Stage 3: Bonus Terms, and What a Wagering Requirement Actually Costs
Stage 3 of 5: Bonus Terms. Prerequisite: Stage 2, Money In and Out, an account on your province's legal platform with a deposit method you know how to withdraw through. By the end of this stage you'll be able to read a bonus offer, work out how much betting it asks of you, and put an honest number on what that betting is expected to cost.
Why a bonus is a contract, not a gift
A casino bonus is money, or spins, credited to your account with conditions attached. Until those conditions are met, you usually cannot withdraw it, and often you cannot withdraw winnings made with it either. The conditions are the part that decides whether the offer is worth anything to you, and they are almost always in the terms rather than the headline.
The terms you'll meet most:
- Bonus funds: credit that can be played but not withdrawn until conditions are met.
- Wagering requirement (playthrough): the total amount you must bet before bonus funds become withdrawable, usually written as a multiple, such as 35x.
- Game contribution: the share of each bet that counts toward the requirement. Some games may count fully, some partly, some not at all.
- Maximum bet: a cap on how much you can stake per spin or hand while a bonus is active.
- Expiry: the deadline for meeting the requirement before the bonus is removed.
- Maximum cashout: a cap on how much can be withdrawn from winnings made with the bonus.
Operators set these differently, so treat the list as a vocabulary, not a description of any particular offer.
Stage 3, Action 1: Find out what the multiple applies to
A 35x requirement means very different things depending on what it multiplies. On a $100 bonus alone, 35x is $3,500 of betting. If it applies to the deposit plus the bonus, a $100 deposit matched with $100 means 35x of $200, which is $7,000.
Find the line in the terms that says which one applies before you do anything else.
Stage 3, Action 2: Put a cost on the betting
Every bet on a casino game carries an expected cost, set by the game's return to player (RTP). Starburst, a NetEnt slot with 10 fixed paylines, has a published RTP of 96.09%. That means the expected cost of betting on it is 3.91% of the amount wagered, over the long run.
| Requirement | Total betting required | Expected cost at 96.09% RTP |
|---|---|---|
| 35x on a $100 bonus | $3,500 | $136.85 |
| 35x on $100 deposit plus $100 bonus | $7,000 | $273.70 |
| 10x on a $100 bonus | $1,000 | $39.10 |
Read the first row slowly. On these numbers, clearing a $100 bonus at 35x is expected to cost more than the bonus is worth. The 10x row shows how much the multiple alone changes the picture. It's the most useful calculation in this stage.
Two cautions. RTP describes a long run average, and any one session can land well above or below it. Starburst is rated low volatility, so its results tend to swing less than a high volatility game, but that changes the ride, not the expected cost. And none of this makes a bonus a way to win: the betting it requires carries the same expected cost as any other betting, and the conditions in Actions 3 and 4 can remove the bonus entirely.
Stage 3, Action 3: Check which games count
If the offer lists game contributions, check the games you actually intend to play. A game that counts at a fraction of its stake multiplies the betting needed. A game excluded entirely does nothing for the requirement at all. If the terms are silent, ask support in writing first.
Stage 3, Action 4: Note the maximum bet and the clock
A maximum bet rule can void a bonus, and any winnings from it, if you go over it once. An expiry date can remove the bonus before you finish. Write both down alongside the requirement you calculated in Action 1.
Stage 3, Action 5: Decide, including "no"
Declining is a normal, sensible outcome of this stage. On some platforms, accepting a bonus ties your deposit to its terms as well, which can delay a withdrawal you would otherwise make freely, so check whether that applies. If the numbers from Action 2 don't work for you, say no and play with your own money under no conditions.
Provincial note: Ontario's rules are specific
In Ontario, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) sets standards for how licensed operators present bonuses. Under its Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming:
- Advertising of inducements, bonuses and credits is prohibited except on an operator's own gaming site and through direct marketing a player has actively consented to (Standard 2.05).
- All material conditions must be disclosed at the offer's first presentation on the gaming site, with all other conditions no more than one click away. An offer may not be called "free" unless it is free, or "risk free" if you must risk your own money (Standard 2.06).
- You must actively consent to receiving direct bonus marketing and be able to withdraw that consent at any time (Standard 2.07).
That is why bonus offers don't appear in public gambling advertising in Ontario. Outside Ontario, those AGCO standards don't apply; your provincial platform's own terms govern its offers, so read them on that platform. A site not licensed in your province is not bound by any of this.
What this stage doesn't teach you
Reading terms well doesn't make a game more winnable. Stage 4, Limits and Tools, comes next, and it matters more than this one: set a deposit limit before you accept any offer, not after.
Before you move on
- You can say what a bonus's multiple applies to: bonus only, or deposit plus bonus.
- You can turn a wagering requirement into total betting and then into an expected cost using a game's RTP.
- You've checked game contributions, the maximum bet and the expiry on any offer you're considering.
- If you're in Ontario, you know which AGCO standards govern how offers are shown to you.
Responsible Gambling
The legal age for online casino play is 19 in most provinces and 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. Wagering requirements are designed to keep you betting, and the risk specific to this stage is chasing a requirement past the point you planned to stop because the bonus feels half earned. In Ontario, ConnexOntario offers free, confidential support at 1 866 531 2600, and every other province runs its own support line.