If you’re even slightly familiar with the world of online casinos you’ll know that there are numerous different types of casino bonuses out there.  The most commonly found type is the deposit bonus which has been designed to get the casino player to make a deposit at the casino.  Usually these types of bonuses include a “match” feature where the casino offers to match the deposited amount to a certain percentage for example, 100% of the deposit.  This means that should the player deposit $100 then he/ she will receive a bonus to the value of $100 from the casino.

Though it may seem that the player gains $100, in this example the real advantage is not 100% due to the fact that wagering requirements come into play.  These are integral factors in bonus offerings that people rarely look at in the “terms and conditions” section of the offering and while they may be stated in different ways, they always have the same objective.  Most commonly you’ll find that the wagering requirement is that the deposit and bonus must be wagered a specific number of times before the cashout is allowed.  If you take the example of 100% on a $100 deposit, the wagering requirement could be 25 times the deposit plus the bonus, that is $200 (bonus plus deposit amounts) multiplied by 25, which give you $5000 which needs to be wagered before you can “take advantage” of the bonus by cashing out.

So if you have a total of $5000 that needs to be wagered less $200 in the account (bonus plus deposit) then the $4800 needs to be made up before you can cash out.  This balance may come from two sources, firstly, any winnings you accrue during your game play and secondly through the deposit of further funds by the player.  Obviously the amount from winning is up to chance but is the more preferable option because in fact the player would really have to deposit $4900 to make use of the $100 given to him/her by the casino.  This effectively means that the bonus is a 2% one instead of 100% one.  If winnings do come into play in the equation then the bonus percentage may be higher but as any seasoned gambler knows, you don’t always win.

There are other bonuses where should a player wager a specified amount during a promotional period, then a bonus will be awarded.  In these types of bonuses, no wagering requirements exist as the requirements are already covered in the specified wagering amount to qualify for the bonus.  In a recent promotion, one casino offered a $100 bonus for wagering $3500.  This means that the player gets a 3% bonus.

So next time there is a “huge” bonus on offer at the casino, take a closer look at the wagering requirements and work out the actual percentage that you’ll benefit from instead of taking the offer at face value.