The Dark Side of Casino Promotions

As a casino player, there’s no doubt that you have come across all sorts of promotional goodies, such as big match bonuses, free spins, cashback deals and more. These offers are designed to keep balances topped up and encourage more game time. 

However, casino promotions are never as generous as they seem at first. These attractive offers are advertised to grab attention and seem too good to pass up. Be aware that beneath the bonus is a stern set of terms and conditions that make it more challenging to cash out any winnings from the bonus offers. One such term is the wagering requirement, which requires players to wager the bonus amount a certain number of times before the bonus funds and any winnings are converted to withdrawable cash. 

The industry average for wagering requirements sits around 35 times, but there are casinos that have wagering requirements up to 70 times the bonus amount. Furthermore, it’s not just the bonus funds that can be attached to wagering terms, but some casinos apply this restriction to the initial deposit amount too. 

How do wagering requirements work?

 Before you claim any bonus offers you should be familiar with how wagering requirements work. If you are claiming a 100% match bonus and make a deposit of £100, then you’ll have £100 in bonus funds on top. If the wagering requirements are 35 times the bonus amount, you will need to wager through a total of £3,500 before the bonus money or any winnings can be cashed out. 

There are other terms that come into play when it comes to fulfilling the wagering requirements, such as the wagering contribution across different games and the max bet amount. For example, table games contribute less towards wagering because the house edge is lower and playing a safe strategy would make it easy to complete the wagering terms. You should always run through the terms and conditions before claiming any bonus offers. 

Not all bets are the same

 Referring back to the wagering contribution, not all bets are equal. In general, all slot games will contribute to the wagering requirements. However, it’s not uncommon for the operator to have a list of restricted slot games that do not contribute to the wagering. These are highly volatile slots that are prone to big payouts, and some concerned casinos will remove these. Generally, you want to find a casino that does not restrict any slot games. If you prefer placing bets on the RNG tables or live dealer games, you should be aware that the wagering contribution drops down to anything from 5% to 25%. This is simply because of the low margins for the house and the fact that a player could place a few large wagers on black in roulette and complete the wagering terms pretty swiftly. 

There’s more to wagering requirements 

 Wagering requirements are not just in place to protect the casino from bonus abuse, but they are also designed to keep players loyal to the casino. Once you claim a bonus and start working your way through the wagering terms, you’re half committed to staying with the casino and fulfilling the terms. This also gets players familiar and comfortable with using the platform and therefore, more likely to stick around as a customer. 

Moreover, because wagering requirements encourage more betting activity, it can have an implication on gambling behaviour by forcing players to keep playing for longer than they may wish to, something that the CMA and the Gambling Commission are beginning to monitor very closely…

Where do the UK CMA and UKGC stand?

The Gambling Commission of Great Britain is not afraid to shake things up with some strict rules to keep casinos in line and prevent them from abusing their power by withholding player funds. The Gambling Commission has updated its guidance on fair terms and practices as recently as early 2022, noting that casinos are getting around regulation by wording their terms in a confusing and unfriendly way. These new updates to the UKGCs guidelines mean operators have to review their terms and conditions and make sure that everything is clear and above board. Some of the rules set up out by the UKGC focus on: 

• Terms that allow licensees to confiscate customers’ un-staked deposits
• Terms regarding the treatment of customers’ funds where a licensee believes there has been illegal, irregular or fraudulent play
• Promotions for online games that have terms entitling a licensee to void real money winnings if a customer inadvertently breaks staking rules
• Terms that unfairly permit licensees to reduce potential winnings on open bets

This means operators need to revise their terms surrounding bonus wagering and make sure the terms adhere to the conditions of their licence. The UKGC recently stated that “it does not expect conditions, such as wagering requirements, to encourage excessive play”. This is a big win for players as casinos will have to rethink their approach to bonus wagering and lifting terms such as max bet amounts. 

If online casinos continue to lead players on through excessing wagering terms, then they will be at risk of receiving a huge penalty from the UKGC or even being stripped of their gambling licence and therefore, unable to operate in the UK. 

Where are wagering requirements heading?

The industry is slowly changing in favour of the player, with many casino sites starting to lower or completely remove wagering requirements to appeal to players in a congested industry. The UK Gambling Commission has expressed concern about how casinos are using wagering terms from preventing customers from making withdrawals. Thanks to recent regulatory changes, casinos that operate in the UK are no longer allowed to attach wagering terms to deposit amounts, but there’s also a growing trend in bonuses and free spins without wagering requirements whatsoever.

One of the first casinos to remove wagering terms was PlayOJO Casino, which has gone on to see great success in the UK. Julia Godal from PlayOJO has stated that “PlayOJO is a very special casino where there is absolutely no wagering at all. We pride ourselves in fairness and transparency, being one of the very few casinos without any ridiculous Terms and Conditions leaving players to decipher what is what. In this industry, player welfare is extremely important.” 

So, it looks like some positive moves are on the horizon for wagering terms, with casinos either dropping the restrictions altogether or lowering them to fairer levels.