A sign that says “up to 70% off” rarely applies to the coat you came in for. Casino bonuses are no different. The big number goes at the top in large type, and the details that decide what it’s worth sit underneath: how many times the money has to be bet, which games count, how long you’ve got and what you can take out at the end.
Before you accept an offer, those details need to be easy to find and written in plain English. A reputable online casino should make its bonus terms clear upfront, so you know what the offer involves before you decide.
The Main Types of Bonus
A welcome bonus usually matches part or all of a first deposit with bonus money, up to a stated limit. Free spins give a set number of spins on named slots at a fixed stake, and anything won is often paid as bonus money with its own conditions.
Cashback returns a share of losses over a set period, sometimes as cash and sometimes as bonus funds. Loyalty rewards build up points as you play, and like the stamps on a coffee card, they can lapse if you don’t use them in time. Terms vary between casinos, and between offers at the same one.
What a Wagering Requirement Actually Asks For
A wagering requirement is the total value of bets you have to place before bonus money, and anything won with it, can be withdrawn.
Say a casino offers a £30 bonus with a 5x wagering requirement on the bonus amount. You would need to place £150 of qualifying bets (£30 × 5) before the requirement is met. That £150 is the total you bet, not an amount you have to deposit or win, and you could lose money while placing those bets. Meeting the requirement doesn’t guarantee a profit either.
That’s worked out on the bonus alone. Some offers, especially outside Britain or under older terms, have counted the deposit and the bonus together, which can double the betting needed.
Games don’t always count equally. If a game contributes 50%, every £1 staked on it counts as 50p, so that same £150 requirement would take £300 of bets on that game. Some games may not count at all.
If this sounds fiddly, you’re in good company. In a 2024 study by the Behavioural Insights Team, 7 in 10 people couldn’t calculate how much they’d need to bet to meet a wagering requirement, and 3 in 5 didn’t realise one applied to the offer in front of them.
In Britain, since 19 January 2026, casinos licensed by the Gambling Commission can’t set a wagering requirement above ten times the bonus, and they can’t build one offer around more than one type of gambling, such as betting and slots together. Your own deposit was protected well before that: you should be able to withdraw it at any time, even while a bonus is active.
Why the Headline Figure Can Mislead
“Up to £200” means £200 at most, and you usually only get the full amount if you deposit at least that much. Smaller deposits get smaller bonuses, and there’s often a minimum deposit before you qualify at all.
Many offers set a maximum stake while bonus money is in play, and some cap how much of a bonus win can be withdrawn. Most bonuses expire, and the clock can start on the day you claim rather than the day you first play.
Checking the Casino Behind the Offer
Start with the licence: the Gambling Commission’s public register should list the exact website address you’re using, not just the name in the footer.
Read the terms the way you’d read the label on a pet supplement that promises a calmer dog, looking for what’s actually in it rather than what’s printed on the front. Clear terms tell you how much betting the bonus needs and how long you’ve got to do it.
The safer gambling tools are the other giveaway. Deposit limits, time-outs (a break of a day or more) and self-exclusion (blocking yourself for months or longer) should be easy to find and simple to use, ideally before you’ve deposited anything.
A Quick Checklist Before You Say Yes
- Is the wagering requirement on the bonus alone, or on the deposit and bonus together?
- Which games count, and at what percentage?
- When does the offer expire?
- Is there a maximum stake, or a cap on what you can withdraw from bonus winnings?
- Can you find the licence details and the deposit-limit settings in under a minute?
If any of those answers is hard to find, it’s fine to skip the offer, however big the number at the top. A bonus is still a way of gambling, so decide what you can afford to lose before you start, and stop when you reach it.
