Why were wager-free bonuses introduced?

If you've found your way here, it's likely you're already well aware what wager-free bonuses are. And you know that utilising these generous welcome offers will give you the best opportunity to walk away from a casino with a nice chunk of cash in your account. 

Wager-free bonuses can sometimes seem so generous that we're slightly baffled as to why casinos are so keen to hand them out to new players. But trust us when we say there is a method to this seeming madness!

But before we delve into the nitty-gritty of wager-free bonuses and why they were introduced, we must first look at wagering requirements as a whole. After all, without wagering requirements we'd have never had wager-free bonuses.

What are wagering requirements and how did they come to be?

Wagering requirements are a restriction casinos place upon their offers that forces players to play through a bonus a set amount of times before they can withdraw any winnings. Imposing these restrictions protects the casino from players coming along, winning on a handful of free spins and leaving, never to be seen again. 

Essentially, adding wagering requirements to a welcome offer takes most of the risk away from casinos that offer players freebies to entice them to sign up.

Wagering requirements vary from casino to casino

Currently wagering requirements can vary significantly, but usually, they'll sit around the 20x-50x mark at most online casinos.  For example, if you were to receive a £100 bonus with 30x wagering requirements you would need to wager a total of £3,000 worth of bets before you could make a withdrawal – quite a difficult ask, but doable, occasionally.  For a detailed look at how to calculate wagering requirements our guide and calculator will help enormously.

Why did casinos start offering wager-free bonuses?

As mentioned, casinos began imposing wagering requirements to stop players from running away en masse with what was essentially free cash. So how did we end up with wager-free bonuses again?

Then, as wagering requirements crept higher and higher throughout the noughties and early 2010s, it became apparent that casinos weren't being entirely fair or honest with new players. They were offering huge bonuses to keen players who thought they were getting the deal of the century, only to discover prohibitive wagering requirements hidden out of sight, deep within the terms and conditions.   

Of course, this dodgy, unfair practice was picked up on by players, regulatory bodies, the press and lawmakers alike, leading to enforcement action and heavy penalties. This gave casinos no choice but to be more transparent with players as far as the terms and conditions of bonuses and welcome offers.

Casinos competing for new players

Because they had to display their wagering requirements clearly, a battle emerged amongst online casinos to see who could offer players the best welcome bonuses without killing themselves financially. As time went on wagering requirements edged further and further down, until eventually a small handful of casinos scrapped wagering requirements altogether, becoming a no wagering casino in the process.

Players and casinos have both seen the benefits of wager-free bonuses in recent years –  a whole host of reputable casinos offer them, and there are thousands upon thousands of players snapping them up. These offers represent great value in terms of both time and money, compared to taking a larger bonus burdened by wagering requirements. 

Should wager-free bonuses be the norm?

As a site that champions no wagering bonuses, of course, we're always going to argue that wager-free bonuses should be the norm because they're by far the fairest way of rewarding players for their custom. 

That being said, whether or not they'll ever become the norm remains to be seen. Casinos need to protect their own interests and keep their shareholders happy. So whilst we think no wagering bonuses should undoubtedly be the norm it seems unlikely that everyone will get on board the no wagering revolution.

Wagering requirements reduced

All that said though, the Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced in March 2025 that they would be introducing a cap on wagering requirements. The cap will be a modest and welcome 10x and will come into force on 19 December 2025.  

This cap may make some bonuses seem less appealing at face value, but their overall value should increase because the chances of ultimately withdrawing winnings will increase in most cases. There are implications for some casinos because this change will hit profit margins and they will have to work out how to claw back the ‘missing’ margin. Just how, remains to be seen.

Enjoy wager-free spins at these online casinos: