If you are confused about Wagering Requirements for online casino bonuses, you are not the only one. Questions about turnover conditions are one of the most common issues when it comes to online gaming. Here you will find everything you need to know, explained in a simple and understandable way.
First of all: What are the turnover requirements?
A wagering requirement is a condition that you must wager – or play through – bonus money or free spins winnings a given number of times before you can withdraw the money.
Bonus money must be wagered before withdrawal
A wagering requirement becomes effective and begins to count from the time a bonus is accepted and/or credited to your player account. When the requirement is met, the money is released and your bonus balance is transferred to the cash balance.
Any winnings that come while you play down the wagering requirements are stored in a pending balance until the current wagering requirement is met. Most online casinos will let you use this money to reach the wagering requirement, but you can not withdraw them until the requirement is completed.
Example: Let's use a simple example. If you make a spin on a slot machine with a value of €0.10, you have also wagered for €0.10. If the turnover requirement is 10 times, you must wager 10 times €0.10, ie €1. This means that you must make 9 more spins, all with a value of €0.10. Once you have done so, you have completed the wagering requirement and are free to withdraw the remaining amount.
This is how wagering requirements work 
A wagering requirement is often between 20-40 times the bonus amount. Some casinos also operate with higher and lower wagering requirements, and the terms may vary. At some casinos, for example, the wagering requirement applies to both the bonus and deposit amount. For others, only the bonus amount must be wagered. This, of course, has a huge impact on the turnover requirement.
A practical example
To take a quick example, we can say that you deposit €100 at a casino. You also get a €100 welcome bonus, as the casino gave you a so-called 100% cash-match. This results in you having a total of €200 to play with, but you have to turn over a hundred euros you received in the bonus 30 times before you can make withdrawals. This means that you must wager €3,000 before you can call the bonus money yours.
In a similar case, where you have to turn over both the bonus and deposit amount, you will have to turn over as much as €6,000 before you can make a withdrawal of the bonus money. A technical difference that practically doubles the turnover requirement, even though in both cases we operate with a turnover requirement of 30x.
Quick facts about turnover requirements:
- A normal wagering requirement is usually 20-40 times the bonus amount
- A bonus of €100 with a wagering requirement of 30x, requires a turnover of €3,000 before withdrawing the bonus amount
- Some casinos calculate wagering requirements on bonus AND deposit amounts.
– In the case of a 100% deposit bonus, the turnover amount will then be doubled to €6,000 in the example above - Always check the terms and conditions of your casino before depositing, to avoid boring surprises
Many people are also confused about the word “sell”. It is by no means the same as losing money: it is simply a matter of the amount you have bet / played for. You can, for example, bet €100 and win €1,000 – you have still traded for a hundred euro.
Then maybe €3,000 doesn't sound that much either? If it still does, keep in mind the amazing payback percentages that the various games at today's casinos actually operate with. Most slot machines operate with a payback percentage of at least 95%.
Turnover rate on various casino games
But the rules do not end here – and once again we will encourage everyone to check the rules and conditions at the individual casino, because both small and large differences may arise. A regulation that is still somewhat standard is the difference in the degree of turnover of different casino games. Not all games have the same percentage of turnover, and this can have a big impact on whether you manage to trade for the amount you need to keep the money without going in the red.
Slot machines are our recommended casino game to meet wagering requirements. Here, there is a 100% turnover rate, which means that absolutely every euro you bet helps to clear the turnover requirement for your bonus. Not only that – slot machines are also the games with the best payback percentage, which in turn gives you far greater chances of completing a bonus claim and at the same time making a profit. Several slot machines have close to a 100% payback percentage.
Table games and live casino offer the lowest wagering conditions
Table games such as Roulette and Blackjack have almost as good criteria for completing a wagering requirement. Often the turnover rate is as low as 10% on these games. This means that only one euro of every ten you bet goes to clearing the wagering requirement. It also means that the wagering requirement of 3,000 would in reality be as much as 30,000 if you only played table games such as Roulette and Blackjack.
The reason for these rules is of course that you can insure yourself with several outcomes in these games. In Roulette, for example, you can bet on both black and red every single round, and only lose the times the ball lands on green 0.
Wagering of bonus money vs. free spins winnings 
To properly understand the wagering requirements, you need to be aware that there is a difference between the wagering of bonus money and the wagering of winnings won with free spins:
If you play with money from a deposit bonus, such as a welcome bonus, the wagering requirement applies to the bonus amount itself. So you start playing against the wagering requirement immediately, and all winnings can be used to achieve the wagering requirement.
When you play with free spins, on the other hand, all the money you win will fall within the wagering requirement. The winnings from each spin are added together into one pot, which then has a wagering requirement. When the spins are used up, you start playing against the wagering requirement – as if it were regular bonus money. Should you win more money along the way, you can continue to play against the wagering requirement with this money.
How to track wagering requirements?
Fortunately, you do not have to count on wagering requirements yourself. Any serious online casino will always give you status inside your profile. This way you can always see how much you have left to turn over before you can withdraw the money.
As mentioned further up, not all games count equally towards the wagering requirement! Often slot machines count 100%, while a table game can count as little as 0-10%.
Precisely for this reason, some players choose not to accept the welcome bonus when they sign up. We encourage all our readers to research the wagering requirements before starting to play. It can save you a lot of unnecessary revenue!
To get an overview of how much the different games count, you must click on the casino's own terms and conditions (T&Cs). There you can read the rules for wagering requirements for bonuses.
Not all games count equally – Wagering percentage differs!
When you are trading your bonus money, it is wise to think about which games you use, since not all types of games count equally in relation to the wagering requirements. Often, slot machines count the most (up to 100%) and video card games count the lowest (down to 0%). But this can vary, so check the terms and conditions at your casino to be sure.
Here is an example of how much different game types can count in relation to the wagering requirements:
- Slots: 100%
- Live Casino Games: 15% – Excluding Dream Catcher (50%)
- Roulette (except Live Roulette), Caribbean Stud and Casino Stud Poker games: 10%
- Casino Hold'em, Red Dog, Pai Gow Poker Games, Oasis Poker and Texas Hold'em Poker games: 10%
- Blackjack (except Live Blackjack), Baccarat, Video Poker, Pontoon, Beat Me, Punto Banco games: 5%
NOTE: the percentages above are examples only. The real wagering conditions can be found in the terms and conditions of your casino.
Why do casinos use wagering requirements?
The rules on turnover are designed to protect the gaming companies financially. Without these requirements, deposit bonuses would not actually be possible to offer!
Imagine that a store sold products for half of what the item was actually worth, without any restrictions. In the long run, this would bankrupt the store. The same goes for a gaming company: If the casino only handed out twice as much money as they received, completely without restrictions, they would go in the red every time.
Some set higher standards than others
Some online casinos offer colossal welcome bonuses to attract new customers. Often the same casinos also have the highest wagering requirements. The larger sums they offer, the greater their need to secure themselves financially.
For players who are just looking for relaxing entertainment, the wagering requirements probably do not mean much. But for those who want to play “effectively”, the wagering requirements will make a big difference: While some casinos require you to wager 25 times, others may require as much as 75 times.
Again: Examine the wagering requirements before choosing both the welcome bonus and the casino!
