Wagering requirements: how "35x" turns a £10 bonus into £350 of bets
A wagering requirement is the total amount you must stake before money won from a bonus can be withdrawn, expressed as a multiple of the bonus — or, worse, of the bonus plus your deposit. "35x" on a £10 bonus means £350 of bets. "35x bonus + deposit" on a £10 deposit with a £10 bonus means £700.
Last reviewed: 21 September 2026 · Author: Eleanor Whitlock
The calculation, step by step
- Find the base. Is the multiple applied to the bonus only (B) or to bonus and deposit (B+D)? The second doubles the work for a 100% match.
- Multiply. £20 bonus × 40x = £800 of stakes. £20 bonus + £20 deposit × 40x = £1,600.
- Check game weighting. Slots usually count 100%; table games 10% or 0%; some slots are excluded entirely. A £5 bet on a game weighted 10% counts as 50p.
- Check the maximum stake. Typically £2–£5 per spin while wagering. Above it, the bonus and its winnings are usually voided.
- Check the clock. 7, 14 or 30 days is common. Unfinished wagering means the bonus and winnings expire.
What the turnover actually costs
Every pound staked carries the game's house edge. On a 96% RTP slot, £800 of turnover has an expected loss of £32. So a £20 bonus with 40x wagering has an expected cost of £32 in play — the offer's expected value is negative before you start, which is the normal case and the reason it exists.
| Bonus | Requirement | Turnover | Expected loss at 96% RTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10 | 35x bonus | £350 | £14 |
| £20 | 40x bonus | £800 | £32 |
| £50 | 35x bonus + deposit (£50 deposit) | £3,500 | £140 |
| 50 free spins at £0.10 | 30x winnings | 30 × whatever the spins pay | — |
Free spins add a twist: the requirement is usually on the winnings from the spins, which are unknown until you spin, and often capped at a small amount (e.g. £50 maximum win from spins).
The terms that matter as much as the multiple
- Maximum cash-out. Some bonuses cap withdrawable winnings at a multiple of the bonus, e.g. 5x. A £10 no-deposit bonus with a £50 cap cannot produce more than £50 however the wagering goes.
- Sticky or not. A sticky bonus is never withdrawable itself; a non-sticky one keeps your deposit separate, so you can withdraw your own money before the bonus is touched. Non-sticky is far more player-friendly.
- Excluded games and strategies. "Low-risk" bets (covering most of a roulette table, betting both sides) are usually banned during wagering.
- Withdrawal during wagering. On many bonuses, requesting a withdrawal forfeits the bonus and any winnings from it.
What GB rules say
The Gambling Commission requires promotional terms to be fair and transparent under the LCCP. The Competition and Markets Authority's February 2018 undertakings from Ladbrokes, William Hill and PT Entertainment — which the CMA said should set the standard for the whole sector — require significant terms to be shown in the advertising of an offer, restrictions on gameplay to be made clear, and an end to making customers wager their own funds multiple times before they can withdraw their own money.
In practice on a GB-licensed site you should always be able to withdraw your unspent deposit, and the bonus terms should be one click from the offer.
A quick way to compare two offers
Divide the expected loss by the bonus: the cost ratio. £14 / £10 = 1.4; £32 / £20 = 1.6; £140 / £50 = 2.8. Anything above 1 means you are expected to lose more in required play than the bonus is worth; the offer is a discount on gambling you were going to do, not free money. A no-deposit bonus with a low cash-out cap is best judged by the cap, not the multiple.
Quick answers
Can I just decline the bonus? Yes, and on a GB site the operator must let you deposit without one. Declining is the right call if you only intend to play a little.
Do winnings from a bonus count as my money? Not until wagering is complete. Until then they sit in a separate bonus balance.
Is 35x good? Compared with 50x, yes. Compared with playing without a bonus, only if you were going to stake that much anyway.
Sources: Gambling Commission, Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (fair and transparent terms); Competition and Markets Authority, Making the online gambling sector fairer (12 February 2018). Expected-loss figures are arithmetic from the stated RTP, not measurements.