When spotting an attractive no deposit bonus, the first thing players usually pay attention to are wagering requirements. No matter how unpopular and unloved they are, they are an integral part of each online casino promotion, with a couple of exceptions.
So, how can a player actually beat playthrough requirements in no deposit bonuses?
Although there’s no perfect formula that works for every single promo available casinos-wide, there’s still a way to make the most of a bonus. What a punter should do is pay attention to a couple of details, such as game contribution percentage, and calculate the chances of completing the rollover without much fuss.
Follow These 5 Steps and Beat WR in Any ND Bonus!
When selecting a no deposit bonus, you need to do it wisely and analytically. Don’t just claim the first one that “seems fine” on the surface, take some time to analyze it.
Here are a couple of useful directions which will not only help you find the best bonus for yourself but will show you how to beat wagering requirements the easiest way there is.
#1 What Are Wagering Requirements?
Okay, all players are pretty much aware that WRs are inevitable ingredients of all casino bonuses, but interestingly, not all of them actually know what they represent.
A wagering requirement is how many times a player has to bet the bonus before it becomes real withdrawable money. Sometimes it refers to the amount of a bonus, while in other situations encompasses both the sum of a deposit and the accompanying bonus. Anything between 30-50x is seen as okay, while higher than that is categorized as difficult to achieve.
There’s also wagering on straight deposits, which on average varies between 1x and 3x, but can be higher as well. If that’s the case, we warmly advise you to look for some other online casino, as that’s unfair.
#2 How to Calculate Wagering Requirements?
It is said that math is good for health for many reasons, as, among all, boosts the capacity of the brain. This way we develop more neural connections and prepare ourselves to deal with more complex problems.
So, let’s do some math here, shall we?
The best way to explain how the calculation of rollover requirements works is via a practical example. If a player makes a deposit of $20 and gets a $40 bonus, with wagering requirements of 10x, the calculations would go as follows:
- BONUS: $20 x 10 (WR) = $200
- DEPOSIT+BONUS: ($20 + $40) x10 (WR) = $600
Therefore, if wagering requirements refer to a bonus amount only, you apply the first formula, but if the amount encompasses both bonus and deposit, then use calculation from the second example. Of course, in case of bonuses that are granted without funding the account, there’s no “deposit” in the equation.
#3 Contribution Percentage
Continuing to exercise your brain, we’d like to introduce you to game contribution percentage, and do a couple of more calculations. Taking a look at any casino’s Terms and Conditions, you have probably noticed that not all the games count equally.
Once again, there’s no better way to explain this but via one more practical example. Let’s say that you place a bet of $5, and you have two different games to play. One of them contributes 100%, while the other merely 50%.
- 100% WR contribution on a $5 bet would be $5
- 50% WR contribution on a $5 bet would be $2.5
In most cases, slots contribute 100%, as well as instant wins, scratch cards, and craps, while the others, such as table games and video poker contribute between 5-10%. Live dealer games are often fully excluded from contributing to playthrough.
#4 RTP and Variance
The fact that slots contribute so much is excellent, but it’s important to stress out that not all slot games are the same. And by that, we don’t mean the visuals.
You are probably familiar with the term return to player percentage or RTP for short. It tells you how much a single game will return compared to the amount invested. Of course, it doesn’t take a single bet placed into the account, but all bets placed on a specific release.
If a game has an RTP of 98%, it means that for $100 invested in bets, the machine will return 98%. The remaining part belongs to the casino. That sounds cool, doesn’t it?
Well, there’s a catch. Casinos mostly exclude high RTP titles from wagering requirements contribution. Those titles are usually classified as prohibited to play during WR completion.
Yet, there’s more than enough to choose from, so even if you cannot find the ones which contribute 99%, look for those with RTP of 98% or 97%. It’s still more than decent.
Also, pay attention to slot variance aka volatility. Most commonly, you will encounter three different types of variance- low, medium, and high.
Low volatility slots pay frequently but deliver smaller winnings. High variance slots pay big, but not so often, while the medium, as the name says, is the combination of these two- occasional wins and moderate amounts.
#5 Is There Enough Time to Meet the WRs?
One of the last things to bear in mind is the duration of the promo. Sometimes a playthrough can be moderate and achievable, but you need to complete it within 24 hours, otherwise, the bonus may be forfeited.
This, of course, also depends on the games which are included in contributing as well as the percentage. If all you can play are low RTP games that contribute 50-75%, then it may take a while to complete the rollover, and chances are, you won’t be able to manage it at all.
Final Thoughts
As you have seen from these tips and hints, it’s not possible to avoid them completely (except if you are lucky enough to encounter an online casino that offers zero wagering requirements), but it is possible to make them work for you.
Although this may seem like a time-consuming procedure, it’s actually the only way to beat WR. You can always refuse to claim a NDB, but why would you, if you know how to evaluate and make the most of it.
Always read Terms and Conditions, play responsibly!
