Playthrough requirements, also called wagering requirements and rollover requirements, are usually associated with online casino bonuses. However, they can also be applied to the player’s initial deposit. In this post, we explain the playthrough meaning.
Online casinos apply playthrough requirements generally to protect themselves from going bankrupt when offering bonuses to their customers. Without these requirements, players would register, claim bonuses, use them in real money games, win, and cash the winnings out immediately, creating gaps in the casinos’ budgets. Most players want to withdraw their winnings immediately, and most operators try to prevent that.
Of course, different casinos have different rules and customers just have to find those that suit their personal preference. Online casinos from smaller casino operators cannot afford such generous bonuses, but they also still want to have the opportunity to offer bonuses and free spins, to encourage players to spend time playing real money games. (Sites from bigger casino operators can, however, experiment with more abundant bonus offers).
Playthrough requirements are also applied to normal deposits, even if no deposit bonuses were taken. This is done to prevent online casino players from money laundering activities. In this case, the playthrough requirements are usually between x1 and x3 times the size of the initial deposit. (Bigger rollover will be applied to deposit bonuses because this is the casino’s money gifted to the player. However, without deposit bonuses, users only play with their own cash and only meet the minimum rollout as fraud prevention).
We understand that playthrough requirements might seem very complicated to comprehend at first, but as soon as you understand how they work, you will easily assess any bonus money with rollover requirements applied. Hopefully, our step by step guide will provide a full explanation.
Understanding Playthrough Requirements in Online Casinos
What is a playthrough? Online casinos tend to offer numerous bonuses and promotions to their players and apply a bunch of quite tricky rules to those promotions, which can eventually be confusing.
And yet, there is one crucial element of any bonus that should always be considered in the first place. These are playthrough requirements.
Playthrough requirements basically indicate the number of times you need to wager the size of the given bonus funds in real money games to be allowed to request a withdrawal of the money you managed to win with this bonus.
This is the main rule for the majority of bonuses - players can use a bonus, be it cash or free spins, and win real money that sits on their balance. However, they are not allowed to withdraw any money won with the help of a particular bonus until the playthrough requirements for this particular bonus are met.
For example, if the player gets a $10 bonus money and wins $100 more, they cannot withdraw this $100 before they meet the playthrough requirements. If the playthrough requirements are x10, and the bonus money was $10, it means the player has to use $100 in real money games. If they are lucky enough, they win more as they play casino games while meeting the rollover requirements, and will have money on their balance to withdraw. Players wanting to know what is a playthrough balance should just check their casino account balance.
To quickly check out the bonus funds sum to wager, we recommend that our players use the wagering requirements calculator.
This rule might seem unfair for beginner players at first, because they feel that they own the money they win in online casino games, with or without the bonus. However, when a casino offers a bonus, it basically offers free money in addition to the money already deposited.
Moreover, casinos actually allow players to withdraw everything a player wins using the casino’s free money gift. The only serious condition to stick to is wagering requirements, and if you are lucky, you have it all. It might be unfair, but eventually easy to understand.
It is also easy to understand that most players will prefer low wagering requirements to higher ones to take the full advantage of the offered bonus. Wagering bonuses is tricky. But it also depends on the game types the casino offers; slots are the easiest for both casinos and players, so sites with many slots are more likely to offer more beneficial promotions. Almost every casino customer prefers to play slots, so this trend also meets the general request. However, an online sportsbook is unlikely to offer bonuses, which means wagering bonuses is also unnecessary! So, each case has its advantages.
What Most Online Casinos Require for Playthrough
At the time of writing this guideline, there is quite a clear pattern for common online casino playthrough requirements:
- 3x - x5 for cashback bonuses based on the player’s net loss;
- 30x - 50x the size of the bonus funds for deposit-based welcome bonuses and reload bonuses;
- x70 - x200 for bonuses given for extremely low deposits like $1 or $5.
It is important to understand that, normally, online casinos apply playthrough requirements only to the bonus cash given. So, if the bonus is $10 and the rollover is 30x, the bonus funds sum to wager is $300.
However, sometimes online casinos want to create an impression of being better and more advantageous for players and set their play through requirements at x20-x25 to attract players, especially newbies. Yet, if you read their terms and conditions carefully, you can easily find that the rollover works for the bonus and the deposit funds together.
That is, if the deposit is $10 and the bonus offer is $10, and the rollover is x10, the bonus funds sum to wager is not $100 but $200, twice as much. This is something for beginner-level players to remember.
How to Find Casino Bonuses with Low Wagering Requirements
Online casino bonuses with low playthrough requirements are usually either cashbacks that range between x1 and x10 maximum, or some very special exclusive bonuses that very few online casinos offer to promote themselves. (For example, low wagering requirements can be applied to prizes in loyalty programs).
One of the best options for any online casino gambler is a no playthrough bonus. No playthrough requirements are applied by the casino to such a bonus, and therefore, the player can get their real money winnings faster.
Such casinos are rare because far from all platforms can afford a no playthrough casino bonus. However, they promote themselves very proudly and loudly to stand out from the crowd and get noticed by potential customers. So, once you find a no wagering casino Canada that clearly claims that its bonus is wagerless, and the terms and conditions confirm, you can be sure that this is it.
Bonuses That Usually Have Wagering Requirements
All standard bonuses normally have some playthrough requirements attached. Bonuses listed below are among the most popular ones a player can stumble across when browsing through online casinos:
- No deposit bonus or sign-up bonus - this is usually a free cash bonus or some free spins bonuses the player can get as a reward for creating an account to start playing. online casino no deposit bonus no playthrough is needed to get the bonus, but all the other normal rules like rollover, win limits, etc., apply. No deposit bonus is an attractive offer, so casinos want to make sure that the customers actually play fair with those, instead of just hunting bonuses down and taking advantage of them. Free bonus is a rare case because far from each casino can afford it. Free bonus is only used to attract the players and encourage them, but it also makes every free bonus a loss for the casino. That’s why all the rules are in place and they are even stricter than for other promotions - including bigger rollovers.
- Deposit-based bonus - can be a welcome offer, a reload, or anything else. Players must make the minimum deposit necessary to claim the bonus, and follow all the requirements. Wagering bonuses that are based on deposit is also not easy, by the way.
- Free spins - free bets for online slot games given by the casino as a reward. Can be no deposit bonus low playthrough or deposit-based, welcome bonus or reload, or any other prize given at any point. When free spins bonuses are given, players must calculate the total worth of free spins in monetary value to understand how much they have to wager in games to meet the playthrough requirements. For example, if each spin is worth $0.5, and the playthrough requirements are x30, the player has to wager $15 in the game, total, to be able to receive whatever real cash they win from the spins. Free spins are easy to use so this is a very beneficial bonus. But it is always important to check the value of free spins (per spin) and the maximum winnings the player can withdraw.
Casino Bonuses Without Wagering Requirements
Unless the casino claims that its bonus is an online casino no playthrough bonus, it means it does have some playthrough requirements. However, sometimes other promotional offers also have zero rollover to meet:
- Cashbacks - can sometimes be no play through bonus;
- Loyalty rewards - can be a free credit for online casino that some sites give to players upon unlocking new levels in their loyalty programs;
- Comp points - don’t have rollover requirements when used directly for more bonuses, but have an exchange rate for bonus money. The rules vary depending on the casino.
Do All Casino Games Count Toward Wagering Requirements?
The normal set of rules for many casinos in that aspect is that online slots contribute 100%, and all other games, like live games, table games, video poker, etc., contribute from 50% or less, all the way to zero. Jackpot games are usually not allowed with an active bonus unless the bonus offer is granted specifically for a jackpot game. Sports betting also doesn’t count unless the casino offers a promotion specifically for sports betting (but this is a rare case because sports betting is usually mathematically easier to calculate and increase the chances of winning. For example, football fans definitely know how their favorite teams play. So, giving a bonus for sports is an unfair advantage).
So, different games contribute differently. Slots are the best with their 100% contribution because the casino site will still take a certain percentage from each winning bet. Slots are plenty so users don’t get bored, and slots are full of extra features, which makes wagering bonuses actually fun. A sports event, on the other hand, might be easier to calculate, so wagering bonuses on sports is usually not allowed.
There are also certain nuances in place. If the casino releases a bonus for specific games, it means only these games qualify for the bonus and contribute fully to playthrough requirements. If the player starts making bets on other games, they will not meet the rollover even if they spend all their playthrough balance.
Time Limits for Playthrough Requirements
Different wagering requirements usually have different deadlines - the time limit when the relevant bonus is still valid, and after this time, the bonus expires if the playthrough requirements have not been met.
Validity is decided upon by the casino - can be from 24 hours to three days for some high-value free spins bonuses, and up to 30 or 60 days for big welcome packages.
If the player fails to complete the playthrough requirements on time, the casino will remove the remains of the bonus from the balance, together with all the winnings associated with the bonus.
Are Some Playthrough Requirements Just Too Much?
It depends. The rollover of x30 might not seem big, but if the bonus was $100, then the player might find it hard to meet the rollover requirements.
On the other hand, x200 playthrough requirements seem absolutely through the roof, but for a bonus given for $1, it is an adequate rule.
It is always up to the player to decide if they want to sign up for a certain rule or not. If the casino is fair about its offer, and the player decides that the offer is too high to claim, no one forces the offer on the player. It is much worse when an online casino claims that the playthrough is low, only to hide an extra rule somewhere in fine print.
Can You Cancel a Casino Bonus After Claiming It?
It is always possible to opt out of the deal, or to decide not to take it at all. At CasinosHunter, we always recommend to avoid the bonus and just play with your own money if you feel that the bonus is tricky or incomprehensive.
Most players learn quite early how to beat wagering requirements. It is also possible to just abandon the bonus and stop trying to meet the playthrough requirements the moment it becomes exhausting. The player has to be ready for the fact that the winnings associated with this bonus will go, as well. However, all other winnings will stay.
It is especially recommended to abandon the bonus while trying to meet the playthrough requirements when the player cannot do it with the funds they already won, and has to deposit extra funds just to meet the rollover. In this case, risking even more money is not worth it. Eventually, it is about a positive gaming experience.
With three in online gambling, Patricia keeps the platform optimized and user-friendly. She is also responsible for informing the team about new devices and social media rules and tools. She ensures the site stays up-to-date and relevant in digital terms.
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Any online casino player would claim a 1,000 free no deposit bonus when given a chance. 1000 free spins would grant a very good opportunity for winning, of course, if you managed to meet the wagering requirements for this huge bonus in the first place.
To be honest, if winning at an online casino was simple, regardless of the sum you are ready to invest, then probably the step-by-step guidelines would have already been created and everyone would have won every time they logged into their casino accounts.