Casino welcome offer checklist

The casino welcome offer checklist at a glance

Print this table or keep it open in another tab. Each line is a question the offer’s full terms should answer. If the terms do not answer one, ask customer support before you deposit and keep the reply.

Checks 1–2: licence and eligibility before you sign up

Start with the operator, not the offer. Search the brand or domain on the Gambling Commission’s public register (opens in a new tab) and confirm the licence is active. Our guide on how to check a casino licence shows what each part of an entry means.

Eligibility clauses are easy to miss. Welcome offers are almost always for new customers only, and some exclude regions: PlayOJO’s welcome offer, for example, is for new UK customers excluding Northern Ireland. Where two brands share an owner, holding an account at one can affect a welcome offer at the other. Coral and Ladbrokes are both run by LC International Limited, so read the terms of both before assuming you qualify; the Coral vs Ladbrokes comparison sets out how closely they are linked.

Checks 3–5: payment method, qualifying deposit and opt-in

The payment method is the most common reason a welcome offer fails to arrive. Some UK offers exclude e-wallets and prepaid options entirely. Coral’s current offer, for example, lists Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards as not qualifying. If you plan to deposit by e-wallet, check this clause before anything else, and see why you can’t always use PayPal for a bonus.

Next, note whether you need only to deposit, or to deposit and then stake. “Deposit £10” and “deposit and bet £10 on slots” are different: the second means the £10 must be played before the bonus is credited. Finally, look for an opt-in. Casumo’s welcome bonus requires you to opt in; missing that step means the bonus never attaches. Our qualifying deposit and opt-in glossary entries cover both terms.

Checks 6–7: what the welcome bonus is worth and its wagering

Convert every headline into pounds. For spins, multiply the number of spins by the value of each spin. For a deposit match, multiply your deposit by the percentage, up to the cap.

Then look at wagering. Since 19 January 2026, the 10x wagering cap, announced in the Commission’s notice that gambling promotions are to be safer and simpler (opens in a new tab), means bonus funds can require no more than ten times their value in play. A £30 bonus at 10x needs £300 of bets; a £100 bonus needs £1,000. Spins with no wagering pay any winnings as withdrawable cash, which is why no-wagering free spins are simpler to judge. For the maths in full, use our wagering calculator.

Check 8: every clock in a welcome offer

Many offers run several clocks at once. Missing any of them can mean losing the bonus, so write the dates down when you claim.

• Claim window: how long you have to accept the bonus once it is offered. Coral gives 48 hours to accept its spins.
• Validity: how long the spins or bonus last once accepted. Coral’s spins are valid for 7 days.
• Wagering deadline: how long you have to complete the playthrough. Casumo allows 7 days; 10bet allows 3 days.
• Daily cut-offs: offers paid in instalments may need claiming each day, such as Ladbrokes’ spins, which must be claimed before 23:59 each day.

A short wagering deadline changes the value. Wagering £1,000 in 7 days means averaging about £143 of bets a day. If that is more than you would normally play, the offer is pushing you to play more than you planned, which is a good reason to skip it. More on deadlines in bonus expiry explained.

Checks 9–11: eligible games, maximum bet and winnings caps

Spins offers name specific slots. PlayOJO’s welcome spins are on Big Bass Bonanza; Coral’s are on selected games. Bonus funds may be restricted from some games or count at a reduced rate, a practice explained in game weighting.

A maximum bet rule limits each stake while a bonus is active. Casumo’s is £5 per bet. Breaking it can void bonus winnings, as our max bet rule guide explains. Separately, the legal £5 slot stake limit applies to players aged 25 and over, and £2 to those aged 18–24, whether or not a bonus is in play.

Some offers cap what you can win from the bonus. 10bet’s welcome bonus, for example, has maximum bonus winnings of £1,000. Spins offers may cap winnings too, so look for a max win or maximum cash-out clause.

Check 12: withdrawing your own money during a welcome bonus

Your deposit is your money. Find out what happens if you withdraw before finishing the wagering: usually the bonus and any bonus winnings are removed, while your remaining cash balance can be withdrawn. Read this clause alongside the casino’s withdrawal policy. Since 31 October 2021, casinos cannot let you reverse a withdrawal to keep playing, and the Gambling Commission says you should be able to withdraw without unreasonable delay. Our guide to voided winnings covers the situations where bonus winnings can lawfully be removed.

The checklist applied to three welcome offers

Here is the list run against three partner offers as published when we checked them on 5 October 2026. All require you to be 18+ and full terms apply.

Reading across the rows, the two spins offers are cheaper to judge: you know the exact face value and there is no wagering. Casumo’s match carries more value at higher deposits but asks for playthrough within a week. Neither type is better for everyone; free spins vs deposit bonus goes deeper.

Red flags a welcome offer checklist should catch

If an offer fails any of these, do not claim it. The ASA’s guidance on significant conditions in promotional terms (opens in a new tab) explains what an advert must show up front. Our guide to spotting an outdated offer shows how old terms linger on third-party sites.

How to claim a welcome offer once it passes the checklist

1. Open the offer through the casino’s own site or the designated offer link the terms specify.
2. Register with your real name, address and date of birth; the casino must verify your age and identity before you can deposit.
3. Choose your marketing preferences; every option should start switched off.
4. Set a deposit limit when prompted, then tick any opt-in box the offer requires.
5. Deposit with a qualifying method and, if needed, place the qualifying stake on eligible games.
6. Accept the bonus or spins within the claim window and note the validity and wagering deadlines.
7. Play within your budget and stop when you reach it, whether or not the wagering is finished.

Common slips are listed in casino welcome bonus mistakes, and all current welcome deals are compared on latest welcome offers.

Welcome offers that pass the checklist

Each partner below holds a Gambling Commission licence and publishes clear terms. Key conditions, checked 5 October 2026 (18+, terms apply):

• Coral Casino: new players who deposit and bet £10 or more on slots get 100 free spins (10p each, selected games, accept within 48 hours, valid 7 days); no wagering on spin winnings, and several e-wallets and card types are excluded. Coral Casino review.
• PlayOJO: new UK customers (not Northern Ireland) get 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p with a first deposit of £10 or more; winnings are paid as cash with no wagering. PlayOJO review.
• Casumo: opt in and deposit £20 or more for a 50% bonus up to £100, wagered 10x within 7 days, with a £5 maximum bet. Casumo review.

More step-by-step help sits in our guides section.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set deposit limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.