A “200% up to $1,000 bonus!” sounds generous. The number that decides whether it’s actually worth taking is the one in the small print: the wagering requirement.

What a wagering requirement is

A wagering requirement (also “playthrough” or “rollover”) is how many times you must bet the bonus — or the bonus plus your deposit — before you can withdraw anything won from it. It’s written as a multiple: 35x, 40x, and so on.

If you take a $100 bonus at 35x wagering on the bonus, you must place $3,500 of bets before any winnings become withdrawable.

The maths nobody shows you

Every bet you place hands the house its edge. On a game with 96% RTP (return to player), the house edge is 4%. Across $3,500 of wagering, the expected cost of clearing the bonus is:

$3,500 × 4% = $140

So a “$100 bonus” at 35x on a 96% RTP game is, on average, worth less than nothing before variance — you’d expect to lose $140 clearing a $100 bonus. Lower wagering (20x) or higher-RTP games swing this back in your favour.

Check it yourself

Don’t take our word for it — run any offer through our Bonus Decoder. Enter the deposit, match %, wagering and game RTP, and it shows the real amount you must wager and the expected cost to clear it.

What to look for

  • Wagering ≤ 25x is genuinely good; 40x+ is steep.
  • Check whether wagering applies to bonus only or deposit + bonus (the latter doubles the work).
  • Watch game weighting — slots usually count 100%, table games often 10% or less.
  • Watch max cashout caps on bonus winnings.

A smaller bonus with fair terms beats a giant headline with punishing wagering almost every time. That’s why our reviews score bonus fairness, not bonus size.

18+. Gambling involves risk. This is information, not advice. Get support.