How wagering requirements work

What a wagering requirement actually is

A wagering requirement is a condition attached to a casino bonus that says how much you must bet before the bonus, and any winnings made with it, can be withdrawn. It is written as a multiple: “10x the bonus” means the total value of your stakes must reach ten times the bonus amount. The bets don’t have to be lost; they simply have to be placed. A £1 spin that returns £1.50 still adds exactly £1 to your progress.

Casinos use the condition because a bonus is a marketing cost. Without one, a player could take a matched deposit straight to the cashier. The requirement keeps the bonus inside the games for a while, and because every game carries a house edge, the casino expects to recover part of the cost during that play. For a deeper look at the commercial logic, see why casinos have wagering requirements.

Wagering is counted in stakes, not losses. Turnover of £200 can be reached with a balance that rises and falls many times along the way.

How wagering requirements work under the UK 10x cap

From 19 January 2026, the Gambling Commission’s licence code says operators must not apply wagering requirements that make a customer play through bonus funds more than 10 times. The wording sits in social responsibility code 5.1.1 of the licence conditions (opens in a new tab), which also says bonus terms must be clear, transparent, fair and readily accessible. The Commission announced the change in March 2025 in its news release on safer and simpler gambling promotions (opens in a new tab), and the start date was moved from 19 December 2025 to 19 January 2026.

The same rule change banned promotions that mix gambling products, such as an offer that asks you to bet on football to receive casino spins. The Commission’s own illustration of the old problem was a £10 bonus with 50x wagering, which meant £500 of play before anything could be withdrawn. Under the cap, the same £10 bonus can require no more than £100. Our 10x wagering cap explainer covers the rule itself, and before and after the 10x cap compares old and new offers.

Which balance you play with first

Most UK casinos keep two balances once a bonus is active: your cash balance (your deposit and any winnings made with it) and your bonus balance. The terms say which one is used first. The usual order is cash first, then bonus funds. That order matters, because while you are still playing with your own deposit, you can normally withdraw it; once the bonus balance is in use, the wagering requirement controls what happens next.

This follows commitments that several operators, including Ladbrokes, gave to the Competition and Markets Authority in 2018, set out on the CMA’s online gambling case page (opens in a new tab): players should be able to withdraw their own money during bonus play. The two broad bonus designs are explained in sticky vs non-sticky bonuses.

1. Your deposit lands in the cash balance.
2. The bonus lands in a separate bonus balance once you opt in.
3. Bets usually draw on cash first, then on the bonus.
4. Every eligible stake adds to your wagering progress, weighted by game type.
5. When progress reaches the target, the remaining bonus balance converts to cash.
6. If the deadline passes first, the bonus and any winnings still tied to it are removed.

What counts towards wagering and what doesn’t

Not every bet moves the counter equally. Three conditions usually decide how much a stake is worth:

• Game weighting. Slots commonly count at 100%, while table games and live casino titles often count for a fraction or nothing. See game weighting explained.
• Maximum bet. A cap on the stake per spin or hand while a bonus is active. Casumo’s published terms set it at £5. The max bet rule guide covers what breaking it can cost.
• Excluded games. Some titles, often jackpot or low-edge games, may not count at all, as explained in why some games are excluded from bonuses.

10bet’s welcome bonus is a clean example of a game restriction written into the headline terms: the 100% match up to £25 must be wagered 10x on slots, within 3 days. Bets on other games would not help you complete it.

How wagering requirements work in practice: three examples

A 50% match with 10x on the bonus

Casumo’s offer is 50% up to £100 on a first deposit of at least £20, wagered 10x within 7 days. Deposit £20 and the bonus is £10, so the target is £100 of eligible bets. Deposit £200 and the bonus reaches the £100 maximum, so the target becomes £1,000. In both cases you have a week and a £5 maximum bet while the bonus is active. 18+, opt-in required and game, play and payment restrictions apply.

A 100% match with a slots-only requirement

Deposit £25 at 10bet, choose the casino welcome bonus and receive £25 extra. Ten times £25 is £250 of slot bets within 3 days. At 50p a spin that is 500 spins; at £1 it is 250. Bonus winnings are capped at £1,000. 18+, new UK customers, terms apply.

Free spins with no wagering on winnings

PlayOJO gives new UK customers (excluding Northern Ireland) 80 spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each after a first deposit of £10 or more, and winnings are paid as cash. There is no wagering stage at all. Coral’s offer works the same way on the winnings: bet £10 on slots, get 100 free spins at 10p, with no wagering on what they return. 18+, terms apply.

Why wagering costs you money on average

Seeing how wagering requirements work in pounds starts with the edge. Each pound you wager loses, on average, the house edge of the game. A slot with a 96% return to player keeps about 4p of every £1 staked over the long run. Wager £250 on it and the expected loss is about £10. For 10bet’s £25 bonus, that leaves an average of roughly £15 of value, before the win cap and the 3-day limit are considered. For Casumo’s £10 bonus on a £20 deposit, £100 of wagering at a 4% edge costs about £4 on average.

These are averages over huge numbers of bets, not predictions for one session. Short sessions swing widely, and many players finish a bonus with nothing left. The maths is still useful because it shows why the 10x cap matters: at 35x, the same £25 bonus would have cost about £35 in expected losses, more than the bonus itself. Use the wagering calculator to run your own figures.

Bonus-only versus deposit-plus-bonus wagering

Before the cap, some casinos applied the multiplier to the deposit and the bonus together, which doubled the real workload on a 100% match. The current code speaks of playing through bonus funds no more than 10 times. Our partner offers are all written on the bonus amount alone: Casumo’s and 10bet’s terms say “wager the bonus 10x”. When you read any other site’s terms, check the exact words, because “10x deposit and bonus” on a £50 match would mean £1,000 of bets rather than £500.

How long you have to meet a wagering requirement

A deadline is part of nearly every requirement. Casumo allows 7 days and 10bet 3 days, which works out at about £83 of slot bets a day for the full 10bet bonus. If that pace is more than you would normally play, the honest answer is to choose a smaller deposit or skip the bonus rather than play longer than you planned. The bonus expiry guide explains each kind of clock.

Tracking how wagering requirements work on your account

Most casinos show progress in the account area, often under a heading such as “My bonuses” or “Active promotions”, with a percentage bar or the amount still to wager. If you can’t find it, ask support for the remaining figure and the expiry time, and keep the reply. Screenshots of the terms on the day you opted in help if a dispute arises later.

1. Read the full bonus terms before depositing, not just the headline.
2. Note the multiplier, the base, the deadline, the maximum bet and the eligible games.
3. Opt in, if required, before making the qualifying deposit.
4. Check the bonus section after a few bets to confirm progress is counting.
5. Stop and contact support if the figure doesn’t move as the terms describe.

What happens when you finish, or don’t

Once you reach the target, the remaining bonus balance becomes cash and can be withdrawn through the normal process, subject to verification and any stated win cap. If you decide the bonus isn’t worth finishing, most casinos let you forfeit it: the bonus and the winnings tied to it are removed, and your cash balance is left. Breaking a term such as the maximum bet can lead to voided winnings, so read what happens if you break bonus terms before you start.

Is a 10x wagering requirement good value?

Ten times is now the maximum, so it is the ceiling, not a generous exception. Value depends on the full set of conditions: a 10x slots-only requirement over 7 days with a £5 maximum bet is very different from 10x over 3 days. Offers with no wagering on winnings remove the problem, which is why no wagering free spins have become common. For a checklist, see what is a fair wagering requirement and how to read bonus terms.

Offers that show wagering at work, checked 5 October 2026

Coral and PlayOJO are the closest match if you would rather avoid wagering altogether: both pay free spin winnings without a playthrough. Casumo shows a standard 10x requirement on a 50% match, with the £5 maximum bet and 7-day deadline described above. All are licensed by the Gambling Commission, all are for new customers aged 18+ and terms apply. Compare everything on our latest casino offers page, or browse more explainers in the casino guides hub.

Bonuses are optional. Set a deposit limit first, and if gambling stops being fun, the National Gambling Helpline is free on 0808 8020 133, 24 hours a day.

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.