If you’ve ever joined a mobile casino, you probably have noticed that the casino is willing to give you lots of money as a welcome bonus. Sometimes it’s a match bonus on your deposit. Sometimes the bonus doesn’t require a deposit at all. Sometimes it’s free time to play whatever games you want.
Online casino bonuses come in many varieties, but before you accept any you need to know the bonus requirements. Think of it this way: If you walk into a business of any kind and an employee comes up to you and offers you free money, you’re going to have a question, right? Mine would be “what’s the catch?”
Generally, if a business offers you something for free, there are some strings attached. Therefore, before you accept any bonus you should read the requirements. Usually the terms and conditions of the bonuses are clearly stated on the website. If you can’t find them, you should contact customer service and ask.
Bonus requirements vary from casino to casino (and bonus to bonus) but there are some common requirements. The most common casino bonus requirement is a play-through requirement. That is a certain number of times that the bonus must be wagered before you can withdraw it. For example, if you receive a £100 bonus and it has a wagering requirement of 20 times, that means you must wager that £100 20 times (or wager £2,000 in bonus money). In most cases, the bonus money is kept separate from the real money in your account, so you can withdraw any winnings or deposited money before the wagering requirement is met, but you cannot withdraw the bonus.
Sometimes the casino bonuses can be used on any game at the casino, while other times they are reserved for specific games. Sometimes the wagering requirements vary depending on which game you play. In those cases, you normally have to wager the bonus more times if the game has a lower house edge.
Another common bonus requirement is a wagering requirement where your wagers count a different amount depending on what game you play. For example, 100% of your wagers on slots may count, while the casino will only credit you for 60% of wagers on blackjack. Again, these differences normally correlate to the house edge of the games.
Whatever the bonus requirements are, you need to learn them before accepting bonus money and decide whether the requirements are acceptable to you. If they are not, you don’t have to accept the bonus. Sometimes you have to opt in to the bonus and other times you have to opt out, but there is always a choice. Knowing the requirements ahead of time is important for you to make the right decisions regarding how you spend your money at the online casino.