Demystifying Common Sports Bonus Terms and Conditions

Chris Grove | U.S.A. | Tuesday October 2 2012, 09:36 | 0 Comments

A lot of people are interested in placing sports bets online, but many of them get turned off by - of all things - the typical welcome bonus offered by an online sportsbook.

What could it be about a bonus that could be so off-putting? Anyone who has ever read through the typical terms and conditions of a sports bonus at an online casino knows exactly why new players could decide to pass on betting sports online - the terms tend to be very dense, confusing and almost have the feel of being somewhat manipulative.

Some of that may come from truth, but most of it just comes from really poorly written terms and conditions. I'm going to identify some of the most misunderstood terms and conditions associated with online sports betting bonuses and help you to understand what you might be passing up by ignoring a bonus at bet365, William Hill or any of the top-rated sportsbooks online.

What is the Wagering Requirement?

Generally speaking, a wagering requirement is the amount of money you need to wager in order to use your bonus. So, if a book has a wagering requirement of four times, that means you'll need to place a total amount of wagers equal or greater to the amount of the bonus you're getting times four.

If you're betting ponies at Ladbrokes, for example, and you get a $100 bonus with a wagering requirement of 4x, then you would need to bet a total of $400 before you would be able to put the bonus money into play.

What is a Playthrough Requirement?

The playthrough requirement is a similar mechanic, but generally is used to prevent you from withdrawing the bonus money. Almost all sports bonuses will require you to wager a certain amount before you can withdraw any of the bonus money. The requirement will vary from book to book, but you're usually talking about a number that is under 10. Some playthrough requirements are based not just on your bonus amount, but on your bonus and deposit amounts combined.

Let's say you're placing some football bets at bet365 and you've gotten a welcome bonus of $200. You've already cleared the wagering requirements and you're ready to make some bets with the bonus money. You're now free to bet with the bonus money all you'd like, but before you can withdraw it the room requires you to "play through" the bonus amount a certain number of times. If the playthrough requirement was 4x, you would need to wager $800 on your bonus.

It's always important to read the terms of bonuses, even if they seem a little intimidating. Hopefully this quick guide will make the next bonus terms you read easier to understand, making you more likely to get the most value possible from betting sports online.

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