Working out bonus terms
This page works bonus offers out rather than advertising them. No figure of the operator’s appears here: its site refuses access from here with a terse message and no stated reason. Two third-party versions circulate — 3,000 euro with 350 free spins on two sites, and 100 per cent up to 500 euro with 200 free spins on a third, precisely the figure that used to stand on this page. None of them states a wagering multiplier. What such an offer costs can still be calculated, and that is exactly what follows.
The four figures that set the price
A bonus is not a gift but an exchange: credit against a wagering obligation. What it costs follows from four figures — if one of them is missing the price cannot be calculated, and that on its own is a reason to leave the offer alone.
- Wagering multiplier — how many times the amount must be staked.
- Base amount — whether the multiplier applies to the bonus, to the deposit, or to both together.
- Game weightings — the percentage at which a game contributes to the wagering.
- Deadline — by when the wagering must be complete.
The calculation, worked through
Suppose an offer doubles a deposit of 100 units, the multiplier is 35, and it applies to bonus plus deposit. Then 200 × 35 = 7,000 units must be staked. If the same multiplier applies to the bonus alone, it is 3,500 — half as much, with identical advertising copy. That is exactly where two offers that look the same part company.
The second step is the house edge. It applies to the amount staked, not to the deposit. At 7,000 units of wagering and a return to player of 96 per cent, the statistical loss along the way is 7,000 × 0.04 = 280 units. That is the price of the bonus in the same unit as the bonus itself — and therefore the number that can be compared with it.
| Multiplier | Base | To be staked | Expected loss at 96% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | bonus only (100) | 2,500 | 100 |
| 35 | bonus only (100) | 3,500 | 140 |
| 35 | bonus + deposit (200) | 7,000 | 280 |
| 45 | bonus + deposit (200) | 9,000 | 360 |
The units are deliberately abstract here: which currency and which amounts apply at the operator is not published. The calculation stays the same as soon as the figure from the promotion terms is put in.
Game weightings: why a table does not clear the wagering
Almost every set of terms weights games differently. The usual pattern is 100 per cent for slots and a small share or nothing for table games and live tables. A stake of 10 units at a table weighted 10 per cent therefore clears 1 unit of wagering. Anyone who does not read the weightings may be clearing none of it at all.
The maximum stake while wagering
Nearly every bonus condition caps the stake per round while a wagering obligation is open. A single stake above that cap is usually enough to lose the bonus and anything won from it — not as a penalty, but as a breach of the terms. It is the most common reason why completed wagering is not recognised in the end.
Free spins: the count is not the point
With free spins, three figures matter more than the number of them: the stake value per spin, the wagering multiplier on whatever the spins win, and any cap on those winnings. Fifty spins at a low stake value are worth less than twenty at a high one; a multiplier of 40 on the winnings can cancel the difference again; and a cap removes everything above it.
Cashback and no-deposit bonuses
Cashback is the only bonus type whose value can be stated without a wagering calculation — but only if two things are stated with it: whether it is computed on net loss or on turnover, and whether it is paid as real money or as bonus credit. As real money without wagering it is worth exactly its size; as bonus credit with a multiplier, the calculation above applies again.
No-deposit bonuses almost always carry a high multiplier and a low cap on winnings. The two together mean the withdrawable amount is smaller than the bonus — that is not a flaw in the offer but how it works.
What to check before accepting
- Are the multiplier and its base amount both stated in the terms?
- Which games count, and at what percentage?
- How long is the deadline, and does it start at deposit or at activation?
- What is the maximum stake while wagering?
- Is there a cap on the withdrawable winnings?
An offer where one of those five answers is not public cannot be assessed. Which licence the operator states and how much of it can be confirmed is on the licensing page; which tips can actually be calculated is shown in the tips.