Casino Bonus Rollover and Wagering Requirements Explained

Millions of people are playing online casino games regularly, wagering a significant amount of money. With a lot of money in the game, it’s not surprising that online casino websites are looking to get their piece of the pie.

Each time you receive a casino bonus from an online casino it comes with a range of terms and conditions. One of the most important terms is the rollover or wagering requirements. The wagering requirements define how difficult it will be to convert the bonus money into real cash.

Below is a list of the most beneficial casino bonuses when combining the bonus amount and the wagering requirements that comes with the casino bonus. 

If you spot a casino bonus offer that looks too good to be true, it’s because it probably is. But, unfortunately, that bonus deal comes with a wagering requirement that is probably very difficult to fulfill. 

The problem is that the world of online gambling is a jungle where only the best casinos can survive and make profits. So the key to achieving success in the online casino business is to bring as many players as possible to sign up.

One proven method online casinos use to make themselves attractive to players is offering them bonuses. 

The rule of thumb is that the better the bonus, the more players will sign up. The trouble is that giving away bonuses means giving away bonus money, impacting the casino’s profits. Using wagering requirements as a prerequisite is a way casinos protect themselves from hemorrhaging money.

Online casinos would give away their money without adding wagering requirements to the equations. And that’s something professional gamblers would want to take advantage of. Instead of using the bonus to have fun playing casino games, they would withdraw the money.

However, when there are wagering requirements involved, players are required to play casino games. In addition, they are required to wager the bonus funds as many times as stipulated in the Terms and Conditions of the bonus deal.

Unfortunately for players, sometimes those wagering requirements are too challenging to clear. Sometimes, they must wager the bonus funds dozens of times to turn the bonus into withdrawable money.

What is the X wagering requirement?

The lower the wagering requirement the better but anything in the range of 0-20X should be considered beneficial. Between 20-30X is OK but anything over 30X we would recommend you avoid.   

Is the wagering requirement based on the bonus money or deposit + bonus money combined?

This is a very important thing to look after as it makes a huge difference in how you can meet the rollover terms. 

Example: A first deposit bonus is offered at 50% up to $1000 with a 10X requirement. This means that you can deposit $2000 and get a $1000 bonus. 

In case the wagering is only based on the bonus amount you need to wager $10000 to clear the bonus but, if the bonus is based on the deposited amount + bonus amount you would have to wager $30000 (($2000+$1000)*10).

How do the various casino games count towards the wagering requirement?

Casino games have various types of RTP (return to player). For this reason, a casino bonus can sometimes count differently toward different casino games. 

Let's take a look at Caesars Casino Bonus as an example: The casino bonus is 100% up to $2,000 with the following wagering requirements: 

• Slot games - 15X
• Video poker - 30X
• Table games, blackjack, roulette & baccarat - 225X

Terms are very fair when playing slot games but if you want to enjoy the live dealer action with table games this is probably not the best bonus for you.

How many days do you have to clear the bonus terms?

The time you have to clear the bonus is also crucial. The lower the bonus amount the easier to clear in a short time and vice versa. Anything under 3 days should be considered very short. Standard range from 7-20 days and anything over 20 days should be considered generous. 

To qualify for the bonus, you probably need to make a deposit. Most bonus offers are focused on incentivizing players to fund their accounts. 

Whether it’s a sign-up bonus, a reload bonus, or some other kind of promo, the chances are that you will have to upload some funds to your account to get the bonus.

For example, if the bonus in question is a 100% Match Deposit Bonus, you will receive a bonus that’s equal to the amount you’ve funded your casino account with. But, simply funding your account doesn’t mean it’s the end. You will have to fulfill the wagering requirements in order to turn the bonus into cash.

The wagering requirement of your $50 bonus deal is set at 10x. A wagering requirement of 10x means that you will have to wager those $50 10 times on eligible casino games. Depending on the stake you choose, fulfilling the conditions can take time.

For example, if your stake is $1 per spin in a slot game, you will need to make 50 spins to wager the $50 bonus for the first time. And considering that the wagering requirement is 10x, it means that you will have to repeat the same process all over again nine more times.

Sure, you can increase the stake, but this would mean that your journey could end sooner than expected. Also, it would mean that you get only ten spins for your bonus of $50.

Some casinos do offer bonus deals that come with zero wagering requirements. But unfortunately, those bonuses are usually not too lucrative. They’re often very tiny. If the bonus is coming in the form of funds, the amount will not be significant enough that you could withdraw it straight away. 

In most cases, it’s lower than the minimum withdrawal. But unfortunately, this means that to be able to cash out the money, you need to wager the bonus.

Another type of bonus without wagering requirements is the bonus spins. A bonus spin offer is deal casinos offer to promote a particular game. 

For example, if there’s a new video slot included in the game library, the casino might decide to give the players some bonus spins to introduce them to the new game.