How to Beat Wagering Requirements: Price the Bonus First
By The BonusCasino Counter7 min read
A bonus is worth taking only if the game's house edge sits below bonus divided by playthrough. The sums, worked on BetMGM and Wizard of Odds terms.
You cannot beat a wagering requirement with a betting system. Every dollar you play through carries the game's house edge, so the expected cost of clearing a bonus is the playthrough multiplied by that edge, and no bet pattern changes either number. What you can do is price the bonus before you accept it: divide the bonus by the playthrough, compare the result with the house edge of the game you would play, and decline the offer when the edge is larger.
The rest of this page works that sum through on published terms, one line at a time.
Why no strategy beats a wagering requirement
A wagering requirement sets how much you must bet before bonus money, and usually your own deposit, can be withdrawn. The house edge sets how much of each bet the casino expects to keep. Multiply the two and you have the expected cost of the offer, and that cost is decided at the moment you opt in.
Betting systems change the size and order of your bets. They do not change the edge on each one, and they do not shorten the playthrough. Doubling after a loss, switching games mid-session or betting at odd hours leaves both inputs exactly where they were. Luck decides whether one session lands above or below the expected cost. Over the full playthrough, the expected cost is what you should plan for.
The UK Gambling Commission makes the same point from the regulator's side. It wrote that high requirements lead players to gamble longer and faster than they are used to, and respondents to its consultation said players cannot estimate an offer's true value. The fix for that second problem is arithmetic, so here it is.
How wagering requirements are counted
Three terms decide the playthrough. Define each once:
- Multiplier: the "times" figure, such as 15x or 25x.
- Base: what the multiplier applies to. Some casinos apply it to the bonus alone, others to the deposit plus the bonus.
- Contribution (or weighting): the share of each bet that counts toward the requirement. A game at 20% contribution counts 20 cents of every dollar bet.
The base matters more than the headline multiplier. At BetMGM, wagering is 15x the bonus amount only, as of September 2026. On a $10 bonus that is $10 × 15 = $150 of wagering. The worked example from Wizard of Odds applies 25x to deposit plus bonus. On a $1,000 deposit with a $1,000 match, that is ($1,000 + $1,000) × 25 = $50,000 of slot play. Wizard of Odds also notes that the base includes your deposit nearly universally, so read which base your terms use before you compare two offers by multiplier alone.
Contribution then divides the playthrough. In the same example, other table games at 20% need $50,000 ÷ 0.2 = $250,000 of bets, video poker and blackjack at 10% need $500,000, and games at 5% need $1,000,000.
| Game group | Contribution | Bets needed to clear $50,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | 100% | $50,000 |
| Other table games | 20% | $250,000 |
| Video poker, blackjack | 10% | $500,000 |
| 5% games | 5% | $1,000,000 |
Until the playthrough is done, the money is not yours to take out. BetMGM's terms say the deposit, bonus and winnings stay restricted until the requirement is completed.
The break-even test: bonus divided by playthrough
The break-even house edge is the bonus divided by the bets needed to clear it. If the game you play has a lower edge than that, the bonus is worth something on average. If its edge is higher, the bonus costs you more than it gives.
Work the Wizard of Odds example:
- Bonus: $1,000.
- Slot bets needed: $50,000.
- Break-even edge: $1,000 ÷ $50,000 = 2%.
So a slot must hold no more than 2%, which is a 98% return to player, for you to break even. Move the same bonus to a table game at 20% contribution and the break-even edge falls to $1,000 ÷ $250,000 = 0.4%, a 99.6% RTP needed to break even. Low contribution does not make a game cheaper to clear. It multiplies the bets, and every extra bet carries the edge.
Now the expected cost, using only those numbers. Clear the $250,000 table-game playthrough on a game holding 2% and the expected loss is $250,000 × 0.02 = $5,000, against a $1,000 bonus. The same 2% game on the slot route costs $50,000 × 0.02 = $1,000, exactly the bonus. Same edge, same bonus, a $4,000 difference from the weighting line alone.
Same headline, different playthrough
When the base is the bonus alone, the break-even edge is simply 1 divided by the multiplier. At 15x on the bonus only, that is $10 ÷ $150, about 6.7%, on a game at full contribution. When the base is deposit plus a 100% match, as in the Wizard of Odds example, 25x becomes 50 times the bonus, and the break-even edge is $1,000 ÷ $50,000 = 2%.
That is why two offers quoted at similar multipliers can differ several-fold in what they cost to clear. Read the base and the contribution table, then run the division. BetMGM's own terms add a further line: Bonus Spins winnings carry 10x and expire after three days, as of September 2026. A short clock means more bets per hour to finish, which is the pace the Commission warned about.
How to price a bonus before you accept it
Run these steps on the terms page, with a pencil, before you opt in:
- Find the base: bonus only, or deposit plus bonus.
- Multiply the base by the multiplier to get the playthrough.
- Divide the playthrough by the contribution of the game you would actually play.
- Divide the bonus by that figure. This is your break-even house edge.
- Look up the game's published RTP. Its house edge is 100% minus the RTP.
- If the house edge is higher than the break-even edge, decline the bonus.
If a step needs a figure the terms do not give, treat the offer as unpriced and decline it until you have the number. That is the honest answer to how to beat wagering requirements: you beat the bad ones by not taking them.
What a cap on wagering requirements looks like
Great Britain now limits the multiplier by rule. The Commission's own illustration was that a £10 bonus at 50x means £10 × 50 = £500 of play before winnings can be withdrawn. It consulted on caps of 1, 5 or 10 times, or a ban, and chose 10 times. Under that cap the same £10 bonus needs at most £10 × 10 = £100 of play. The rule took effect on 19 January 2026.
That rule covers Great Britain, not US casinos. For a US player it is a useful benchmark: an offer far above it deserves the full break-even test before you accept.
Questions at the counter
How do wager and payout work with a casino bonus?
You bet the playthrough first and withdraw afterward. At BetMGM, as of September 2026, the deposit, the bonus and any winnings stay restricted until the 15x requirement on the bonus is met, and each game counts toward it at its own contribution rate.
Is there any way to avoid wagering requirements?
Yes: decline the bonus and play with your own deposit, which then carries no playthrough. Where a bonus is worth having, the break-even test above tells you so before you opt in.
Which casino game is cheapest for clearing a bonus?
The one whose house edge sits furthest below your break-even edge after contribution is counted. In the Wizard of Odds example, a slot at 98% RTP breaks even, while a table game at 20% contribution would need 99.6% RTP to do the same.
Is clearing a bonus a matter of skill or luck?
Both, in different places. Skill is choosing which offers to accept and which game to play. Luck decides how a single session goes. The expected cost, playthrough multiplied by house edge, is set by the terms and the game, and no betting pattern moves it.
More bonus guides
Terms and sources we read
- UK Gambling Commission, Gambling promotions to be safer and simpler, 26 March 2025
- UK Gambling Commission, Proposal 1 - Ban or limit the use of wagering requirements, 27 January 2026
- Wizard of Odds, Guide to Online Casino Bonus Terms & Conditions, undated, read 16 October 2026
- BetMGM Casino, BetMGM Online Casino Bonus Codes: How They Work, 15 September 2026
Written by
The BonusCasino Counter
The desk name on every BonusCasino guide, not a person. Guides are drafted with AI tools from terms and sources we read first, then checked by code against them before they go up.
How we write guidesBefore you claim
Multiply the bonus by the wagering requirement, then check the max-bet rule. If the daily play it needs is more than you'd bet anyway, skip the offer.