What are No Wagering Casino Sites?
Simply put, no wagering online casino sites run promotions that are free of wagering requirements. Although they’re a rare breed, there are a few casino operators that regularly offer such deals. See the operators on this page – each one includes some kind of bonus that’s without wagering.
What are Wagering Requirements?
A wagering requirement is a condition imposed by both established and new casino sites. They’re applied to all manner of bonus deals and welcome offers including free spins promos, first deposit bonuses, second deposit bonuses and so on.
In essence, they’re multiples of deposits and/or bonus amounts that must be played through before the funds and any winnings derived thereof, may be withdrawn.
Wagering requirements have long been considered a ‘necessary evil’ in the casino and bingo worlds – we’ll talk about why later on. To the uninitiated, the multiples that players must wager before they can access their bonus winnings seem almost laughable. But for seasoned online casino players, they’re merely an obstacle to negotiate.
Popular No Wagering Slots
There’s an extensive range of slots used by casino operators as part of bonus deals without wagering requirements. NetEnt’s Starburst is probably the most prolific of the lot and is widely used among UK online casinos. Some offers enable gamers to get 100 spins although these aren’t nearly as common. In fact, it seems that 50 free spins are the standard limit for most white label operators.
Examples of a No Wagering Casino Promotion
As you can see from the casino operators featured above, wager-free bonus promotions can take a variety of forms. Here are a few examples.
Free Spins Without Wagering
In many instances, free spins bonus deals are offered by a casino with no wagering requirements of any kind. They’re often known as ‘no wagering free spins’ or ‘zero wagering bonus spins’.
These bonuses are among the most popular no wagering casino promotions of all and tend to be included as part of a welcome package and/or a VIP scheme. In their latter form the free spins are intended as an extra perk for high-rolling players with big budgets.
New players might not be aware of how casino operators convey their no wagering free spins offers. Believe us, the practice has become a craft in itself. A lot of bonus promotions are easy to spot and are expressed unequivocally. But there are some that require closer inspection. Take free spins bonuses for example.
When a casino breathlessly proclaims that it’s offering free spins without wagering, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all be mindful of the wording. When playthrough rules are removed from a game such as Book of Dead (very popular when it comes to welcome bonuses), it might be indicated like so:
‘Get Your No Wagering Free Spins Bonus on Book of Dead’
‘Claim Wager-Free Bonus Spins on Book of Dead’
‘Claim your Free Spins Bonus on Book of Dead – No Wagering Required’
‘Get 100 No-Wager Spins on Book of Dead’
‘No Wagering Bonus for 50 Free Spins on Book of Dead’
‘Up to 50 Free Spins Bonus on Book of Dead – No Strings Attached’
Obviously, should you come across a free spins bonus offer such as the last one, you’ll want to check precisely what ‘no strings attached’ actually means. It may have absolutely nothing to do with the 50 free spins.
In fairness, a UK-based casino that operates free spins bonus deals without play-through rules will clearly state how their offer works in the terms and conditions. More often than not, any winnings generated from the 50 free spins (or whatever the amount being offered), will be placed in a withdrawable account after all the free spins have been used up.
To claim this kind of wagering free bonus, you’ll often need to make a deposit before becoming eligible. With that said, there do exist certain bonus offers with no wagering requirements that don’t need any kind of deposit.
No Deposit Free Spins – No Wagering Requirements
No deposit casino deals with free spins, although rare, do actually exist. They’re expressed in some of the following ways: ‘no wager free spins no deposit’, ‘free spins no deposit no wager’, ‘no deposit no wager free spins’ or ‘free spins no deposit no wagering’
Regardless of the jargon employed, these deposit bonuses don’t require you to part with any initial funds and are usually part of a sign-up deal. This of course makes them well-suited to new players.
However, to offset the risk of featuring free spins no wagering bonus deals without deposits, certain casino restrictions will often be placed on the number of spins credited to your account. So don’t expect to receive a massive amount – 50 free spins is about the going rate for casino operators brave enough to peddle such offers. In some cases, you may be able to get 100 free spins but that really is pushing it.
How to Claim Free Spins No Wagering Bonuses?
Claiming a free spins no wagering bonus at a casino, whether with a deposit or not, is relatively straightforward. First of all, you’ll need to find a casino that’s targeting new players – these types of bonuses are often only available with a welcome offer. Then you need to register and may have to deposit £10 or more. Once this is done, the free spins should be credited to your account.
Deposit Bonuses with No Wagering Requirements
Far more common than the ‘free spin no deposit no wagering’ bonus deals are those welcome offers that involve making a deposit that isn’t beset by wagering requirements – in fact, these deposit bonus variants are relatively common in the casino and bingo sectors and can be applied to a player’s first deposit as well as their second and third.
What kind of Deposit Will do I Need to Make?
In order to access casino bonus promotions with no wagering requirements, you might only have to deposit £10. This will obviously vary according to the online casino as well as the bonus that you’re trying to unlock. But generally, if you deposit £10, that will suffice, certainly with regards to the most popular casino networks.
Time-Limited Wager – Free Promotions
In the long run, it can be pretty expensive for a web-based casino to constantly offer free spins no wagering bonuses or indeed deposit bonuses, without any sort of wagering requirements. It just doesn’t make good business sense. This is why many such offers are only available periodically. Sometimes they’re available for 7 days only, (yes really, 7 days) other times for a couple of weeks. The trick for players is to find them as soon as they’re unleashed by a bingo or casino operator.
Inexperienced or new customers need to be aware that casino sites apply them to deposit bonuses as well as free spins offers. Unfortunately, it’s often the case that the casino operator will include harsh limits that just don’t leave enough time to satisfy wagering rules.
With this in mind, we’d recommend avoiding free spins or welcome promotions subject to anything less than 30 days. Promos that last 7 days are often provided by online casinos that are well aware of just how unfeasible such a time limit actually is. So maybe you should avoid such operators altogether.
How to Claim a Bonus with No Wagering Requirements?
There are a variety of ways to claim a bonus that have no wagering requirements. Some casino operators will require you to enter an exclusive code when you make the first deposit. For other casino sites, you’ll need to place your first deposit on a specific game, say Book of Dead.
As already mentioned, you probably won’t need to spend a great deal to activate such a bonus – some will only require you to deposit £10. Whatever the case may be, be sure to check the terms and conditions before claiming any bonus with no wagering requirements. If the operator is above board, you’ll be able to find detailed terms and conditions about how you go about claiming the offer.
How to Find Good No Wagering Casino Sites?
You can of course rely on online casino review sites such as Inside Casino. We regularly feature information about bonus offers and promotions that are free of wagering requirements – on this very page in fact, This section is constantly being updated so be sure to check back regularly.
And as you can see from the casino platforms above, there are some new casino sites offering pretty decent no wagering casino promotions. Indeed, some of them actually constitutes good deals for both seasoned and new players. With that said, it’s worth getting a full understanding (if you don’t already) of wagering requirements and how they can affect your gaming experience. Let’s now consider why casino providers insist on imposing play-through rules when offering bonuses and promotions.
Why Casino Sites Impose Wagering Requirements?
It seems that a lot of casino operators offer welcome bonuses with one hand, but then try to take the benefits away with the other by applying wagering requirements? Are they mean and spiteful? Are they greedy opportunists that are trying to lure new players with seemingly amazing free spins bonus offers and the like?
Well possibly – maybe we’ll explore these questions in our casino articles section at a later date. But the fact is that the iGaming industry is fiercely competitive.
Players Money
Consequently, casino operators are constantly trying to find new ways to set themselves apart from their many, many competitors. Offering free spins bonuses and deposit bonuses is the best way to keep existing players as well as attract new customers.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a new casino or one that’s been around the block a few times. These offers are absolutely essential for continued success – after all, without players, any iGaming site is going to go under. Nonetheless, proffering such offers can be quite risky.
Bonus Abuse
For instance, if wagering requirements weren’t applied to a welcome bonus or promotion, players could, in theory sign up and then disappear into the blue yonder with their winnings – believe it or not, bonus abuse is a major issue for casino websites. Therefore, to make sure that they don’t lose money hand over fist, online casinos often apply some sort of wagering requirement.
Anti-Money Laundering Measure
Casino operators also install play-through rules to guard against money laundering. Because players have to wager the amount they deposit before getting their hands on any winnings, a person looking to launder money would have to bet their money first. And if you consider the sad fact that a typical wagering requirement tends to be pretty spiteful, the whole enterprise would become rather expensive for the criminal.
How to Spot Bonus Wagering Requirements?
In the past, wagering requirement stipulations were often hidden in the terms and conditions. Naturally, most casino operators weren’t terribly keen on their players learning about what often amounted to some pretty dastardly little caveats.
So they made sure that any pertinent information pertaining to their free spins wagering requirements was at least a click away from the glaring headlines deviously proclaiming their bonuses.
Thankfully, the UK Gambling Commission caught on to this grotty little practice and made significant changes to the regulations relating to the promotion of bonus offers such as free spins. Now, all online casinos have to provide clear details about every single wagering requirement on their site, regardless of whether it applies to free spins, deposit bonuses, tiered bonus schemes or VIP bonus deals.
In summary, casinos that do disclose their wagering rules are able to use the rights reserved for them under current gambling legislation to continue applying these requirements.
How are Wagering Rules Expressed?
Wagering rules are signified by a multiple such as x50 which relates to free spins promos. Come across a casino that’s deployed such a multiple and you will of course have to play through your deposit and or bonus funds before you’re able to withdraw any winnings.
Wagering Rules and 100% Bonus Promotions
But how does one interpret these rules when they’re part of a wider promotion such as a 100% bonus match? Let’s use a 100% bonus offer of up to £200 as an example. You make the first deposit of £100 and receive another £100 on top, meaning you’ve got £200 to play with.
Now that the 100% bonus side of things has been covered, we need to apply the wagering multiple of x50. In short, you’ll need to play through your £200 fifty times before you’re able to withdraw any winnings. That’s a cool £10,000 you’ve got to part with before you get your deposit back not to mention any winnings. Nice.
We don’t want to be too negative here because it’s by no means a given that you’ll lose the whole £10,000 without winning something. But it’s so important to be aware of the numbers involved. Also, try not to be fooled by those enormous headlines waxing lyrical about 100% bonus matches and the like. While they can look rather enticing at first glance, there’s often a knuckle-sandwich waiting around the corner in the form of wagering requirements.
It goes without saying then, that once you’ve discovered the wagering rule, you should make a beeline to the terms and conditions to see whether it applies to the first deposit, the bonus amount or both.
What Level of Bonus Wagering is Acceptable?
Absolutely none whatsoever! Ok, so this is simply not possible for the vast majority of casino operators. But thankfully, most aren’t stupid enough to impose wagering of more than x60 on their bonus offers. Unfortunately, it follows that most casino sites won’t offer wagering rules below x20 either (for the majority of welcome bonuses anyway).
Bonus Wagering – Things to Keep In Mind
There are additional caveats that can have an enormous impact on a free spins promotion that’s subject to wagering requirements. Allow us to introduce the concept of game weighting.
Game Weighting
Weighting is one of the most important things to consider when evaluating free spins wagering requirements. The term describes the degree to which a particular casino game will contribute toward play-through rules. It’s usually expressed as a percentage and is obviously important to free spins and welcome bonus deals of all kinds.
In most cases, online slots contribute 100% towards wagering. Because these games favour the house, operators are far more comfortable about assigning full weighting. However, this isn’t usually the case for table games such as roulette, in which the player has a better chance of winning.
In many instances, they contribute just 10% towards wagering requirements which doesn’t really spell good news for players looking to play through their deposit/bonuses without losing out.
Capped Winnings
Many an online casino will offer free spins bonuses with no wagering requirements that include capped winnings. Both established and new customers should of course be fully aware of this before making any sort of deposit.
How to Deal with Casino No Wagering Rules?
Grim acceptance is the best way to deal with wagering requirements, whether they apply to bonus matches or free spins allurements. We do recognise that for new customers, this is easier said than done. It’s worth remembering that they’re a casino’s rights, reserved albeit exclusively for bonuses – so they’re part and parcel of online gambling.
Whether you’re able to find a no wagering casino or not, ALWAYS read the small print attached to all bonuses. That way, you’ll be in a better position to make the most out of your casino gaming experience.
Low Wagering Alternatives
Despite the natural urge to find wager-free online casinos, it’s often the case that low wagering casinos actually constitute better value for the player. This is because the operator can offer larger bonuses and in some cases more free spins – as you’ve probably noticed, most wagering free promotions aren’t anywhere near as generous as standard bonuses. Therefore, the trick is to find the perfect balance between wager-free deals and wager specific allurements.
Our Online Casino Reviews
As well as keeping you abreast of the very latest no wagering casinos, we provide other online casino reviews and comprehensive information about some of the top content distributors and developers. We also offer insights into the many blockbuster online slots and table games that currently grace the iGaming landscape. Don’t forget to check our articles section too, where you’ll find thought pieces about the industry in addition to player guides and game tips.