What is a wagering requirement?

What does wagering 40x mean?

It means total bets equal to 40 times the stated base before you can cash out the bonus or anything won with it. If the base is the bonus, a $50 bonus needs $2,000 of bets; if the base is deposit plus bonus, the same $50 bonus on a $50 deposit needs $4,000. “Wagering” is turnover, not loss: winnings are re-bet and count again, so the money you expect to lose is the turnover multiplied by the house edge of the games that count.

How wagering requirements work

The multiplier applies either to the bonus alone (written 40x(B)) or to deposit plus bonus (40x(D+B)) — the second version doubles the workload. Game weighting matters just as much: slots usually count 100% toward the target, table games 5-20%, and many casinos exclude originals and live games entirely.

Worked examples: turnover, expected loss and what the bonus is worth

Expected cost is turnover times house edge (at 96% RTP the edge is 4%; at 97%, 3%). Subtract it from the bonus to get what the offer is worth before caps and clocks. The bonus expected-value page runs this on ten real September 2026 offers.

Two readings of that table. First, no multiplier above roughly 25x on the bonus alone produces a positive figure at slot edges: the break-even edge is bonus divided by turnover, which at 40x is 2.5% and at 40x on deposit plus bonus for a 100% match is 1.25%, below any slot you will be allowed to play at full weighting. Second, the base is the single most expensive word in the terms: 40x on bonus versus 40x on deposit plus bonus is the difference between −$40 and −$220 on the same $100 banner.

Why it matters for crypto players

Crypto bonuses look enormous — 100-300% matches are common — precisely because high multipliers claw the value back. A headline figure means nothing until you divide it by the wagering requirement, the max bet rule, and the expiry window (often 7-14 days). That is also why volume players often skip bonuses altogether in favor of rakeback, which pays with no playthrough at all.

Wagering requirements at real crypto casinos

• Typical crypto casino deposit bonus — 35-40x on the bonus amount, slots-weighted at 100%.
• Bitstarz — "All bonuses (unless otherwise specified) need to be wagered 40 (forty) times before the funds can be withdrawn" (Bonus Terms & Conditions, clause 3.4, updated 25 June 2025, read 10 November 2026). Welcome-package bonuses are valid for 7 days, others for 24 hours (clause 3.7).
• mBit — 40x on the bonus, with the deposit locked until it is met and a one-day clock; worked in full below.
• Stake — takes the opposite route: little traditional bonus wagering, with value delivered through rakeback and reloads instead. It still has a requirement on plain deposits: "Every deposit made on Stake.com must be wagered 100% before withdrawals or tips can be made" (help centre, read 10 November 2026).
• Sticky-style bonuses — some casinos combine high wagering with non-withdrawable bonus funds, compounding the restrictions.

Five kinds of wagering requirement, each from a real document

"Wagering requirement" covers several different mechanisms. Sorting published terms by mechanism, not by casino, shows which number to look for. Everything quoted here was read on 10 November 2026.

1. A multiple of the bonus

The classic form. mBit’s bonus terms, "Wagering Requirements" clause 1.1: "Our First Deposit Bonus and Second Deposit Bonus each have a wager requirement of 40x. This means that you must wager the value of the bonus 40 times." Bitstarz clause 3.4 sets the same multiple. Note what "on the bonus" does not mean. mBit’s clause 4 says the requirement "locks the deposited funds, the initial bonus and any winnings", and Bitstarz clause 3.22 says "your deposit is locked with the accepted bonus". The multiple is calculated on the bonus; the lock covers everything.

2. A playthrough on the deposit itself, with no bonus

An anti-money-laundering rule that every depositor meets:

The cost of a 1x playthrough is the deposit times the house edge of what you play: $10 on a $1,000 deposit at a 1% edge, $40 at 4%. It is small, but it is not zero, and it applies to the player who refuses every bonus.

3. A requirement where bets count at less than face value

Contribution rates turn one stated multiple into several real ones. Cloudbet’s clause 8.5: "Slot and arcade games (e.g. Plinko, Dice) with a Return to Player (“RTP”) above 99.5% contribute a flat 10% to the wagering requirements. Live Table Games and Virtual Table Games contribute 10% to the wagering requirements." At 10%, every $1 of requirement takes $10 of stakes. mBit’s list is binary: slots "100% contribution", table games and video poker "0% contribution". Gamdom ties the rate to the game: "lower-RTP games contribute a bit more towards your wagering, while higher-RTP games contribute less", and its Originals are excluded. The pattern is consistent: the lower the house edge, the less the bet counts.

4. A bonus released by formula instead of a multiple

BC.Game’s deposit bonus has no "x" in it. The bonus goes into locked rakeback and is released at a published rate: "Rakeback = Wagered Amount × House Edge × 1%" (help centre, 6 July 2026). Convert that into the familiar form and the multiple appears: releasing a bonus of B takes wagers of B ÷ (house edge × 1%), which is 2,500 times the bonus on a 4% edge game and 10,000 times on a 1% edge game. That conversion is our arithmetic, not BC.Game’s wording. Read the other way, the offer is a rebate of 1% of the house edge on each bet, paid until the locked amount runs out.

5. What switches off while a requirement is running

• Roobet: "while you have a wagering requirement from a deposit bonus, you will not receive any form of Rakeback" (Bonus and Promotion Policy v4.9, clause 5.5), and "you may not place any bets on the Sportsbook section as long as you have an active wager requirement from a deposit bonus" (Terms of Service, clause 12.5).
• Gamdom: "Rakeback isn't generated while the wagering requirement is active", sports betting "is not available while you have an active bonus", and "withdrawals aren't available until you've completed the wagering requirement."
• Bitstarz: you can still withdraw the deposit, but only by cancelling: "the bonus amount and all associated winnings will be forfeited" (clause 3.6).
• Shuffle: "wagers must always be placed using your cash balance before your bonus balance can be used to wager" (Terms of Service, clause 13.5).

A ledger for one real clause

mBit’s terms give their own example ("Wagering Requirements" clause 4): "if you deposit 0.01 BTC and receive a bonus of 0.01 BTC, you will have a total balance of 0.02 BTC and a wagering requirement of 0.40 BTC." Add the two other clauses that apply, slots only and one day, and price it:

The break-even house edge is the bonus divided by the turnover: 0.01 ÷ 0.40 = 2.5%. Below that edge the average outcome is positive, above it negative, and the terms restrict you to slots, where the edge is usually above it. The one-day clock adds a second test that the average hides: an unfinished requirement means the bonus "and any winnings will expire and will be voided" ("Casino bonus payments" clause 1). The wagering requirement calculator runs the same ledger for any multiple, edge and contribution rate.

Sources: mBit bonus terms; Bitstarz bonus terms (updated 25 June 2025); Stake wager requirement; Roobet wagering requirements, Bonus and Promotion Policy and Terms of Service; Shuffle Terms of Service; Cloudbet terms; Gamdom limits and restrictions and deposit bonus guide; BC.Game deposit rakeback explained. Read 10 November 2026.

Common misconceptions

• "Wagering $4,000 means losing $4,000." It is turnover, not loss — winnings get re-bet. Your expected cost is turnover times house edge.
• "All games clear it equally." A $100 blackjack bet at 10% weighting contributes just $10. Check the contribution table.
• "My deposit is locked too." Usually you can forfeit the bonus and withdraw the deposit — but read the terms, since some casinos do lock both.

Wagering requirement FAQ