The Key Wagering Requirement Terms to Consider

Posted by Harry Kane on Thursday, July 22, 2021

Picture the scene; you’re new to the world of online gambling and have just won £30 on your favourite online slot gaming using the proceeds from a generous welcome bonus.

However, you subsequently find that you’re unable to withdraw your winnings, with the site’s bonus terms and conditions stipulating that you have to wager a predetermined amount of cash before accessing any bonus-related funds.

Such terms are referred to as wagering requirements, but what exactly does this mean and what are the associated rules that you’ll need to keep in mind as an online gambler.

What are Wagering Requirements?

Although the term ‘wagering requirements’ is relatively self-explanatory, it’s arguably a little more complex than it may initially seem.

In simple terms, wagering requirements are restrictions applied to welcome bonus and promotional offers, which stipulate that players have to ‘play through’ a predetermined amount of money before withdrawing any associated winnings.

Such requirements are usually presented as a multiplier of the value of the bonus, which means that your designated playthrough amount will be determined by how much you deposit and the size of free capital that you’re afforded access to.

For example, let’s say that a welcome bonus takes the form of a 100% deposit match, and carries wagering requirements of 30x the value of the bonus funds. You qualify by making an initial deposit of £10, which affords you £10 in bonus funds that are immediately added to your account.

When we apply the wagering requirements of 30x the bonus, this creates a playthrough amount of £300 (30 x £10). The terms and conditions will also outline the timeframe in which you need to meet these requirements and any other contractual requirements, but we’ll touch on these in a little more detail later in the piece.

Once you’ve met the wagering requirements, you’ll be able to withdraw your money freely, but you should not that this can come at a considerable cost (especially in the case of lucrative welcome offers with increased multipliers).

If you do decide to withdraw real money in your balance before meeting the requirements (in instances where the operator allows this practice), you’ll have to forfeit the bonus funds and any capital that has been accrued up to this point.

What are the Key Terms to Look for With Wagering Requirements?

Not all wagering requirements are created equal, which is why it’s important to read the terms and conditions associated with every offer before committing your hard-earned cash.

Similarly, there are a number of particularly crucial terms to keep in mind, which will have a significant bearing on the value of the offer and its suitability based on your bankroll and the frequency with which you wager.

Firstly, there’s the time limit associated with the wagering requirements, which confirm precisely how long you have to play through the requisite amount of cash. Typically, you’ll have 30 days in which to meet the wagering requirements to full, but the failure to achieve this will see you void the terms of the offer in question.

Of course, this should be more than enough when dealing with relatively low-value bonuses at the minimum level, but it may also prove completely inadequate when depositing at a higher rate or factoring in wagering requirements of 40x or 50x the bonus amount.

In this instance, you may find that it’s simply impossible to meet a bonus offer’s wagering requirements, at least without dramatically increasing your bankroll or spending outside of your means (which is obviously something that should be avoided at all costs).

You’ll also need to be watchful as some bonus offers allow just seven days to meet the wagering requirements, creating an even greater restriction that may be far from ideal of infrequent gamblers.

Another key consideration is ‘game weighting’, as not all titles and verticals are considered the same from the perspective of wagering requirements. Once again, this will vary from one site and bonus offer to another, while it can have a dramatic bearing on your ability to meet individual requirements (depending on your preferred games and verticals).

For example, table games are often relatively small contributors to wagering requirements online. So, let’s say that a site’s blackjack and Casino Hold ‘em iterations contribute just 10% to the fulfilment of your wagering requirements.

In this instance, if you wagered £10 on a game of Casino Hold ‘em using your bonus funds, this would contribute just £1 to your playthrough requirement, causing you to spend considerably more to access your winnings over time.

Conversely, selected slots may feature a game weighting value of 90% with regards to your wagering requirements, in which case a £10 spend would provide a £9 contribution to the playthrough amount.

Clearly, such terms would benefit slots enthusiasts, who would be able to fulfil their associated wagering requirements while minimising their total spend and making the most of their bankroll.

However, the key takeaway here is to review the T&Cs while paying particular attention to game weightings, so that you can make informed decisions that suit your unique preferences and gameplay requirements.

On a final note, you’ll have to consider the utilisation of free spins as part of deposit match bonus offers.

Typically, these are subject to the same wagering requirements as the main portion of the welcome offer, but in this instance, the terms are applied to any winnings that arise from the free spins gameplay.

Such winnings are usually capped (depending on the value of the bonus in question), but let’s say as an example that you win £1.20 from a total of 10 free spins. With a wagering requirement of 30x, this will result in a playthrough amount of £36, which will be incorporated into the bonus as a whole to determine exactly how much you have to bet to unlock your winnings.

This is an important consideration, as when you appraise bonus offer of this type, you’ll need to calculate the full cost of the promotion and its cumulative value. This should then be measured against your weekly or monthly bankroll, so that you can accurately decide whether a particular promotion is right for you.