A wagering requirement is not a formality. It is the price of the bonus, and it is usually larger than the bonus.
Do the arithmetic
A $500 bonus at 35x wagering means you must stake $17,500 before the operator will let you withdraw anything derived from it. Not deposit $17,500 — stake it, spin after spin, with each win recycled back into the next bet.
Now read the wording, because it decides the size of the number:
| Wording | On a $500 deposit + $500 bonus | Turnover required |
|---|---|---|
| 35x bonus | 35 x 500 | $17,500 |
| 35x deposit + bonus (D+B) | 35 x 1,000 | $35,000 |
| 35x deposit (rare, generous) | 35 x 500 | $17,500 |
The letters "D+B" double the cost, and they appear in a footnote.
What that turnover actually costs
Staking is not free. On slots designed to return 96% of stakes over the long run, turning over $17,500 has an expected cost of about 4% of $17,500 — roughly $700. That is the real price of the "free" $500, and it is why a larger bonus with heavier wagering is frequently a worse offer than a smaller one.
Before you accept
- 01Check the multiple and whether it applies to deposit + bonus.
- 02Check game weighting — a 10% weighting multiplies the required turnover by ten.
- 03Check the maximum bet rule and the maximum cashout.
- 04Check the expiry. Thirty days is common; seven days is a trap.
The long version is in our guide to wagering requirements. Every bonus in our register shows its true turnover, not its headline.