How game weighting works

How game weighting works, in one worked example

Take a £100 bonus with a 10x wagering requirement: £1,000 has to be counted before the bonus becomes cash. Play a slot weighted at 100% and every £1 spin moves the counter by £1, so £1,000 of spins finishes the job. Play a game weighted at 10% and each £1 bet moves it by 10p, so you’d need £10,000 of bets for the same result.

That multiplier is the whole idea. Casinos publish weightings as a contribution percentage, sometimes in a table at the bottom of the bonus terms and sometimes in the game’s info panel. Our shorter explainer of game weighting covers the vocabulary; this guide focuses on the maths and on what weighting means for the cost of a bonus. Our other practical explainers are in the bonus guides section.

Game weighting percentages: what each number means

There’s no standard weighting set by UK regulators; each operator chooses its own and must state it clearly. The table below uses round example figures to show the effect of different rates. It is not any partner’s actual weighting table, so always read the real one in the offer terms.

The “stake multiplier” column is the one to remember. It tells you how many times more real money you have to put through a game than its share of the requirement suggests. Some terms call the same idea stake contribution, and a few use “wagering contribution”; they all mean the share of each bet that counts.

The game weighting formula: real stakes needed to clear wagering

Two calculations give you the full picture. First, the requirement: bonus × wagering multiple. Second, the real stakes: requirement ÷ contribution rate. Run them for Casumo’s welcome offer, a 50% match up to £100 that must be wagered 10x within 7 days.

The daily column is where weighting bites. Even at 100%, £143 of stakes a day for a week is a lot of play for many people; at lower weightings the volume quickly becomes unrealistic within the time limit. Our guide on how to calculate wagering requirements has more worked examples, and the wagering calculator will run the figures for any bonus.

Game weighting and the real cost of clearing a bonus

The average cost of wagering is roughly real stakes × house edge. Weighting multiplies the stakes, so it multiplies the cost too, and that usually outweighs any difference in house edge between games. A slot with 96% RTP has a 4% house edge; single-zero roulette has an edge of about 2.7% (one zero among 37 numbers).

So a game with a smaller house edge can still be the dearer way to clear a bonus once its weighting is applied. With a £100 bonus, an average cost of £270 would wipe out the bonus and more. These are long-run averages; any single session can finish well above or below them. Our guide to the expected value of a casino bonus shows how to combine these figures with the bonus amount.

Why casinos weight games differently

Casinos weight games because the cost of offering a bonus depends on how much they expect to keep from the play it generates. Games with a smaller edge, or with bets that can cover most outcomes at once, return more of each stake on average, so operators either count them at a lower rate or leave them out. Our answer to why some games are excluded from bonuses covers the same logic from the exclusion side.

Weighting isn’t a judgement on whether a game is fair. Every game at a UK-licensed site has to show its RTP or likelihood of winning before you play, under the Commission’s technical standard on game rules (opens in a new tab), and outcomes can’t be adjusted to hit a target return. Weighting only changes how play counts towards a promotion.

Patterns of play designed to clear wagering without real exposure, such as covering both sides of a bet, are usually listed as prohibited. Terms call this irregular play, and it can void bonus winnings. Explaining the rule isn’t advice to test it.

Game weighting vs excluded games vs selected games

Three different rules can sit in the same set of terms, and mixing them up is a common cause of disputes.

• Weighting (contribution): you may play the game, but only part of each stake counts. A 0% weighting means it counts for nothing, though playing it isn’t necessarily a breach.
• Excluded or restricted games: the terms say the game mustn’t be played with bonus funds at all. Doing so can be treated as a breach, and bonus winnings may be removed.
• Selected games: free spins can only be used on the slots the offer names. This limits where spins run, not how wagering counts.

Some terms also use a game provider restriction, excluding every title from a named studio. If a term isn’t clear, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says the meaning most favourable to the consumer should prevail, but the simpler protection is asking support before you play. Our page on which games are excluded from bonuses lists the usual suspects.

How game weighting works across a mixed session

If you move between games, each bet is counted at its own rate and the results are added up. Suppose a £25 bonus needs £250 of wagering, and the example weightings are 100% for slots and 10% for roulette.

1. £150 of slot spins at 100% counts £150.
2. £500 of roulette bets at 10% counts £50.
3. Running total: £200 of the £250 requirement, after £650 of real stakes.
4. £50 more on slots at 100% completes the requirement, for £700 of stakes in total.

Had the whole £250 been played on slots, the real stakes would have been £250. The detour through a low-weighted game added £450 of play, with the house edge applying to every pound. Most casinos show a wagering progress bar so you can see the counted total; our guide to tracking bonus progress explains how to read it and what to do if it seems wrong.

UK rules on game weighting and wagering in 2026

Since 19 January 2026, the Commission’s social responsibility code caps bonus wagering at 10 times the bonus, as announced in gambling promotions to be safer and simpler (opens in a new tab). The rule text speaks of playing bonus funds through no more than 10 times. It doesn’t address contribution percentages, so a game weighted at 10% can still require far more than ten times the bonus in real stakes. Check the terms and ask the operator if the arithmetic looks out of line with the cap; our page on the 10x wagering cap has the background.

Other rules shape how weighting is presented. The Commission’s guidance on promotional play restrictions (opens in a new tab) says terms must clearly specify prohibited types of play, and operators can’t ban play that wasn’t set out in advance. Operators also can’t vary a promotion after you’ve opted in except to prevent fraud, so a weighting table shouldn’t change mid-offer. Online slots carry legal stake limits of £5 per spin (25+) and £2 (18–24), which cap how fast any wagering can be cleared on slots.

Game weighting in our partners’ welcome offers

Weighting matters only where there’s wagering, and three of our five partners’ welcome offers have none. Coral’s 100 spins, Ladbrokes’ up to 500 spins and PlayOJO’s 80 spins all pay winnings without wagering, so no contribution table applies to them.

The two deposit matches are different. Casumo’s 50% bonus up to £100 must be wagered 10x within 7 days with a £5 maximum bet, and its terms say game, play and payment restrictions apply; the full list is in the offer terms and on our Casumo eligible games page. 10bet’s 100% bonus up to £25 must be wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, with bonus winnings capped at £1,000; our 10bet eligible games page explains what that wording means. Neither offer’s published key terms give a contribution percentage for other game types, so check the full terms before playing anything other than slots.

How to check game weighting before you play

1. Open the full bonus terms from the promotion page; UK rules say they should be one click away.
2. Find the contribution or weighting section and note the rate for each game type you might play.
3. Look for a separate list of excluded or restricted games and providers.
4. Calculate real stakes: requirement ÷ contribution rate. Compare it with your budget and the time limit.
5. If a game you want isn’t listed, ask live chat and keep a screenshot of the answer.
6. While playing, watch the progress bar to confirm bets are counting at the stated rate.

If the numbers don’t suit how you play, a bonus with no wagering avoids the issue entirely. Our no wagering bonus page explains how those work, and bonuses on slots vs table games compares the two approaches.

Where our partner offers fit if you’d rather skip weighting

The simplest way round game weighting is an offer with no wagering. Coral gives 100 free spins after a £10 bet on slots (18+, new players, 10p spins on selected games, accept within 48 hours, valid 7 days; certain payment methods including PayPal, Skrill and prepaid cards don’t qualify). Ladbrokes gives up to 500 free spins, 50 a day for 10 days, after £10 played on slots (18+, 10p spins, claim daily by 23:59, valid 7 days, PayPal and several e-wallets excluded). Winnings from both are paid without wagering.

PlayOJO gives 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza with a first deposit of £10 or more (18+, new UK customers excluding Northern Ireland, 10p spins, no wagering, via the offer link only). Terms apply to all three; read them on the Coral casino bonus, Ladbrokes casino bonus and PlayOJO casino bonus pages. The qualifying bet or deposit is real money, and the house edge applies to it as normal.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: set a budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.