Three Casino Bonus Terms and Conditions You Must Look Out For
Casino bonuses and promotions are the life and soul of any great gaming site. They reward players for their loyalty, give you a chance to boost your bankroll and can even offer life changing sums of money or prizes! However, they aren't without terms and conditions and it's vital you read these properly before deciding to opt-in to a promotion!
We know, the text is small, every other word is jargon and reading through is cutting into your precious gaming time, but if you don't read the terms and conditions thoroughly you could be caught out later on. Luckily, in today's guide we're looking at three major terms and conditions which must be paid attention to. We'll show you why they're important, how they affect your casino bonuses and promotions, and how you can make sure your casino of choice is acting fairly.
Wagering Requirements
If you've ever played at an online casino before and taken out a welcome bonus, you may already be familiar with the term ‘wagering requirement'. Wagering requirements are, simply put, the amount of times you need to play though a bonus before you are able to withdraw any winnings. So, for example, if you're given a £10 bonus which is tied to a 10x wagering requirement, you'll have to wager £100 on eligible games before you can withdraw any winnings gained from the bonus.
Although wagering requirements can be the bane of your life if you're a casino bonus and promotion hunter, it is important to understand that they are, in fact, absolutely necessary. This is because wagering requirements are actually what allows the casino to offer promotions; they ensure that players can't just take a bonus, win and then leave.
Instead, the players must keep giving the casino money for a little longer. It may seem unfair on the surface, but we must always remember than casinos are businesses at the end of the day, and therefore by imposing wagering requirements, it means they can stay in operation and keep giving you regular, rewarding bonuses.
That being said, some casinos will rip you off. That's another fact of life and therefore you need to be wary when accepting any casino bonus or promotion. A good general rule to follow is that if a wagering requirement is set at 60x or more, its probably not worth it. It's pointless to accept a bonus with high wagering requirements as it may mean you won't see any of your winnings for a very long time.
Maximum Winnings
Another way in which casinos may protect their own profits is by imposing a maximum win amount on bonuses and promotions. As the name suggests, this is a maximum amount of money that can be won from a bonus or from any extra spins the casino may grant you with.
For example, you may take a £20 bonus from the casino, and proceed to win hundreds on a slot game, however if the bonus has a maximum win of £300 for example, any winnings beyond this figure won't be paid.
In the same way as wagering requirements are put into place to stop the casino from loosing to much money, maximum win caps ensure that the casino won't have to pay out hundreds and thousands of pounds from a free bet. Like wagering requirements, when considered carefully, maximum win caps make a lot of sense, but they can sting if you weren't aware of them beforehand.
Imagine thinking you'd hit the jackpot, only to realise the specific bonus you took out will only honour winnings up to a couple of hundred quid? This is why it's important to make sure you know if your casino promotion or bonus does come with a maximum win cap, as from here you can work out where you stand and how much you'll be able to win.
Time Limits
Almost every promotion and casino bonus will be subject to a time limit. This, as you can probably guess, is a period of time in which you must spend your bonus, or fulfill bonus requirements, before it is removed from your account. In general, this works in two ways; first of all there are time limits set on extra spins, which simply require you to spend the extra spins within a space of time (usually around a week). This often happens when the extra spins are offered to promote a new game and therefore the casino wants you to play it straightaway.
On the other hand, time limits can also be imposed for match deposit bonuses and this is where things get a little more complicated. A time limit on a match deposit bonus will give you a certain period of time (usually around 30 days) in which you must complete the wagering requirements. This stops players from simply working off their wagering requirements via regular play, and forces them to spend more, and faster, than they may otherwise do.
The problem, however, is that some casinos impose unrealistically narrow time periods which means that many players must forfeit their bonuses. This isn't very nice behaviour but it isn't out of the ordinary, so do need the terms and conditions thoroughly to make sure you've got ample time to fulfill any bonus criteria.
