What are wagering requirements?
Wagering requirements are the amount of times you need to play through your bonus before you can withdraw any money. The wagering requirements will be listed in the terms and conditions and are usually listed alongside the bonus information as well. They usually look like ‘ 40x wagering’ and they differ from site to site. Some will have lower wagering requirements such as 10x and some will have high wagering up to 60x
If you see an offer such as ‘deposit ?10 for a 400% bonus – 40x wagering’ this means that if you wanted to withdraw any winnings, you would first need to wager your bonus amount of ?40, 40 times (?1600 in bets). So unless you won a large amount, by the time you played through the wagering, you would be left with very little or none.
Max win limits
Another thing to note is whether there is a limit to the maximum amount you can win from a deposit bonus. Hidden in the terms, you will often see something like ‘max win ?20′ which means if you’re playing with your bonus money, the maximum amount you will ever be able to win is ?20. Even if you won a jackpot prize, you still only claim ?20. So it’s definitely worth reading the terms to find out if there are any restrictions if you claim a 400% bonus.
No wagering casino sites
So now you can see how the wagering and maximum win limits can severely scupper your chances of winning real cash with a bonus, but there are sites out there that will give you a bonus with NO wagering requirements or caps on winnings.
One of the first online casinos with zero wagering is PlayOJO and they refer to themselves as the ‘fair casino’. There are no wagering requirements and no restrictions. What you see is what you get and what you win is what you keep! It’s a no-nonsense site that many players love because there are no catches.
Because PlayOJO paved the way for zero wagering, other casino and slot sites have also followed suit and so there is now a growing number of mobile casinos, online casinos and slot sites with no wagering. Paddy Power Games has a selection of zero wagering games, along with Betfair, NoBonus casino and Pokerstars to name a couple.
If you’re planning on claiming a 400% bonus with your deposit, make sure you check which deposit methods you can use in conjunction with claiming a bonus. Not all deposit methods can be used when claiming a bonus and it should be clear in the terms if any banking options are not available.
Debit Card – There are usually no fees to pay when depositing with your debit card. Transactions are fast, quick and easy and you can usually always claim a bonus using this method. Withdrawals can also be made using a debit card. The drawbacks are that some players don’t like using a debit card that is linked to their bank account and any transactions would appear on your bank 
statement which can go against you when applying for credit.
Credit Card – Payments to online casinos using a credit card are no longer allowed in the UK, so be aware that any site you see with credit cards as a banking option, will be for non-UK casinos.
Pre-paid cards – These are fast becoming one of the most popular payment methods for online casinos as bonuses can usually be claimed with them and there are no charges for deposits. You simply purchase a card with a pre-paid amount already on there, which means it is not linked to your bank, you don’t have to provide any personal financial information and it can be easier to budget and manage your money. The main disadvantage is that you can’t withdraw funds to pre-paid cards.