Bonus Expiry: How Long You Have, and What You Lose
Almost every explanation of a casino bonus stops at the multiplier. Thirty five times, forty times, and so on. But a wagering requirement is two numbers wearing one hat: an amount to turn over and a deadline to do it in, and the deadline is the one that decides most outcomes. The same 35x offer is comfortable over thirty days and close to impossible over seven. This page sets out the three clocks a bonus can run, what expiry actually removes, and the single division that answers whether an offer is realistic before you opt in.
Three clocks, not one
A single offer can be running three separate deadlines at once, and they rarely end on the same day. Knowing which one is closest is most of the work.
The claim window
- Starts
- From the moment the offer is made available to you
- Ends
- When the offer lapses, whether or not you have opted in. Typically the longest of the three
- If you miss it
- You simply do not get the bonus. Nothing is lost beyond the offer itself
The wagering window
- Starts
- From the moment the bonus is credited, in most terms, rather than from your first bet with it
- Ends
- At the deadline stated in the terms. Seven, fourteen and thirty days are the common settings
- If you miss it
- The bonus and the winnings attributable to it are removed. This is the clock that costs money
The free-spin window
- Starts
- From credit of the spins, and often shorter than everything else
- Ends
- Frequently within 24 to 72 hours, with a second and separate deadline for wagering whatever the spins produce
- If you miss it
- Unused spins disappear, and spin winnings that have not been wagered in time go with them
What a deadline asks for, per day
The arithmetic is simple and almost nobody does it. Take the turnover the requirement demands and divide it by the days in the window. The result is the stake per day the offer quietly expects of you.
| Offer | Turnover | Per day, 7-day window | Per day, 14-day window | Per day, 30-day window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £50 bonus, 35x on the bonus only | £1,750 | £250.00 | £125.00 | £58.33 |
| £50 deposit + £50 bonus, 35x on deposit and bonus | £3,500 | £500.00 | £250.00 | £116.67 |
| £50 bonus, 35x, played on a game contributing 10 per cent | £17,500 | £2,500.00 | £1,250.00 | £583.33 |
Read the third row again. It is the same £50 bonus and the same 35x as the first row. The only change is a game contributing ten per cent instead of the full amount, and the daily pace has gone from £58.33 to £583.33 over the same thirty days. The multiplier did not move. The contribution rate did, and it is explained in our guide to game contribution rates.
If you would rather not do the division by hand, our wagering requirement calculator takes the bonus, the multiplier and the contribution rate and returns the turnover. The daily figure is that number divided by the days you have left.
What expiry actually removes
Until a wagering requirement is met, money won with a bonus is not cash. It is bonus funds, held under the offer's terms, and the deadline is the point at which the operator stops holding them. In standard terms the bonus goes and anything won with it goes too, which is why a healthy-looking balance can disappear on a date rather than on a bet.
What survives depends entirely on how the terms separate the two balances. Where a deposit stays a distinct cash balance, it stays yours and only the bonus side is cleared. Where the terms treat deposit and bonus as one pot to be turned over together, expiry reaches further. The two structures are set out side by side in deposit plus bonus versus bonus-only wagering, and the distinction is worth finding before you claim rather than after.
Partial progress is the other thing people assume wrongly. A wagering requirement in standard form is pass or fail at the deadline. Ninety per cent completed is worth exactly what nothing completed is worth. Pro-rata release exists, but rarely enough that it should be assumed absent unless the terms say so in plain words.
The five terms that decide the outcome
1.When does the clock start?
Credit or first use. The difference is often three or four days of a seven-day window, spent doing nothing.
2.Is the requirement on the bonus, or on deposit plus bonus?
The same multiplier produces double the turnover in the second case, and doubles the daily pace the deadline demands.
3.What is the contribution rate of the game I actually play?
A game at ten per cent multiplies the turnover by ten. The deadline does not move to accommodate it.
4.Is there a maximum stake while a bonus is active?
A max bet rule caps how fast you are allowed to clear the requirement, which interacts directly with a short window.
5.What exactly is removed on expiry?
The bonus alone, or the bonus and everything in the balance. Look for the words that separate cash from bonus funds.
Two of those five have pages of their own, because each can end an otherwise completed bonus on its own: the maximum stake rule that applies while a bonus is active and the cap on how much of a bonus win can be withdrawn. If the whole mechanism is new to you, start instead with understanding wagering requirements.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you usually get to meet a wagering requirement?
There is no standard period set by anyone, which is precisely why it has to be read rather than assumed. Seven, fourteen and thirty days are the windows that appear most often in British terms, and the difference between them changes the offer more than the headline multiplier does. The other detail worth finding is when the clock starts: in most terms it starts when the bonus is credited, not when you first play with it, so a bonus claimed and left alone for four days has already spent more than half of a seven-day window.
What happens to my winnings if the bonus expires before I finish wagering?
In standard terms the bonus is removed and so is anything won with it, because until the requirement is met those winnings are bonus funds rather than cash. What survives depends on how the operator separates the two balances. Where the deposit is kept as a distinct cash balance it stays yours; where the terms treat deposit and bonus as a single pot to be wagered together, expiry can reach further than people expect. That distinction is the first thing to look for in the terms, because it decides what you are actually risking.
Does partial progress towards a wagering requirement count for anything?
Almost never. A wagering requirement in standard form is a pass or fail at the deadline, not a sliding scale, and a customer who has turned over ninety per cent of the requirement when the clock runs out is in the same position as one who turned over nothing. Pro-rata release does exist but it is unusual enough that it should be treated as absent unless the terms say otherwise in plain words.
Is the claim window the same as the wagering window?
No, and a bonus can have three separate clocks running. The claim window is how long the offer stays available to take up. The wagering window is how long you have to complete the turnover once the bonus is credited. Free spins frequently carry a third and shorter window of their own, both for using the spins and for wagering whatever they produce. Missing any one of the three can end the offer, and they rarely expire on the same day.
How can I tell before claiming whether a bonus deadline is realistic?
Do one division. Take the turnover the requirement asks for, divide it by the number of days in the window, and compare the result with what you would stake in a normal day. A £50 bonus at 35x is £1,750 of turnover: over thirty days that is £58.33 a day, over seven days it is £250 a day. Then divide again by the game contribution rate, because a game contributing ten per cent multiplies the real turnover by ten. If the daily figure is a long way above your ordinary stake, the deadline is the binding constraint and the bonus is not for you.
18+. Bonus terms vary between operators and the terms you are shown at the point of claiming are the ones that govern. A bonus is never a reason to stake more than you would otherwise; if the daily figure in the table above looks like a target to hit, the offer is choosing your stake for you. Support and self-assessment tools are on our responsible gambling page.