What does wager mean in gambling?
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A wager is a bet — an amount of money risked on an uncertain outcome in the hope of winning more. To wager is to place that bet. The terms wager, bet, and stake are often used interchangeably in gambling contexts.
Wagering in bonus terms
The word ‘wager’ appears most often in casino bonus terms as ‘wagering requirement’ (also called playthrough or rollover). A wagering requirement of 30x on a £100 bonus means you must wager £3,000 total before any winnings from that bonus become withdrawable. The amount wagered counts toward this regardless of the individual spin outcomes — total stakes placed, not total wins or losses.
What counts as wagering
Not all bets contribute equally toward wagering requirements. Slots typically contribute 100%. Blackjack, roulette, and other table games often contribute only 5-20% because their lower house edge means a player could clear wagering requirements with minimal expected loss. Check the game contribution table in your casino’s bonus terms before choosing which games to play while wagering out a bonus.
Ben Barber got into the gambling industry through the poker rooms of London in the early 2000s. After building up a solid grounding in casino, sports betting and poker, he made the move to Malta where he spent close to a decade writing for some of the biggest affiliate networks in the region. A few years ago he relocated to Bali, which shifted his focus toward website strategy and affiliate marketing. The casino side never really left, though. He still writes reviews, how-to guides and in-depth pieces on everything from slots and live dealer tables to crypto casinos and sweepstakes sites. His approach is fact-first: help players understand how online gambling actually works before they deposit a cent.