Wagering requirements: What are they & how do they work?

What are wagering requirements?

A wagering requirement is the total amount of money you need to bet before you can withdraw real money winnings from a casino bonus or betting site offer.

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You may see the terms ‘turnover requirement’ or ‘playthrough requirement’ attached to a bonus - these are the same things as a wagering requirement.

Wagering requirements are expressed as a multiple of the bonus amount credited to players.

For example, if a bonus comes with a 10x wagering requirement, that means you need to place bets with a total value of 10 times your bonus before you can withdraw any winnings.

There are often additional conditions attached to wagering requirements (such as minimum odds, minimum stakes, and specific game types) but, otherwise, it’s pretty straightforward.

Why do betting sites and casinos set wagering requirements?

UAE betting sites and online casinos set wagering requirements for bonuses to ensure that players cannot simply sign up, claim a bonus, and then withdraw the bonus amount.

Gambling companies hope players enjoy playing through bonus funds enough to continue playing afterwards.

Casino bonuses and betting site offers are designed to give players a taste of the platform, or of a specific betting market or casino game.

How to calculate wagering requirements

To calculate bonus wagering requirements, multiply the bonus amount by the stated requirements.

If you are playing online slots or other games where less than 100% of your wager contributes to beating the requirements, you need to adjust your calculations accordingly.

The terms and conditions state that bets placed in live poker games only count 50% toward wagering requirements. That means you need to place 2000 AED worth of bets in live poker to complete the wagering requirements.

Wagering requirements: real examples

Here are a couple of wagering requirements relating to real life bonuses.

Melbet 100% first deposit bonus

Melbet 100% matches the first deposit made by new UAE players up to 400 AED.

The terms and conditions state that “bonus amount must be wagered 5 times in accumulator bets. Each accumulator bet must include a minimum of 3 events, and at least 3 of the events must have odds of 1.40 or higher.”

That means if you deposit 100 AED, you will need to place 500 AED worth of qualifying accumulator bets to turn your winnings into withdrawable cash.

Melbet Betting Bonus 100% up to 400 AED

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YYY Casino 100% first deposit bonus

YYY Casino 100% matches the first deposit made by new UAE players up to $2200.

The bonus information states that the wagering requirement is x30.

That means if you deposit $10, you will need to wager at least $300 on qualifying casino games to turn your winnings into withdrawal cash.

YYY Casino Casino Bonus 100% up to $2,200

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Do all bonuses have wagering requirements?

Not all betting site offers and casino bonuses come with wagering requirements attached.

Examples of bonuses and perks that often do not have wagering requirements attached are rakeback and cashback offers, free bets, loyalty bonuses, and tournament winnings.

More valuable bonuses like deposit matches almost always come with wagering requirements.

It’s also more likely than not that you’ll need to complete wagering requirements to withdraw cash winnings made from free spins and no deposit bonuses.

What is a good bonus wagering requirement?

A good bonus requirement depends on more than just the simple multiplier amount.

I think a wagering requirement of x10 or lower is good for a sports betting bonus, and x35 or less for a casino bonus.

That said, there are lots of other factors to consider, including:

• Which betting markets or games you can place qualifying wagers
• How much those wagers count toward wagering requirements
• How long you have to complete the wagering requirements

Easiest ways to beat wagering requirements

The easiest ways to beat wagering requirements are to stay close to the minimum odds requirements (for sports bonuses), play the right casino games (for casino bonuses) and read the terms and conditions carefully.

Stay close to the minimum odds requirements

Sports betting bonuses will often set minimum odds at which bets must be placed in order to count towards the wagering requirements.

Typical minimum odds are around 1.80 for single bets, or 1.50 per leg of a multiple/accumulator. However, I have seen minimum odds for sports bonuses as low as 1.10, so it really pays to look around.

It’s smart to pick bets that stay as close to those minimum odds as possible to give yourself the best chance of ending up in profit once you’ve played through the bonus conditions.

Play the right casino games

Wagering on some casino games may not count fully toward completely wagering requirements.

Usually, money spent playing on slot games will count 100% towards casino bonus wagering requirements.

However, wagers on games that naturally have a smaller house edge, such as blackjack, tend to count 80% or less towards unlocking your bonus.

You may also need to play specific slot titles or other casino games for your wagering to contribute toward bonus wagering requirements.

Read T&Cs carefully

Reading bonus terms and conditions carefully is the most important thing you can do to ensure you beat wagering requirements.

That way, you’ll ensure you don’t get caught unawares by onerous multipliers, restrictive game selection conditions, or unfairly high minimum odds requirements.

Most bonus information pages provide quite extensive guidance on exactly how each bonus works.

In my experience, it’s always worth reaching out to live chat support if anything is still unclear.

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