Understanding the Terms and Conditions
It’s very important to understand the terms and conditions before claiming each bonus. The casinos aren’t in the habit of just giving away free cash, so they often attach sizeable requirements to the promotional funds before a customer can withdraw them. Each casino’s terms will be different, so it’s crucial that you check them every time you join a new one.
The exact wagering requirements of bonuses will vary from venue to venue. You’ll often find that any winnings must be played through at least twenty times before you can cash out. Casinos often promote incredibly lucrative sounding offers with colossal wagering requirements. This is because many potential customers don’t bother to check the terms and conditions (usually sneakily hidden in minute text somewhere at the bottom of the offer page itself). Remember: the lower the rollover figure, the better the deal is for the player.
In additional to the large rollover requirements, the casino will often exclude certain games from wagering. Commonly they’ll contribute a percentage towards the overall rollover. Particularly high return-to-player slots might only contribute 25-50%, and if you’re thinking of playing perfect strategy blackjack to grind through a massive bonus then you’re probably out of luck. Being such a low house edge game (when played correctly), blackjack is usually subject to the stringent of restrictions. It’s common to see it listed as contributing as little as 5% towards wagering, and sometimes it’s excluded entirely.
Despite this, we highly recommend getting involved with some no deposit bonuses. They’re a fantastic way to feel out a casino and see if the games are to your tastes. That’s why we’ve selected the best Australian no deposit casinos where Aussies can sign up, get free bonus cash and have safe, fun and enjoyable gaming experience.
Wagering Requirements
All casino “bonus cash” has wagering requirements. If it didn’t, it would just be cash. When we use the term wagering requirements, rollover, or play through, we’re referring to the number of times the total bonus amount must be bet back through the casino before a cash out is possible. This will usually (but certainly not always) include any winnings from the bonus cash too. Let’s look at an example:
I receive $10 bonus cash from the casino. The terms state that I must wager it at least 20 times before I can withdraw. They also require that any winnings from the original bonus must also be wagered the same number of times too. I make ten $1 spins on a machine and I’m lucky enough to win another $10. According to the casinos terms and conditions, I must now place at least $400 worth of bets on eligible games.
Permitted Games
Not all games are created equal in terms of no deposit casino bonuses (unfortunately). A look through the terms and conditions of a few offers will show you that some only allow bonus funds to be spent on a small list of games, and others place heavy wagering restrictions on their more lucrative offerings. Games in which the house edge is very low, video poker and blackjack for example might be excluded entirely from wagering. Certain slots will likely be affected too, and will contribute less than 100% to the requirements.
In the same no deposit bonus example we mentioned earlier, let’s suppose that the house also state that blackjack only contributes 5% towards the bonus requirements. I bet my $10 on a single hand of blackjack, and win again. Now, if I was to continue to wage my bonus at the same table, instead of the $400 I would be required to bet my way through $8,000 instead.
Maximum Winnings
Another trick casinos like to pull to stop themselves from going broke at the hands of bonus abusers is to set a maximum amount you can win using bonus cash. This is self-explanatory. All winnings over the amount stated in the terms will be forfeited. Of course, you’ll still have to complete the wagering requirements too. Imagine how devastated you’d be if you took down a progressive jackpot under such restrictions. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
