Bonus Restrictions
Wagering Requirements - Specific Wagers
Wagering Requirements - The Rollover
Calculating the Rollover
Summary
Posted by Denise Marie
What are Wagering Requirements?
Most online casinos and sports books are very happy to offer special
bonus promotions to new and existing customers. Those promotions are a
critical part of the marketing process necessary in such a highly
competitive industry. At times, these bonuses can appear quite enticing.
When a casino offers a 200% matching bonus on deposits up to a $1,000,
customers sit up and take notice. However, it’s important for players to
realize that casinos and sports books are not in the business of giving
away money.
Prior to accepting bonus offers from online gambling sites, it is
critical for the player to read the fine print. The fine print will
detail out all the account restrictions that are applicable to each
specific bonus. By reading and understanding these restrictions, the
player can avoid any misunderstanding related to making wagers or
withdrawing funds. The most common restrictions levied involve "Wagering
Requirements".
In order to avoid big hits, most online gambling sites will
restrict how bonus monies can be wagered. In the case of an online
casino, they will often restrict which games can be played with the
bonus monies. Players will usually be directed to the games with the
lowest pay-outs or largest house advantage. Also, the casino will most
likely restrict the amount of any single wager. Their hope is that by
instituting strict wagering limits, they can force the player to
"grind-out" wins putting them at the mercy of the house's advantage. In
the case of a sports book, the bonus money will usually be directed
towards wagering on specific events such as the Super Bowl. They might
also limit wagers to straight bets eliminating exposure to high pay-outs
provided by parlays and future bets. The player has to win the bet(s),
and then the rollover requirement starts.
Another way online gambling sites minimize winnings from
bonus deposits is by instituting a "rollover" requirement. The rollover
requirement is the number of times an individual must wager a dollar in
order to receive the actual cash. This is another method the casinos and
sports books use to force players to grind-out winnings. Until the
rollover requirement is met, the money is not available to be withdrawn.
The rollover requirement is not complicated to calculate. As an
example: Online casino X offers a 200% signup bonus on a player's
initial deposit with a 10X rollover requirement. If the player deposits
$250, they will receive a bonus of $500. That money is deposited into a
"pending bonus" account. The rollover requirement on that amount will be
$5,000 ($500 X 10). When a player gambles, they are required to
designate whether they are using the pending bonus account, or their
real money account. If they use the pending bonus account, the casino
will track the gross dollar wagers within that account. The player will
continue making wagers with that account until they have accumulated
gross wagers exceeding $5,000. If they achieve that goal, any monies
remaining in the pending wager account at that point in time will be
transferred to the players real money account and become eligible for
withdraw.
On the face of it, it seems rather daunting to earn an actual
real money bonus. While that may be true, it is still an opportunity to
win some free cash.
Players should take advantage of any bonus they can qualify to receive.
However, they should do so with an understanding of how difficult it
will be to turn the bonus into something real.
Posted by Denise Marie
Posted by Denise Marie