If you’ve ever claimed a casino bonus and then struggled to actually withdraw anything from it, the wagering requirement is probably why. It’s the single most important number to understand before accepting any offer, and it’s the number our team at bonuses finder checks first before any offer makes it onto the site.

What a wagering requirement actually means

A wagering requirement (also called a rollover or playthrough requirement) is the number of times you must bet the bonus amount before you’re allowed to withdraw any winnings from it. It’s usually written as a multiplier, like “20x” or “35x.”

So if you claim a £20 bonus with a 20x wagering requirement, you’d need to place £400 worth of bets before you can cash out anything connected to that bonus. Some casinos apply the multiplier to the bonus amount only; others apply it to the bonus plus your deposit combined, which roughly doubles what you’ll need to wager. That distinction alone can turn a decent-looking offer into a much harder one to clear.

How to calculate it yourself

The formula is simple:

Bonus amount × wagering multiplier = total amount you need to wager

For example, a £50 bonus with a 30x requirement means £1,500 in total bets before withdrawal is possible. If you’re only playing £5-10 stakes, that’s a lot of spins or hands to work through – and it’s worth asking whether you’d realistically play that much anyway, bonus or not.

It’s also worth checking whether all games count equally. Slots typically contribute 100% toward the requirement, while table games like blackjack or roulette often count for far less – sometimes as little as 10-20%. That means the “effective” wagering requirement can be much higher than the number advertised, depending on what you actually play. This is one of the details the team at сasinobonusesfinder checks manually for every offer before publishing it, since game contribution rates are rarely obvious from a casino’s terms page alone.

So what counts as a “good” number?

As a rough guide:

  • Under 20x – competitive, realistically clearable for most players
  • 20x–35x – average across the UK market, manageable if you play regularly anyway
  • Above 40x – worth thinking twice about, especially combined with a short expiry window

There’s no universal “good” number that applies to everyone – it depends on how much you play, what games you enjoy, and how much time the casino gives you to clear it. A 40x requirement with 30 days to complete it is a very different offer from the same 40x with only 72 hours.

A quick gut check before you claim

Before accepting any bonus, it helps to ask: would I be comfortable wagering this exact amount even without a bonus attached? If the answer is no, the offer is likely designed to keep you playing longer than you’d otherwise choose to – not to genuinely reward you.

“Players often focus on the bonus percentage and skip straight past the wagering multiplier. That’s backwards – the multiplier is what actually determines whether you’ll ever see that money.” – Tony Sloterman, Bonus Terms Analyst at Casino Bonuses Finder

One more thing worth checking

Before you enter any payment details to claim a bonus, it’s worth confirming the site itself is secure – not just the offer. Checking that a casino’s site uses a valid HTTPS connection is a basic but often overlooked step, and it’s worth understanding what that padlock icon means before you hand over any financial information.

The bottom line

Wagering requirements are the real determinant of whether a bonus is worth claiming – not the headline percentage or bonus size. Do the maths before you sign up: multiply the bonus by the requirement, check which games count, and compare that against the time you’re given to clear it. That’s the calculation that actually tells you what an offer is worth.

About the author

Tony Sloterman covers bonus terms and player protection for Casino Bonuses Finder, where the team breaks down wagering requirements and game restrictions before offers are added to the site – so players can see the real cost of a bonus, not just the headline number.