Excluded Games and 0% Contribution Are Not the Same Thing
Bonus terms use two phrases that look interchangeable and are not. A game that contributes nothing costs you a stake. A game that is excluded can cost you the bonus, the winnings attached to it and every pound of wagering you had already completed. This guide sets out how to tell the two apart before you place the bet rather than after.
The short answer. A contribution rate is a price: 0% simply means the stake buys you no progress. An exclusion is a rule: breaking it is a breach of the bonus terms, and the standard remedy written into those terms is forfeiture. On a £100 bonus at 10x, a single £5 spin costs about 20p either way — but under an exclusion clause it puts up to £138 at risk. Same stake, same game, roughly 600 times the exposure.
Four ways a game can be treated, not two
Most explanations of bonus terms describe a binary: games that count and games that do not. The terms themselves are finer than that, and the difference between the last two rows below is the one that actually costs players money. The figures assume a £5 stake on a game with a 4% house edge.
| Treatment | Typical wording | Progress bought | Expected cost | What is at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counts in full | Contributes 100% | £5 of £5 | 20p | Nothing beyond the stake |
| Weighted | Contributes 10% / 20% | 50p of £5 | 20p | Nothing beyond the stake |
| Permitted but dead | Does not contribute / contributes 0% | Nothing | 20p | Nothing beyond the stake |
| Excluded / restricted | May not be played / will void the bonus | Nothing | 20p | The bonus, the bonus winnings and the wagering already completed |
The first three rows are pricing. They tell you how expensive the bonus is to clear, and the arithmetic of that is covered in our guide to game contribution to wagering. The fourth row is not pricing at all. It is a condition, and the penalty for breaching it is written separately from the contribution table — usually in a clause about prohibited play, irregular play or bonus abuse, several screens further down.
The exposure grows as you get closer to finishing
The uncomfortable part of a forfeiture clause is that it is worth most to the operator at the exact moment it is worth least to you. Every pound of turnover you complete costs you something in expected losses, and that spend is only recovered if you finish. Forfeit at 95% and you lose both the bonus and everything you paid to get there.
The table below tracks a £100 bonus with a 10x requirement cleared on slots at 100% contribution — £1,000 of turnover — at a 4% house edge. “At risk” is the bonus plus the expected losses already incurred; the ratio compares that figure to a single £5 stake on an excluded game.
| Point in the wagering | Turnover completed | Expected losses so far | At risk | Risk per £5 staked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Just opted in | £0 | £0 | £100 | 20 : 1 |
| A quarter through | £250 | £10 | £110 | 22 : 1 |
| Halfway | £500 | £20 | £120 | 24 : 1 |
| Three quarters | £750 | £30 | £130 | 26 : 1 |
| One spin from clearing | £950 | £38 | £138 | 27.6 : 1 |
Compare that with the same £5 placed on a game that is permitted but contributes 0%. There the cost is 20p of expected losses and the progress bar simply does not move. The two bets look identical in the client, sit next to each other in the lobby, and differ in consequence by roughly three orders of magnitude.
How to read the clause in ten seconds
Bonus terms are long, but the distinction turns on the verb. Search the terms page for the words below and read the sentence around them:
- “contributes 0%” or “does not count towards” — pricing. The bet is allowed and buys you nothing.
- “excluded”, “restricted”, “prohibited”, “may not be played while” — a rule. Look immediately for what follows a breach.
- “void”, “forfeit”, “withdraw the bonus”, “remove any winnings” — the remedy. This is the sentence that sets your real exposure, and it is rarely in the same section as the contribution table.
One further trap worth knowing: an exclusion list is a list of titles, and lists change. Terms commonly reserve the right to amend the excluded games at any time, so a game that was safe when you opted in may not be safe a fortnight later. Where an operator publishes a dated list, save it; where it does not, the practical defence is to stay on one game for the whole of the wagering.
What the UK rules cover here, and what they do not
Since 19 January 2026 a Gambling Commission licensee cannot require a customer to play through bonus funds more than ten times, under social responsibility code provision 5.1.1 — the rule we set out in our guide to the 10x wagering cap. That cap governs the multiplier. It does not set contribution rates, it does not limit which games an operator may exclude, and it does not stop a forfeiture clause from existing.
What the licensing framework does require is that terms be fair and transparent and that significant conditions be presented clearly rather than buried. A forfeiture clause is about as significant as a condition gets. If a bonus was voided over a game you had no fair opportunity to know was excluded, that is a complaint for the operator in the first instance and then for its alternative dispute resolution provider — every Commission licensee must name one. None of this is legal advice; it is where the argument sits.
Work out your own number
The exposure figures above are specific to one bonus size and one house edge, and yours will differ. Our wagering requirements calculator returns the turnover and the expected cost for your bonus, multiplier, contribution rate and RTP, which gives you the “expected losses so far” column for any point in the wagering. For how requirements are worded and how bonus balances are kept separate from cash, start with understanding wagering requirements, and for the way the basis of the requirement can quietly double it see deposit + bonus versus bonus only.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an excluded game and a game that contributes 0%?
A 0% contribution means the bet is allowed but buys no progress towards the wagering requirement, so it costs you only the house edge on that stake. An excluded game is one the terms say you may not play while a bonus is active, and playing it is a breach that the terms usually remedy by voiding the bonus and any winnings attached to it.
Can a casino really take back a bonus for one bet on an excluded game?
If the terms say so, that is the remedy they will apply, and it is normally written to cover a single stake rather than a pattern of play. Whether it is enforceable in a given case depends on whether the condition was presented clearly, which is why the complaint route and the operator’s alternative dispute resolution provider exist.
Why is the risk higher the further through the wagering I am?
Because you have already paid for the bonus in expected losses. On a £100 bonus at 10x cleared on 4% slots, three quarters of the way through you have spent about £30 in expected losses on top of the £100 still at stake, so a forfeiture costs roughly £130 rather than £100.
Does the UK 10x wagering cap stop casinos excluding games?
No. The cap that came into force on 19 January 2026 limits the play-through of bonus funds to ten times the bonus. It says nothing about which games count, at what rate, or which are excluded — those remain matters for each operator’s own bonus terms.
Can the list of excluded games change while my bonus is active?
Many bonus terms reserve the right to amend the excluded list, and few operators date the version you accepted. The practical defence is to save or screenshot the list when you opt in and to complete the wagering on a single game you have confirmed counts.
The figures on this page are expected costs over many bets, not guaranteed outcomes, and no bonus is a reason to stake more than you planned to. 18+. If gambling stops being fun, see our responsible gambling resources.