Charles Ingel - Monday, 25 October 2021 - FeaturesA no deposit bonus is not a free gift that you can cash out and take home from an online casino. You have to think about it as a form of store credit – you can only spend the bonus money inside the casino.
The main objective of a no deposit bonus is to give you a free sample of real gambling at an online casino. But gambling, as you very well know, involves winning money. If you win any cash using the bonus, you can withdraw it.
However, there is a catch – you need a bit of luck on your side as well as the "right kind" of bonus terms & conditions. Pick your no deposit bonuses well and you may get paid by these online casinos for free!
On this page, you will learn all about the no deposit bonus terms that make all the difference in the world between an "okay" no deposit bonus and a "great" no deposit bonus.
The wagering requirement is the most important factor that decides if a casino bonus is good for the player or not. Unfortunately, it is also one of the least understood bonus rules among new players.
A wagering requirement ensures that players can only use a bonus for its original purpose –play slots/games for free at the casino. It prevents you from immediately withdrawing bonus money from the casino after claiming.
And if you win any cash while playing with no deposit bonus cash or free spins, the wagering requirement also decreases your chances of withdrawing your winnings.
If many players manage to win and withdraw winnings with bonuses, the casino would suffer losses and maybe even go bankrupt. The wagering requirement makes it so that only a few players get paid from a bonus win.
Here is a quick example of a deposit bonus to explain how a wagering requirement does all this:
In the above example, if you win any money with the bonus, it will be kept locked by the casino cashier system. Before you can make a lawful withdrawal request, you have to use the existing balance in your casino wallet to place bets worth $600.
The wagering requirement is achieved when the cumulative value of all your bets hits the target amount, which is $600 in the example. In many instances, you will simply run out of money before you get close to that target.
On the other hand, if you have luck on your side and hit a couple of good wins during wagering, you may reach the target. At that point, all your funds are unlocked for a withdrawal request. You may withdraw your winnings, subject to any additionalbonus rules like a max cashout limit.
If two casino bonuses are identical in every aspect except for the wagering requirement, the better bonus is the one with a lower wagering requirement. For instance, if one bonus has a 20x wagering requirement while its identical twin has a 40x wagering requirement, the 20x one is better.
By "better" we mean it will be easier for you to hit the wagering target if the multiplier is lower.
Here is a quick comparison to explain how this works out:
If you have the same amount of deposit and bonus cash across the two examples, you will have a much better chance of hitting the 20x wagering limit bonus.
But in real-life situations, you don't find such identical bonuses. In most instances, there will be differences in other areas as well. However, as a general rule of thumb, a lower wagering requirement below 30x is good, while anything above 60x is bad if you want to win real money.
At the end of the day, there is no harm inclaiming a no deposit bonus with 60x wagering, as you don’t lose anything by claiming the bonus. But if you are claiming a match deposit bonus, you should focus on low wagering bonuses as your cash is also on the line.
When using bonus funds or free spins, you can only play a select number of games and slots specified by the casino. Likewise, you also have to pay attention to the type of games you play to complete your wagering requirement.
Online casinos have a tiered list for different game categories and their contributions to your wagering target. You will not get the same impact on your target when playing different types of games.
Here is a sample list of the way different game categories contribute to wagering requirements at online casinos:
The system is quite easy to understand. For every $100 you bet on available slots, an equal amount of $100 will be added to your wagering progress. But if you bet $100 on table games, it will only reflect as $20 on your progress meter. And if you played live dealer games, there will be no impact at all.
The key takeaway about wagering contributions is this – if you want maximum returns on each dollar bet, place all your bets on slots. You will have quick progress towards your wagering requirement.
Why do casinos do this? Well, the lower-ranked games like blackjack and roulette have a much higher chance of players wins. This increases the risk of players hitting the wagering target and getting paid. So, casinos use this rule to further stack the odds against the player.
Many players don't know that wagering requirements also have deadlines/expiry dates, just like bonuses. If you fail to fulfill the wagering requirements before the deadline, you will lose all your bonus winnings!
The deadline here is identical to the expiry date & time for the bonus used. For example, a no deposit bonus usually expires 24 hours after it is claimed. The wagering requirement associated with the bonus also has the same deadline.
If you think you cannot fulfill a bonus wagering requirement within its validity period, DO NOT claim the bonus. All your effort will come to naught and your time will be wasted.
Expert Tip: Don’t forget the time aspect when picking offers worth hundreds of dollars. The wagering target on such offers tends to go into tens of thousands of dollars! It will take you quite some time to reach it.
Expert Tip: Sometimes, you may be tempted to deposit a larger amount to get more bonus cash. This is a trap – always try to stay within your original budget when claiming bonuses with cash deposits.
Which is better – a deposit bonus or no deposit bonus?
The short answer is – neither. They both serve different purposes and are targeted towards different types of players:
There is no such thing as a perfect bonus for all players. All casino bonuses have their pros and cons. The suitability of a bonus is largely decided by the player's requirements, budget, and personal preferences. Bonus terms and conditions like wagering requirements play a huge role here. Always read the terms and conditions and try to pick a bonus that suits your needs best.
Charles Ingel is our resident casino and bonus review expert. He makes sure that every bonus on our site is active and tests for fairness. Charles sees to it that we have the best no deposit promos of any online bonus site.
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