Casino Bonuses and Wagering Requirements Explained

The bonus is the most visible thing in online gambling and the least understood. "100 per cent up to 200, 35x wagering" is a sentence most players cannot decode, most affiliates present as free money, and most regulators now treat as the highest-risk piece of marketing an operator produces. This guide explains the bonus types, the wagering requirement and its arithmetic, the terms that determine whether a bonus is worth anything, why operators give them, how they account for them, and what regulators in the main markets have done about them.

What a bonus is

A bonus is money or play credited by the operator on conditions. The conditions exist because a bonus without them would be a cash gift that any customer could withdraw immediately, so every bonus is designed so that the customer has to gamble it, usually many times over, before any of it can be cashed out. The bonus is therefore not a gift; it is a purchase of the customer's play, priced by the wagering requirement.

Understanding that reframes everything. A bonus with a 35x requirement on a game with a 4 per cent house edge costs the customer, on average, more than the bonus is worth; a bonus with a 1x requirement on a low-edge game has real value. The number on the banner is the least important number in the offer.

The bonus types

Deposit match. The operator matches a percentage of the customer's deposit up to a cap: 100 per cent up to 200 means a 200 deposit becomes 400 to play with, and a 50 deposit becomes 100. The commonest welcome offer.

No-deposit bonus. A small amount credited on registration, with high wagering and a low withdrawal cap. Expensive for operators because it attracts bonus hunters, and restricted or banned in several markets.

Free spins. A number of spins on a named slot at a fixed stake; winnings are credited as bonus funds with wagering attached. The value is the spin count times the stake times the game's RTP, less the effect of the wagering on the winnings.

Free bets and matched bets (sports). A stake the operator funds; on a winning bet the customer keeps the winnings but usually not the stake. A "risk-free" or "money-back" bet refunds a losing first bet in bonus funds or free bets, not cash, and regulators in several markets have banned the phrase.

Cashback. A percentage of net losses over a period returned as bonus or cash. Cheap for operators, valued by regular players, and increasingly the main retention tool where sign-up bonuses are restricted.

Reload and loyalty. Smaller deposit matches for existing customers; points, tiers and rewards for volume. The retention end of the same machine.

Bonus buys and in-game bonuses are features of the game, not marketing, and are covered in the How Online Slots Work guide.

The wagering requirement

The wagering requirement (playthrough, rollover) is the amount the customer must stake before bonus funds and winnings from them become withdrawable, expressed as a multiple.

Of what. The multiple applies to the bonus (35x a 100 bonus is 3,500 in stakes) or to the deposit plus bonus (35x on a 100 deposit plus 100 bonus is 7,000). The second is twice as onerous and is common. Read which.

The arithmetic. The expected cost of clearing a requirement is the total stake times the house edge of the game played. 3,500 in stakes on a slot returning 96 per cent costs, on average, 140; on a slot returning 92 per cent, 280. A 100 bonus with 35x wagering on a 96 per cent slot therefore has an expected value of minus 40 to the customer before variance. The same bonus at 10x has an expected value of plus 60. A bonus is worth having when the bonus amount exceeds the requirement times the house edge, and most welcome bonuses in competitive markets are set so that it does not.

Variance matters too. The expected value is an average across many customers. An individual customer clearing a requirement either busts out (the usual outcome) or finishes with a balance, and the bonus's design is built to make the first more likely.

Game weighting and the other terms

The requirement is the headline; the terms decide the outcome.

Game contribution. Slots typically count 100 per cent of stakes toward the requirement; table games, video poker and live dealer count 10 per cent, 5 per cent or nothing, because their lower house edge would make the bonus valuable. Some slots with high RTP or bonus-buy features are excluded entirely. A customer playing blackjack to clear a 35x requirement at 10 per cent contribution is actually facing 350x.

Maximum bet. A cap on the stake per spin or bet while a bonus is active (commonly a few pounds or euros). Exceeding it voids the bonus and winnings. The most common cause of confiscated winnings and the term most often complained about.

Maximum win or cashout. A cap on what can be withdrawn from the bonus (common on no-deposit and free-spin offers; sometimes on deposit matches). A 500 cap on a bonus that produces a 5,000 win means 4,500 is forfeited.

Expiry. The bonus and its wagering must be completed within a period (seven to thirty days is common); unfinished wagering forfeits the bonus and winnings from it.

Sticky versus non-sticky. A non-sticky (parachute) bonus keeps the customer's deposit separate: real money is played first, and the bonus only comes into play if the deposit is lost, so a customer who wins on real money can withdraw without touching the bonus. A sticky bonus locks deposit and bonus together until wagering is complete. Non-sticky is far more valuable to the customer.

Withdrawal before completion. Under most terms, withdrawing while a bonus is active forfeits the bonus and any winnings from it, and some terms treat a withdrawal request as forfeiting the whole balance including the deposit. Britain's regulator has required that the customer's own deposit never be locked by bonus terms.

Eligibility. One per person, household, IP address or device; payment-method exclusions (e-wallet deposits are often excluded); country exclusions; and the operator's discretion to withhold a bonus from customers it judges to be abusing offers.

Irregular play. A clause voiding bonuses for play patterns the operator deems abusive: low-risk strategies, staking patterns designed to clear wagering, bet-and-run. Vague by design and the source of most disputes.

Why operators offer bonuses

A bonus is an acquisition cost paid in play rather than cash. The operator's arithmetic: the expected cost of the bonus (bonus amount less the house edge it recovers during wagering, adjusted for the share of customers who bust out) against the expected value of the customer acquired. A well-designed bonus costs the operator far less than its face value, because most customers lose the bonus during wagering, and the bonus is often cheaper per depositor than the affiliate commission or the advertising that brought the customer in.

Bonuses are reported as a cost of revenue: gross gaming revenue less bonus cost (and other deductions) is net gaming revenue, the figure operators manage to. Bonus cost as a share of GGR is a closely watched ratio, typically 15 to 30 per cent for online casino in competitive markets and lower for sports, and rising bonus ratios are the sign of a market in a promotional war. The iGaming KPIs Explained guide covers the accounting.

The bonus also does harm. It drives the play that regulators associate with gambling harm (extended sessions to clear wagering, chasing), it is the vehicle for the most misleading marketing in the industry ("free", "risk-free"), and it is the main tool of the bonus-abuse fraud that costs operators a permanent share of their acquisition spend.

How regulators restrict bonuses

Every major regulator has acted on bonuses, and the direction is one way.

Britain. The Gambling Commission's licence conditions and the advertising codes require significant terms (wagering, expiry, maximum bet, game restrictions) to be shown with the offer, prohibit "free" and "risk-free" where conditions apply, ban terms that lock the customer's own deposit, and, from 2025, cap wagering requirements on bonuses at 10x and ban mixed-product promotions that require play across casino and sports.

Netherlands. Bonuses may not be offered to under-24s, may not be shown on the operator's home page or in untargeted advertising, and must meet strict fairness conditions; the regulator has fined operators for bonus practices repeatedly.

Sweden. One bonus per customer, on first registration only, since 2019. Retention bonuses are prohibited.

Spain. Welcome bonuses banned for new customers under the 2020 advertising decree (partly struck down in 2024, with the position since then contested); bonuses permitted only for verified customers of thirty days' standing.

Italy. Advertising of bonuses restricted under the 2018 advertising ban; bonus terms regulated in detail.

Germany. Bonuses permitted within limits set by the interstate treaty; welcome bonuses restricted; regulator scrutiny of terms.

Ontario. No public advertising of bonuses or inducements; offers may only be shown to customers who have opted in, on the operator's own channels after registration.

Brazil. Sign-up and deposit bonuses prohibited outright under the 2025 regime; retention offers restricted.

Australia. Inducements to open an account or to gamble are prohibited in most states; the 2026 federal reform tightened the position further.

The American states regulate bonus advertising through the state regulators' advertising standards, with "risk-free" language banned in several states and the terms required alongside the offer.

The Marketing Compliance course covers the rules market by market, and the practical effect for operators is that the bonus-led acquisition model of the 2010s is being regulated out of the newest and strictest markets, with content, product and cashback taking its place.

Reading a bonus in thirty seconds

The habit for anyone assessing an offer, as a customer, an affiliate or a compliance reviewer: find the wagering multiple and what it applies to; find the game contribution table; find the maximum bet; find the maximum cashout; find the expiry; check whether it is sticky; then do the arithmetic (requirement times house edge against bonus amount). An offer that fails the arithmetic is a purchase of play at a bad price, whatever the banner says. An offer that hides any of those terms is a compliance problem in most regulated markets.

Frequently asked questions

What does 35x wagering mean? You must stake 35 times the bonus (or the bonus plus deposit, if the terms say so) before bonus funds and winnings from them can be withdrawn. On a 100 bonus, that is 3,500 in stakes.

Are casino bonuses worth it? Only when the bonus amount exceeds the wagering requirement times the house edge of the game you will play, and the maximum bet, maximum cashout and expiry do not defeat it. Most welcome bonuses in competitive markets are designed not to be, on average.

Why do slots count 100 per cent and blackjack 10 per cent? Because blackjack's house edge is a fraction of a slot's, and a bonus cleared at blackjack would be worth real money to the customer. The contribution table protects the operator's arithmetic.

Can an operator confiscate winnings from a bonus? Under most terms, yes, for breaches of the maximum bet, eligibility, irregular play or expiry rules. Regulators in Britain and elsewhere require the terms to be clear and fair and have ruled against operators whose terms were not.

What is a non-sticky bonus? One where your deposit is played first and kept separate, so you can withdraw real-money winnings without wagering the bonus. It is the most customer-friendly structure.

Why are bonuses banned in some countries? Because regulators associate them with misleading marketing and with the extended, chasing play that causes harm. Brazil, Ontario, Sweden and Spain restrict them severely; Britain has capped wagering at 10x.

Related on iGaming Times

RTP, House Edge and Margin Explained is the arithmetic the bonus calculation depends on. How Online Slots Work covers the game the bonus is usually played on. Responsible Gambling Tools Explained covers the protections regulators pair with bonus restrictions, and CRM and Player Lifecycle is the course on the operator's side of promotions.

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Regulation, tax and market figures move quickly, sometimes mid-year. Where this guide gives a number, treat it as a starting point and confirm the current position with the named primary source before you rely on it.