Casino Bonuses Explained – Wagering Requirements, Game Restrictions & Bonus Categories

On CasinoStatus.net, you will see the online casinos offer various bonuses to entice you to deposit. In this article we explain the various casino bonuses on offer including how they work and what they mean for you.

You may ask yourself why online casinos are giving away free money. The answer is quite simple. Overheads are not as high as at land-based casinos in Las Vegas and there is a lot more competition online. Bonuses are a great way to get you to deposit at the particular casino and you can play your favourite casino games using more than just your bankroll.

Wagering Requirements and Game Restrictions

Online casinos use wagering requirements and restrictions in order to protect the bonuses they give away. Wagering requirements are also referred to as play through requirements (or playthrough). A wagering requirement will be displayed with a number and an ‘x’. This means the number of times you have to stake or bet your deposit amount, bonus amount or deposit plus bonus amount in order for the bonus to be cashable.

If you take Jackpot Party Casino for example, the wagering requirement for the welcome bonus is 20 x deposit. This means that you need to play the deposit amount (£150) 20 times in order to withdraw the bonus amount. So you will have to wager (or bet) £150 x 20 which is £3,000. In terms of game restrictions, the bonus is only allowed on slot games so stakes/bets made on other games such as blackjack or roulette will not contribute to the wagering requirements.

bet365 Casino does allow wagering on blackjack for example but the contribution is only 10% meaning that if you wager £100 playing blackjack (except Blackjack Surrender, Blackjack Switch and Lucky Blackjack) your contribution to the bonus wagering requirements will only be £10. This is because blackjack games have a low house edge which means that the margin for the casino on blackjack games is very low.

If you want to see all the wagering requirements as well as game restrictions for each recommended online casino, please visit our Casino Bonuses page which has all the details you’ll ever need. These details can all be found on the bonus Terms & Conditions section – we’ve done all the hard work for you.

Going back to the welcome bonus, casinos on average don’t lose when giving away this free money. At InterCasino the overall payout percentage is 97.50% across all their games. Their welcome bonus is 100% up to £250 with 30 x deposit plus bonus wagering requirements. If you take the maximum bonus, £250, and calculate the total wagering you would come up £15,000 (£250 + £250 = £500 x 30 = £15,000). If you multiply £15,000 by 100% minus the overall payout percentage, 2.5% (100% – 97.50%), the amount left is £375. This is obviously higher than the £250 bonus offered so technically InterCasino is not losing out – this is of course based on averages.

If you want to see the wagering requirements and game restrictions of the bonuses offered by our recommend casinos, please click here.

Bonus Categories

In terms of bonuses, there are many different ones available. The second part explains that but we will highlight whether a bonus is cashable, sticky type I or sticky type II. There are fundamental differences which mean different for you as a casino player. We now explain.

Cashable Bonuses

Cashable bonuses are exactly what they say they are – cashable for you. In order to cashout the bonus, you must complete the wagering requirements on the games allowed. Both the requirements and games allowed/restricted vary from casino to casino. It’s important to read the Terms & Conditions to fully understand what you need to do in order to cashout the bonus.

One thing to note – many online casinos will void the bonus if you request a withdrawal. This could even include the winnings. If you are to withdraw, make sure you have completed the wagering requirements before initiating the process. If you unsure as to how much wagering you need to do, contact the customer support team who will be happy to help.

Sticky Type I Bonuses

All winnings from the bonus can be cashed out once you make a withdrawal from the casino. If the bonus is £100 and you win £50, you will technically have £150 in your account to play with. With this bonus, only the £50 you won will be available to withdraw.

Then the sticky type I bonus is removed from your account permanently. The good thing about sticky I bonuses is that you have the opportunity to use it to wager, thus increasing your chances of completing the wagering requirements successfully. Circus Casino’s bonuses are sticky type I bonuses.

Sticky Type II Bonuses

A sticky type II bonus is the same as a sticky type I bonus but the difference between them is that the type II bonus won’t be removed if you do withdraw. You can still use for wagering and can continue to use the bonus amount going forward to increase your chances of winning. Therefore sticky type II bonuses are more appealing than sticky I bonuses.

Summary

In general, bonuses are good to use when trying to complete the wagering requirements. You should always look for cashable bonuses and if you are unsure what the bonus is, please feel free to contact us and ask.

In order to know what you need to do or what kind of bonus you are getting when you deposit at an online casino, make sure you read the Terms & Conditions. Alternatively, visit our Casino Bonuses page for all the details on a particular online casino’s bonus you’ll ever need – CasinoStatus.net has done the ground work for you.