Introduction
Online casino bonuses are the fastest way for an online casino website to attract customers. The competition among the casinos is fierce, and the stakes are high. By leveraging the bonuses to players when they create a new account and make a deposit, they can gain an edge over their competitor.
As with any brilliant marketing strategy, it didn’t take long for everyone to get on the bonus train. The bonuses come in several different forms. One of the most commonly used bonuses is free spins. You make a qualifying deposit, and the online casino awards you a set number of free spins at a specific amount on a certain game.
The cash bonus usually comes as a matching of some sort. The two most common are a dollar amount match and a percentage.
For example, the casino will match you dollar for dollar up to a certain amount, or the casino will match a specified percentage of your initial deposit up to a set amount.
These bonuses are a brilliant way for gamblers to extend their bankroll. However, the bonuses come with some requirements for wagering. You need to be aware of these bonus requirements, or you could be blindsided when you go to make a withdrawal.
Wager Requirements
Bonus wager requirements are put in place to protect the casinos. These wager requirements ensure that you’re giving the casinos the chance to get their money back.
The most common wagering requirement puts the number of times you need to play for a set amount before the funds are released. Usually, you can expect to put the bonus amount into play several times before the bonus is released.
Most newbies looking for online bonuses completely miss this condition, which brings me to my first must for handling online casino bonus requirements: Always carefully read and understand the terms and conditions.
If the wagering requirements aren’t met, that money will never be made available for withdrawal. Some of the bonuses will also exclude any wins until your wagering requirement has been fulfilled.
Imagine you make a $500 deposit and get a $300 bonus. You win big the first night, and suddenly your $800 bankroll has grown to over $2,000. You excitedly rush to cash out the $1,200 and leave your bankroll. Unfortunately, you’ve failed to meet the wagering requirements. Until this obligation is met, your money will be staying put.
I wasn’t exactly a pioneer of online casino gaming, but I got pretty early in the game. Something very similar happened to me, and I had nobody to blame but myself. I was embarrassingly irate over the matter and became more frustrated when I realized it was me who had made the blunder. I failed to read the terms and conditions thoroughly.
Admittedly, I was younger, and I tell myself it couldn’t happen today. Still, I see frustrated gamblers airing the grievances publicly on a daily basis. This is easily avoidable by doing your due diligence.
The most commonly applied wagering requirement is the playthrought requirement. These playthroughs can stipulate that you play through your bonus amount more than once, depending on the online casino.
That means if you receive a $1,000 bonus, you may be forced to put $1,000 into action before you can ever cash out. Only playing through the bonus once is pretty fair; I’ve seen online casino bonuses that require a playthrough of 5x the bonus amount.
Suddenly, that very manageable $1,000 in play jumps to $5k. Your first thought was probably that by that time, there would be little left to withdraw, and you’re correct. Again, the casinos aren’t in the business of giving away money. That doesn’t mean you won’t have the opportunity to cash in on the casino’s generosity.
However, it’s going to be far more difficult. The easiest way to calculate the requirement is to pin down exactly what the hill you’re climbing looks like.
To do that, you have to read the terms and conditions. Once you’ve done that, it’s a matter of dividing that number by your normal bet size. This will give you a good idea of how long you’ll need to spend gambling before the requirement is met.
Put in place
The casino puts these requirements in place for one straightforward reason; they need to protect their business.
Online casino bonuses are excellent tools for getting new players to sign up. However, when people see “free money,” they’re prone to act in unusual ways.
Without these detailed pages of legal jargon, players would greedily login, make a substantial deposit, and cash out. It would be the biggest casino scam since the tie bet in baccarat. Not you guys, though, right?
Even if I have to leave the cash in the casino’s vault until my next visit, I’m totally cool with that mostly because I understand how these bonuses work. I may even get on a heater and get to keep some of that money. Slots players could theoretically hit a massive jackpot on that next spin; the bonus could be all you need to get there.
The bottom line is that the wagering requirements are in place to protect the casino and get players involved. If you fulfill the bonus requirements and come out a winner, fantastic, and the online casino will gladly cut you a check.
Bonus Gambling Requirements
The most effective way to handle online bonus requirements is by understanding them.
There is a ton of what my attorney pal calls “lawyer speak” in the terms and conditions. It reminds me of the cell phone contracts we used to deal with on a regular basis.
If there are questions or concerns you have, you should reach out to the online casino’s customer support.
After you are comfortably aware of the wagering requirements, you can confidently build a plan to meet the terms of the bonus. That requires dividing the amount necessary to unlock the bonus by your typical bet size. You are then able to look at how many hands or spins you play every hour.
This will tell you how long you’re going to need to gamble in the casino before you unlock the money gifted by the casino.
When you are aware of how to unlock the bonus money, it becomes much more of an attainable goal. Don’t trip into the pitfall of raising your regular bet amount in an attempt to meet the wagering requirement more quickly.
The point is to extend your bankroll for as long as possible and hopefully grab some wins along the way.
However, you shouldn’t skip these bonuses if you’re an avid slots enthusiast. Free spins are just as good as free money when you’re playing one of your favorite games.
As I mentioned above, you’re only one spin away from hitting a substantial jackpot. Use these bonuses to your advantage.
Perhaps, your go-to game is excluded from the terms of the bonus. That means you have a golden opportunity to land on a new favorite when things get stale.
Conclusion
Meeting the minimum is imperative in how to handle online casino bonus requirements. The casinos have found an excellent avenue for attracting new customers, and bonuses are likely here to stay.
Look at the bonuses as an opportunity to extend your bankroll as opposed to free money. You’re going to be more successful by leveraging the bonus to your advantage.
