Industry expert calls for regulation of turnover conditions

Casino bonuses can be a great thing. However, whether they are really worthwhile depends largely on the respective wagering requirements. With every deal, you have to study the small print again to get clarity. That can be annoying. However, if Martyn Hannah, co-founder of a large casino comparison site for the UK market, has his way, such requirements should be clearly regulated in future or even abolished altogether.

Entrepreneur and industry expert Martyn Hannah recently spoke critically to the international trade press about common practices surrounding typical play-through requirements for casino bonus offers. There is often a considerable hurdle behind the tempting deals: The wagering requirements, also known as wagering requirements or simply wager. This stipulates how often a bonus amount (often plus the deposit amount) must be wagered before winnings can be paid out.

Martyn Hannah is therefore calling for clear and binding regulation of play-through requirements or even their complete abolition in order to improve consumer protection in the gambling sector. In his opinion, the industry has benefited for too long from the lack of transparency of the offers. He points out that online casinos could even benefit considerably from this if they were to dispense with wagering requirements altogether.

This should be clarified first: Martyn Hannah's objections relate to bonuses in the international arena and, in particular, to deals for UK players. Corresponding practices sometimes differ from those in Germany. However, Hannah's conclusions and arguments can also be applied to the German market and are therefore very interesting - for customers and online casinos.

According to Hannah, many players do not sufficiently understand the wagering requirements

Martyn Hannah points out that the majority of players do not fully understand the often complex wagering requirements - which often leads to frustration. The majority of casino customers fail to meet the requirements and end up disappointed because they cannot access their bonus winnings. Although the exact wager can be read in the bonus T&Cs, hardly anyone takes the trouble to study the small print thoroughly in advance.

He gives a concrete example of this:

1. Hannah outlines a typical welcome offer of 100 percent up to £100 (or even euros) with a wagering requirement of 40x on the bonus amount.
2. The requirements seem attractive at first, as many players would not realize that if they claim the full bonus amount, they would in fact have to wager 4,000 pounds to clear a win (100 pounds x 40 wagering = 4,000 pounds).
3. There would certainly be providers who set even higher wagering requirements, which would then sometimes even apply to the entire bonus and deposit amount, making the requirements even more difficult. According to Hannah, it is particularly problematic when players who use a deal suddenly have to make additional deposits in order to complete the turnover progress bar - often without a clear understanding of why this is even necessary.

In Martyn Hannah's view, this lack of transparency contributes significantly to the high player turnover in the UK market. Customers feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the bonus terms and conditions and leave the platforms as soon as they realize that the promised bonus will not be paid out.

Clear regulation or bonus without wagering requirements?

Martyn Hannah sees great potential in a reorientation of bonus offers, particularly through the abolition of high turnover requirements.

• Turnover limit: He advocates at least the introduction of clear upper limits for turnover, for example ten times the bonus amount. Such a measure could not only increase player protection, but also strengthen trust in the fairness of casinos.
• Bonus without wagering requirements: He also points to the growing trend towards bonuses with no wagering requirements. These deals may be more limited in value, but offer the significant advantage that players can keep their winnings without any hurdles. The greater risk for casinos could be offset by the lower winnings.

Conclusion

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