Online Casino Wager Bonuses As a Tool For Customer Retention in 2023

Severe competition on the online gambling market forces its participants and online casino owners to use various tools aimed at customer retention. Thousands of commercials advertise free registration and first deposit bonuses. Beginner gamblers are easily attracted by such promo campaigns hoping to withdraw as much money as possible. However, frequently, they face a condition that usually prevents them from getting quick wins – wagers.

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Types of wager bonuses

• Registration bonuses;
• Bonuses for the first deposit;
• Bonuses for the subsequent deposits;
• Special offers on holidays;
• Special offers on certain days of weeks, months, quarters of the year, etc.

And this list might expand within the gradual development of marketing trends.

What is the wager?

The wager is the number of bets required to release your bonus winnings into your balance. When players get wager bonuses, they are not able to withdraw them before completing the wagering requirement.

If you study the list of bonus offers provided by casinos, you might notice that apart from bonuses granted for a deposit, there is another curious number. It might account for any amount of money and is set by marketing experts of the casino responsible for calculating the profit of the gambling house.

For instance, according to the terms and conditions set by a casino, the deposit should be $100. This amount will be complemented by a 100% bonus and a 40х wager. Before withdrawing the wins from the account, gamblers have to win back the bonus around 40 times: $100 х 40 = $4000.

The presence of a wager can be explained by the casino’s desire to retain gamblers at least for a certain time. Another reason for the wager to be used is to crack down on bonus hunters. Years ago, it was possible to withdraw casino bonuses without winning them back, so bonus hunters benefited greatly from easy money. However, nowadays, it is abolished.

Apart from wagers, casinos additionally set rules and conditions for winning money back:

• a certain amount of bets;
• only special slots;
• the limited time of winning money back (starting from 2 weeks up to a month).

It gets harder to win back the bonus. Gamblers are limited by strict rules, and under these conditions, a refusal to gamble means a complete loss of wins and deposits.

Hidden pitfalls of bonuses

Some online gambling houses at first charge money from gamblers’ accounts and only then grant bonuses. Gamblers have to lose their own money in order to use their bonus. In this case, the player can skip the bonus offer in order to save money.

Some online casinos ask for winning back both the bonus and the first deposit. Such wager conditions are unacceptable, as gamblers have to win back money already multiplied by a wager.

Some casinos grant bonuses right away, so gamblers automatically have to win them back. Having made a large deposit, gamblers are forced to win back their bonus and the wager as well without the possibility to withdraw their wins unless they comply with all of the requirements set by the casino. Any actions aimed at withdrawal of wins can result in the immediate termination of collaboration with the operator.

If the player finds such rules too rigid, it’s better to start gambling on other resources. Too low or too high wagers should alert gamblers: this is a sign of casinos’ unfair activities.

It is important to keep in mind that there are no common standards of winning back the wagers. Casinos can introduce various rules, and they are not limited by any regulator or inner agreements between all the participants of the gambling market.

How players are winning back wagers: strategies

Despite the fact that online casinos offer quite rigid conditions, players have the opportunity to win back their bonus. In order to succeed, the player has to master a couple of calculation strategies.

For instance, after depositing $100, a player gets a 100% bonus with a 35х wager. In this case, the expected value equals 2,86%. In order to succeed and win, the player should choose a slot with RTP not less than 100 – 2,86 = 97,14%.

During a long play, the dispersion tends to zero, so gamblers have all chances to return 97,14% of bets. By winning back sustainable parts of the deposit multiplied by a wager, players are forced to place a lot of bets. However, at the end of the day, they might benefit greatly.

No wager bonuses

The most widespread no wager bonus is a non-deposit bonus in a form of free spins. There also some limitations imposed by the gambling house, for instance, limits on bets or choice of slots.

Another type of a no wager bonus is a small amount of money added to the account (not more than 10% out of the particular amount) or a bonus in gaming currency (credits, stars, tokens) that gives the possibility to gamble, though not to withdraw the money.