You might not realise this, but when you register for an account at an online bingo site, you are actually entering into a contract with the company. They will ask you if you have read the small print and just like the rest of us, you will no doubt put a little tick in the box without a second thought and move on as quickly as you possibly can. It’s always worth taking a look at this small print though as it contains a lot of really useful information that could have an impact on your player experience, things such as game rules, bonus policy, their privacy policy and probably most importantly, their wagering requirements.
A wagering requirement is basically the amount you will need to spend (usually on bingo alone) before you can withdraw any of your winnings. These vary from site to site and can have a massive impact on the chances of actually spending any jackpots you may win on anything more than bingo tickets. You tend to find that the brands that offer more free money and larger deposit bonuses impose higher wagering requirements, as this gives them the opportunity to claw back some of the money they give away.
Wagering requirements usually take the form of a multiple of how much you deposit combined with the value of the bonus you receive. So say for example you sign up to Costa Bingo and make an initial deposit of £10, receiving a 500% bonus worth £50. Their wagering requirement is set at 4x, so you would need to wager 4 x (£10 + £50) = £240 on bingo cards before you can cash out any of your winnings. It’s not all bad though, because Costa Bingo is one of the sites that give you a way around having to meet these requirements. They will allow you to cash out your winnings, but it will mean you forfeiting whatever bonus money you have remaining in your account as a result of your deposit.
Wagering Requirements – Examples
To show you how these requirements can differ, here is how that same £10 would be treated by a handful of other sites:
Elf Bingo
- Wager £10 and receive a 200% deposit bonus worth £20
- No specific wagering requirements but you must wager at least £30 before making a withdrawl (this could be a £10 deposit and £20 worth of winnings)
In this instance, you can withdraw as soon as you have wagered the required £30 and have £30 real cash in your account BUT any bonus funds or loyalty points in your account will be forfeited.
Wink Bingo
- Wager £10 and receive a 250% deposit bonus worth £25
- Wagering requirements are 2 x (deposit + bonus)
- Which equates to 2 x (£10 + £25) = £70 wagering requirement
Wagering requirements are not set in stone with brands on the 888 software. So long as you have deposited the minimum amount required in your lifetime at the site you can withdraw prior to meeting wagering requirements but bonus funds will be lost.
Raw Bingo
- Wager £10 and receive a 350% deposit bonus worth £35
- Wagering requirements are 4 x (deposit + bonus)
- Which equates to 4 x (£10 + £35) = £180 wagering requirement
Unlike the previous two examples where just the loss of bonus funds is the thing to consider when depositing and withdrawing, at the Cozy Games brands wagering is STRICT! If not met, you cannot withdraw.
You may think this sounds a bit harsh, but this is something they need to do to keep players loyal to their brand and actually stay in business. If wagering requirements were not in place, people could simply follow the free money, play and then walk away with a pocket full of cash, which may be good for them, but the industry could not sustain the constant financial hits. Not all wagering requirements are the same though, so you might also find that some brands that give the option to opt out of the free bonus money altogether, meaning you will only be able to play with the money you deposit, but you will be able to withdraw as soon as you have played through it.
The legislation in regards to wagering requirements actually changed in October last year, after the Advertising Standards Authority started receiving an increasing number of complaints about terms and conditions. This is why you will now find a lot of sites have changed how their deposit bonuses work, with you needing to deposit and spend a set amount of money before unlocking any bonus money. For example, William Hill is one of the biggest online gaming brands in the country, and if you register for an account and deposit £10, you will need to spend £10 before they reward you with a £20 bingo bonus and £20 games bonus.
