Why Online Casinos need to get rid of wagering requirements on bonuses
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27 Oct 2024 •
Reading time: 4 minutes Martyn Hannah, co-founder of online casino comparison site Comparasino, is calling for online casinos to stop imposing wagering requirements on bonuses. He says these conditions encourage players to gamble more than they can afford to, and create frustration and confusion among players.
Wagering requirements make it hard for players to win
Wagering requirements are a common condition of bonus offers in the gambling world. They dictate how many times players must wager their bonus money before they can withdraw any winnings. Online casinos attract new players with attractive welcome bonuses, but then impose sky-high wagering requirements, leaving players more likely to lose their winnings.
It gets worse when players are required to make additional deposits to meet the wagering requirements, in the hope of converting their bonus winnings into real money. What many players don’t realise is that they are often wagering (and losing) far more money than they will ever get back in bonus money.
Players misunderstand wagering requirements
Many players fail to complete wagering requirements and are left frustrated when they are unable to withdraw their bonus winnings. Hannah believes that many gambling companies assume that players understand how wagering requirements work, when in reality, they often don’t.
Yes, wagering requirements are usually listed in the small print of bonus terms and conditions, but how many people actually take the time to read through them before they start playing? And even if they do, few people understand exactly how these requirements work and how they apply to the bonus they have claimed.
In reality, players often have to wager thousands of pounds to be able to withdraw their bonus winnings. Take, for example, a standard 100% up to £100 welcome bonus with a 40x wagering requirement. This means that the player has to wager £4,000 (the £100 deposit money x 40) before they can access the £20 they have won from the bonus. Many casinos gamify this process with progress bars, allowing players to make additional deposits if they need to.
However, if a player doesn’t fully understand how wagering requirements work, they won’t understand why they might need to deposit more money to clear their bonus winnings. This often leads to disappointment and contributes to the high attrition rate at many online casinos.
How the UK Gambling Commission could regulate wagering requirements
While wagering requirements do degrade the player experience, the bigger problem is that they can encourage players to deposit and gamble more than they can afford. This flies in the face of what the UK government wants to achieve with the reforms introduced following the publication of the Gambling Act White Paper.
Martyn Hannah doesn’t believe in banning bonuses entirely, as has happened in some other regulated markets. However, he does think that the government and the Gambling Commission have missed an opportunity to do something about wagering requirements. “If it were up to me, I would abolish them altogether, but even imposing a maximum wagering requirement – say 10x maximum – would be a step in the right direction,” says Hannah.
The rise of no wagering bonuses
Fortunately, there are casinos taking matters into their own hands and offering no wagering bonuses. This was pioneered by PlayOJO and has since been adopted by other brands. Although the value of these bonuses is often lower, such as a few free spins or £5 in bonus money, there are no wagering requirements and players get to keep their winnings straight away.
According to Hannah, this is exactly what a welcome bonus should be: a way for players to try out the casino without risking their own money. If they win, they get to keep their winnings, which makes for a positive first experience with the brand. If that first experience is good, players are more likely to come back and play again.
This model also helps to differentiate casinos from the competition. With so many brands offering the same kind of welcome bonuses, a no wagering bonus immediately stands out. It also shows that the casino is honest and committed to providing a better gaming experience from the start.