There are four aspects of wagering requirements that you need to be fully aware of: the requirement itself, game contributions or weightings, winning caps and maximum bets. Note that not ALL bonuses will have all four conditions attached, although most bonuses will have at least the first two conditions mentioned.

Wagering: A typical requirement is 4x on bingo games, but higher like 35 x bonus, or deposit, or free spins winnings, or any combination thereof when it relates to slots offers. If it is just your winnings, and if you won ВЈ10, then you would need to wager ВЈ350 in total, as this is 35 times ВЈ10. You could play 350 ВЈ1 spins on a slot to meet your wagering needs, for example. You would not lose every single time, and indeed you might end up with more money than you started with.

This is because only ten percent (ВЈ0

Game contributions: After you have used your free spins you will have a set amount of money that you need to wager in order to claim your winnings. In the above example, it is ВЈ350. As slots usually count 100 percent to wagering, after 350 ВЈ1 spins you would have cleared your wagering, and your free spins winnings would now be withdrawable.

Not all games contribute 100 percent, though. Casino games usually contribute only around 10 percent, sometimes less and sometimes not at all.

Going back to our example, if your initial requirement was set at ВЈ350, and you played a single spin of a slot at ВЈ1, then your requirement would reduce to ВЈ349. If, however, you played one hand of blackjack for ВЈ1, then your requirement would only reduce to ВЈ. 10) of your wager counted towards your wagering.

Winning caps: Many times, the amount of cash you can win from free spins is capped. This could be something like ‘4x deposit’ or a fixed cash limit. In the former case, if you were required to make a ВЈ10 deposit to gain your free spins, your winnings would be capped at ВЈ40. Therefore, in this case, if you won ВЈ50 via your free spins you would find that you’d only have ВЈ40 in the pot when you started wagering.

Maximum bet: Bingo sites, online casinos and slots sites are not stupid. Say, someone won ВЈ4 from free spins and they had a wagering expectation of x 25, so they need to wager ВЈ100. What is there to stop them putting ВЈ100 on a single wager in order to clear all their wagering in one go?

This is quite a risk to win ВЈ4 but some people might consider it. They could put ВЈ100 on a single spin of a slot. What if that spin won and they now had ВЈ1,000? They’ve cleared their wagering and the bingo, casino or slots site would be in debt to them for a grand total of ВЈ1,004!

In order to prevent this from happening, online bingo, casino and slots sites set a maximum bet. This is the maximum bet you can place when meeting your wagering. Could be set as low as ВЈ1 per spin/hand, or even less. Make sure that you follow maximum bet guidelines when playing online and meeting a bonus, as you could have your free spins winnings confiscated if you bet above the limit.

• Stake ВЈ10 Play with 50 Free spins T&Cs Apply New Casino customers only. ВЈ10 Minimum transfer and stake. ВЈ10 Minimum stakes within 7 days. Minimum 5 game rounds. Game restrictions apply. Maximum 50 Free Spins on selected games, credited within 48 hours of qualifying. Free Spins expire after 7 days. E-Wallet & Prepaid Card restrictions apply. SMS validation may be required. There are no wagering requirements attached to any winnings received from the Free Spins. Full T&Cs apply.

Please be aware that winnings from your free spins will be paid out as bonus money, and as such you will be unable to withdraw them until you have met wagering conditions.

• Up to ВЈ1,000 Welcome Package + 100 Spins 18+. New Players Only. Wager from real balance first. 50X wager the bonus. Contribution varies per game. selected games only. Wager calculated on bonus bets only. Bonus valid 30 days / Free spins valid 7 days from receipt. Max conversion: 3x the bonus amount or from free spins: ВЈ20. Min Deposit ВЈ20. Withdrawal requests voids all active/pending bonuses. Excluded Skrill deposits. Full T’s & C’s apply. Please play responsibly. #AD

When you find an offer, read carefully what is expected to obtain your free spins. You may just need to complete your registration, you may need to make a minimum deposit, or you may have to play through a deposit first.

If at a site you find that blackjack only contributes 10 percent, then only ten percent of each wager you make on blackjack will count against your full wagering needs

Wagering requirements can be confusing, so if you want to get your head around any kind of bonus you need to make sure you fully understand what is expected. If you fail to comply or if you make a mistake, then you could find your bonus and any winnings you’ve made confiscated.