How Do Wagering Requirements Work?

Wagering requirements are one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a slot to play online. In this blog post, we’ll be guiding you through why wagering requirements exist and how to calculate the wagering requirements of a bonus with examples to help you understand. We’ll also be letting you know how wagering requirements work.

What Are Wagering Requirements? 

Let’s start by defining what wagering requirements in slots are. A wager is a bet that you make with real money on an online slot. For online casinos in the UK, bonuses have a wagering requirement attached. 

With wagering requirements, bonuses cannot be turned into cash instantly. Instead, a wagering requirement requires you to bet your bonus or winnings from extra spin multiple times before you can withdraw any real money.

Look for the multiplier sign before the bonus to find the wagering requirements. This multiplier tells you how much you have to bet before you can withdraw any cash winnings. For example, the wagering requirements for our King Casino deposit bonus stipulate that you have to wager 35x the sum of the bonus and the deposit amount – the minimum deposit being £20.

*18+. New Players Only. Min. deposit £20. UK players. Max. bonus 1st deposit 100% up to £50 and 2nd deposit 50% up to £100. Max wins from spins £100. 35x wagering applies, within 21 days. 20 spins on 1st deposit and 30 spins on 2nd deposit. Spins expire after 24 hours. Full T&Cs apply.

Many types of bonuses with wagering requirements may be offered in UK online casinos. These include welcome bonus offers, seasonal promotions, re-deposit bonuses, extra spins bonuses, and special weekly bonuses. 

Why Do Wagering Requirements Exist? 

Online casinos use wagering requirements to protect themselves financially. Wagering requirements are important to deter people from depositing and withdrawing funds immediately without playing, which could be costly for the casino. It’s also important for online casinos to have wagering requirements to follow anti-money laundering regulations.

When joining an online casino, you will nearly always have to deposit money to play any casino or slot games on offer and claim any bonus offers. However, bonuses are great as you can get extra spins or a bonus amount which may give you longer to play your favourite online slots than if you deposited the same amount without a bonus.

When you register with an online casino and claim a welcome offer, you agree to meet the casino’s wager requirements before withdrawing any winnings. Therefore, be sure to check and understand the wagering requirements to see if it’s right for you before claiming the bonus offer.

How Can You Calculate The Wagering Requirement Of A Bonus? 

Let’s go through how you can calculate the wagering requirement of a bonus. We will then review some examples, hopefully making things clearer for you.

Almost every online casino offers different bonuses and welcome offers. If you click on the bonus offer, you can see the wagering requirements. Again, each bonus will have different wagering requirements, so don’t forget to check!

So, let’s say you have found an online casino you are interested in, and it has a welcome offer – we’ll use an easy example. When you sign up, the casino gives you a £50 welcome bonus when you deposit £20 with a wagering requirement of 10x.

As the wagering requirement is 10x, this is how much you will need to wager. You will see the £50 bonus and your £20 deposit in your account. The £70 must be staked a set number of times to meet the 10x wagering requirement. So to meet the wagering requirement, you will need to wager £700.

Here is the formula you can use to work out wagering requirements:

(Deposit + bonus) x wagering requirement = how much you need to wager before withdrawing funds.

The bonus may be a given value or, if the offer is from extra spins, this will be the total amount won following the use of these spins, if any. So, say the offer was for 10 extra spins, you would play the spins and you won £7; this is the amount that would go into the above formula.

However, there may be offers where the deposit amount is not taken into consideration in the calculation; in this instance, it will just be: bonus amount x wagering requirement.

Wagering Requirement Examples 

Now, we’re going to guide you through some examples. In all these examples, let’s say that the casino rewards a £50 welcome bonus for new members, and your deposit amount is £10.

What Does 10x Wagering Requirement Mean? 

A 10x wagering requirement is how much you need to wager before withdrawing any winnings from your bonus. Once you know the wagering requirement, you place a £10 deposit. In your account, you will see the £50 welcome bonus alongside your £10 deposit, which will total £60. To determine how much you will need to wager before withdrawing cash, multiply this with the wagering requirement (in this case, it’s 10x). This amount works out at £600. 

(£10 (deposit amount) + £50 (online casino bonus)) x 10 (wagering amount) = £600.

What Is A 20x Wagering Requirement? 

A 20x wagering requirement is how much you need to wager before withdrawing any winnings from your bonus. Once you know the wagering requirement, you place a £10 deposit. In your account, you will see the £50 welcome bonus alongside your £10 deposit, which will total £60. To work out how much you will need to wager before withdrawing cash, multiply this with the wagering requirement (in this case, it’s 20x). This amount works out at £1,200. 

(£10 (deposit amount) + £50 (online casino bonus)) x 20 (wagering amount) = £1,200.

What Is A 50x Wagering Requirement? 

A 50x wagering requirement is how much you need to wager before withdrawing any winnings from your bonus. Once you know the wagering requirement, you place a £10 deposit. In your account, you will see the £50 welcome bonus alongside your £10 deposit, which will total £60. To work out how much you will need to wager before withdrawing cash, multiply this with the wagering requirement (in this case, it’s 50x). This amount works out at £3,000. 

(£10 (deposit amount) + £50 (online casino bonus)) x 50 (wagering amount) = £3,000.

What Is A Wager Amount? 

A wager amount is money you can use to make a bet. Regarding online casino bonus offers, the wager amount is the total amount you have to bet before withdrawing any of your winnings. Essentially, it’s the total amount required to satisfy the wagering requirements.

What Does No Wagering Mean? 

No wagering means exactly what it sounds like. If an online casino states that there are no wagering requirements, then any extra spins or bonuses do not have any wagering requirements attached. Therefore, anything you win from extra spins or bonuses with no wagering will allow you to withdraw immediately without making further deposits.

Are Wagering Requirements Avoidable?

Nearly all online casino welcome bonus offers have wagering requirements. You can find information about wagering requirements in bonuses in the casino’s terms and conditions. Before withdrawing any winnings from extra spins or bonuses, you must meet all wagering requirements.

If the wagering requirements are high, it may be challenging to meet them. Therefore, when choosing an online casino bonus offer, make sure you check the wagering requirements to see if you are likely to meet them and also stay within your budget.

There are a few things you can do to potentially help you meet the wagering requirements. Playing high RTP slots could help as these pay out more frequently. It’s also a good idea to research the online casino and read the terms and conditions carefully. Also, remember that you do not need to meet wagering requirements in one session. Play responsibly and always read the terms and conditions of bonus offers before claiming.

The only way to avoid wagering requirements is to find bonus offers with no wagering, which are rare, or simply do not claim bonus offers. 

*18+. New Players Only. Min. deposit £20. UK players. Max. bonus 1st deposit 100% up to £50 and 2nd deposit 50% up to £100. Max wins from spins £100. 35x wagering applies, within 21 days. 20 spins on 1st deposit and 30 spins on 2nd deposit. Spins expire after 24 hours. Full T&Cs apply.