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A wager, or wagering requirement, is the number of times you have to bet a bonus before the money from it becomes yours. A $100 bonus with a 35x wager means $3,500 in bets first. Until then you can play with it, but you cannot withdraw it.
That one number decides whether a bonus is a gift or a bill. Pricing any offer takes two minutes, and the small rules next to it often cost players more than the wager itself.
The short version
| What it is | How many times you bet the bonus before you can withdraw it |
| How to count it | Bonus times wager. $100 at 35x is $3,500 in bets |
| What it costs | Bets times house edge. $3,500 on a 96% RTP slot costs about $140 on average |
| Break-even | About 25x on the bonus for a 96% slot. Above that, the bonus loses money on average |
| UK limit | 10x on bonus funds since 19 January 2026 |
| Crypto casinos | No cap. Many skip the big bonus and pay rakeback instead |
How a wager works, step by step
Take a common offer: 100% up to $100, with a 35x wager on the bonus. You deposit $100 and get $100 in bonus money. Your balance shows $200.
- The casino adds the $100 bonus. The balance says $200, but the bonus part is locked until the wager is done.
- Every bet counts toward a $3,500 target. A $1 spin moves you $1 closer, win or lose.
- Wins and losses go into the same balance. You can reach $3,500 in bets with $400 left, with $20 left, or run out long before.
- When the counter reaches $3,500, the bonus becomes real money and whatever is left can be withdrawn.
Step 3 is the part people miss. A wager does not mean you have to win $3,500. It means you have to bet it. Most players run out of balance before they get there, and the offer is priced with that in mind.
Bonus only, or deposit plus bonus
Check which amount the wager applies to. It can double the price of the same offer.
| Offer | Wager counts on | Bets you owe |
|---|---|---|
| $100 bonus, 35x on the bonus | $100 | $3,500 |
| $100 bonus, 35x on deposit plus bonus | $200 | $7,000 |
Same headline, same 35x, twice the betting. Terms usually say it in one line, like “35x (deposit + bonus)”. If the line only says “35x”, look for a worked example in the terms, or ask support in chat and save the reply.
What clearing a bonus really costs
Every bet loses a small cut on average. That cut is the house edge: 100% minus the RTP of the game. A slot with 96% RTP keeps about 4% of everything you bet over time.
So the average cost of a wager is one multiplication: bets you owe times the house edge. Here is a $100 bonus on a 96% slot.
| Wager | Bets you owe | Average cost | Bonus minus cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10x on the bonus | $1,000 | $40 | +$60 |
| 25x on the bonus | $2,500 | $100 | $0 |
| 35x on the bonus | $3,500 | $140 | -$40 |
| 50x on the bonus | $5,000 | $200 | -$100 |
| 35x on deposit plus bonus | $7,000 | $280 | -$180 |
The rule of thumb that falls out of this: on a 96% slot, a wager above 25x on the bonus costs more than the bonus gives, on average. When the wager counts on deposit plus bonus, the line drops to about 12x. On a 97% slot the bonus-only line moves up to about 33x.
This is an average, not a forecast. Some players hit a big win while clearing, most lose the bonus on the way. The average tells you which side of the line an offer sits on. You can run any offer through the calculator on our bonuses page: put in the bonus, the wager and the RTP of the game you will really play.
Game weighting: why roulette barely counts
Most casinos count slots at 100% toward the wager and table games at a fraction, or not at all. The UK Gambling Commission gives an example in its consultation response on wagering: with roulette weighted at 30%, each £1 you bet on roulette moves the wager by 30p.
That turns low edge games into an expensive way to clear. With $3,500 to clear and roulette at 30%, you need about $11,700 in roulette bets. European roulette keeps 2.7%, so the average cost is about $315, more than double the slot route. Live casino often counts 0% or 10%. Find the table called “game contribution” or “game weighting” in the bonus terms before you pick a game.
The rules next to the wager
The wager is the number in the banner. These are the lines that actually take money from players, and they sit in the same terms.
Max bet
While a bonus is active, most casinos cap the size of one bet, often around $5. Go over it once and the casino can cancel the bonus and every win made with it. This is the most common reason a winning bonus pays nothing. Keep every bet under the cap, and set a bet limit if the casino lets you.
Max cashout
Some bonuses cap what you can withdraw from them, for example 5 or 10 times the bonus. Turn a $100 bonus into $2,000 with a 5x cap and you can take out $500. The rest is removed.
Deadline
The wager has a time limit, usually days or weeks. Miss it and the bonus and its winnings expire. $3,500 in seven days is $500 of bets a day.
Excluded games
Jackpot slots, some high RTP slots and bonus buy features are often banned while a bonus is active. Playing them can void the bonus even when the game lets you start.
Which money goes first
With a non-sticky bonus, you play with your own deposit first. If you win before you touch the bonus, you can usually withdraw and drop the bonus. With a sticky bonus, the money is mixed from the first spin, and asking for a withdrawal often cancels the bonus and its wins. Non-sticky is the friendlier kind.
Free spins
Free spins usually carry a wager on what they win. 50 spins that win $12, with a 40x wager, means $480 in bets before that $12 is yours.
What the law says
In Great Britain the answer is now short. Since 19 January 2026, casinos licensed by the Gambling Commission may not set a wager above 10x on bonus funds. The Commission explained it with an example: a £10 bonus at 50x means £500 of play before any win can be withdrawn. Its consultation found some operators asking for up to 60x.
Earlier, the Competition and Markets Authority made big UK operators commit that players can always withdraw their own deposit without a wager on it, and that vague terms cannot be used to confiscate money.
Most crypto casinos are licensed outside the UK, often in Curaçao, and none of this applies to them. Their bonus terms are whatever they write. That is why we read the terms ourselves and test with our own money before a bonus goes on our shelf.
How crypto casinos do it differently
Many crypto casinos lean on rakeback instead of a big welcome bonus. Rakeback returns a share of the house edge on your bets, usually with no wager on it. It is smaller than a headline bonus, but it is money you can withdraw.
Duel is an example from our own tests: no welcome bonus, only rakeback, and our withdrawal arrived in 2 minutes. A big bonus suits long slot sessions. Rakeback suits people who want to cash out often.
How Dr. Wager reads a bonus
Our Dr. Wager runs the same checks on every offer before it goes on the shelf. You can do it in two minutes.
- Find the wager and what it counts on: the bonus, or deposit plus bonus.
- Multiply. That amount times the wager is the betting you owe.
- Multiply again by the house edge of the game you will play. If the result is bigger than the bonus, the offer costs you money on average.
- Find the max bet. Write it down and stay under it.
- Find the max cashout and the deadline.
- Check the game weighting table and the excluded games list.
- Screenshot the bonus terms on the day you take the bonus. Terms change, and the screenshot is your proof.
If a line is missing or vague, ask support in chat and save the answer. A clear answer in writing is worth more than the bonus. Bonus terms are also where many disputes start, and we cover that in how online casinos scam players.
When to say no
Turn the bonus down if you want to withdraw soon, if you play live casino or table games, if the max bet is lower than how you like to play, or if the maths in step 3 comes out negative. Without a bonus, your deposit is yours from the first spin. Most casinos let you decline the bonus at deposit. If the box is ticked by default, untick it.
And if clearing a wager has started to feel like a job you have to finish, that is a good moment to stop. Free, private help is on our help page.
FAQ
Q01What does wager mean in a casino?
A wager, or wagering requirement, is how many times you must bet a bonus before you can withdraw it or the winnings from it. A $100 bonus with a 35x wager means you have to place $3,500 in bets first.
Q02How do you calculate a wagering requirement?
Multiply the amount the wager applies to by the wager. A $100 bonus at 35x is $3,500 in bets. If it applies to deposit plus bonus, a $100 deposit and a $100 bonus at 35x is $7,000. To see the average cost, multiply that by the house edge, which is 4% on a 96% RTP slot.
Q03Is a 35x wager good?
On average it costs more than it gives. At 35x on the bonus, a 96% slot loses about $140 while clearing a $100 bonus. A wager of about 25x or lower on the bonus is where an offer starts to be worth something on average.
Q04Do I have to win the wager amount?
No. You have to bet it, not win it. Every spin counts toward the total whether it wins or loses. Most players run out of balance before they reach it.
Q05What happens if I withdraw before the wager is done?
It depends on the bonus. With a non-sticky bonus you can often withdraw your own money and lose only the bonus. With a sticky bonus, a withdrawal request usually cancels the bonus and the winnings made with it. The terms say which kind you have.
Q06What is the highest wager allowed in the UK?
Since 19 January 2026, casinos licensed by the UK Gambling Commission may not set a wagering requirement above 10x on bonus funds. Casinos licensed elsewhere, including most crypto casinos, are not bound by this limit.
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