Oct 16, 2018  The notion of rollover is simple: there is an implied contractual obligation to risk your balance in exchange for receiving something like a welcome bonus at an online casino, which ensures that you do not immediately leave with the free cash. When the mandate has been reached, the extra portion is “released”.

If you visit BestOnlineGambling.com regularly, you probably see me mention rollover requirements somewhat frequently. Instead of explaining what rollover requirements are on every page that mentions them, I’ve decided to post a one-time explanation right here.

Rollover requirements, also known as wagering requirements, are found in the fine print of every casino bonus on the internet. Rollover requirements state that you must wager a certain amount of money before you can withdraw a bonus or the proceeds of a bonus.

For example, let’s say that you sign up at a random online casino that offers a 100% deposit bonus. You deposit $100 and get a $100 bonus. Let’s also say that this casino states that you must wager 20 times the deposit plus bonus amount (20x is a standard number in the industry).

This means that you must place a total sum of wagers equal to 20 times $200, which is $4,000 of betting action. The important thing to note here is that you do not have to lose $4,000 – you only have to place a total of $4,000 worth of bets. This sounds like a lot of money, but it’s actually pretty easy to rack up a lot of betting action without necessarily losing a lot of money.

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If you play slot machines, every spin of the reels counts towards meeting the wagering requirements. If you usually wager $1.00 per spin, you’ll reduce the wagering requirements by $1.00 every time you spin the reels. Over time, you will win some money and lose some money while meeting the wagering requirements.

Why do rollover requirements exist?

Online casinos implement rollover requirements because they don’t want to bleed money. If rollover requirements didn’t exist, players could just sign up to a casino, make a deposit and then withdraw a bunch of bonus money without playing a single game. Casinos would go out of business.

The same type of rule also exists for poker bonuses and sports betting bonuses. Gambling sites offer bonuses as a bonus for giving them your business. It just wouldn’t make sense to give away free money to every person who opens an account and then turns right back around and withdraws.

Gaming Exceptions

Make sure to always read the fine print of every deposit bonus before you sign up. Most casino bonuses come with terms and conditions that either exclude certain games or reduce the impact that certain games have on meeting the rollover requirements.

Blackjack, craps, video poker and baccarat are often excluded from meeting these wagering requirements. The reason these games are excluded or reduced is because they have a low house advantage. The house advantage in these games is so low that players could get these bonuses, place a bunch of even-money bets and leave with a profit almost every time.

Some casino bonuses do not exclude these games entirely, but they do reduce the impact that bets in these games have on meeting the wagering requirements. It is common to see casinos say that wagers in blackjack count by .50. This means that for every $1.00 you wager in blackjack, you reduce the remaining wagering requirements by $0.50.

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However, not all casino bonuses exclude certain games. For example, Lucky Red Casino often releases limited-time-offer deposit bonuses that do not exclude any games whatsoever. If you like to play even money games, make sure you always read the fine print before you claim a deposit bonus.