Wagering Requirements 2024

What Does Wagering Mean?

Wagering, also known as “betting”, is the act of chancing money on an uncertain outcome. In most circumstances related to casino wagering, you stand to either win or lose funds through your bets. For example, betting $5 on a slot machine, where you know you’ll lose your money if you don’t win, is a form of wagering.

What Are Wagering Requirements?

Wagering requirements are the number of times players must play through their casino bonus funds in order to withdraw them. These requirements are typically expressed as a multiplier, such as 25x. A “25x” wagering requirement means that you must wager the total amount of the bonus funds 25 times before you can withdraw them.

Let’s look at a few different examples of 25x wagering requirements:

• 25x wagering requirement on bonus
• 25x wagering requirement on deposit + bonus
• 25x wagering requirement on winnings

25x wagering requirement on bonus

This kind of wagering requirement applies only to the bonus funds. If you deposit $50 and receive a bonus of $100, for example, the wagering requirement calculation is 25 x $100. To satisfy the requirements and keep your bonus, you must wager $2,500.

25x wagering requirement on deposit + bonus

This kind of wagering requirement applies to both your deposit and bonus funds. If you deposit $50 and receive a bonus of $100, your wagering requirement calculation is 25 x $150. You must wager $3,750 to keep your bonus funds.

25x wagering requirement on winnings

This kind of wagering requirement typically applies to wins stemming from a free spins bonus. If you make a deposit and receive 25 free spins, for example, any money you win from those spins must be wagered 25x. On a $100 win from your free spins, you must wager $2,500 (25 x $100) to keep your winnings.

In addition to the above, some operators set limitations on the types of games you can play and how much you can bet on each. Most wagering requirements also set a time limit for fulfillment, so ensure you read the casino terms and conditions before proceeding.

Calculating Your Wagering Requirements

Wagering requirements vary from bonus to bonus and between casinos. You can use the following formula to help you calculate the wagering requirements for your specific bonus amount:

• (Bonus amount) X (Wagering requirement) = Total bet

Let’s say you deposit $50, and you receive a match-deposit bonus of $50 with 35x wagering requirements. The calculation would look like this:

• $50 X 35 = $1,750

If math isn’t your strong suit, don’t worry, there are many online calculators that can help you to accurately determine how much money you’ll need to wager to satisfy the wagering requirements of your bonus.

Why Do Casinos and Sports Betting Sites Have Wagering Requirements?

Online casinos and sportsbooks have wagering requirements for a few different reasons. Primarily, they protect the casino from fraudulent users exploiting bonuses by ensuring you actually bet with the bonus or promotional money you receive. Remember that casinos and sportsbooks offer these bonuses to encourage you to wager with them.

Without wagering requirements in place, players might claim the bonus solely for the cash and withdraw bonus funds immediately. This results in operators effectively giving money away to anyone who wants it.

What Is Considered a Low Wagering Requirement?

As I mentioned above briefly, wagering requirements vary from offer to offer. In general, a “low” wagering requirement is up to 30x. Low requirements are more achievable for many players. On a $100 bonus with a wagering requirement of 10x, for example, players only need to wager $1,000 to keep their promotional funds.

A 40x requirement, on the other hand, bumps that up to a staggering $4,000. While neither option is particularly cheap, lower wagering requirements enable more people to participate in associated bonuses and promotions.

What is a High Wagering Requirement?

High wagering requirements weigh in at 40x and above. Offers with these requirements often have larger bonus funds, but the trade-off is that most players are simply unable to fulfil them. For that reason, I recommend that you avoid choosing bonuses and playing at casinos with such high requirements.

Remember that if you can’t meet them, you get nothing. Promotions with smaller wagering requirements are almost always the better option.

My Tips for Managing Wagering Requirements

Now that you know a bit more about wagering requirements, you might be ready to dive into the world of online gambling. Before you take that step, however, I have some tips to keep in mind:

Always Choose Your Casino Carefully

Pick casinos that are well-established and with good reputations. Respectable casinos are more likely to have valuable offers with fair wagering requirements. My picks for the best online casinos in Canada, for example, are full of trustworthy operators with legitimate licenses and player-friendly policies.

Read the Terms and Conditions

Always read the terms and conditions at prospective casinos and pay close attention not only to the wagering requirements for specific offers, but also deposit and withdrawal policies.

Look at the Weighting For Each Game Category

When assessing individual promotions and bonuses, my best advice is to look at the weighting for each type of game the casino offers. This includes slots, live dealer games and table games. For example, some operators might only attribute 50% of wagers made on slots to wagering requirements. That means that if you bet $10 on a video slot game, only $5 is applied to your wagering requirement balance.

Play Smart

Pay attention to how much time you have to meet wagering requirements, and be realistic about the money you have to dedicate to online gambling. Pick offers that remain within your “fun money” budget. As always, please play responsibly!

Sweepstakes and Social Casino requirements

If you enjoy playing at sweepstakes and social casinos you should know that any bonuses or purchases come with ‘play requirements’. These are essentially wagering requirements and work the same way.

Can You Avoid Wagering Requirements?

Yes, you can avoid wagering requirements! Some Canadian casinos will offer bonuses that don’t have any wagering requirements attached, although these can be difficult to find.

I also recommend taking advantage of sweepstakes casino no deposit bonuses. Also known as “sweeps casino no purchase bonuses”, this kind of promotion offers players a certain amount of on-site currency with no wagering requirements at all! You probably won’t be able to withdraw those funds as cash, but you can use them to wager on your favourite games all the same.

If you simply want to wager without worrying about overarching requirements, you can also opt out of bonuses. Promotions aren’t mandatory, after all, and you don’t have to claim them if you don’t want to.