slots when it comes to game weighting, with the former averaging 10% and the latter 25% when it comes to bonus contributions. If we take blackjack as an example, wagering £1 on your preferred iteration will remove £0.10 from your wagering requirements, whereas this would increase to £0.25 when playing roulette.
#3. Craps and Card Games: Card games tend to carry even lower game weighting requirements, with online craps offering a relevant case in point. In most cases, craps boast a game weighting contribution of just 5%, meaning that betting £1 on your preferred iteration would reduce your wagering requirements by as little as £0.05. So, you’d have to spend considerably more to fulfil your wagering requirements, making this type of vertical less than ideal when looking to maximise the value of individual bonuses.
OK, we hear you ask, but why are there such differences between these verticals? Well, it’s generally due to the prevailing house edge, with blackjack and European roulette offering operators lower rates of return when compared to slots. For context, even certified slots with a return-to-player (RTP) rate of 97% carry a house edge of 3%, with European roulette (2.70%) and blackjack (in excess of 99% on average) noticeably lower.
So, you’ll need to balance this and the higher RTP rates offered by table games alongside the financial impact of game weighting contributions. This way, you can make an informed choice when selecting games and meeting your bonus wagering requirements, with a view to making your bankroll stretch as far as possible.
Other Key Bonus T&Cs That Require Consideration
You’ll also find a number of alternative bonus T&Cs available online, many of which also impact on the type of wagers that you place and the timeframe in which you’ll be able to fulfil your wagering requirements. To help you understand these in more detail, here’s a summary of three such terms and conditions.
#1. Single Wager Limits
We’ll start with single wager limits and restrictions, which dictate that any bet or stake that you place must not exceed a certain level. This is expressed (in most instances) as a percentage of the total bonus value, with the industry average in the UK being around 25%. This is not a widespread or commonplace T&C, but it’s one that can catch you out if you’re new to the marketplace and are unclear about what you’re looking for.
#2. Maximum Winnings
Next up is a T&C that you’ll find more regularly deployed by online casinos, especially when dealing with bonuses that offer a predetermined number of free spins on selected slots. This is done to enable operators to minimise their losses in relation to low stakes promotions, through which you may be offered 10 or 20 free spins. In this case, your winnings may be capped at £20 or so, although any wagering requirements in play here should be relatively low.
#3. Time Limitations
All wagering requirements must be fulfilled within a specified timeframe, with this T&C synonymous with every single welcome bonus or promotion. Typically, this window will be between seven and 30 days, depending on the maximum value of the bonus and its core target audience. Obviously, this has a huge bearing on your iGaming experience and how frequently you’ll have to bet to fulfil your wagering requirements, so you should prioritise bonuses that enable you to wager within your means.