The Best Strategies for Meeting Wagering Requirements and Unlocking Casino Bonuses

After speaking to countless players from beginners to season pros, it’s apparent that one of the main reasons why so many people join iGaming sites, such as online casinos, is to claim generous bonuses and other mouth-watering promotion offers. 

However, some of these special offers are far more lucrative than others, and there is a bit of an art form to not just finding and claiming the best promotions, but also ensuring that you get the most out of them. 

Some of you already noticed that you’ve claimed bonuses but, for some reason, weren’t able to cash out your winnings, or your winnings suddenly disappeared without warning. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone — and the main reason you missed out is quite possibly because you didn’t read the terms and conditions properly. 

Here is everything you need to know about meeting your so-called wagering requirements and how you can unlock the biggest and best bonuses on the safest sites. Bonuses are a great way to make money and give your bankroll a much-needed boost — but only claim them if you can comfortably afford to deposit. 

What are wagering requirements, and why do operators attach them to promotions?

Unfortunately, much to the bane of an online casino player’s experience, wagering requirements are typically attached to the bonuses and promotions typically found on most casino sites these days. If they weren’t attached to the bonuses, those operators could potentially end up going out of business for reasons we will discuss in a second. 

In short, the wagering requirement tells us the number of times any bonus money you receive (or any winnings that you make from your bonus) has to be wagered, played through, rolled over, or turned over — it all means the same thing. The obvious reason they are attached to promotion offers is to stop people from withdrawing any free money they receive without spending it on the casino. 

In other words, wagering requirements (aka playthrough, turnover, or rollover requirements, whatever you want to call them) stop players from withdrawing immediately after receiving free money. If all iGaming operators simply gave away free money without attaching wagering requirements to their bonuses, and every player won lots of money from that free bonus cash, those operators wouldn’t last long in the business. 

Therefore, wagering requirements are in place to protect the operator from this kind of bonus misuse. 

How do wagering requirements work?

Whenever you claim these offers on any sites you join, you will likely be able to claim that brand’s initial welcome bonus, which we also like to call a sign-up bonus. If you claim a 100% matching deposit bonus, which is the most common sign-up bonus, and it’s worth up to $/€/£100 (or the same amount in the currency you use), it means you can instantly double up on your deposit up to the value of $/€/£100. 

Therefore, a minimum deposit of, say, $/€/£10.00 or $/€/£20.00 gets you $/€/£10 or $/€/£20 extra on top of your deposit, depending on how much you decided to top up your account with. If you can afford to deposit the full amount to receive the maximum amount the operator is willing to give each new player, and you deposit $/€/£100, you will receive $/€/£100 extra for free, no strings attached. 

The 100% match effectively sees you double up on your deposit, but as we mentioned above, you couldn’t just withdraw that free $/€/£10, $/€/£20, or $/€/£100 (or however much you deposited to unlock the 100% match bonus). The money you received would first need to be wagered/played through X amount of times. 

If you have any winnings left over after completing these so-called wagering requirements, they are yours to keep, meaning you are free to withdraw. 

The amount of time you get to complete your wagering requirements can vary. For example, on many sites we’ve come across, you’ll find you may only have one or two days to complete them — but on some others, you’ll have as long as two weeks or one month to complete them. 

As a player, the most important thing to remember is: that the lower the wagering requirements, the better it is for you. On many of today’s most trusted online casinos, like those currently trending on the official AskGamblers UK review site, most bonuses come with an industry-standard 30x to 40x wagering requirement attached, and you often have up to two weeks or longer to complete them. 

We have also found lots of bonuses with 50X, 60X, 70X, and even 200X wagering requirements attached (far too steep for most players), which you might want to avoid — it’s up to you. Here’s how it works. 

If you have just claimed that same 100% match bonus mentioned above, you deposited $/€/£20, and it comes with a 35x wagering requirement (fairly standard these days), it simply means the $/€/£20 free money you received on top of your $/€/£20 deposit must be played through/wagered 35x times (so a total of $/€/£700) before you can withdraw. 

It may sound steep, but if they weren’t attached to bonuses, and everyone won, I wouldn’t be long before half of all iGaming operators went out of business because of all the people who win big from their initial sign-up bonuses. 

Best strategies for getting your wagering requirements cleared in as little time as possible

The best advice we can give for getting your wagering requirements cleared in as little time as possible is to always start by reading the terms and conditions attached to any bonuses you claim. Here’s what to remember:

• ALWAYS read the bonus Ts and Cs, and find out how much you have to wager before a withdrawal is possible.
• Only claim bonuses from fully licensed and regulated sites.
• Find out which games contribute 100% per $/€/£1 wagered towards completing your wagering requirements, and ONLY play these games.
• Don’t deposit more than the bonus is worth — unless you want to, that is.
• Gamble responsibly by only claiming one bonus at a time, setting deposit limits, and session time reminders.
• Find out how long you have to complete the wagering requirements and get them done in good time.

Conclusion

Being a responsible gambler is the most important thing you can remember when logging in to your chosen sites to play your favorite games. 

The easiest way to ensure you never exceed your initial spending budget is to take advantage of your trusted operator’s safer gambling tools if they provide them. They are easy to set in under a minute, and when used correctly, they can better help you manage your bankroll, which keeps this fun and enjoyable. 

Reviewed and edited by Albert Fang.

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At FangWallet, we value editorial integrity and open collaboration in curating quality content for readers to enjoy. Much appreciated for the assist.

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Article Title: The Best Strategies for Meeting Wagering Requirements and Unlocking Casino Bonuses

https://fangwallet.com/2025/02/24/the-best-strategies-for-meeting-wagering-requirements-and-unlocking-casino-bonuses/

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