Five clauses decide what a casino bonus is worth. The wagering multiple and its base, the games that count, the time limit and maximum bet, the payout cap and the cancellation rule each change the sum. The offers table is above; the figures below come from the casinos’ own general bonus terms, so they can differ from an offer’s own box.
What does the wagering multiple apply to?
To the bonus alone at some casinos, and to the deposit plus the bonus at others, and that base changes the sum more than the multiple does. Take a £50 deposit with a £50 bonus:
| Casino and welcome-offer rule | Base | Total bets needed |
|---|---|---|
| Win Place and LuckyWave, 40× the bonus | £50 | £2,000 |
| Wildies and CosmoBet, 30× the deposit plus the bonus | £100 | £3,000 |
So a lower multiple is not always the lighter one. Velobet shows two figures: its card says 25×, and its welcome terms saved in October say 30× on deposit plus bonus. At 25× the sum is £2,500 (£83 a day over 30 days), and at 30× it is £3,000 (£100 a day). Work the sum again with the figure in the box of the offer you pick. Other casinos set the multiple per offer: Mad Casino from 25× to 40×, ShelbyWin 30× by default but with other figures for some promotions, and WinBeast 40× on the bonus and the free-spin result, with one offer at 45×. Free spins often carry a multiple of their own, such as 40× at Wildies, Win Place, LuckyWave and Mad Casino.
Which games count toward the wagering?
Slots usually count in full; table and live games count for much less, or not at all. At Win Place and LuckyWave, slots count 100% and live games, table games, video poker and roulette 5%, so the £2,000 from the example becomes £40,000 of bets at a live table. ShelbyWin generally counts table, card and live games at 10%, video poker at under 2% and baccarat at nothing. CosmoBet’s welcome wagering runs on slots only, and Mad Casino excludes card games, roulette and demo play from bonus wagering.
A second list sits next to the percentages: games blocked while a bonus is active. LuckyWave’s terms let it block jackpot games and a list of named titles, Zoom Roulette, Super 7 Blackjack and Three Card Rummy among them. If you have a favourite game, it is worth searching for its name in the terms before you opt in.
What are the time limits and maximum bets?
Where a casino states a time limit, it is usually seven days, and €5 is the most common maximum bet. The comparison below puts the clauses side by side, with a dash where the terms we read do not state a figure.
| Casino | Multiple and base | Days | Max bet | Payout cap | Free-spin multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildies | 30× deposit plus bonus | 7 | €5 | — (€150,000 maximum win per round) | 40× |
| Win Place and LuckyWave | 40× bonus | 7 | – | 10× bonus | 40× |
| Mad Casino | 25× to 40× by offer | 7 | €5 | 10× bonus | 40× |
| Casinos showing a Curaçao licence | |||||
| CosmoBet | 30× deposit plus bonus | 7 | 5 in account currency | 10× deposit | – |
| Velobet | 25× on the card; 30× deposit plus bonus in the welcome terms | 30 | €5 | 10× deposit | – |
| ZizoBet | – | – | – | 10× deposit | – |
Spread over a week, the £2,000 from the example means about £286 of bets a day. Free spins and free bets run on shorter or separate clocks. LuckyWave’s claimed free spins expire after 3 days, Mad Casino’s free spins after 24 hours, and WinBeast’s free bets after 14 days; WinBeast gives 7 days for its welcome cash bonus and a default €5 maximum bet. One Win Place offer gives only 3 days to wager. ShelbyWin allows €10 unless a promotion sets its own figure, and also asks that no single bet reaches a fifth of the bonus. The limit applies to every single bet while the bonus is active, so the figure is worth having in mind before the first spin.
How much can a bonus pay out?
Most casinos cap it, at ten times the bonus or at ten times the deposit. The caps sit in different places:
- Ten times the bonus: Win Place and LuckyWave by default, Mad Casino as a maximum win, WinBeast for cash bonuses including cashback, and SlotRoyals, where a welcome offer sets no figure of its own, for converting a welcome bonus to real money. With a £50 bonus, that is £500, whatever the balance shows at the end.
- Ten times the qualifying deposit: ZizoBet, Velobet and CosmoBet, for winnings from a deposit bonus.
- Fixed caps on free play: €100 on no-deposit bonuses and free spins at ZizoBet, Velobet and CosmoBet, €100 on free-spin winnings at WinBeast, and €50 on no-deposit spins at Win Place and LuckyWave. ZizoBet and Velobet cap free-bet winnings at 15 times the free bet.
Cashback can carry rules too. At Win Place and LuckyWave, cashback counts as a bonus unless stated otherwise, so the general bonus rules apply to it; Mad Casino sets a wagering of 2× to 6× on cashback.
What happens if you cancel or withdraw early?
The cleanest moment to change your mind is before the first bet with the bonus. At WinBeast, any bonus can be dropped before its wagering begins without touching your own money, and LuckyWave lets you turn a deposit bonus down at that point too, in which case the free spins that came with it do not arrive either.
Once wagering has started, the casinos’ rules part company, one by one:
- LuckyWave: what stays in your account depends on the balance when you cancel. With a £50 deposit and a £50 bonus, a balance of £120, above the deposit plus the bonus, is reduced to the original £50 deposit; a balance of £80, between the deposit and the deposit plus the bonus, loses the bonus and keeps £30; a balance of £40, at or below the bonus amount, is lost in full.
- SlotRoyals: no withdrawal is accepted while a bonus is active.
- CosmoBet (Curaçao): the bonus must be cancelled before a withdrawal, which forfeits the bonus and its winnings.
- ZizoBet (Curaçao): cancelling a bonus to withdraw early deducts the bonus and its winnings, and a bonus that expires takes its winnings with it.
- Velobet (Curaçao): the bonus and its winnings since activation are deducted.
Which smaller clauses are worth a look?
A handful of short clauses decide who can take a bonus and how it can be played. LuckyWave’s bonus terms give a good example of each:
- One at a time. Only one bonus can be active, and deposit bonuses do not stack; Velobet allows one bonus of each type per player.
- Once per household. Each bonus is limited to one per person or account, and also per family, household, address, e-mail, card number, IP address and shared computer.
- Countries left out. Players from the United States, Malta, Georgia, Poland, Belarus and Russia are excluded from all of its bonuses.
- No saved rounds. Leaving rounds, free spins or bonus rounds unplayed to use after the wagering is complete is not allowed, and the casino may cancel the bonus and its winnings if it suspects it.
- Terms that can change. The casino can amend its bonus terms at any time, so they are worth reading just before you opt in.
A reading order for any offer
- Read the offer’s own box in the table above, then the general bonus terms for anything it does not say.
- Work out the total bets: the multiple times its base, bonus alone or deposit plus bonus.
- Check how your usual games count and the maximum bet with the bonus active.
- Divide the total by the days you have, and ask whether that pace fits your normal play.
- Note the payout cap and the cancellation rule before the first bet.
Our Anjouan casino bonuses page sets the welcome offers beside their terms, and the no deposit bonus and free spins pages cover those offers on their own. The deposit play-through rule, which applies with or without a bonus, is set out in our cashout times guide, and the best Anjouan casinos page shows who leads on bonus time, payouts and support. Games and cashiers have their own guide, Anjouan online casinos, and the casinos that name an Anjouan licence are gathered under online casinos with an Anjouan licence.
If keeping a bonus would mean betting more than you planned, playing without it is just as sound a choice. You must be 18 or over to play; GamCare’s National Gambling Helpline can be reached at no cost on 0808 8020 133.