Casino Wagering
The major factors determining at which online casino most players will decide to join do not include the various individual minutiae of any casino's wagering rules. That's because, in all honesty, the impact of the casino's wagering rules take a huge back seat to the more critical issues of bonuses, deposit methods, customer service options and variety of games. Bonuses, in particular sign up bonuses and regular deposit bonuses, are much more influential when settling on a new casino. That said, it is very important to have at least a basic understanding of what the casino wagering terms and conditions are all about before depositing at a given casino.
Casino Wagering: What it all Means
Casino wagering is the amount of times you are required to wager your bonuses through at the casino before you can withdraw your funds. The casino determines the wagering requirements based on what they deem to be acceptable risk to them while not being overly strict with players so as to deter them from playing there. It's a fine balance, and for the most part, the casinos find a decent mid-ground to accommodate most players' needs and expectations. The casino wagering requirements may vary from bonus to bonus, depending on type of bonus (no deposit bonus, sign up bonus, etc…) as well as the size of the bonus. Furthermore, the amount of times you have to wager the bonus amount can depend on the kind of games you're playing and their odds.Examples of Casino Wagering Requirements
The easiest way to understand how casino wagering requirements work is to take a real world example. Say casino X gives you a 100% deposit bonus on your $50 deposit. That means you have $100 in your account. In order to withdraw from your account, you will have to wager through 20 times your bankroll. If you're playing slots, then 100% of your wagers go towards the requirements, but if you're wagering on blackjack, for example, then only 10% of your wagers count, which means you'll have to wager through the equivalent of $20,000 before you can withdraw as opposed to slots wagers where $2,000 will suffice. Another casino could easily have very different and therefore, significant, terms and conditions. For example, on a 100% Welcome Bonus you would be required to wager an amount equal to 15 times your initial deposit plus bonus before withdrawing your initial deposit, the bonus and any winnings. That means that if you deposited $100, were then given a $100 for the bonus, you would have to wager through $3,000 (($100 + $100) x 15) before you could withdraw any of the initial deposit, bonus or associated winnings. In some cases, entire classes of games don't even count toward fulfilling the wager requirements, such as Red Dog, Craps, Baccarat or any play on the Slots Tournaments.
Wagering Requirements and You
Ultimately, it is very important to be an informed online casino player. Do read the terms and conditions of any bonus at any casino before depositing, as they have real world implications for your casino experience. That said, overall, any variations in wagering requirements between casinos are usually outweighed by the differences in promotions. So keep your eyes open, investigate all the options and deposit thoughtfully.