How to Read Casino Bonus Terms: 8 Key Rules Explained
Bonus terms decide how much you can actually withdraw - not the headline number. This guide breaks every key clause into plain language so you can judge any offer in under 3 minutes.
8 key terms explained
5 minute read
Written for Australian players
1 What Are Casino Bonus Terms?
Casino bonus terms will tell you the rules regarding the use of that bonus, when you can withdraw winnings from that bonus, and how much money you can withdraw from the bonus. These are found behind every bonus offer.
The bonus offer may read something like "100% up to A$1,000 + 100 Free Spins" but the terms and conditions will tell you what you need to do to receive these bonuses as yours.
All online casinos are required to display the terms and conditions for any bonus offers. These can typically be found in a "Read More" section on the bonus offer page. Many also have a general bonus rules page linked to from the footer of their website.
Why terms matter more than the headline
The terms and conditions for each bonus offer will likely be written differently by each casino. Some will use different terms to other online casinos for the same bonus offer but the purpose behind each will be the same: to prevent free money from being taken out of the casino by players who are very lucky.
The 8 terms you need to understand
Most online casinos targeting Australian players have bonus offers with a handful of clauses in their terms and conditions. By learning these 8 clauses, you can quickly understand the value of any bonus that the casino may offer:
- Wagering requirements (also called playthrough or rollover)
- Maximum winnings cap
- Game contribution rates
- Maximum bet limit while on a bonus
- Bonus expiry date
- Eligible games
- Eligible payment methods
- Country and player eligibility
2 Wagering Requirements - Clause 1
Wagering requirements will detail how many times you are required to bet on any winnings from the bonus before you are permitted to withdraw those winnings. This is the single most important clause within the bonus offer.
The maths behind the wagering requirements is simple. If the bonus is A$100 with a 30x wagering requirement, for instance, then you are required to place A$3,000 in bets before you are allowed to withdraw your winnings. A bonus of A$100 at 50x wagering, however, would require A$5,000 in bets. The higher the multiplier, the more difficult it is for the player to actually withdraw any winnings from the bonus.
Bonus-only vs deposit-plus-bonus
Most online casinos will state whether the wagering requirement will apply only to the bonus itself or to the player's deposit amount as well as the bonus amount. The second would be more difficult to meet, so always check which amount will be used to calculate the wagering requirement.
What does 30x wagering actually mean in practice?
If a player deposits A$100 and receives a A$100 bonus (as with a 100% bonus offer), and if the wagering requirement is 30x wagering on the bonus amount only, then the player would need to wager A$3,000. Assuming a A$5 bet on each pokie game, the player would have to play 600 spins. At the average return-to-player percentage of online pokies (around 96%), however, the player would lose around A$120 before fulfilling the wagering requirement for such a bonus offer. So, the effective bonus offer is close to negative.
Wagering multipliers at a glance
| Wagering multiplier | On A$100 bonus | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 0x (no wagering) | A$0 to wager | Excellent |
| 10x to 20x | A$1,000 to A$2,000 | Good |
| 25x to 35x | A$2,500 to A$3,500 | Fair |
| 40x to 50x | A$4,000 to A$5,000 | Tough |
| 60x or more | A$6,000 or more | Avoid |
3 Maximum Winnings Cap - Clause 2
The maximum winnings limit for a bonus will state the most that can be withdrawn from that bonus. So, should the player win A$10,000 with a A$500 bonus but the winnings are capped at 5x, the casino will only pay out A$2,500 for that player - the other A$7,500 will be lost.
Maximum winnings caps are usually included within no-deposit bonus offers and offers of free spins. Casinos will use these caps as a means of limiting the risk of losing money on bonuses that are awarded to players for free. While this is acceptable for no-deposit bonuses that offer small amounts of money, it can be seen as a negative bonus practice for large welcome bonuses.
Free spins caps are normal - deposit bonus caps are a warning sign
A no-deposit bonus of A$20 but limited to a maximum win of A$100 is acceptable. A welcome bonus of A$1,000 but capped at a maximum win of A$500, though, is not. Always check that the maximum winnings is higher than the amount that you will win during normal play.
4 Game Contribution Rates - Clause 3
Casino bonus offers will often include a clause that details the contribution rate of each type of game towards the wagering requirement. For pokies, for instance, the contribution rate will be 100%. Table games will have a much lower contribution rate - often 10% or even 0% towards the bonus wagering requirement.
The rate at which each game contributes to the bonus wagering requirement has a dramatic effect on the amount of money that must be wagered by the player to reach the required amount. For instance, a wagering requirement of 30x applied to all games within the casino would require the player to place A$3,000 in bets. However, if those 30x wagering conditions are only applied to table games at 10% contribution rates, the player would have to place A$30,000 in bets to fulfill that requirement. This is essentially impossible to complete.
Why casinos restrict table game contributions
Because pokies have a higher house edge compared to table games, casinos can afford to allow bonus wagering on them. For pokies, the house edge is around 4%. For European roulette, the house edge is 2.7%. For blackjack, if the player plays correctly, the house edge is under 1%. The bonus offers cannot allow players to win large amounts of money on games where the casino does not have a statistical advantage - it would result in a loss of money for the casino. So, bonuses either exclude these types of games from the bonus period or apply a low contribution rate to them.
The same rules apply to live dealer games within the casino bonuses. Jackpot pokies and feature-buy bets may also be excluded from bonus offers or contribute at a different rate to the bonus wagering.
5 Maximum Bet Limit - Clause 4
Most online casinos will also have a maximum limit on the amount of money that can be bet on each game spin by a player while they are claiming the bonus. These limits will usually be between A$5 and A$10 per spin. If a player places a bet higher than this amount, the player's bonus will be voided and any winnings will be removed from their account.
This bonus condition may come as a surprise to a lot of players. These players are used to placing bets of A$15 per spin. Perhaps when they claimed the bonus, they did not read the terms. When they placed a single bet above the limit (however small), they won a large sum of money - but their winnings were voided when they requested their winnings to be sent to their bank.
How the maximum bet rule is enforced
The casino will keep close tabs on how much money is being wagered by a player while they are actively claiming a bonus. Should the player exceed the maximum bet for that bonus offer while they are claiming it, the bonus offer may be voided when the player requests their winnings to be paid out - this is not grey area within the bonus offer terms.
Some bonuses will also have lower limits on specific game types or specific types of bets within a game. For instance, even money roulette bets may be excluded from the bonus wagering. Always read the full bonus offer terms rather than the summary of the bonus offer that is featured at the top of the bonus offer page.
6 Bonus Expiry Date - Clause 5
All bonus offers will have an expiry date after which the bonus will be voided. This date may apply to the bonus winnings itself but also to the winnings that can be made while the bonus is active. The expiry date will usually be from the date on which the bonus was credited to your casino account.
The length of time that a bonus is active will differ from casino to casino. However, deposit bonuses are usually active for between 7 and 30 days. Free spins bonuses are usually much shorter - between 24 and 72 hours. A few online casinos will have a bonus active for as short a period as 12 hours.
Expiry and wagering requirements interact
The expiry date and the wagering requirement are often two of the most important features of a bonus offer. A bonus offer requiring a 40x wagering requirement and active for only 3 days will be harder to fulfill than a bonus offer requiring only a 20x wagering requirement and active for 30 days. So, a low wagering requirement is useless if the expiry date comes too soon for the player to fulfill the bonus offer.
Some online casinos will offer free spins as a separate bonus offer from the deposit bonus. In these cases, the free spins may have a separate expiry date from the rest of the bonus offers from that online casino - they may need to be used within a 24 hour period for instance.
7 Eligible Games and Payment Methods - Clauses 6 and 7
Eligible games
Some bonuses only apply to specific games within the casino. For example, free spins bonuses usually come with a bonus on one specific pokie game. Some cash bonuses do not include table games, live casino games or jackpot games.
By using the bonus money on an excluded game, the winnings may be invalidated. Your bonus may also be invalidated. Always check the eligible games before you start playing.
Eligible payment methods
Not all methods of depositing money into the casino offer bonuses. Some casinos do not offer bonuses for e-wallets, PayID or cryptocurrency deposits. This is less common at the Australian-friendly casinos.
Always ensure that the method you are using to deposit money into the casino offers the bonus. Once you have deposited money into the casino account without meeting the bonus criteria, you will not be able to claim the bonus.
Country and player eligibility
All the bonuses from online casinos on this site target Australian players. Some bonuses may exclude players based on their country of residence even if the casino accepts players from Australia.
8 How to Spot a Good Bonus vs a Bad One
Use this 4-step process whenever you come across a bonus offer from the casino. Follow the steps in order - if the bonus fails on one of the early steps, skip to the last step.
- Check the wagering requirements. Find the number - it is usually under 30x on the bonus amount. If the wagering requirement is over 50x on the bonus, the bonus is almost always not worth claiming - especially if it is a cashback bonus.
- Check the maximum winnings. If there is no maximum winnings, the bonus is worth claiming. If there is a maximum winnings limit, ensure that it is at least 10x the bonus value. If the maximum winnings are 5x the bonus or less, the bonus is not worth claiming.
- Check the validity period for the bonus. 30x wagering requirement might be manageable with a validity period of 30 days. However, if the bonus expires in 3 days, the bonus might be too tough to meet the wagering requirement. The expiry date and the wagering requirement need to be read together to determine if a bonus is worth claiming.
- Review the game contribution details for the bonus. Ensure that your favourite games contribute 100% of the wagering requirement for the bonus. If you play any other game types than pokies, ensure that they are eligible for the bonus.
The clearest sign of a trustworthy bonus
Look for transparent terms and conditions for the bonus. A transparent casino will highlight the wagering requirement, maximum winnings, expiry date and game contribution table on the bonus offer page. Look for these features - if missing, do not claim the bonus.
When skipping the bonus is the right call
By claiming a bonus, you will have to make wagers on the games according to the bonus terms. If the bonus terms are too tight, you might not be able to withdraw your own deposit from your casino account until you have made the required wagers. It is always an option to not claim the bonus. There is no obligation to do so.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 40x wagering on a bonus mean?
A 40x wagering bonus means you must make 40 bets on the winning games with the bonus amount before you can collect winnings from the bonus. For a A$100 bonus, 40x means A$4,000 in bets. If the wagering requirement is for the total of your deposit and bonus amount, the total number of bets will be A$8,000 with a A$200 deposit. Always check which amount will be subject to the wagering requirement.
Can I withdraw my deposit while a bonus is active?
By requesting a withdrawal from your casino account while the bonus is still active, the bonus will be cancelled and your winnings from the bonus will be voided. However, your own deposited money might still have a one-time wagering requirement before it can be withdrawn - check the terms.
What is the difference between bonus-only wagering and deposit-plus-bonus wagering?
Bonus-only wagering means the multiplier will apply to the bonus amount. Deposit-plus-bonus wagering means the bonus will be applied to your deposit amount and bonus amount. If you deposited A$100 and received a bonus of A$100, bonus-only wagering will require A$3,000 in bets at 30x wagering. Deposit-plus-bonus wagering will require A$6,000 in bets. Always confirm which wagering type applies to the bonus.
What happens if I bet more than the maximum bet limit while on a bonus?
If you make a bet that is larger than the maximum bet limit allowed for the bonus games, the casino might void the bonus and void your winnings from the bonus. This is a common bonus clause. Always ensure that your betting amount on bonus games is lower than the maximum allowed bet for those games.
Do free spins bonuses come with wagering requirements?
Yes, it is. Winnings from free spins will usually be paid out as bonus money that has its own wagering requirement - usually 30x to 40x. There are no-wagering free spins bonuses but they are much less common.
Are there casino bonuses with no wagering requirements?
Yes, although they are relatively rare. Some casinos do offer no-wagering free spins bonuses or deposit match bonuses that pay winnings immediately. The maximum winnings from such bonuses will usually be lower though - as a limitation on the bonus winnings to the casino. A small no-wagering bonus is usually more valuable than a large bonus with a 50x wagering requirement.
Our no wagering casino comparison compiles the operators currently offering wager-free deals.
How do I know if a bonus offer is genuinely good value?
Start with the wagering requirement - if it is less than 30x, continue to the next step. Check the validity period for the bonus - ensure that it offers enough days to make the required wagering. Then check the bonus maximum winnings - it should be at least 10x the bonus value. If the bonus passes all three steps, the bonus is worth claiming. If it fails in two or more steps, the bonus is almost certainly not worth claiming.
What is a sticky bonus?
A sticky bonus cannot be withdrawn - instead, it is automatically removed from your account upon withdrawal of your winnings. Only your winnings are paid out - not the bonus amount. However, the bonus still has value because you will be able to play with the bonus amount. Always check if a bonus is sticky or cashable - it might save you the effort of claiming it.
Responsible Gambling
Online casino bonuses can extend your play time, but they do not change the mathematical edge of any game. Gambling should only ever be done with money you can afford to lose. Never chase losses or use bonuses as a strategy to recover previous losses.
If you find yourself gambling more than planned, chasing losses, or feeling anxious about gambling, free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day. You must be 18 or older to gamble in Australia.