Wagering Requirements Explained — What a Bonus Costs

A wagering requirement is the total amount you must bet before a casino will let you withdraw bonus-derived winnings. The industry also calls it a playthrough requirement. If you accept a bonus carrying one, you must place multiple times that amount in eligible bets before any winnings become withdrawable. Check the multiplier, the wagering base and the game contribution percentage before you claim anything.

The arithmetic is the same wherever you play. Worked examples below are in euro because Ireland is the largest of our regulated markets for bonus offers; substitute Canadian dollars or Norwegian kroner and every figure works identically.

Key takeaways

A wagering requirement almost always costs more than the bonus is worth once the multiplier, the base and the house edge are applied. Run the numbers before you claim, not after.

Point	Details
Multiplier × base = your obligation	A €100 bonus on top of a €100 deposit at 25x means €5,000 in required wagering.
Game contribution changes everything	A 10% contribution on roulette turns a 35x requirement into a 350x effective burden.
Max bet and expiry are hard limits	Exceeding the max bet (commonly €5 or local equivalent) or missing the expiry window can void the bonus entirely.
Free spins win caps limit the real value	A €20 win cap means you cannot withdraw more than €20 from those spins, however much you win.
Your market changes the checks	Ontario players check the iGaming Ontario register; Irish players check GRAI; Norwegian players should note that no online casino is licensed in Norway at all.

How wagering requirements work and how to calculate them
Key bonus T&Cs and terms you need to understand
How different games count towards your wagering requirement
How wagering rules vary between common bonus types
Realistic strategies to clear wagering or reduce its cost
Red flags in the T&Cs and the checks that apply in your market
Worked examples and how to use the Newcasino wagering calculator
Should you accept the bonus? A quick decision framework
An editorial note on how we present this guidance
Verify any bonus before you claim it
Sources

How wagering requirements work and how to calculate them

The core formula is straightforward:

Required eligible wagering = Base amount × Wagering multiplier

The tricky part is the base. Operators define it in at least four different ways, and the definition changes your actual obligation significantly.

Base type	Example offer	Calculation	Required wagering
Bonus only	€50 bonus, 35x	€50 × 35	€1,750
Bonus + deposit	€100 deposit + €100 bonus, 25x	€200 × 25	€5,000
Free spins winnings	50 spins at €0.10, 40x on winnings of €5	€5 × 40	€200
Deposit only	€100 deposit, 1x	€100 × 1	€100

The bonus-plus-deposit base is the most expensive of the four and the one players most often underestimate. Two offers advertised as “25x wagering” can differ by a factor of two in what they actually demand of you, purely because one counts your own deposit and the other does not.

Free spins work differently again: the multiplier applies to what the spins win, not to the notional value of the spins, and a separate maximum-withdrawal cap usually sits on top of the wagering. That cap, not the wagering, is normally what limits the value of a free-spins offer.

Key bonus T&Cs and terms you need to understand

Read every line of the operator’s terms page, not the marketing banner. These are the terms that actually determine your obligation:

Wagering multiplier — the number you multiply the base by (e.g. 35x, 40x). Higher is worse for you.
Wagering base — what the multiplier is applied to: bonus only, bonus + deposit, or winnings. Always confirm this first.
Game contribution / weighting — the percentage of each bet that counts towards wagering. A €1 bet on a 10%-contribution game clears only €0.10 of your requirement.
Maximum bet — the highest stake permitted while a bonus is active, commonly around €5 per spin or round. Exceed it and the operator may void the bonus and any winnings.
Expiry window — the number of days you have to clear the requirement. Short windows create pressure to raise stakes, which is where the real damage happens.
Maximum cashout / win cap — the ceiling on how much you can withdraw from bonus play, regardless of actual winnings. Caps are tightest on no-deposit offers.
Sticky (forfeit) bonus — the bonus amount is never withdrawable; only net winnings above it can be cashed out. Non-sticky bonuses convert to real cash once wagering is complete.
KYC / payment ownership — many operators require that the deposit and withdrawal method match, and that identity documents are verified before any withdrawal is processed. Failure to comply can freeze funds.

Pro tip: Never rely on the headline offer. Open the full T&Cs and search for “wagering”, “playthrough”, “contribution” and “maximum bet” — those four searches will surface almost every clause that affects your real obligation.

How different games count towards your wagering requirement

Game contribution is where many players lose money they did not expect to lose. The rates below are the ranges you will typically see published in operator terms — always confirm the actual figures on the offer you are looking at, because they vary by operator and sometimes by individual game.

Game type	Typical contribution	Effective multiplier at 35x
Video slots	100%	35x
Classic / 3-reel slots	50%–100% (check the list)	35x–70x
Blackjack	10%–20%	175x–350x
Roulette	10%–20%	175x–350x
Live casino	0%–10%	Excluded, or 350x+
Jackpot slots	0%–10%	Excluded, or 350x+
Video poker	10%–20%	175x–350x

The maths here is stark. Weighting can turn a 35x multiplier into an effective 350x burden on a 10%-contribution game — the headline number in the advert tells you very little on its own.

Before you start, check the operator’s game exclusion list. Some popular titles, particularly branded and progressive-jackpot slots, are excluded entirely, and bets placed on them will not count towards your requirement at all.

How wagering rules vary between common bonus types

The type of bonus changes both the base and the typical multiplier. Here is how each works in practice:

Deposit match bonus — the most common offer. The base is usually bonus-only or bonus + deposit. A 100% match at a high multiplier means a large obligation, especially when the base includes your own deposit.
Free spins — wagering applies to the winnings, not the spin value. Win caps are standard and multipliers are frequently 40x or higher. The real value is usually well below what the headline spin count suggests.
No-deposit bonus — the tightest terms of the four. Multipliers are typically the highest on offer, cashout caps the lowest, and KYC requirements strict. It is common to complete the wagering and find the win cap leaves little worth withdrawing.
Cashback bonus — wagering on cashback is sometimes 0x (cash returned directly) but often 1x–5x. Read carefully: some operators apply the full standard multiplier to cashback, which negates most of its value.

Realistic strategies to clear wagering or reduce its cost

Before you claim any bonus, do this calculation: multiply the required wagering by the house edge of your chosen game to estimate your expected loss.

Confirm the base and multiplier first. Open the T&Cs before depositing. If the base is bonus + deposit, the obligation is roughly double what it looks like.
Choose 100%-contribution games. Play titles that appear on the operator’s eligible-games list. Avoid jackpot slots, live casino and table games unless you have confirmed their contribution rate.
Size your bets conservatively. Stay well below the maximum bet limit. If the max bet is €5 per spin, play at €1–€2. A single accidental over-limit bet can void the entire bonus.
Track your progress. Most operators show a wagering meter in the cashier or bonus section. Check it after every session so you know exactly how much remains.
Set a session budget. Divide the required wagering by the number of days in the expiry window to get a daily target. For a €1,750 requirement over 30 days that is roughly €58 per day — at €1 per spin, around 58 spins.
Do not chase expiry. If you are approaching the deadline with significant wagering left, stop. Raising your stakes to clear the requirement faster is the quickest route to losing more than the bonus was ever worth.
Keep a simple log. Note the bonus amount, multiplier, base, expiry date and game contribution when you claim. A spreadsheet row per bonus takes thirty seconds and prevents costly confusion later.

Pro tip: If you cannot clear the wagering requirement at your normal stake and session frequency within the expiry window, skip the bonus. The offer is not designed for your playstyle.

Red flags in the T&Cs and the checks that apply in your market

Some bonus terms are genuinely unfair. These are the clauses that should make you pause before claiming:

Ambiguous base language — terms saying “wagering applies to the bonus” without specifying whether that includes the deposit. Ask support in writing before claiming, and keep the reply.
Unclear game weighting — if the operator does not publish a full contribution table, assume table games and live casino contribute 0%.
Expiry under 14 days — seven-day windows are particularly punishing for casual players who may only play two or three sessions a week.
Maximum cashout below the bonus value — a €100 bonus with a €50 maximum cashout means you cannot recover the bonus value even if you clear the wagering perfectly.
An unusually high maximum bet — a €10 or €20 max bet is not generosity, it is a wider hole to fall into. Any bet above the stated limit can void your bonus.
KYC and payment-ownership caveats — verify your identity and use the same method for deposit and withdrawal. Failure to comply is one of the most common reasons winnings are held.
No published licence number — a hard stop. Every legitimate operator states its licensee name and number in the site footer, and that entry should be verifiable on the regulator’s own register.

Canada

In Ontario, the regulated market is run by iGaming Ontario, which publishes the list of operators authorised to serve Ontario players, with the AGCO handling registration standards and complaints. If a site is not on the iGO list, it is not part of the Ontario regulated market. Outside Ontario, provinces run their own lottery-corporation sites and offshore operators sit in a legal grey area — verify the licence independently before you deposit anywhere. Our Ontario casino bonuses guide covers offers from registered operators.

Ireland

Ireland’s market is being brought under a single statutory regulator, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), established under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, with licensing phased in as the authority takes on its functions. Until an operator holds an Irish licence, its offers are governed by whichever overseas regulator licences it — most commonly the Malta Gaming Authority. Misleading advertising and unfair contract terms fall to the CCPC. If you want to avoid the arithmetic altogether, our no-wagering casinos guide for Ireland covers offers with no playthrough attached.

Norway

No online casino is licensed in Norway. Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto hold the statutory monopoly, and neither offers the kind of deposit-match bonus described in this article. Any other site accepting Norwegian players does so under a foreign licence — Malta or Curaçao — and Lotteritilsynet maintains a DNS blocking list of domains ordered blocked by Norwegian ISPs. Our searchable copy of that blocklist is the check to run first. Note also that under skatteloven §5-50, gambling winnings above 10,000 kr are taxable regardless of where the operator is licensed — worth folding into any expected-value calculation before you accept a bonus.

Checking a licence anywhere

Whichever market you are in, the licence claim in a site’s footer is only worth what the register says. The MGA licensee register, the Anjouan Gaming Authority register and the Curaçao Gaming Control Board all publish searchable records. Check the licence history, not just the current status — an operator that has moved down the ladder from a strict regulator to a permissive one is telling you something about how it handles disputes.

If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s gambling, ConnexOntario (Canada), Problem Gambling Ireland and Hjelpelinjen (Norway) all provide free, confidential support. BetBlocker is a free tool that blocks access to gambling sites across your devices, and the Responsible Gambling Council publishes practical guidance on safer play.

Worked examples and how to use the Newcasino wagering calculator

The Newcasino wagering calculator takes six inputs and returns two outputs: required eligible wagering, and an estimated expected loss.

Inputs: bonus amount, wagering multiplier, wagering base (bonus-only or bonus + deposit), deposit amount (if the base includes it), game contribution percentage, and the house edge of your chosen game.

Example A — standard slots bonus

Bonus €50 | Multiplier 35x | Base bonus-only | Contribution 100% | House edge 4%
Required wagering €1,750 | Estimated expected loss €70

Example B — deposit + bonus base

Deposit €100 | Bonus €100 | Multiplier 25x | Base bonus + deposit | Contribution 100% | House edge 4%
Required wagering €5,000 | Estimated expected loss €200

Example C — free spins with a win cap

Spin winnings €15 | Multiplier 40x | Base winnings only | Contribution 100% | House edge 4%
Required wagering €600 | Estimated expected loss €24 | Win cap €20, which is the most you could withdraw whatever the outcome

Note what Example B shows: an offer that hands you €100 carries an estimated €200 cost to clear. That is not an unusual result, and it is the single reason this calculation is worth doing.

The calculator applies the contribution percentage to the required wagering total, then multiplies by the house edge to produce the expected-loss figure. This is a statistical estimate over the long run, not a prediction of your session — actual results vary widely in both directions. The methodology is deliberately transparent: contribution reduces the effective wagering credit per bet, and the house edge represents the average long-run cost per unit wagered on the selected game type.

For a line-by-line breakdown of bonus T&Cs, our guide to reading casino bonus terms covers every standard clause in detail.

Should you accept the bonus? A quick decision framework

Most bonuses carry negative expected value once the multiplier and house edge are applied. That does not mean you should never claim one — but the decision should be deliberate.

Reasons to accept:

The multiplier is low (under 20x) and the base is bonus-only.
You play 100%-contribution slots regularly and have time within the expiry window.
The expected loss from the calculator is less than the bonus value.

Reasons to skip:

The base is bonus + deposit and the multiplier is above 25x.
Your preferred games contribute less than 50%.
The expiry window is shorter than your normal play frequency allows.
The maximum cashout is lower than the bonus amount.

Three questions before claiming any bonus:

What is the total required wagering in cash terms? (Base × multiplier, adjusted for contribution.)
Do your preferred games contribute 100%? If not, recalculate with the actual rate.
Can you realistically complete the wagering within the expiry window at your normal stakes?

A no to any of the three means skip the offer. Our casino finder can help you identify operators whose bonus structures match how you actually play.

An editorial note on how we present this guidance

The conventional wisdom in casino marketing is that bonuses are “free money”. They are not. Every wagering requirement is a cost, and the real question is whether that cost is lower than the value you receive. Most of the time, for most players, it is not — and the terms are often written in a way that makes the calculation deliberately awkward to perform.

The guidance here is built on reading operator T&Cs line by line, checking licence records on the regulators’ own registers, reviewing published player reports and complaint outcomes, and running the numbers through a calculator whose method we publish. We do not claim to have deposited at or withdrawn from the operators we write about. Newcasino has completed exactly one first-hand deposit-and-withdrawal test to date — MyStake, in 2026 — and it is written up in full on our editor test log. Where you see a claim about payout behaviour anywhere on this site, it is sourced to that log, to operator terms, or to player reports, and labelled accordingly.

My view: the single most useful thing a player can do before claiming any bonus is open the calculator, enter the real figures, and look at the expected-loss number. If that number is larger than the bonus, the offer is not in your favour. Skip it without guilt.

Verify any bonus before you claim it

Knowing the theory is one thing. Seeing the numbers for a specific offer is another. The Newcasino wagering calculator lets you enter a real bonus — amount, multiplier, base, game contribution and house edge — and returns the required eligible wagering and an estimated expected loss in seconds. No signup required.

For licence-checked casino reviews, with the evidence behind each rating stated on the page, our review database is updated regularly. Ontario players should start from the iGaming Ontario register; Irish players from GRAI and the licensee registers above; Norwegian players from the Lotteritilsynet blocklist.

This article provides general information about casino bonus terms. It is not a substitute for reading the operator’s own T&Cs, and it is not financial or legal advice.

Wagering Requirements Explained — What a Casino Bonus Really Costs