Casino Bonus Terms and Conditions Explained

The simplest definition is that casino bonus terms and conditions are the rules that tell you how you can use the bonus, how you can actually withdraw money from it, and how much you can withdraw.

If you see a ‘100% up to A$1,000 + 100 Free Spins’ bonus, behind it usually sits a full page of text explaining what you must do with those funds and spins. That includes rules like wagering requirements, time limits, game restrictions, and withdrawal caps.

The T&Cs are usually in the Read More section of the bonus, and licensed Australian casinos are legally required to display the T&Cs. Most of them also feature a separate “bonus rules” page in the footer, which explains the general rules grouped by bonus types.

Now, the tricky part. Every casino writes them differently (not just the bonus rules, but the lingo itself), so you’ll need to get used to it, but the goal is always the same: to protect the casino from players taking free money and from the so-called “bonus abusers”. So, what are “bonus abusers”?

Casinos characterise “bonus abusers” as players who try to exploit bonuses in ways the casino didn’t intend, usually by finding loopholes to cash out. Now, casinos interpret this term very vaguely.

Sure, they have every right to protect themselves from that kind of behaviour, but here’s where the balance often tips the wrong way: instead of stopping a handful of dodgy players, many casinos deliberately write their bonus terms so tightly that regular players end up punished too.

That’s why we often see things like sky-high wagering requirements, tiny max bet limits, and withdrawal caps that make the bonus practically worthless. It’s almost like the bonus is there just to look good on the homepage and attract users, but the T&Cs take away most of the value.

• What you want to see: Any deposit bonus with a WR of 0x to 30x.
• What you don’t want to see: Wagering requirements of 50x or over.

They’re also called ‘playthrough requirements’, ‘turnover’, or ‘rollover requirements’, and they’re the most dreaded rule of every bonus. They show you how many times you need to ‘turn’ the bonus money. If you get A$10 and the wagering requirements are 30x, you need to wager the tenner 30 times to clear them.

It sounds more complicated than it actually is. There’s usually a counter that shows you exactly how much more you need to clear, but it’s as simple as this: if you have a A$10 bonus, you need to win A$300 with it. Is it realistic? Well, it all depends on your luck. If you get lucky and double or triple your bonus money in the first few spins, then yes, it’s very realistic that you can clear a 30x WR.

Many times, though, you don’t even get to roll over the bonus twice, let alone 30 times. So, what you usually end up doing is: choose a pokie with as high RTP and volatility as possible (like Sugar Rush by Pragmatic Play, for example), set the wager size to the maximum allowed value, and let luck do its thing.

If you end up winning big, you might clear a large part of the WR with it. If not, you spend all your bonus in a few spins, accept that you won’t win anything with it, and move on.

Fun Fact from Australian Gamblers: Did you know that when the first online casinos launched in the mid-1990s, there were no wagering requirements? So, players quickly figured out they could deposit, grab a bonus, play a few hands, and if they win, they would immediately withdraw both the deposit and bonus money. Although we can’t really pinpoint one person or a casino to be the ‘inventor of wagering requirements’, it’s believed that the first casinos to use this rule were 888casino and InterCasino. They labelled WR as ‘a way to prevent bonus abuse’, and this rule has been a part of many casino bonuses ever since.

• What you want to see: Ideally, no maximum winnings cap.
• What you don’t want to see: Bonuses with a 5x maximum winnings cap or less.

For me, the maximum winnings cap is actually the most important term of any casino bonus. It shows the most you can cash out from a bonus. Although it often applies to no deposit bonuses and free spins, sometimes, welcome bonuses come with a maximum winnings cap – and I’m not a big fan of it.

Why? Because it limits your luck. For example, if a A$20 no deposit bonus comes with a A$200 maximum winnings cap, it’s not really a big deal because the bonus was a freebie anyways. But if a big welcome package that’s worth thousands of dollars comes with a winnings cap of 5x, it’s a problem.

That 5x limit basically means that even if you hit a massive win, say, you got lucky and turned a A$500 bonus into A$10,000, the casino will only let you withdraw A$2,500. The rest? Gone.

Again, casinos justify this rule by saying it’s meant to prevent “bonus abuse”, but in reality, it mostly punishes the rare moment when a regular player gets genuinely lucky. That’s why I always read this term before even touching a bonus. A high wagering requirement is one thing, but a low maximum winnings cap can make the whole offer pointless, so always pay attention to this term.

• What you want to see: 100% contribution!
• What you don’t want to see: Anything less than 100% for pokies; anything lower than 20% for the rest.

The game contribution rule is tied to the wagering requirements rule. It mandates how much each game (or a type of game) contributes towards clearing the wagering requirements.

The easiest way to explain this is with an example. Let’s say that all pokies contribute 100% towards the wagering (which they usually do). Then, if you were to wager, say, A$3,000, all A$3,000 would count towards clearing the wagering.

Now, if a game or a type of game, like live casino games, contributes just 10% towards the wagering, if you were to roll over A$3,000 in live casino roulette, only A$300 would count towards the wagering requirements. In many cases, games like craps, baccarat, or poker don’t even count towards the wagering.

This rule is in place, again, to protect the casino. Slots usually have an RTP of around 96%, which means a house edge of around 4%. Roulette, on the other hand, has a house edge of just 2.70% with European roulette, and it can go as low as 1.35% for French roulette.

Craps, blackjack, and baccarat have an RTP close to 99%, and the casino isn’t very willing to play even money with you when you’re basically using the money it gave you via the bonus.

Tip from Australian Gamblers: Don’t bother with games that don’t contribute 100% towards the wagering. It’s simply not worth your time, especially if you got a bigger bonus. You’ll spend a lot of time, and in the end, you’ll realise that it’s almost impossible to clear the WR because if the WR is 30x, and the game contributes just 10%, it’s like the WR is 300x with a 100% contribution.

• What you want to see: Ideally A$20 or even less.
• What you don’t want to see: An A$500 to qualify unless it’s a dedicated VIP/high roller bonus.

This term indicates the smallest amount you need to deposit to activate a bonus. My research shows that it’s usually around A$10 to A$30 at most Aussie online casinos, so the rule is simple: if you deposit less than that, the bonus won’t trigger.

It might sound obvious, but it’s a term you need to be aware of. And to make it trickier, some casinos set different deposit minimums for different payment methods, like A$10 for card deposits and A$20 for crypto deposits, for example.

• What you want to see: No game restrictions, obviously!
• What you don’t wanna see: A list longer than the game lobby.

Another straightforward rule: sometimes, casino bonuses are only available for selected games. This is especially true for free spins bonuses. For example, if the casino awards 100 free spins as part of the welcome bonus, it will usually be only available for one pokie. The rule will say: ‘100 free spins to be used on Elvis Frog by BGaming.’ – and you can’t use the free spins on any other game.

Sometimes, even cash bonuses come with eligibility restrictions. I often see table games, live casinos, and jackpots being excluded, or at least some bets like Red/Black or other even money bets, not being available for the bonus.

• What you want to see: The higher the maximum bet rule, the better.
• What you don’t want to see: A$2 or anything below, unless it’s free spins valued at less.

This one’s simple. It shows the maximum amount you can wager per spin or round. It’s usually from A$5 to A$10 or somewhere in between.

And while it might sound harmless, the maximum bet rule can easily trip you up if you’re not paying attention. Let’s say you’re spinning at A$15 per round while the bonus terms cap it at A$10. Even if you win big, the casino can legally void all your winnings for breaking the rules. And yes, they do check – I’ve learned that the hard way.

This rule exists to stop players from placing huge bets to clear the wagering faster or chase big wins with bonus money. But in practice, it often catches regular players who just didn’t notice the limit in the T&Cs.

So before you start playing with a bonus, always check the game rules or bonus section for the maximum bet limit. Stick within that range, and follow my advice about playing with the highest possible allowed bet size.

• What you want to see: 30+ day expiration dates.
• What you don’t want to see: Less than 48 hours.

This one catches more Aussie players off guard than you’d think. Every casino bonus has an expiration date, which tells you how long you have to use the bonus and complete the wagering requirements. The period can vary wildly, so be careful. Some casinos give you 30 days, others only 7, and a few sneaky ones limit it to just 24 hours for free spins. A few days ago, I was caught off guard by a bonus that lasted for just 12 hours.

The problem? The wagering requirements. Once the timer runs out, both your bonus balance and any unwithdrawn winnings tied to it disappear. I’ve seen players turn A$100 into A$1,000 only to lose everything because they didn’t meet the WR in time. And yes, the casino is legally allowed to do that.

My advice: before claiming any bonus, check the bonus validity or expiry period. If you only play occasionally, go for a bonus with a longer window – at least two weeks. Shorter ones are only worth it if you’re planning to play actively for a few days straight.

In my book, a fair expiry term is around 14-30 days for deposit bonuses and 3-7 days for free spins. But at the end of the day, it’s best to try to use your bonus immediately after claiming it.

• What you want to see: No payment restrictions.
• What you don’t want to see: Crypto or e-wallet exclusions that are buried within the T&C.

Here’s another sneaky one that most players overlook: not all payment methods qualify for bonuses. Some casinos exclude certain deposit options from triggering a welcome bonus, like e-wallets or even crypto. Now, admittedly, many Australian online casinos have removed this rule from their terms and conditions, but I still see it from time to time.

Again, this rule is usually in place to prevent abuse (this time, money laundering), because e-wallets and crypto deposits can sometimes be used to bypass verification checks.

Although this rule has been largely abandoned these days, I always give the terms a quick scan before depositing, just to be sure.

• What you want to see: No country restrictions.
• What you don’t want to see: Australia listed in the restricted countries, duh.

Every online casino has a list of countries where its bonuses (or the entire site) aren’t available, and this list changes more often than you’d think. These country restrictions usually come down to licensing rules or local gambling laws. For example, some casinos licensed in Curacao might block players from the UK or the US, while those licensed by the MGA or UKGC exclude other countries.

Even among casinos that do accept Australian players, the bonus terms might still include a rule like “Offer not available to players residing in Australia”. Or, the bonus value might be lower for players from certain countries.

Thankfully, online casinos that do operate in Australia rarely limit their bonuses for Aussie players, but it’s a casino bonus term that needs to be addressed.