What does wagering mean?
Casino bonuses often come with wagering. Unfortunately there are only a few casino bonuses in New Zealand without wagering. If you are new to online gambling you might not know what wagering means. You see the term at every casino site you visit, but you have no idea what it means.
“When you accept a bonus at a NZ online casino, you have to wager (play through) the bonus amount a certain amount of times before you are allowed to withdraw the bonus money you received”Â
On this page I am going to explain you what wagering mean. And of course I tell you more about how to complete this bonus term in the most convenient way. As mentioned, most casino bonuses come with wagering. The most used bonuses with wagering are the following bonuses: Welcome bonus, No Deposit Bonus, and the Free Spins Bonus.
I am going to discuss the topics below.
- What is Wagering?
- What does 50x wagering mean
- Can I beat Wagering requirements?
- Wagering Requirements on different kind of bonuses
- Lowest Wagering bonuses
- Important wagering information
What is wagering?
Let’s start right at the beginning! What is Wagering? To understand bonuses, you have to understand wagering. This is included in almost every bonus casino offers! I will explain different scenario’s, using different kind of examples.
But let’s start at the beginning. When claiming a bonus, the casino gives you free spins, free playing money or extra bonus money on a first deposit. So let’s say you claim a 100% bonus, depositing $50. This means the online casino gives you an extra $50 bonus money to play with. You can play with a total of $100.
In the ideal world there would not be wagering. In that case you get 100% bonus and a second later you can withdraw that money. I hope you understand that this is a no go for online casino sites in New Zealand. They would go bankrupt within a few days.
To protect the casino from losing this money, they add wagering requirements. This simply means you have to play around the money, a certain amount of times, before you can withdraw your funds and winnings.
Casinos we rate and review often have wagering requirements between 20 and 50 times the bonus amount or free spins winnings. On your screen you see 20x or 50x Wagering.
Example 1 – Wagering on Bonus money
Casino A offers me a 100% welcome bonus on my first deposit. When I deposit $100 I receive $100 extra bonus money. This casino has 20 times wagering in the Terms & Conditions. That means I have to wager 20x $100 = $2.000. In this example I have to play/ bet/ spin $2.000 in total before I am allowed to request a withdrawal.
Every spin or bet I make at the casino is added to the wagered amount. So when I do 10 spins with a $1 spin value I have wagered $10 of the total $2.000 needed. A big win can help you complete wagering faster. Because more budget means more time to complete the total wager amount.
After I reach the $2.000, I am able to withdraw my money. Of course I hope I have a lot of money left at the moment I complete wagering.
What does 50x Wagering mean?
When you bump into a casino bonus with 50x wagering it means that you have to wager your bonus money or free spins winnings 50x. you have to complete 50x wagering before you are allowed to withdraw the money you received or won.
50x Wagering mean you have to play the bonus amount you receive 50 times at the casino. Or you have to play 50x the money you won with the free spins you received from the casino. Imagine getting 50 spins on Book of Dead, you win $20 with thes free spins. Before you are allowed to withdraw the $20 you have to play at least (wager) $20 x 50 = $1.000.
Can I beat wagering requirements
A questions we get often is how players can beat wagering requirements. To be really honest, unfortunately, you can’t. But what you can do as a player is to be more aware about how to make the wagering requirements in your favor! This is possible by simply knowing how wagering works exactly and about how wagering is been set up.
In this paragraph I will tell you exactly about what you need to pay attention to, so semi beat the wagering requirements!
Maximum bet amount
Always check the maximum bet allowed while wagering. I have seen smart kids who thought making $10 spins would help complete wagering faster. This is not true because most casino sites have a maximum bet of $5 per spin while wagering.
Please don’t exceed the maximum bet per spin. I don’t want you to win a lot of money but not being able to withdraw it because you violated the wagering requirements.
Weight of Wagering requirements
Now that we understand wagering, there is one more extra little thing we need to explain. The wagering can be divided when it comes to the contribution to the wagering requirements, depending on the game you are playing. This is always shown by a percentage that will be submitted to the wagering requirements. Not every game counts forward for the same percentage when we look at wagering.
For example: Pokies count 100% towards wagering. Live poker often only for 50%. And blackjack for 10%.
Let’s say you play slots and live poker. You bet $1 on pokies and $1 on live poker. Your $1 bet on pokies counts 100% towards wagering, after the $1 spin you have completed $1 of the total wagering. when you wager $1 on live poker it will count for 50% towards wagering. This means you only wager $0.50 of the total wagering amount.
The percentage of this influence on wagering requirements is determined by the return to player percentage. This is the likelyhood of the deposited money, being won back by the players. This is a number based on millions of spins. So players like you and me it does not really influence your game play if you just like to play for a few hours.
But it’s good to know what kind of percentages are used for different games. What is good to know is that you should always check this list of percentages before you play. Here you can at least make sure that all the money you play with, is contributing to meeting the wagering requirements. Almost all pokies are contributing for 100%. So it is a smart choice to play pokies.
Game contribution towards wagering
- Pokies contribute for 100% of your bet except a limited amount of games which offer a real high RTP;
- Scratch card games and keno contribute for 100%;
- Table games contribute for around 10%;
- Video poker games don’t contribute or only for around 5%;
- Jackpot games don’t contribute at all;
If you like to wager your bonus quickly, play pokies that contribute for 100%. If you like to play other types of games it is no problem but please keep it mind it will take a lot longer to complete wagering.
Wagering requirements on different casino bonuses
Now you understand what Wagering mean and how it works I will tell you more about different casino bonuses. Like we discussed earlier in this post, there are different kind of bonuses an online casino can offer its players!
The most popular one is the No-Deposit bonus. This means you can claim bonus money or free spins without making a real money deposit. Other popular bonuses are welcome offers, High Roller bonuses, free spins and reload bonuses. The wagering requirements are all really similar. I will explain 2 more bonus types:
No Deposit Bonus
A number of online casinos in New Zealand offer you a no deposit bonus. You will receive free cash or free spins once you sign up a casino account. There is no real money deposit needed. You only have to open a free casino account and activate the bonus.
On a no deposit bonus you always find wagering requirements. If not the casino risk losing a lot of money. The key benefit of this type of bonus is the fact that it is a free chance to explore a casino and win some real money.
Example – Wagering on a No Deposit Bonus
Spinyoo offers you $10 no deposit bonus with 35x wagering. So once you have signed up for a free account you can start playing with your $10 free. To redeem any winnings or the bonus money you have to bet or spin 35x $10 = $350.
Once you have reached this amount your winnings are ready to be withdrawn to your bank account or credit card. you can follow the progress in your account. I highly recommend you to request a withdrawal once you complete wagering.
Welcome and High Roller bonus
Every online casino in New Zealand offers you some kind of welcome bonus. And for players that want to play with higher stakes there is the High roller bonus. 99% of these bonuses have wagering requirements attached.
Wagering varies from 20 to 50 times the bonus amount or free spins winnings. there are also casinos where both deposit and bonus money need to be wagered. I always recommend you to read the Terms & Conditions of the offered bonus before you start making deposits. On our site you find full bonus terms for each available bonus.
I have made a few simple examples to help you understand how to wager a welcome or high roller bonus.
Example 3
Casino C offers you a 200% welcome bonus on your first deposit up to $200 with 20x wagering on Deposit and Bonus. In this case you can get up to $200 bonus on your first deposit. To get the maximum out of it you have to deposit $100 and you receive $300 to play with. Your cash money in this case is $100 and your bonus money is $200.
On both amounts there is 20 times wagered required. So before you can redeem or withdraw any winnings you have to play 300 x 20 = $6.000. (20x $100 + 20x $200).
Example 4
Casino D offers you a 100% welcome bonus up to $1000 and wagering is 10x deposit and 20x bonus money. When you decide to deposit $500 at Casino C you receive $1000 to play with. ($500 cash and $500 bonus).
Before you can make any withdrawals you have to wager the following amounts $500x 10 = $5.000 plus $500x 20 = $10.000. You have to wager at least $15.000 before you are able to request a real money withdrawal.
All above examples demonstrate how important it is to read the terms & conditions before you accept casino bonuses. I always advise players who are used to play at online casinos not to use any bonuses. Just play with your own money. So when you get lucky in the beginning you can redeem or withdraw your winnings directly. And you do not have to wait or play till you complete wager requirements.
If you do want to try a bonus, choose a bonus with good wager requirements.
Online casinos with low wagering
When you enjoy playing casino games with bonuses then it is important to have a look at the wagering requirement. The lower the wagering requirement is, the quicker you can cash out the balance. The differences between the rollover requirement can be really big at online casinos in New Zealand.
Some casino sites only ask 20x wagering on your bonus money. Others might ask for 50x your deposit and bonus amount. On a $50 deposit it can make a huge difference, check my example to see what this difference actually is.
Casino A – 20x with a 100% bonus (deposit money only)
Casino B – 50x with a 1005 bonus (deposit and bonus money)
- At the first casino I only have to wager 20 x $100 = $2.000
- At the second casino I have to wager 50 x $50 + 50 x $50 = $2500 + $2500 = $5.000
Now you can see how big the difference can be. At the 2nd casino you have to wager twice the amount compared to the first casino. In the table below you will find a selection of reliable New Zealand online casinos with fair wager requirements
Things to keep in mind related to Wagering
There are a few things I would like to share with you related to wager requirements. Keep these things in mind when you decide to claim a bonus and when you start to wager at a casino site in New Zealand.
Important difference; Wagering on bonus or wagering on bonus and deposit
To keep things interesting many online casinos use different ways to determine the total wagering amount. One of the most important thing to have a look at is whether you only need to wager the bonus, or the deposit and bonus. This small difference can have a huge impact on the total amount of money you need to wager.
For example, when you claim a 50% bonus with 35x wagering the following will happen when you deposit $200;
- You get a $100 bonus but you also need to wager your deposit. In this case you need to wager $100 + $200 = $300 x 35 = $10.500.
- If you only need to wager the bonus amount it is way more easy to complete the bonus terms. Now you need to wager $100 x 35 = $3.500.
As you can see the impact of wagering only your bonus money or your bonus and deposit is huge. Because of this it is better in most cases to take a bonus which only required you to wager the amount of bonus funds. After getting this type of bonus it is way easier to reach the rollover amount. This means you have a better shot at cashing out a nice amount of money.
Keep other bonus terms and conditions in mind
One tip I want to give you is to mind all bonus terms and conditions while wagering your bonus funds. This is important since breaking any of the rules can result in getting your balance voided. One of the most important rules to know about is the maximum bet rule. Many online casinos limit the maximum bet while playing with a bonus.
This protects the casino from players who claim a bonus and do only a couple of spins on really high stakes. This can result in a big win which drains the financials of the casino. If you bet more than the maximum allowed bet you are not able to cash out. So you lose all your funds. At most online casinos the maximum bet while wagering is $5 or 10% of your received bonus.
A thing I think you should also know about while wagering a bonus is a games rollover contribution. Not all casino games will contribute at the same rate towards your wagering requirement. At most casinos games with a high return to player rate (RTP) while contribute less than games with a lower RTP. This prevents that players only play low risk bets on games just to wager their bonus. In the bonus terms or promotional terms of most casinos you will be able to find which games contribute for what percentage. We have explained this before in the section of: How can I beat Wagering Requirements?
Make sure your wager your bonus on time!
One last tip I want to provide you with is to wager your bonus in time. At most online casinos unused bonus funds will be removed from your account within 30 days. Bonuses and no deposit bonuses will also expire within 30 days in most cases. This means if you don’t wager the bonus in time, you will lose the money in your account. This is of course very annoying and a waste of your money. Because if this it is important that you play enough before reaching this expiry date.
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