The headline number is the least informative part
Offers are where gambling guide sites are least reliable, and it is not usually deliberate. Amounts change, conditions change more often, and a figure that was accurate when a page was written stays on that page for years afterwards being quietly wrong. Compounding it, the headline number is the part that carries the least information: the same stated amount can be nearly frictionless at one operator and effectively unreachable at another, entirely because of the multiple attached to it and which games count toward clearing it. This page describes the mechanism, which stays true, and refuses the figures, which do not.
The four numbers that decide an offer
Ask these before opting in to anything, anywhere. They matter far more than the amount on the banner.
The multiple, and what it applies to
Wagering applied to the bonus alone and wagering applied to bonus plus deposit are very different obligations behind the same headline.
Game weighting
Contributions differ by game type, and bingo, slots and table games are rarely weighted the same. A game at reduced weighting can make a requirement several times longer.
The clock
Whether the time limit starts at opt-in or at first deposit decides how much of it you actually get, and expiry usually forfeits the remainder.
The withdrawal cap
Winnings from bonus funds are frequently capped regardless of what you accumulate. That cap, if it exists, is the real ceiling on the offer.
Reading an offer in four steps
- Find the wagering multiple and confirm whether it applies to bonus only or to bonus plus deposit.
- Find the game weighting table and check the contribution of the games you would actually play.
- Find the expiry and note whether the clock starts on opt-in or on deposit.
- Find the maximum withdrawal from bonus winnings, and treat that as the offer's real value ceiling.
