How Casino Bonuses Work: The Terms That Decide What You Keep
Every casino bonus comes with terms, and those terms decide how much of it you can withdraw. That is why two bonuses of the same size can be worth very different amounts.
We tested how much those terms matter. With the same $100 deposit and $100 bonus on a low volatility slot, 40 in 100 simulated players ended with more than they deposited when the bonus was non sticky, against 21 in 100 when it was sticky.
This guide covers:
- How casino bonuses work, from claiming to withdrawing, and which balance you play first
- Sticky vs non sticky bonuses, with our simulation of both
- The terms that matter most, including max bet, time limits and max cashout caps
- How crypto casino bonus systems differ, from locked bonuses to rakeback
- The rules that void bonus winnings and how to read the terms before you claim
What Is a Casino Bonus?
A casino bonus is extra money, free spins or cashback that a casino adds to your account for signing up, depositing or playing. Bonus money usually sits in a separate balance, and it only becomes cash you can withdraw once you meet the offer’s terms.
Every bonus has two parts, and the second one decides what it is worth:
- The reward. The match percentage, number of free spins or cashback rate the offer advertises.
- The terms. The wagering, max bet, time limit and max cashout rules that decide how much of the reward you can withdraw.
Why Casinos Offer Bonuses
Bonuses are a marketing cost, and the terms keep that cost well below the headline figure. When we simulated a $100 bonus at 40x with no deposit at risk, players on a low volatility slot cashed out $37 on average, and 85 in 100 cashed out nothing.
The rest of the value goes back to the casino through the house edge on the wagering. Reload bonuses, cashback and VIP rewards do a different job: they keep existing players coming back.
Main Types of Casino Bonuses
The type of bonus tells you which terms to check first:
| Bonus Type | What You Get | Terms to Check First |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome bonus | A match on your first deposit, such as 100% up to $500 | Wagering, max bet and whether your deposit is locked |
| No deposit bonus | Free spins or a small credit just for signing up | The max cashout cap, often around $100 |
| Free spins | Spins on selected slots at a fixed value per spin | Wagering on the winnings and a short expiry |
| Reload bonus | A smaller match on later deposits | The same rules as a welcome bonus |
| Cashback | A share of your losses returned | Whether it carries any wagering |
| Rakeback and VIP rewards | A share of the house edge on every bet, common at crypto casinos | Tier requirements, usually with little or no wagering |
We compare current offers of each type on our hub of casino bonuses by type.
How Casino Bonuses Work, Step by Step
Most deposit bonuses follow the same five steps, whatever the casino:
- 1Claim it. Opt in at sign up or in the cashier, or enter a bonus code, and make the qualifying deposit if the offer needs one.
- 2The bonus is credited. Bonus money lands in a separate bonus balance, free spins appear on the eligible slots, and the time limit usually starts counting.
- 3You play. Each bet comes out of one balance at a time and adds to the wagering according to the game's contribution.
- 4You meet the wagering. Once you have bet the required amount within the time limit, what is left of the bonus balance turns into cash.
- 5You withdraw. You can cash out your balance up to any max cashout cap, and with a sticky bonus the bonus amount is removed first.
Real Money vs Bonus Balance: Which Is Used First
At most casinos, your bets come out of your cash balance first and only move to the bonus balance once your cash runs out. BitStarz’s terms say it directly: bets are deducted from the cash balance, and from the bonus balance only when no cash is left. That order has real consequences:
- Your deposit takes the first losses. The bonus only starts working for you once your own cash is gone.
- An early win can leave the bonus untouched. If your deposit and bonus are kept separate, you may be able to withdraw that win before the bonus is ever used.
Can You Withdraw Your Deposit With an Active Bonus?
Not always, and this is the term that catches many players out. Playing your cash first does not mean your cash is free to withdraw.
At BitStarz, bets come out of your cash first, but the terms also state that your deposit is locked with the accepted bonus. At FortuneJack, the deposit and bonus sit in two separate balances, so you can withdraw your real money at any time and the bonus is simply removed. Check which of these setups the terms describe:
- Deposit locked with the bonus. Nothing is withdrawable until the wagering is done, so cashing out early means cancelling the bonus.
- Deposit kept separate. You can withdraw your cash and anything you win with it at any time, and the bonus is removed when you do.
Sticky vs Non Sticky Bonuses
Sticky and non sticky describe what happens to the bonus when you cash out, and whether your deposit is tied to it while you play. The labels sound minor, but they change how often you finish ahead, as our simulation below shows. You will see them in bonus terms under these names:
| Term | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Sticky bonus | The bonus can be played with but never withdrawn, and it is removed from your balance when you cash out |
| Phantom bonus | A sticky bonus that disappears from your balance the moment you request a withdrawal |
| Non sticky (parachute) bonus | Your deposit and bonus are kept apart, and you can withdraw your cash and its winnings before the bonus is used |
| Cashable bonus | The bonus amount itself becomes withdrawable once the wagering is done, as most non sticky bonuses do |
Our Simulation: Sticky vs Non Sticky vs Locked
To see what the difference is worth, we gave 100,000 simulated players the same $100 deposit and $100 bonus under three different rules.
Non sticky came out ahead on every measure, on a low volatility slot:
| Bonus Rule | Ended With More Than Their Deposit | Lost Everything | Average Cashout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non sticky | 40% | 58% | $95 |
| Deposit locked, bonus cashable | 30% | 64% | $92 |
| Sticky | 21% | 70% | $59 |
The non sticky bonus wins because 31 in 100 players doubled their deposit before touching the bonus and withdrew at least $200 with no wagering at all. The sticky bonus loses the $100 bonus amount at cashout, which leaves its average more than a third below the locked version. On a high volatility slot, 12 in 100 players finished ahead with the non sticky bonus, against 5 in 100 under the other two rules.
We ran it with the same two model slots as our wagering simulation, and these settings:
- The offer. A $100 deposit and a $100 bonus with 40x wagering on the bonus, so $4,000 in bets, played in $1 spins on a 96% RTP slot.
- The non sticky player. Played the deposit first and withdrew on reaching $200. If the deposit ran out, they played the bonus through the full wagering.
- The locked and sticky players. Played one $200 balance until the wagering was done or the balance ran out.
When a casino offers both versions, the non sticky one is worth more. With a sticky bonus, judge the offer by what you can win on top of the bonus, since the bonus itself never leaves the casino.
The Casino Bonus Terms That Matter Most
Casino bonus terms and conditions can run to dozens of clauses, but a handful decide most of a bonus’s value. This is how they compared at the crypto casinos we checked:
| Term | What It Means | At the Casinos We Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Wagering requirement | How much you must bet before the bonus becomes cash | 30x to 40x, on the bonus or the deposit plus bonus |
| Max bet | The largest stake allowed while the bonus is active | A fixed amount such as $5, or a share of your deposit |
| Game weighting | How much of each bet counts toward the wagering | Slots 100%, table and live games often 5% to 20% |
| Time limit | How long you have to finish the wagering | 24 hours to 14 days |
| Max cashout | The most you can withdraw from bonus winnings | $100 on free spins, or 5x the bonus or deposit |
| Restrictions | Countries and payment methods that cannot claim the offer | Listed in each casino’s terms |
Wagering Requirements
The wagering requirement is the amount you must bet before a bonus turns into cash, set as a multiple of the bonus or of the deposit plus bonus. A $100 bonus at 40x means $4,000 in bets, and only 15 in 100 players finished that in our wagering simulation on a low volatility slot. To work out what any offer will cost you, use our wagering requirements calculator.
Max Bet
The max bet caps how much you can stake per spin or hand while a bonus is active, and breaking it even once can void the bonus and its winnings. Casinos set it as a fixed amount or as a share of your deposit:
- BitStarz: €5 or $5 per round in its general terms, including bonus buys and double ups, and $2.65 on our exclusive bonus.
- Shuffle: 10% of your deposit on its welcome bonus, so $100 on a $1,000 deposit.
Game Weighting
Game weighting, also called game contribution, sets how much of each bet counts toward the wagering. Slots usually count in full, while table, live and instant games often count 5% to 20%, and some games are excluded altogether. Casinos weight games this way because the games with the lowest house edge would otherwise make a bonus cheap to clear.
Time Limits
You get a fixed window to finish the wagering, and the clock usually starts when the bonus is credited. BitStarz, FortuneJack and Shuffle set theirs like this:
- BitStarz: 7 days on the welcome package and 24 hours on other bonuses.
- FortuneJack: 7 days on its deposit bonus.
- Shuffle: 14 days on its welcome bonus.
Max Cashout
A max cashout cap limits how much you can withdraw from a bonus, however much you win with it. BitStarz caps free spins winnings at $100, FortuneJack caps deposit bonus winnings at 5x the bonus, and Shuffle at 5x your deposit. The next section shows what a cap like this costs you.
Country and Payment Method Restrictions
Most bonuses exclude some countries, and the terms list them before you deposit. Some casinos also exclude certain payment methods from their bonuses, most often Skrill and Neteller.
How Much a Max Cashout Cap Costs You
To measure what a cap takes away, we simulated 100,000 players claiming 100 free spins at $0.20, on the same terms as BitStarz’s no deposit free spins: 40x wagering on the winnings and a $100 cap.
Players wagered their winnings in $0.20 spins on the same two model slots as our other simulations, with these results:
| 100 Free Spins at $0.20 | Low Volatility Slot | High Volatility Slot |
|---|---|---|
| Average free spins winnings | $19.20 | $19.04 |
| Players who finished the 40x wagering | 15% | 2% |
| Finishers who hit the $100 cap | 6% | 72% |
| Average value without a cap | $7.02 | $13.64 |
| Average value with the $100 cap | $6.81 | $1.95 |
| Value lost to the cap | 3% | 86% |
On the high volatility slot, the few players who finished usually got there with one big win, and the cap cut that win down to $100. An offer worth $13.64 on average without the cap was worth under $2 with it. On the low volatility slot, the typical finisher cashed out about $41, well below the cap, so it barely mattered.
What this means when you claim a capped offer:
- Play capped offers on low volatility slots. In our test, the same free spins were worth 3.5 times as much there.
- Treat the cap as the real size of the offer. With a $100 cap, no win can pay you more than $100, however big it is.
- Expect caps on no deposit offers. They are standard there, while deposit bonuses at crypto casinos usually tie the cap to the bonus or deposit, or have none.
You can compare the terms of current offers on our page of tested no deposit bonuses.
How Crypto Casino Bonus Systems Differ
Many crypto casinos run a different casino bonus system from the classic deposit match. They still offer welcome bonuses, but more of their value comes from rewards that unlock as you bet or arrive with no wagering at all:
| Bonus System | How It Pays You | Example From Our Testing |
|---|---|---|
| Classic deposit match | A bonus balance you unlock by wagering a multiple | Rainbet: 40x on the deposit plus bonus |
| Locked bonus | Released bit by bit as you bet, with no all or nothing target | BC.Game: $1 for every $500 wagered |
| Rakeback | A share of the house edge returned on every bet | Shuffle: instant rakeback from your first wager |
| Zero wagering bonus | Paid straight into your withdrawable balance | Winz.io: welcome prize credited as cash |
Locked Bonuses
BC.Game pays its deposit bonus into a locked balance that converts to real money as you play, at $1 for every $500 you wager on any casino game. There is no multiplier to hit and no all or nothing target, and your deposit is never locked by the bonus.
That release rate is 0.2% of everything you bet. On a game with a 1% house edge it gives back a fifth of what you are expected to lose, and on a 96% RTP slot about a twentieth, so it works more like slow rakeback than a classic bonus.
Rakeback and VIP Rewards
Rakeback returns a share of the house edge on every bet you place, win or lose, usually with no wagering on what it pays. At Shuffle and Rainbet, it looks like this:
- Shuffle: instant rakeback from your first wager, claimed from its VIP rewards dashboard.
- Rainbet: rakeback paid as real funds you can claim every 15 minutes, plus daily, weekly and monthly rewards at every VIP level.
Because nothing is lost if you stop playing early, a steady rakeback can be worth more over time than a deposit bonus you never finish.
Zero Wagering Bonuses
Some crypto casinos skip wagering altogether and pay bonus value as cash. When we funded a Winz.io account, the welcome prize from its Wheel of Winz landed with the whole balance withdrawable and nothing locked by a bonus. Our list of no wagering casino bonuses covers more offers that work this way.
Rules That Void Bonus Winnings
Casino bonus rules go further than wagering and max bet. These clauses come from the terms of casinos we checked, and breaking any of them can cost you wagering progress, the bonus or the winnings made with it:
| Rule | What It Bans | Example From the Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Low risk betting | Bets that cover almost every outcome | BitStarz: red and black together on roulette, or player and banker in baccarat, do not count toward the wagering |
| Bonus hunting | Reaching a bonus feature, leaving the game and replaying the feature later | BitStarz: winnings can be confiscated |
| Bonus stage play | Using bonus money to reach a feature, then finishing it with cash bets | BitStarz: winnings are confiscated |
| Excluded games | Playing blocked games or providers with an active bonus | Rainbet: games above 97.4% RTP, plus Hacksaw Gaming and Nolimit City |
| Multiple accounts | Claiming the same offer more than once | BitStarz: one offer per person, household, payment account or IP address |
| Linked players | Players with the same betting patterns who share a location, payments or IP | BitStarz: bonus winnings and deposits can be confiscated |
| Restricted countries | Claiming from an excluded country or hiding your location with a VPN | Listed in each casino’s terms |
Most of these rules target ways of clearing a bonus with little real risk. If a bet or game feels like a grey area, ask support before you play and keep the written reply, since the terms decide any dispute.
Depending on the casino, breaking a rule can cancel the bonus, remove the winnings made with it or, in the most serious cases, lead to a closed account.
How to Read Bonus Terms Before You Claim
Knowing how to read casino bonus terms takes a couple of minutes, and it is the best protection you have. Open the full terms rather than the promo banner, and check them in this order:
- 1Find the multiplier and what it applies to. 40x the bonus and 40x the deposit plus bonus can mean twice as much betting.
- 2Check whether your deposit is locked. Look for the words locked, sticky or non withdrawable near the deposit rules.
- 3Note the max bet. It may be a fixed amount or a share of your deposit, and it usually covers bonus buys too.
- 4Check the time limit and when it starts. Most clocks start when the bonus is credited, not when you first play.
- 5Look for a max cashout cap. It is standard on no deposit offers and free spins.
- 6Scan the excluded games. High RTP slots and some providers are often blocked while a bonus is active.
- 7Confirm you qualify. Make sure your country and payment method are not excluded.
Terms From Offers We Checked
This is what those checks turn up on offers we list, using the terms on our own promo pages, updated between July and September 2026:
| Casino | Key Terms | What to Notice |
|---|---|---|
| BitStarz | 40x the bonus, $2.65 max bet on our exclusive, 7 days | Your deposit is locked with the bonus until you finish or cancel |
| FortuneJack | 30x the bonus, 7 days, winnings capped at 5x the bonus | Deposit and bonus sit in separate balances, so you can withdraw your cash at any time |
| Shuffle | 40x the deposit plus bonus, max bet 10% of the deposit, 14 days | A $1,000 deposit with a $2,000 bonus means $120,000 in bets |
| Rainbet | 40x the deposit plus bonus on the standard welcome offer | A $30 first deposit with its 100% match already means $2,400 in bets |
| BC.Game | No wagering multiple, $1 released per $500 wagered | Your deposit is never locked by the bonus |
Terms change often, so check the live version on the casino’s site before you deposit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a casino bonus?
A casino bonus is extra money, free spins or cashback that a casino adds to your account for signing up, depositing or playing. Bonus money usually sits in a separate balance and only becomes cash you can withdraw once you meet the terms, such as the wagering requirement.
How do casino bonuses work?
You claim the bonus, often with a deposit or a bonus code, and it is credited to a separate bonus balance or as free spins. You then bet the required amount within the time limit while following rules such as the max bet, and what is left turns into cash you can withdraw, up to any max cashout cap.
Is real money or bonus money used first?
At most casinos, your real money is used first and the bonus balance only comes into play once your cash runs out. BitStarz’s terms, for example, take bets from your cash balance and use the bonus balance only when no cash is left. Real money first does not always mean your deposit is free to withdraw, so check whether the terms lock it with the bonus.
Can you withdraw your deposit with an active bonus?
It depends on whether the terms lock your deposit with the bonus. At BitStarz the deposit is locked until you finish the wagering or cancel the bonus, while FortuneJack keeps the deposit and bonus in separate balances, so you can withdraw your real money at any time and the bonus is removed.
What is a sticky bonus?
A sticky bonus can be played with but never withdrawn, because the bonus amount is removed from your balance when you cash out. In our simulation of a $100 deposit and a $100 bonus on a low volatility slot, 21 in 100 players ended with more than their deposit under sticky rules, against 40 in 100 with a non sticky bonus.
What does max cashout mean on a no deposit bonus?
Max cashout is the most you can withdraw from a bonus, however much you win with it. On no deposit offers it is often around $100, as with BitStarz’s free spins. In our simulation, that $100 cap removed 86% of the value of 100 free spins on a high volatility slot, but only 3% on a low volatility one.
What happens if you bet over the max bet with a bonus?
Breaking the max bet, even on a single spin, can void the bonus and any winnings made with it. The limit is usually a fixed amount, such as $5 per round at BitStarz including bonus buys, or a share of your deposit, such as 10% at Shuffle.
What are the key terms to read before claiming a casino bonus?
Check the wagering multiplier and what it applies to, whether your deposit is locked, the max bet and the time limit. Then look for a max cashout cap, the list of excluded games and whether your country and payment method qualify.