Whenever you search for a new online casino at which to play, you’re likely to be distracted by the incredible range of glittering and lucrative welcome bonuses on offer.
Often offering deposit matches of more than 100% and almost innumerable free spins on the world’s most popular slots, these offers can be incredibly beguiling and tend to be influential when players make their eventual choice.
However, such offers tend to come with incredibly high wagering requirements, which impact directly on the value of the bonus offer and your ability to withdraw winnings. As a result, we’ve seen a number of low wagering casinos emerge in recent times, which may offer a superior value proposition despite appearing to be less generous.
You can find more information here, but in the article below, we’ll explore the concept of wagering requirements further while asking whether low wagering casinos are your best bet!
What are Low Wagering Requirements?
Wagering requirements are usually expressed as a percentage, and they dictate precisely how much money you need to ‘play through’ in order to withdraw any winnings associated with a particular bonus.
For example, let’s say that you deposit £10 into your account and receive an additional £10 with which to play under the terms of a 100% deposit match. If wagering requirements of 35x the total value of the bonus are applied (including the deposit sum), you’ll have to play through £750 before you can access your winnings.
Wagering requirements of 35x or 40x the total value of the bonus represent the current industry standard, although this may increase in instances where the terms are only applied to the value of the bonus minus the cash deposit.
Low wagering requirements typically stipulate a playthrough of 20x or lower the value of the bonus offer, while in some instances they may eschew all wagering requirements completely (although such offers are usually confined to a fixed number of free spins on a predetermined slot).
Using the same example as above, a bonus value of £10 at 20x wagering requirements would create a playthrough amount of just £200, creating an improved value proposition and arguably making your winnings far more accessible.
Are Low Wagering Casinos Right for You?
Thanks to technological advancement, you can now wager and carry out a number of additional activities on your mobile device, and this has led to the proliferation of online casinos and welcome bonuses nationwide.
So, when appraising welcome offers, the first step is to understand whether or not low wagering casinos are right for you.
For example, low wagering casinos are typically less generous in terms of the deposit match and the size of the bonus on offer, meaning that they may not be ideal for high-rollers or players who simply want to optimise the amount of free gameplay available.
Free spins bonuses also tend to have lower wagering requirements, particularly those that reward you with a relatively small number of free spins (such as 10). In this respect, a reduced playthrough requirement may be applied to the winnings earned from the free spins, although you should note that stringent winning caps may be in play here.
The same principle applies to offers with no wagering requirements, which typically take the form of 10 free spins on a single game with low or medium variance.
So, although you may not have to meet any playthrough requirement to withdraw any associated winnings from the free spins, your earnings are likely to be capped at a relatively low level.
You may also find that the time allowed to redeem the welcome bonus varies according to its precise terms. This is because offers with higher wagering requirements must allow you more time to meet the conditions as responsibly as possible, whereas there’s no such issue in instances where you have to play through negligible amounts to withdraw your winnings.
For example, you may well have up to 30 days to play through your bonus funds at wagering requirements of 35x and 40x, while this window of opportunity shrinks to as small as 24 hours when accessing 10 free spins.
The Last Word
Ultimately, the key is to make a decision based on your own outlook and bankroll as a player, rather than simply being taken in by the terms of a bonus.
In general terms, however, high wagering casinos tend to attract high-rollers and players with a keen appetite for risk, thanks to the sheer size of their bonuses and the potential winnings on offer.
Conversely, risk averse players or gamblers with a small bankroll may benefit from the superior value provided by low wagering casinos, as they prioritise access to their winnings over the size of their haul.