What are Wagering Requirements and How Can I Avoid Them?
Wagering requirements can be a pain. It’s no shame to admit you don’t understand them or how they work because they’re not meant to be logical, they’re meant to be preventative. Understanding them is going to require delving into some history, but hopefully, you’ll find it interesting. Whether you want to know more, find out how they work, or even just want to cash in a casino bonus, you’re in the right place.
The solution is using mathematics o outsmart the odds and prevent wagering requirements from limiting you. If necessary, it might be worth exploring alternative casinos with less restrictive terms. If you’re delving into the online market, sites like https://freshcasinobonus.com/casino-bonuses/no-deposit-bonuses/ are helpful, as they’re designed to be your guide, specializing in online casinos and their offers.
Why do wagering requirements exist?
Wagering requirements became a thing with the true rise of online casinos for one simple reason: The mob and connections to them. Unable to ever truly escape the stigma of criminal ties, due to their origins, casinos of both online and physical varieties are closely scrutinized by the government.
As such, these requirements are a failsafe meant to prevent money laundering, plain and simple. With the inability to simply put money in and then withdraw it, the criminals of the world are stopped from laundering millions at a time, as sometimes happens. It’s inconvenient but necessary.
What are wagering requirements?
Wagering requirements are conditions imposed by casinos on bonus funds or winnings derived from bonuses. They specify the amount of money you need to wager before you can withdraw any associated winnings.
Wagering requirements are tied to making wagers in all sorts of online games. From table games to poker, bingo, and even slots, the only way to meet them is by playing the games to ensure you’re actually wagering. Even casino bonuses tend to be tied to this.
Simply put, even with bonus money, the requirements mean you have to play that same bonus money a predetermined amount of times before you are allowed to withdraw it. However, the inconvenience comes in when there’s an added layer of minimum withdrawal requirements, further complicating things.
These wagering requirements are mandatory and if you do not meet them your bonus money will never be turned into real money you can withdraw. Another thing to note is that some games give you a lot less towards your requirements than others. Slot games are great for it, but things like roulette or blackjack are a decidedly steeper climb.
Let’s give some examples of how it works. Hypothetically speaking, you’ve received 50 dollars as a signup bonus from a casino. Even without anything else, if the factor of wager requirement is four times, you will need to wager a full 200 dollars before you can ever withdraw money from that account.
It gets worse when you consider that some casinos will count your entire input, even money you initially deposit. So you can end up with a situation of a 50$ deposit alongside your 50$ bonus. That leaves you with a whopping 400 dollars of wager requirement. That’s a generous example too since some of them can go up to ten times as much or more.
How can I avoid wagering requirements?
\every casino has some wager requirements, eventually. However, in the short and long run, avoiding the hassle is within your power. Here’s how:
- Take Advantage of Bonus Offers
Many casinos allow wager-free spins or something of that kind, to entice you. Taking these and running with them means you can withdraw all your winnings from them right away. Be wary of casinos that make you deposit money to withdraw these winnings since that does happen.
These possible winnings, while small, are still usually going to be free, thus circumventing the need for wager requirements and dealing with that headache.
- Pick your Casino Carefully
Only go where you have the best chance to win. Casinos are reviewed and rated daily by many websites, so you’re not going to go wrong with some exploration and research first. Make sure to only go for licensed and trusted casinos, the kinds you can be sure are above board and operating legally since they will be sure to adhere to the law and not try to abuse anything like wage requirements could be abused.
- The Fine Print
No one likes reading terms and conditions. It’s so dry and boring, but in this case, it will save you a lot of heartache. A good casino will have everything you need to know there. Customer support is also a good bet, for finding out pertinent information. One huge tell to look for is whether you need to forgo your bonuses to make withdrawals. That is an enormous red flag.
Hopefully, this clarified wagering requirements a bit for you, and now you know how to avoid or minimize their impact on your enjoyment and winnings. Just stay cautious, and everything should be fine.