Casino Bonus Terms Explained: The Five Numbers That Decide Everything

Declan Fairhurst
Last Updated: August 7, 2026

A bonus is not the percentage on the banner. It is five numbers buried in a terms page, and any one of them can turn a generous-looking offer into something you cannot realistically use. This guide works through all five with actual arithmetic.

Once you can read these, comparing a 700% offer against a 100% one takes about thirty seconds and usually produces a different answer than the headline suggests.

Number One: The Wagering Multiplier

Wagering, playthrough and turnover all mean the same thing: how much you must stake before bonus winnings become withdrawable. It is expressed as a multiple, and the crucial detail is what it multiplies.

Bonus Only or Deposit Plus Bonus

A 35x requirement on the bonus alone is a very different obligation from 35x on deposit plus bonus. Deposit £100, receive £100, and the first version asks for £3,500 of turnover while the second asks for £7,000. The wording is usually a single line and the difference is double.

What the Numbers Look Like

Anything at or below 30x on the bonus is comfortable. Between 30x and 45x is normal for this market. Above 50x, or above 30x on deposit plus bonus, the offer is realistically decorative — the turnover required will almost always consume the balance before you finish.

Number Two: Game Weighting

Not every game contributes equally, and this is where most miscalculations happen.

Slots normally count at 100%: stake £1, and £1 counts towards the requirement. Table games and live dealer typically count at 10%, sometimes 5%. Some titles — usually the highest-RTP ones — are excluded entirely, and staking on them can void the bonus rather than simply not counting.

Work through it: a £2,000 wagering requirement met on roulette at 10% weighting requires £20,000 of actual turnover. Nobody sets out to do that, and yet it is exactly what happens when someone claims a bonus and then plays their usual game without checking the table.

Number Three: Maximum Bet During Playthrough

While bonus funds are in play, most operators cap the stake per spin or per hand — commonly between £2 and £5. Exceed it, even once, even by accident on an autoplay setting you forgot to change, and the operator is generally entitled to void the bonus and everything won with it.

This is the single most common reason a withdrawal is refused at an offshore casino, and it is almost always unintentional. Two habits prevent it: check the cap before your first spin, and turn autoplay off while any bonus balance is active.

Feature Buys Count Too

Many operators treat a feature purchase as a single bet at the full purchase price. A £2 maximum bet and a £40 feature buy are incompatible, and the fact that the game allowed the purchase is not a defence. Some terms ban feature buys outright during wagering.

Number Four: Maximum Cashout

A cap on what you can withdraw from bonus winnings, regardless of what you actually won. It appears in two forms: a flat figure, or a multiple of the deposit or bonus amount.

The effect is easiest to see on a no-deposit offer. Twenty free spins with a £50 maximum cashout means that a £900 win pays £50 and the rest disappears. Nothing is being hidden — the term is in the conditions you accepted — but a great many players discover it only at the cashier.

On a large deposit match, look for wording like "maximum withdrawal 5x the bonus amount". A £4,000 bonus with a 5x cap is generous. The same bonus with a flat £500 cap is not, whatever the headline says.

Number Five: Expiry

Two clocks, and they are often different. The bonus itself expires — commonly seven to thirty days — and free spins usually expire faster, sometimes within twenty-four hours of being credited.

A large bonus with a short window is a structural problem rather than a bad-luck one. Meeting a £5,000 turnover requirement in seven days at £2 a spin means 2,500 spins, which is a serious time commitment. Multiply the requirement by the time available before you claim.

Reading a Terms Page in Five Minutes

Use the Search Function

Open the full terms and search for "wager", "maximum bet", "maximum withdrawal", "excluded" and "expire". Those five searches surface almost everything that matters and skip the boilerplate.

Check Which Payment Methods Qualify

A great many operators exclude e-wallet deposits from bonus eligibility. Funding an account by Skrill specifically to claim an offer and then finding it does not qualify is a common and entirely avoidable annoyance.

Look for the Void Clauses

Search for "void" and read every result. This is where irreversible outcomes live: exceeding the maximum bet, playing excluded games, multiple accounts, and low-risk betting patterns such as covering both sides of a table.

When Declining the Bonus Is the Better Move

Deposited funds with no bonus attached carry no wagering requirement and no cashout cap. You can deposit £100, play, and withdraw whatever is left whenever you like.

For anyone depositing to play a short session, or planning to withdraw quickly, or intending to play live tables where weighting is punitive, declining the offer is straightforwardly the better decision. The bonus is only worth taking when you intend to play through it, and the terms page tells you whether that is realistic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I withdraw my deposit while a bonus is active?

Usually only by forfeiting the bonus and anything won with it. Most operators offer a cancel option in the account area. Read what it forfeits before clicking, because on some platforms it takes the whole balance rather than just the bonus portion.

Do wagering requirements apply to free spin winnings?

Almost always. Spin winnings are normally credited as bonus funds carrying their own playthrough, not as cash. A small number of offers pay spins as withdrawable cash, and those are worth considerably more than the spin count suggests.

What is a sticky bonus?

One that never converts to cash — it stays in the account as playing credit, and only winnings above it can be withdrawn. The bonus amount itself is removed when you cash out. Less common now, but still worth spotting.

Is a 700% bonus better than a 100% one?

Only after you check all five numbers. A 700% package spread across four deposits with 50x wagering and a £500 cashout cap is worth less than a 100% offer with 30x and no cap. The headline is the least informative figure on the page. Our casino comparison lists the headline offers, and this page is how you translate them.

350% up to €10000 + 500 FS

350% up to €10000 + 500 FS

5.0
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100% up to €1000 + 200 FS

100% up to €1000 + 200 FS

4.5
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150% up to €1,000 + 100 FS

150% up to €1,000 + 100 FS

4.0
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700% up to £4000 + 700 Free Spins - welcome package

700% up to £4000 + 700 Free Spins - welcome package

4.0
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Welcome Pack €/£3000 + 300 FS

Welcome Pack €/£3000 + 300 FS

4.0
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300% up to £1,500

300% up to £1,500

4.0
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Get 150% Bonus up to £750 + 50 Free Spins

Get 150% Bonus up to £750 + 50 Free Spins

4.0
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up to 20% Cashback everyday

up to 20% Cashback everyday

4.0
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400% up to €1000 + 250 FS

400% up to €1000 + 250 FS

4.0
PLAY NOW

Up to CHF5,000 + 200 Free Spins

Up to CHF5,000 + 200 Free Spins

4.0
PLAY NOW

400% up to €1000 + 250 FS

400% up to €1000 + 250 FS

4.0
PLAY NOW