While online casinos can offer pokies bonuses that land-based venues cannot, they are still a business that needs to make money. Therefore, they attach rules to these bonuses known as wagering requirements. This may seem like pokies bonuses are therefore irrelevant, but if you meet the requirements, it can be well worth it.
What are wagering requirements?
Wagering requirements are basically the minimum amount of times you have to play before releasing the bonus as real cash.
For example, if you make a deposit of $100 and have it matched by 100%, with a 35x wagering requirement attached to the bonus cash, you will have to wager $100 x 35 = $3500 before it can be released as cash. The amount, generally specified as a multiplier, can be higher or lower than the number we used in this example.
Without these rules in place players could easily sign up, opt in for the bonus, and then withdraw the bonus or take advantage of it and we guarantee if this was the case the online casino wouldn’t last as a business for very long.
Since you are playing titles for enjoyment, you could see a pokies bonus as a coupon with the wagering requirements the criteria you have to meet in order to take advantage of the offer.
What do wagering requirements apply to?
Wagering requirements are generally applied to matched deposit bonuses, though they can also apply to free spins bonuses and other pokies promotions, which is why it is important to always read the terms and conditions attached. Since matched deposits provide you with bonus cash, generally large amounts, it makes sense why they apply these rules.
Some online casinos apply wagering requirements to winnings of free spins or other bonuses, regardless if they require a deposit or not. As we mentioned before, be sure to read the terms and conditions to figure out if they have a turnover requirement before opting in for the bonus.
So should you even bother with pokies bonuses if you have to play it through a certain number of times?
Are pokies bonuses worth it?
Pokies players are luckier than other casino game players as most slots at Internet casinos generally count 100% to the wagering requirements, meaning every time you do make a wager the whole amount of your bet counts towards the amount you need to play through before releasing the bonus as cash. So if you wager $10 on the pokies, $10 will be deducted from your account.
Other casino games may only contribute 50% or 25%, meaning you’ll have to wager more for it to count.
If your main aim is to play at the casino for enjoyment, pokies bonuses are definitely worth it as they provide bonus cash to play with and allow you to learn about the games and what you like best, for free. You may not necessarily end up releasing the bonus as you may not be able to play that amount through, but you could get lucky and release it as cash.
Either way, if you keep in mind that a pokies bonus isn’t just free cash and play with it for enjoyment at online casinos then opting in for the bonus can be worth it.
Wagering requirements at the best online casinos
We have included the wagering requirements attached to bonuses from our favourite online casinos (due to their reputation and credentials). We feature matched deposit wagering requirements as they are best completed by the pokies and each have similar rules attached, while other pokies bonuses can vary in terms of whether they require a play through amount.
Matched deposit wagering requirements
- G’Day Casino has a 35x wagering requirement
- Royal Vegas has a 40x wagering requirement
- Slots Million has a 35x turnover
- Thrills online casino has a 30x turnover on the first deposit and a 20x turnover on the second deposit
- Jackpot City Casino has a 50x wagering requirement
- 32 Red requires a 30x turnover for their welcome bonus
- Leo Vegas has a 35x play through rule
- Roxy Palace requires the bonus be played by 25x
- Guts has a 35x wagering requirement
- 7 Sultans has a 40x wagering requirement
- Casino-Mate has 50x turnover
While we have listed the wagering requirements specific to new player bonuses, it is still important to read the terms and conditions to see what pokies may not qualify. Additionally, there may be withdrawal limits on the smaller wager requirements so once again read the conditions so you qualify.
It is also important to check if you have to wager both your deposit and the bonus a certain number of times or just the bonus.
Pokies bonuses without wagering requirements
If you would prefer to avoid wagering requirements, be sure to read the terms and conditions of all promotions. If there are no terms and conditions, avoid this promotions and in turn this casino as it is likely to be rogue. The best away to avoid this scenario from occurring is to play at the online casinos we listed above.
There are some pokies bonuses that don’t have any wagering requirements attached and these are generally free spins bonuses. However, this doesn’t mean all free spins bonuses are wager free, as some do have play through requirements attached to the winnings you may accrue, so once again read the terms and conditions to ensure you know what you are getting yourself into.
You can also opt out of a bonus if you don’t want to be subjected to wagering requirements, and just play with your own cash instead.