Beware of Extremely High Rollovers and Holds

We were contacted by a bettor recently who informed us of an excessive rollover requirement along with a 30-day hold. Real quick: a rollover is the number of times you have to wager your entire balance + bonus combined. A “hold” is the number of days which must pass before you can request a withdrawal.

When researching this particular sportsbook, we found that they offered 8 different bonus options. The sportsbook in question is YouWager.lv (Rated C+). The customer claimed he deposited $100 cash and then another $70 via cryptocurrency shortly thereafter, for a total of $170.

The customer received a $200 free play (not be confused with cash) for the $100 cash deposit and a $28 free play for the crypto deposit. This made his total available amount $398. The largest rollover listed on their promotions page is 12X. Only one bonus option of the eight has this requirement. The rest are between 2X-10X.

If we apply the largest rollover amount the rollover would be $4776. However, the customer stated that he had already bet a bunch of games, working his total up to $700+, but his rollover requirement is still reflecting that he needs to wager $6,000 to complete it. This is shaping up to look like they gave him a 18X or 20X rollover, numbers which are not reflected anywhere on the site.

The only thing I can guess is that they stacked the rollovers on top of one another. ex. 10X rollover for deposit #1 and another 8X rollover for deposit 2. This is not a common industry practice, but it is the only thing which makes sense.

Another point of contention was his 30-day hold. This is a feature which he said he wasn’t aware of. Looking at the sportsbook’s website, there are 30 day holds on some of the bonus offers while others have no hold listed. It’s important to know what the hold is before you send any sportsbook your money. If it’s not listed on the promo page, then hop on live chat and ask. You can save yourself a lot of grief.

Sportsbooks are Trending Away from Rollovers

Licensed American sportsbooks which opened after 2018 brought a new approach to the bonus system. Instead of offering huge bonuses and rollovers, they are offering small free plays (they call them “free bets”) with no rollover or hold requirement. You may see something like “deposit $100 now and get a $40 free play”. The kinds of bonuses they offer after you are already a customer then shrink down to very low numbers. You may get an email once in a while saying, “Deposit $100 now and get a $15 free bet”. They also offer “boosts” which are features where you can add an extra 20% or 30 % to your parlay payout amount.

Offshore books have started drifting more towards that model. The rollover and hold system seem to be getting pushed out for newer, more creative ways to enhance the betting experience without the customer feeling like they are trapped. BetOnline.ag, for example, even sends their customers weekly cash bonuses based on their wager amount history. They ask you to follow them on Telegram so they can notify you when a new cash bonus is available. The amount you receive isn’t very large, maybe just a few % of your total betting handle, but it is still free money to wager. And I’ve known people who have turned their $7 free play drop into $150 and then withdraw it right away, no questions asked.