Casino bonus game weighting: slots, tables and live in £
Game weighting decides how much of each bet counts towards a bonus. A slot often counts in full, a roulette spin a tenth, a live table nothing. The UK 10x cap does not touch it, so it can matter more than the multiple.
By Gareth Llewellyn · Updated 14 October 2026
18+. Figures from each casino's own published terms, 14 October 2026.
- Slot at 100%
- £10
- Roulette at 10%
- £1
- Blackjack at 8%
- 80p
- Live casino at 5%
- 50p
- Baccarat at 0%
- £0
Weights from Casumo's and Betway's UK bonus terms, 14 October 2026.
How casino bonus game weighting works
Each bet counts towards the wagering requirement at its game’s percentage. The rest of the bet is for nothing.
For example, imagine you have a bonus with £200 of wagering. If slots count 100%, a £1 spin would be £1 towards that. If you’re playing roulette at 10%, a £1 bet would be 10p towards that, so you’d need to place £2,000 worth of roulette bets to fulfil the requirement.
Weighting is also called game contribution. Terms often show it as a table of game types with a percentage beside it, followed by a table of single games that count less or not at all.
Not all games at 0% are automatically prohibited. You can be allowed to play the games with a bonus, but nothing you bet on the game counts. Some terms go further and say bets on banned games are a breach that can invalidate the bonus.
Bets needed to clear £200 of wagering
- Counts 100%£200
- Counts 70%£286
- Counts 30%£667
- Counts 10%£2,000
- Counts 8%£2,500
- Counts 5%£4,000
At 0% the wagering can never be finished on that game.
Game weighting at UK casinos, from their bonus terms
Three UK casinos offering a weighted welcome offer.
| Game type | Casumo, 50% bonus | Betway, £50 bonus | BetMGM, qualifying £10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slots | 100% (30% if RTP 96.8% or more) | 100% | 100% |
| Scratchcards and instant win | 100% | Not listed | 100% |
| Roulette | 10% | 8% | 0% |
| Blackjack | 10% | 8% (Classic Blackjack 0%) | 0% |
| Video poker | 5% | 8% (All Aces, Jacks or Better 0%) | 0% |
| Live casino | 5% | Dream Catcher 8% | 0% |
| Baccarat | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Casumo general bonus terms 9.1.1 and 9.1.4, Betway £50 Welcome Bonus terms, BetMGM Casino Welcome Offer 4.4. 14 October 2026.
In BetMGM's case, weighting applies to the £10 you have to play first to access its spins. Spins themselves do not have wagering requirements. With Betway, weighting applies to its £50 match bonus. Its free spins, however, have no wagering requirements. Reviews: Casumo, Betway, BetMGM.
Why casinos weight games differently
Weighting is determined by how much of each bet the casino expects to keep.
- Slots
- The house keeps the most per bet on average, so slots usually count in full.
- High-RTP slots
- The same isn't true with games that return a larger prize. At Casumo, slot games with a return to player ratio (RTP) of 96.8% or higher are weighted at 30%.
- Blackjack and video poker
- Played well, the house keeps very little, so they count 10% or less.
- Roulette
- Even-money bets can be paired to cover almost every outcome, so roulette is weighted down.
- Baccarat
- Low house edge on the banker bet, and it is 0% at all three casinos above.
- Live casino
- Typically games with low edges such as blackjack are weighted at 5% or 0%.
The other reason is the bonus itself. A casino gives £20 expecting most of it to be lost during the wagering. A game where you keep more of each bet makes the bonus cheaper to clear, so the casino counts less of it.
What game weighting costs you on a casino bonus
Weighting determines how many bets have to be placed. The house edge of a game is what determines how much those bets would typically cost.
| £10 bonus at 10x, played on | Weight | Bets needed | House edge | Average cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A slot returning 96% | 100% | £100 | 4% | £4 |
| A high-RTP slot at Casumo (97%) | 30% | £333 | 3% | £10 |
| Blackjack, basic strategy | 10% | £1,000 | about 0.5% | £5 |
| European roulette | 10% | £1,000 | 2.7% | £27 |
| Live roulette | 5% | £2,000 | 2.7% | £54 |
Arithmetic on published weightings and standard house edges. Real sessions vary a lot.
There are two consequences of this. First, a high-RTP slot weighted at 30% costs more to clear than an ordinary slot at 100%, and so Casumo's rule works as intended. Second, roulette at 10% costs more than the bonus is worth. On average it costs £27 to clear £10 of bonus.
Blackjack is the exception to this as the house edge is extremely low, and even £1,000 worth of bets would cost very little. That is why some casinos set the weighting at 0%.
Game weighting on free spins and 1x offers
Weighting becomes less of an issue as the amount to clear decreases.
- No-wagering spins
- No weighting. Spins are on a set slot, and all winnings are cash.
- Qualifying stakes
- Offers where you are required to play £10 to start often weight that stake. BetMGM counts slots, instants and Slingo in full. They count live dealer, table games and other games at 0%.
- 1x on winnings
- LuckyMate counts only £1 of each bet towards their 1x, so large bets do not speed it up.
- Match bonuses
- Weighting is felt hardest on table games for Casumo's 10x and Betway's £50 bonus.
Game weighting and the UK 10x cap
The Gambling Commission capped the multiple but left weighting to each casino.
From the current evidence, we do not think it is necessary to review rules on weightings attached to wagering requirements at this time
Play on certain games will contribute a different percentage towards the wagering requirements.
Because of weighting, a 10x bonus could mean that you are required to place 200x your bonus in bets to clear it if you play a game at 5%. A 10x headline only tells the player what they will pay to play the slot.
What UK rules do require is that the terms are clear and easy to find. Weighting has to be stated in the terms before you opt in, not afterwards.
Games that count 0% towards wagering
Beyond whole game types, most casinos list single slots that do not count.
- Named slots
Casumo lists a long list of slots that do not count towards bonus play, such as Monsters Unchained and various Slingo games.
- Whole game families
Betway counts all baccarat, craps, Red Dog and Sic Bo at 0% on its £50 bonus.
- Jackpot slots
Some casinos exclude progressive jackpots. Casumo counts jackpot slots at 100%.
- Game-state play
Casumo views using bonus money to build up a slot's bonus feature and finishing it off with real money as abusive play.
- Sports bets
Casino bonuses never count sports bets. Betway lists all sports bets at 0%.
Our excluded games guide covers what happens if you play an excluded game by mistake.
Common mistakes about casino bonus game weighting
The four beliefs that cost players time or winnings.
- "Only winning bets count"
Every bet counts at its weight, win or lose. A losing £1 spin on a slot at 100% clears £1.
- "All slots count the same"
Casumo counts slots with an RTP of 96.8% or more at 30% and named slots at 0%.
- "A 0% game is just slow"
At 0% the wagering never moves and at some casinos playing it with a bonus breaks the terms.
- "Live and RNG tables count alike"
Not always. Casumo counts roulette and blackjack at 10% and live casino at 5%.
The fix for the four beliefs is the same: open the weighting table in the full bonus terms before your first bet, and check the game you want to play.
How to use game weighting when picking a bonus
Start with the game you play, not from the multiple.
- Find your game's weight
Look for “game contribution” or “game weighting” in the bonus terms.
- Divide the wagering by it
Wagering £200 at 10% means you're betting £2,000.
- Check the time limit
Betting £2,000 on roulette over the course of a week is a fast way to drain your bankroll.
- Compare with no-wagering offers
Cash offers are usually more profitable if the game you're playing counts 10% or less.
Our wagering requirement calculator factors this in. If you play mainly tables or live games, see our low wagering blackjack, roulette bonuses and low wagering live casino bonuses. It’s easier for slots players. See low wagering slots.
Game weighting questions
What is game weighting in a casino bonus?
Do slots always count 100%?
How much does roulette count towards wagering?
Does live casino count towards a bonus?
Is game weighting regulated in the UK?
Does game weighting apply to free spins?
Which games count most towards wagering?
Is it cheaper to clear a bonus on blackjack?
Do losing bets count towards wagering?
Does a bonus buy count towards wagering?
Written by
Gareth reads the game weighting table before the headline of any UK bonus, because it decides who the bonus is really for.
Play safe
18+. Gambling should stay fun. If you’re spending more than you can afford, or if it’s affecting your life in any other way, you can block all UK casinos instantly with GAMSTOP or call the National Gambling Helpline free on 0808 8020 133, any time.
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