The only real downside is that players who win money during their first week won’t receive a bonus from the online casino. But we’re sure they won’t care that much, given that they’ll be in the black.
The most you can win with cashback bonuses is the stated amount of cashback offered by the casino operator. So, if a site had a cashback offer of up to $100, you’d need to deposit at least $100 to have a chance to receive the max offer. Of course, that would mean that you would need to lose at least $100 to get that $100 paid back.
If you deposited $50, for example, you’d be eligible to receive only a total of $50 back if you lose during the promotional period.
What are wagering requirements?
While NJ online casino bonuses can be a great way to pad your bankroll, it’s important to note that they come with a catch. Namely, players cannot withdraw match bonus funds until they satisfy something called a wagering or turnover requirement.
The wagering requirement is synonymous with how much action a player must give a casino. For instance, if a 100% match up to $2,500 match comes affixed with a 20x wagering requirement, that means players must give the NJ online casino $50,000 ($2,500 x 20) in action before the bonus funds are moved over to their cash balance.
As one may have guessed, the lower the wagering requirement, the better. That’s because casinos always have the edge, so the more a player is forced to gamble, the better the chance the casino will come out ahead.
How do wager requirements in New Jersey stack up?
The good news is that most NJ online casinos offer very reasonable wagering requirements, that allow players to temporarily flip the casino edge on its head.
- Match percentage: 100%
- Match bonus cap: $1,000 (min $30)
- Wagering requirement: 10 times the deposit plus bonus amount (essentially 20x)
- Timeto clear: 30 days
Calculating your average theoretical win
In the example above, a player who wagers $20,000 in 30 days will clear their bonus. Easy enough, but what are the odds that the player will actually come out better than break even?
They’re actually surprisingly good. Consider that the average online slot return in New Jersey is right around 95%. That means a player who wagers $20,000 should expect to lose $1,000 – or in this instance, exactly the bonus amount, which makes this promo a break even play. Run just slightly good (or play a better than average slot) and profits are virtually guaranteed.
What this illustration also tells us is that if a wagering requirement is less than 20x, then the player can expect to be ahead, on balance, by the time they clear their free money bonus.
A note on contribution percentages
There is one other caveat associated with wagering requirements, and that is what’s known as the contribution percentage. In short, not all games contribute 100% to the wagering requirements. Slots almost certainly will, but high return games like video poker, blackjack, and other table games often will not. Some games may not contribute at all, although this is somewhat rare.
Going back to the Golden Nugget Casino example, the contribution percentage on blackjack, roulette, and video poker is just 25%. Therefore a $10 https://casinosreview.ca/real-money/ wager would count as just $2.50 towards the clearance of the bonus. Slots on the other hand, will count at 100%, with a few named exceptions that have been pegged back to 20%. Familiarizing yourself with the contribution percentage can help casino-goers to more efficiently clear their bonuses.