If you’ve ever seen an online casino Welcome Bonus offer, you may have spotted the mentioning of wagering requirements in the terms and conditions. In fact, every deposit bonus and many free spins and cashback offers will also come with a wagering requirement.
It works the same way in every online casino, not only the ones available to Canadian players. To better explain how this works we’re gonna have to do a little mathematics, and then we’re gonna have to discuss how to spot the difference between a bonus and a bonus.
You’re not going to like it, but it’s all in the terms and conditions as long as you know what to look for. For starters, ponder these two offers and see if you can figure out which one is better:
- 100% up to C$100 with a wagering of 25x on deposit + bonus
- 100% up to C$100 with a wagering of 50x on bonus amount
Did you figure it out? Truth is, they are exactly the same. But understanding why they are the same will help you spot the difference between a good and a not so good offer.
In the first bonus offer, the wagering is placed on both deposit and bonus amount, which means that you have to add those two together before you multiply by 25. Like this (X + X) x 25 = 2X x 25 = 50X. So, if you deposited C$50 you would have to add another C$50 and then multiply that sum by 25, which comes to C$2,500.
In the second bonus, the wagering is only placed on the bonus amount. But since the bonus amount is the same as the deposit amount, you only have to apply the multiplier to that amount. Like this X x 50 = 50X. As you can see, this means that the wagering is exactly the same for both offers no matter if you deposit C$10 or C$100.
Always pay attention to whether the wagering is applied on deposit + bonus or just the bonus amount. This is crucial!
Also, as long as you have an active bonus and grind to beat the wagering requirement, not only can you not claim another bonus, but if you attempt to withdraw your money you will lose your bonus and any potential winnings connected to it.
This may sound really harsh, but this is common practise to stave off bonus abuse. Yes, it happens still to this day that players try to outsmart casinos by coming up with new ways to abuse bonus offers. We don’t recommend going down that route.
Check the game weighting
It’s not enough to understand how wagering requirements work, you also have to be careful when you select games to play. Game weighting is another way for online casinos to protect themselves from bonus abusers.
You could end up losing your entire bankroll and bonus money without contributing a single dime towards the wagering requirements if you’re not careful.
Contribution towards wagering normally looks something like this in the bonus terms:
- Slots – 100% unless stated otherwise in these terms
- Video poker – 10%
- Table games – 10%
- Live casino games – 10%
This means that every C$1 you play on slots will contribute C$1 towards the wagering requirement. But be careful, some slots are banned or restricted from play when your playing with bonus money. The full list can always be found in the bonus terms.
When you’re playing video poker, table games, or any game in the live casino, every C$1 you bet per game round will only contribute C$0.10 towards the wagering. It’s 100 percent your responsibility to make sure you only play games that contribute.