Bonus wagering calculator
A bonus page tells you the multiplier. It rarely tells you the turnover that multiplier implies, and it almost never tells you what clearing it costs on average. This does both.
| Bonus credited | $200.00 |
|---|---|
| Wagering base | $200.00 (bonus only) |
| Turnover required | $8,000.00 |
| Effective turnover after contribution | $8,000.00 |
| Expected cost of clearing it | $320.00 |
| Most you could withdraw from the bonus | $200.00 |
| Expected value of the offer | -$120.00 |
Negative expectation of about $120.00. Clearing this bonus costs more in expected losses than the bonus is worth, which is the normal case at 40x.
The switch that matters most
Whether wagering is calculated on the bonus alone or on the bonus plus your deposit is the single largest variable here, and it is usually one line deep in the terms. A 35x requirement on a $1,500 bonus is $52,500 of turnover. The same 35x on bonus plus a $1,000 deposit is $87,500. Same headline number, sixty-seven percent more play required.
Flush, for example, states in its own bonus terms that wagering is based on the sum of the bonus and the deposit. That is disclosed and legitimate. It is also the difference between a bonus being worth taking and not.
Flush is a commercial partner of this site, which is recorded on its entry and on the disclosure page. It is named here because its terms state the bonus-plus-deposit basis in writing and most operators on this register publish no binding bonus terms to quote at all. The calculator above is pre-filled with round numbers belonging to no operator; it used to open on Flush’s live offer, which is logged on the corrections page.
Why contribution weighting is not a footnote
If table games contribute 10%, then $1 wagered on blackjack counts as $0.10 toward the requirement. Clearing a $50,000 requirement on 10% contribution means $500,000 of actual wagering. Most terms list slots at 100% and everything else far below, which is the mechanism that steers bonus play toward the highest-edge games in the lobby.
What the expected cost figure means
Turnover multiplied by the house edge, adjusted for contribution. It is the average the house takes across the play required to clear the bonus. Where it exceeds the bonus, the offer has negative expectation before you place a bet.
It is an average, not a forecast. Variance is large in both directions on any single attempt, and a bonus with negative expectation can still be cleared profitably by an individual player who runs well. The number tells you which way the arithmetic points, not what will happen to you.
Related: operator bonus terms on the register · all tools