A COMPLETE GUIDE TO LOW WAGER BONUS CASINOS

As we’ve said, wagering requirements refer to an amount of money you have to stake before a bonus (and any bonus winnings) becomes cashable i.e. you can withdraw it. The most important to point to note here is that wager/bet/stake don’t mean lose. For example, let’s say the lowest wagering requirements casino we’ve found has a playthrough of 30X. This means you have to wager 30X the size of your bonus. What it doesn’t mean is that you have to lose 30X your bonus amount.

Making this distinction is important because a lot of novices assume that wagering means losing. This, in turn, means they get turned off of a deal because they think it’s going to cost them more money that it’s worth. In reality, your wins and losses don’t matter. Going back to the 30X example, let’s say you receive a £10 bonus. To unlock this, you’d need to wager £300 (30 x 10 = 300) and you decide to spin some low wagering slots at a cost of £1 per round.

After 300 spins (i.e. £300 wagered), you end up with a £20 profit. In this instance, you’ll have actually made £30 because you’ll be able to withdraw your £10 bonus as well as your slots profit. Conversely, you could reach the £300 mark and be £30 down. Either way, it won’t affect your playthrough target. In fact, what’s likely to happen is that you’ll win a bit and lose a bit during your 300 spins. Whatever the final outcome, the only thing that matter is hitting the specified target.

As long as you grasp the main concept, you shouldn’t go too far wrong. However, if you want to keep what you win from any online casino bonus, there are some additional points you’ll need to follow:

Game Contribution

Not all games contribute equally to a site’s wagering requirements. Although each site is different, it’s typically the case that slots are the best low wagering casino games as they have a 100% contribution weighting. In other words, 100% of a single bet goes towards clearing your wagering limit. Other games such as blackjack and roulette typically have a weighting of around 20%. Our casino reviewswill give you an insight into game contributions, so it’s your job to find the sites with the best weightings.

Time Limits

It would be great if you had an unlimited amount of time to clear a casino bonus. Unfortunately, that’s not practical. Some casinos will give you just seven days to hit your wagering target, while others will offer you 30 to 90 days. The easiest way to make time limits less of an issue is to find low wager casino offers. If you have to stake less, it shouldn’t take you as long to do it. Simple.

Cashable vs. Non-cashable Bonuses

Some casinos allow you to withdraw your bonus, some don’t. A cashable casino bonus means you can withdraw your free credits and anything you’ve won via those credits (i.e. your bonus winnings). A non-cashable bonus only allows you to withdraw your bonus winnings once you’ve hit the specified playthrough.

This is the most asked question when it comes to this topic. Although it seems unfair to say “hey, here’s some free money but you have to bet in order to get it”, the reality is that it’s not. As they say, nothing in life comes for free and the same is true in the casino world. The reason it’s necessary to impose playthrough conditions on bonuses is to ensure people don’t abuse the system. Without asking people to wager XX amount, people would simply sign-up, take their free cash and leave without putting anything back into the system.

Online casinos are businesses and they wouldn’t survive very long if they gave away all of their money. Therefore, if you want promotions and cash giveaways, everyone needs to put in a little bit of effort. Fortunately, because the UK online casino scene is thriving, there is a lot of competition. This means that operators are always looking for an edge. One of the best ways to achieve said edge is to make it easy for you to keep what you win with low playthrough conditions. As a consumer, you should be seeking out the lowest wagering requirements casino possible and playing there. By doing that, you’ll not only get the best deals, but force other operators to follow suit so they can win your custom.

Although it’s a fairly simple, process, it’s worth explaining before we move on. When you it comes to calculating your playthrough target, there are two possible scenarios:

Bonus Limit

The best low wager online casino bonuses will use this system. Put simply, the wagering figure is based on the size of your bonus and nothing else. So, if you receive £100 free and the playthrough was 25X, you’d have to wager 25 X 100 = 2,500.

Bonus + Deposit Limit

A low wagering welcome bonus won’t typically use this structure, but it’s possible. In these situations, the size of your bonus and deposit are relevant. Let’s say you picked up a 200% welcome bonus at one of the top-rated UK casino sites. A £50 deposit would entitle you to £100 in bonus cash. The wagering limit is 25X on your deposit (£50) and your bonus (£100) or £150 in total, which means you have to stake £3,750. In general, the bonus + deposit amount structure forces you to bet more.

Is it possible to avoid wagering requirements? Unfortunately, it’s not. However, you can do a few things to ensure you get a better deal…

Find the Best Low Wagering Requirement Casino

The easiest way to improve your potential return rate is to find the best online and mobile low wager casino offers. The market is always changing and that means you need to stay on top of the action. Our reviews and updates will keep you in the loop, but you should also do your own research. As a general rule, the current average playthrough is around 35X. So, if you can find anything below that, you can class is as a low wager online casino.

Play Low Wagering Casino Game

Slots not only have the best contribution weighting, they allow you to bet the most in the least time. The average online slot completes a revolution in three seconds. Even if you’re only betting £0.10, it’s extremely easy to roll through hundreds of revolutions in just a few minutes and, in turn, meet any wagering requirements with relative ease.

Know the Numbers

Knowledge is crucial in any situation where you want to collect some free credits. As well as the initial wagering limit, you need to know the weighting contributions, how long you have to unlock your reward and any other restrictions that could affect your play.

Stay Active but Manage Your Money

It’s tempting to bet above your normal limits when you’re chasing bonuses, but you shouldn’t. Even though the allure of extra cash is hard to ignore, no bonus is worth more than your bankroll. In practice, you shouldn’t bet any more or less than you normally would. Staying active is the real key to releasing the true value of the best online casino bonuses.

There are some sites that have done away with wagering requirements. Although these aren’t technically known as low playthrough UK casinos, they do have lower than average limits. One of the first operators to offer wager-free casino bonuses was BGO. Giving newbies 100 bonus spins with no playthrough, the site has pioneered a new way of welcoming newbies.

Why has BGO done this? Firstly, BGO is trying to gain an edge over its peers by offer something new. Beyond that, the operator is trying to stay in line with the UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC) licensing rules. Following a string of issues with casinos not making their wagering rules clear enough, the UKGC has asked operators to be more upfront about the real cost of their bonuses. To avoid any confusion, BGO has made things simple and become a no wager bonus casino.

How can BGO do this? In some respects, BGO is taking a financial hit by becoming a wager-free UK casino. However, it has introduced fees in other places to help offset any additional costs. For example, when you make a deposit or withdrawal, there will be a £2.50 each time. Beyond this, the welcome bonus is now filled with spins rather than free cash. Although bonus spins are great, you’re not guaranteed to win when you use them. Therefore, BGO is playing the odds and assuming that some new customers will be cost neutral.

What does the future hold for wagering requirements? Over the last decade, limits have increased. In the early noughties, it used to be the case that 20X would be considered a standard playthrough. Today, it’s more like 35X. In fact, if you could find a site offering 20X, it would be likely be the lowest wagering requirements casino in the industry. Based on this trend, it’s possible to say the limits will continue to increase. However, we believe things are more likely to level off.

What’s more, we’re probably going to see more operators adopting a similar structure to BGO. Wager-free casino bonuses are easier to understand and more appealing to casual players. With operators always looking to welcome fresh blood, these types of offers should become more prevalent in the coming years.

If you’ve glanced at our guide to low wagering requirements casinos and thought “TL:DR”, don’t worry. Even though you’ve probably missed out on some handy tips, here’s an FAQ that covers the main topics:

What are wagering requirements?

Before you can withdraw an online casino bonus, you have to bet a certain amount of money. The limit is a multiple of your bonus or bonus + deposit amount for example 20X a £10 bonus = £200 playthrough.

Do all online casino bonuses have wager requirements?

In general, yes. Although no playthrough bonuses are now starting to emerge, it’s typically the case that you’ll have to stake a certain amount before you can release your bonus.

Do all casinos have the same playthrough limits?

No. In the spirit of competition, operators set the conditions they believe will be most appealing to customers.

Do all game contribute equally to a playthrough?

No. There are low wagering casino games and there are those that aren’t. In other words, your bets in certain games won’t contribute to the wagering requirements in the same way as others. As a general rule, low wagering slots are the best games to play.

What happens if I don’t meet the wagering requirements?

If you run out of time or hit the withdraw button before meeting your playthrough limit, you’ll lose your bonus.