Special bonuses and promotions are offered by almost all Canadian casinos. These incentives are meant for both new and existing players. In the highly competitive gaming industry, bonuses are essential as they are an important marketing strategy to attract new players and to build up their online player database. Despite the fact that most bonus offers appear to be quite lucrative, Canadian players should not blindly proceed with these casino bonuses. Players should read the bonus terms and conditions meticulously, paying special attention to the wagering requirements. Players should also realize that all bonuses come with a hidden price in order to make the casino money.
Bonus Restrictions
It is extremely important for Canadian players to read the fine print and fully understand the terms and conditions prior to claiming bonuses, as specific offers usually have a set of restrictions and rules attached to them. When players carefully read and comprehend the terms and conditions, they avoid misunderstandings related to claiming a bonus or withdrawing bonus money. Wagering requirements are the most common bonus restrictions and are often termed as playthrough or rollover requirements. In order to explain this concept, consider the sign up bonus offers of the Amsterdams Casino and G’Day Casino. The former offers a 100% bonus up to a maximum of C$555, while the G’Day Casino gives unlimited 100% deposit bonus and an additional C$500 each on two subsequent deposits.
Wagering Requirements - Specific Wagers
There are two common types of wagering restrictions. These depend on the types of games played at the casino with the bonus money and also how much a player is allowed to wager on a game. The first restriction will direct Canadian players to specific games based on chance such as online slots and scratch cards. In the case of the second restriction, players will get strict single wager limits.
In the example above, the bonus offered by G’Day Casino has 35x wagering requirements (both bonus and deposit amount) on slots, scratch cards and fun and ball style games. But, certain slots Jackpot 6,000, Dead or Alive and Blood Suckers have a 175x wagering. The other types of games such as table games and online poker need to be played with cash only. Apart from this, for a wager to be counted towards the wagering requirement, players have to wager at least C$0.35 on slots and scratch cards.
Wagering rollover requirements of 50x (both bonus and deposit amount) are needed for the Amsterdams Casino bonus. Slot games count 100% towards the wagering restrictions. However, certain slot games such as Kings of Chicago, Devils Delight and Big Bad Wolf count only towards 50%. Furthermore, table games count towards 20%, while video poker variants and live casino games count towards 10%. Additionally, the minimum wagering limits are C$2.50 for table games, C$0.50 for scratch cards and slots and C$5 for live dealer games and video poker.
Wagering Requirements Explained
Canadian casinos also impose restrictions on the bonus money through wagering requirements. This means that a deposit amount and/or bonus must be wagered a certain number of times in order for a player to cash out their winnings. For example, until players at G’Day Casino meet the 35x wagering requirements (both the deposit and bonus), and players at Amsterdams Casino meet 50x wagering, (both deposit and bonus amounts), they cannot cash out any winnings.
Calculating The Playthrough Requirement
The rollover requirement can be calculated easily by Canadian online players. For instance, at GDay Casino, if a player deposits C$100 and gets a C$100 casino bonus, a total of C$200 will be credited towards the players account. If the player then decides to play the slot machines, he is required to wager 35 times C$200 (35*200) which is C$7,000. In the same way, the bonuses at Amsterdams Casino can also be calculated. If a player deposits C$100, he will get an additional C$100 as part of the casino bonus. As the wagering requirement is 50x (bonus + deposit), the player has to wager 50 times C$200 which is a C$10,000 wager. This has to be met for the bonus can be converted into cash and made available for the player to cash out.
Withdrawal Limits When Using Bonuses
There are also bonus restrictions such as withdrawal limits when players use their bonus money. However not all Canadian casinos impose this restriction. The examples cited here have withdrawal limits of C$500.Which means that only after the bonus wagering requirements are met, can this amount can be withdrawn.
Wagering Size Limits
In order to ensure that the casino has an edge over players, a restriction is placed on the amount players may wager at once. Casinos may limit the wager size to a percentage of the player’s bonus money in their account, or a limit to an absolute value such as $6 per spin. This prevents players from taking a chance by betting the entire bonus amount all at once. So that incase the player gets lucky, the wagering requirement cannot be cleared in few turns.
Summary
When all the aspects of wagering are considered, a player might find it difficult to earn something from casino bonuses. However, when players find a generous bonus with terms and conditions that are easy to meet, the player has a good chance of winning free cash. Canadian players should claim such bonuses and put them to good use. Players should take the time to understand the limitations of each bonus and the extent of wagering required in order to cash out their winnings
