What Is a Wagering Requirement? 40x Playthrough Explained

A wagering requirement is the number of times you must bet a bonus before the bonus, and any winnings from it, can be withdrawn. It is written as a multiple, such as 40x, meaning 40 times the amount the offer applies to. This guide shows how to read, calculate and check that number before you claim a casino bonus.

What is a wagering requirement?

A wagering requirement, also called playthrough or rollover, is the amount you must bet before bonus funds or bonus winnings become cash you can withdraw. A 40x requirement on a bonus means placing bets worth 40 times that bonus. The UK Gambling Commission defines it as a customer being required to make wagers totalling a particular value for funds to become withdrawable.

Casinos attach the requirement to deposit matches, free spins and no-deposit bonuses. Its purpose is to stop a player from depositing, taking a matched bonus and withdrawing both at once, which would cost the house its promotion budget for nothing. The requirement forces a set amount of play first.

Remember this is a turnover target, not a single bet. You clear it in small pieces across many spins or hands, not with one big wager. The multiple is only half the picture: you also need to know whether it is applied to the bonus alone, or to your deposit plus the bonus. That choice, covered below, changes the total you must stake.

What does 40x wagering mean?

’40x’ is the multiplier: forty times. If the 40x applies to the bonus only, a 0.005 BTC bonus needs 0.2 BTC of total bets before you can withdraw. If the same 40x applies to your deposit plus the bonus, you must stake twice as much, about 0.4 BTC in this example.

Two offers can both say ’40x wagering’ and still ask for very different amounts of play. The one that folds your deposit into the base is the heavier requirement. All bitcoin amounts here are round illustrative examples, not live prices and not a specific casino’s offer.

How do you calculate a wagering requirement?

The formula is simple: total wagers needed equals the amount the multiplier applies to, times the multiple. Work out the base first, then multiply. Four round examples show how the same 40x changes with the base.

• Bonus only: 0.005 BTC bonus times 40 equals 0.2 BTC in wagers.
• Deposit plus bonus: (0.005 BTC deposit plus 0.005 BTC bonus) times 40 equals 0.4 BTC in wagers.
• Free spins winnings: 0.001 BTC won from spins times 35 equals 0.035 BTC in wagers.
• Ether example: 0.1 ETH bonus times 30 equals 3 ETH in wagers.

The point of the sums is the ratio, not the coin. A 40x requirement always means betting the base amount forty times over, whether the base is bitcoin, ether or a fiat balance. Offers also set a deadline to finish the playthrough, and missing it usually voids the bonus and any winnings, so check the time limit together with the multiple.

Does the wagering requirement apply to my deposit too?

It can, and this is the biggest trap. Some offers apply the multiple to the bonus only; others apply it to your deposit plus the bonus, which roughly doubles the play required. In 2018 the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found some terms made players play for longer than they had bargained for before they could withdraw their own money.

After that action, firms including Ladbrokes, William Hill and PT Entertainment committed that players would not need to play multiple times before withdrawing their own funds. The CMA’s guidance says customers should be able to leave a promotion with their remaining deposit, plus any winnings from play with that deposit, and that deposit and bonus balances should be shown separately.

Those protections come from UK consumer law and apply to the relevant UK businesses. They do not generally bind offshore operators, so an offshore crypto casino’s terms can apply the multiple to deposit plus bonus. Read the offer before you deposit, and see what to check in a casino’s terms and conditions.

Do all games count the same toward wagering?

No, and the contribution rule can reshape the whole requirement. A casino may count slot bets in full while giving blackjack, roulette or other table games a lower contribution, or none at all. A bet that does not count, or counts at a fraction, does not help you clear the bonus.

Look for a contribution table in the promotion terms before you play. If your game is excluded or weighted down, the requirement effectively gets longer. UK-licensed operators also face a product rule from 19 January 2026: an incentive cannot mix betting, casino, bingo and lottery products in a single offer.

Is there a legal limit on wagering requirements?

In the UK there is, and it applies to gambling licensees generally, not just casinos. From 19 January 2026, UK licensees must not apply wagering requirements over 10 times the incentive amount. The Gambling Commission’s licence conditions (LCCP Social Responsibility Code 5.1.1) state operators must not apply wagering requirements, which require a customer to play through bonus funds, over a maximum of ten times.

That 10x ceiling is a UK rule. Crypto casinos licensed offshore, for example under a Curaçao licence, sit outside it, so you must read each operator’s own terms rather than assume any cap. This site is written for players outside the US and UK.

How do you check the wagering terms before you claim?

Open the bonus or promotions page, then the full terms and conditions, and answer six questions before you deposit. This takes two minutes and stops the requirement from surprising you later.

1. What is the multiple, for example 40x?
2. What does it apply to: bonus only, or deposit plus bonus?
3. Which games count, and at what percentage?
4. How long do you have to meet it, the time limit?
5. What is the maximum bet while the bonus is active?
6. Is there a cap on how much you can withdraw from the bonus?

The maximum bet matters because wagering above it can void the bonus even after you have met the playthrough. A withdrawal cap, where the offer has one, limits how much of the bonus winnings you can actually take out. Our bonus guides explain the main offer types, and how we rate casinos shows which terms we treat as deal-breakers.

Does wagering change the house edge?

Wagering requirements do not change the house edge, but they multiply how much you stake, and the house edge applies to every bet. Turning a small bonus into a large amount of required play means more expected long-run loss, and no strategy or game choice removes that edge. The more you must stake to clear a bonus, the more times the built-in edge is taken from your balance, so a high multiple can quietly cost more than the bonus pays.

Set a limit before you claim and only play with money you can afford to lose. If gambling stops feeling like a choice, help is free at gamblersanonymous.org and gamblingtherapy.org. See also our responsible gambling page.

FAQ

What is a wagering requirement?

It is the amount you must bet before a bonus, and any winnings from it, can be withdrawn, written as a multiple such as 40x.

What does 40x wagering mean?

It means you must place bets totalling 40 times the amount the offer applies to. On a 0.005 BTC bonus that is 0.2 BTC in total wagers.

How do I calculate a wagering requirement?

Multiply the amount the multiple applies to by the multiple. For a 0.005 BTC bonus at 40x, that is 0.005 times 40, or 0.2 BTC.

Does the requirement apply to my deposit or just the bonus?

It depends on the terms. Bonus-only is lighter; deposit-plus-bonus roughly doubles the play required.

Do all games count the same toward wagering?

It varies by offer. Some count slots in full and give table games a lower or zero contribution, so check the promotion’s contribution table.

Can I withdraw my deposit before meeting the requirement?

At UK-regulated casinos you should be able to, but offshore terms vary. Read the offer to see what happens to your deposit if you leave early.