Casino Bonus Calculator: Real EV After Wagering 2026
Turn any casino bonus into a real number. Enter the bonus, deposit, wagering requirement and game RTP, and see the true expected value of the offer before you claim it.
Bonus Details
The bonus credit the casino adds on top of your deposit.
How much you must deposit to unlock this bonus. Used to express EV as a return on your own money.
The playthrough multiplier, e.g. 35x. Higher means you must wager more before withdrawing.
Advanced Bonus Terms
Maximum you can withdraw from the bonus. 0 means no cap. A low cap quietly destroys bonus value.
Days to finish wagering before the bonus expires. Tight windows force higher bets and add risk.
Powered by the toolsgambling.com RTP Database
This calculator can read the real, stated RTP of thousands of slots straight from our open RTP database. Search the game you plan to clear the bonus on, so the cost estimate uses its true return rather than a guess.
Bonus Verdict
$-40.00
-40.0%
$3,500
$0.00
Negative value. You are expected to lose money chasing this playthrough. The smart move is to skip the bonus and keep your deposit flexible.
Bonus EV by Wagering Requirement
How the expected value of this bonus collapses as the wagering requirement climbs, at your current bonus, RTP and terms
The lime bar marks your wagering requirement. Notice the break-even point where EV crosses zero, beyond that the playthrough costs more than the bonus is worth.
Compare Several Bonus Offers Side by Side
Add the offers you are choosing between. The calculator uses the clearing game RTP above and ranks each bonus by real expected value, so the best deal is obvious before you claim.
| Offer | Bonus | WR | Expected Value | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offer A | $100 | 25x | +$0.00 | Poor |
| Offer B | $200 | 40x | $-120.00 | Trap |
Bottom line: Of these offers, Offer A has the strongest expected value. The gap between the best and worst bonus here is $120.00 in EV, for deposits of similar size.
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How the Bonus Calculator Works
Enter the bonus terms
Add the bonus amount, the deposit needed, and the wagering requirement straight from the offer's terms and conditions.
Set the clearing game RTP
Pick the RTP of the slot you will use to clear it, or pull a real game's figure from the toolsgambling database, then add any max cashout and expiry.
Read the real value
See the expected value, the cost to clear, the real bonus value after wagering, and a plain verdict on whether the offer is worth claiming.
The Math Behind the Bonus Calculator
Three simple formulas turn a bonus offer into real expected value
Total Wagering
$100 bonus × 35x = $3,500 to wager.
Cost to Clear
$3,500 × 4% = $140 expected cost.
Bonus EV
$100 - $140 = -$40 expected value.
Wagering Requirement to Bonus Value Reference
A quick reference for what each wagering requirement leaves of a $100 bonus, cleared on a 96% RTP slot.
| Wagering | Total Wager | Cost to Clear | Bonus EV | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10x | $1,000 | $40 | +$60 | Excellent |
| 20x | $2,000 | $80 | +$20 | Average |
| 25x | $2,500 | $100 | +$0 | Poor |
| 30x | $3,000 | $120 | $-20 | Trap |
| 35x | $3,500 | $140 | $-40 | Trap |
| 40x | $4,000 | $160 | $-60 | Trap |
| 50x | $5,000 | $200 | $-100 | Trap |
Figures assume a $100 bonus and a 96% RTP (4% house edge). Lower-RTP games and max-bet breaches make every row worse.
Three Ways to Read Your Bonus Numbers
Find the Break-Even Wagering
At a 4% house edge, a bonus turns negative once the wagering requirement pushes the cost above the bonus itself. Roughly, WR above 25x on a 96% slot starts eating the whole bonus. The calculator shows the exact tipping point for your terms.
Clear on the Highest RTP You Can
Wagering is cheaper on a high-RTP game. Clearing $3,500 of playthrough on a 97% slot costs about $105, on a 92% slot it costs $280. Always check game contribution rules, then pick the highest-RTP eligible game.
Respect the Max Cashout and Expiry
A low max cashout caps your upside no matter how well you run, and a short expiry forces bigger bets that add variance. Both quietly lower the real value the calculator shows. Read those two lines of the terms first.
Expert Guide to Casino Bonus Value
A casino bonus is marketing dressed as a gift. Sometimes it is genuinely good value, often it is a trap built from a high wagering requirement and a low max cashout. This guide explains how to read a bonus like an analyst, and how the bonus calculator turns the fine print into a single honest number.
Why the Headline Bonus Number Means Almost Nothing
A 200% bonus up to $500 sounds enormous, but the headline is the least important line in the offer. What decides the value is the wagering requirement, the eligible games and their RTP, the max bet rule, the max cashout, and the expiry window. A small bonus with 20x wagering can be worth more than a huge one with 50x. The calculator strips away the headline and works out what the offer is actually worth once you account for the playthrough you have to survive.
Wagering Requirements Are the Real Price of a Bonus
The wagering requirement, also called playthrough or rollover, is how many times you must bet the bonus, or the bonus plus deposit, before any winnings become withdrawable. A $100 bonus at 35x means cycling $3,500 through the games. Every dollar you wager carries the house edge, so that $3,500 of forced betting has a real expected cost. On a 96% slot that cost is about $140, which already exceeds the $100 bonus. This is why so many flashy offers carry negative expected value the moment you read past the headline.
RTP and Game Contribution Decide the Cost
Not every game clears a bonus at the same rate. Slots usually count 100%, while table games like blackjack and roulette often count 10% or are excluded, because their low house edge makes bonus abuse easy. That contribution rule is why the calculator focuses on slot RTP: a high-RTP slot clears the same wagering for less expected cost. Clearing $3,500 on a 97% game costs roughly $105, on a 92% game it costs $280. Choosing the highest-RTP eligible game is the single biggest lever you control over a bonus's real value.
Max Cashout and Expiry: The Hidden Value Killers
Two lines in the terms quietly decide whether a bonus is worth claiming. A max cashout caps how much you can withdraw no matter how well your session runs, so a $100 no-deposit bonus with a $50 cap is worth at most $50 before you even start. A short expiry, say three days on a large wagering requirement, forces you to bet bigger and faster, which spikes variance and the chance you bust before clearing. The calculator applies penalties for both, because a bonus you cannot realistically clear or cash out is not the value its headline claims.
When a Bonus Is Genuinely Worth It
Good bonuses do exist. Look for low wagering, 20x to 30x or less, applied to the bonus only rather than bonus plus deposit, on high-RTP eligible slots, with a generous or no max cashout and a sensible expiry. A no-deposit free bonus with fair terms can carry positive expected value even after the house edge. The discipline is simple: run every offer through the bonus calculator on toolsgambling.com before you opt in, and decline anything the math shows as negative. A bonus should reduce your cost of play, never become a reason to gamble more than you planned.
What a Casino Bonus Calculator Is and Why You Should Use One
The short version: a casino bonus calculator converts the fine print of an offer into the one figure that matters, the expected value of claiming it. You enter the bonus amount, the deposit required, the wagering requirement, and the RTP of the game you will clear it on, and the tool works out the total wagering, the expected cost of that playthrough, the real bonus value after the house edge, and a plain verdict. Below we cover what this tool does, why the wagering requirement matters more than the headline bonus, how the math works, and how to use the bonus calculator on toolsgambling.com. Updated for 2026.
What This Tool Does
A bonus calculator takes a marketing offer and makes it concrete. Everyone has seen a casino advertise a 100% match up to $500, but very few players translate that into expected value before they opt in. This tool does the translation instantly. It multiplies the bonus by the wagering requirement to find the total playthrough, applies the house edge of your clearing game to find the expected cost, and subtracts that cost from the bonus to show what the offer is really worth. The headline stops being a hook and becomes a number you can act on.
The point is decisions, not decoration. Knowing that a $100 bonus at 35x carries roughly negative forty dollars of expected value is the difference between claiming a trap and keeping your deposit flexible. The calculator also lets you compare several offers at once, see how the expected value collapses as the wagering requirement rises, factor in the max cashout cap and expiry pressure, and pull the real stated RTP of your clearing game straight from the toolsgambling.com database, so the figure you plug in is accurate rather than a guess.
The first welcome bonus I ever claimed looked incredible, a 200% match, and I spent two weeks chasing a 45x wagering requirement on a low-RTP slot before busting just short of clearing it. When I finally built this bonus calculator and ran those exact terms back through it, the expected value was deeply negative from the start. I had been grinding a losing proposition the whole time. That mistake is why I keep this tool free on toolsgambling.com: ten seconds of math would have saved me the entire ordeal.
Why You Need a Bonus Calculator
Bonuses are designed to look generous and read as complicated, and that combination is exactly what hides their true cost. Turning the terms into expected value changes which offers you claim and which you walk past. Here are four concrete reasons to run the numbers before you opt in.
See the Real Value, Not the Headline Match
Casinos advertise the match percentage because a big number drives sign-ups. The match is almost irrelevant to value. What decides whether a bonus pays is the wagering requirement, the eligible game RTP, the max cashout and the expiry. The calculator combines all of them into one expected value figure, so you see what the offer is worth after the playthrough rather than what the banner promises.
Compare Offers Before You Deposit
Two casinos can dangle the same dollar bonus with wildly different terms, one at 25x and one at 50x, and the gap in real value is enormous. The built-in compare table puts several offers side by side at the same clearing RTP and ranks them by expected value, so the genuinely better deal is obvious before any money moves. This is how bonus hunters separate soft offers from traps.
Find the Break-Even Wagering Requirement
There is a point where the playthrough costs exactly as much as the bonus is worth, and beyond it the bonus turns negative. The EV by wagering requirement chart draws that crossover for your exact terms. Seeing where your offer sits relative to break-even is the fastest way to judge whether a bonus is a small edge or a slow leak, and it makes the case for low-wagering offers far better than any percentage could.
Run It Free on toolsgambling.com Before You Opt In
The bonus calculator on toolsgambling.com is free, instant, and runs in your browser with no sign-up. Checking an offer takes ten seconds: copy the bonus, deposit and wagering from the terms, set the clearing game RTP, and read the verdict. That tiny habit is one of the few things fully inside your control that stops you grinding negative-value playthrough you were never going to beat.
How the Bonus Calculation Works
The core math is refreshingly simple, which is part of why understanding it matters. The total wagering is the bonus amount multiplied by the wagering requirement, so a $100 bonus at 35x means cycling $3,500 through the games. The expected cost of clearing that playthrough is the total wagering multiplied by the house edge of your clearing game, where the house edge is just 100% minus the RTP. The bonus expected value is then the bonus amount minus that expected cost.
Put numbers on it and the trap becomes visible. A $100 bonus at 35x on a 96% RTP slot means $3,500 of wagering at a 4% edge, which is $140 of expected cost. Subtract that from the $100 bonus and the expected value is negative forty dollars. The bonus looked like free money, but the wagering requirement quietly turned it into an expected loss. The calculator does this arithmetic instantly, so you never have to discover it the hard way after two weeks of grinding.
On top of the core formula, the calculator applies two real-world penalties. A low max cashout cap reduces the value, because your upside is capped no matter how well the session runs. A short expiry window also reduces it, because cramming a large wagering requirement into a few days forces bigger bets, raises variance, and increases the chance you bust before clearing. These adjustments are why the calculator's verdict is more honest than a back-of-the-envelope bonus minus cost, and closer to what the offer is actually worth to a real player.
How to Use the Bonus Calculator on toolsgambling.com
The calculator runs entirely in your browser on toolsgambling.com, it is free and needs no account. You can pull a real game's RTP from our database, copy a shareable link that reproduces the exact offer for a friend, or embed the whole tool on your own site. Here is the step-by-step process from the offer's terms to a clear verdict.
- 01
Enter the Bonus and Deposit
Type the bonus credit the casino adds and the deposit you must make to unlock it. The deposit lets the calculator express the expected value as a return on your own money, which is the honest way to judge a deposit-match offer.
- 02
Add the Wagering Requirement
Enter the playthrough multiplier straight from the terms, for example 35x. Check whether it applies to the bonus only or to bonus plus deposit, because bonus-plus-deposit wagering is far tougher and you should enter the effective multiple accordingly.
- 03
Set the Clearing Game RTP
Choose the RTP of the slot you will clear the bonus on, or search it in the RTP database field and the calculator loads its stated RTP straight from toolsgambling.com. A higher RTP makes the same wagering cheaper to grind.
- 04
Add Max Cashout and Expiry
Enter any maximum cashout cap and the number of days you have to finish wagering. Both shape the real value of the offer, and leaving them out makes a tough bonus look better than it is.
- 05
Read the Verdict and Share It
Review the expected value, the cost to clear, the real bonus value, and the plain verdict. Use the compare table to weigh several offers at once, copy the link to share the exact scenario, or grab the embed code to put the calculator on your own page.
Why the Wagering Requirement Is the Number That Matters
Every part of a bonus offer is negotiable marketing except one: the wagering requirement is the lever the casino pulls to control how much the bonus actually costs them. A generous-looking bonus with a brutal playthrough is cheaper for the operator than a small bonus with fair terms, because most players never clear the high requirement at all. The forfeit rate, the share of bonuses that expire unfinished, is baked into the offer design.
This is why the calculator centres on wagering. Move a $100 bonus from 20x to 50x on the same 96% slot and the expected cost jumps from $80 to $200, flipping a positive offer into a clear trap. The wagering requirement, not the headline match, is what separates a bonus worth claiming from one worth declining. Read that line of the terms first, every single time, and let the toolsgambling.com bonus calculator tell you which side of break-even it lands on.
How to Read the Bonus EV by Wagering Requirement Chart
The chart plots the expected value of your bonus across a range of wagering requirements, from soft 10x offers to brutal 70x ones, at your current bonus amount and clearing RTP, with your selected wagering marked in the brand lime colour. The shape tells the story: as the requirement climbs from left to right, the bars fall steadily and eventually cross below zero, because each extra turn of playthrough adds house-edge cost without adding bonus.
Use it to find your break-even point at a glance. Wherever the bars cross the zero line is the maximum wagering requirement this bonus can carry and still be worth claiming. If your selected bar sits well below that crossing, the offer is a leak no matter how you play it. If it sits comfortably above zero, you have a genuine edge worth grinding, provided you respect the max bet rule and the expiry.
Bonus Calculator vs Wagering Calculator on toolsgambling.com
The bonus calculator answers the decision question: is this offer worth claiming at all, given everything in the terms. It rolls the wagering, RTP, max cashout and expiry into one expected value and a verdict. The wagering calculator on toolsgambling.com answers the next, more tactical question: given that you have claimed a bonus, exactly how much do you need to wager, and at what stake, to clear it before it expires. Use this calculator to decide, and the wagering calculator to execute. Together they cover a bonus from the offer screen to the withdrawal.
Three Real Bonus Offers Run Through the Calculator
Numbers land harder than theory. Here are three offers you can recreate on toolsgambling.com in seconds, and what the calculator reveals about each.
The Soft Welcome: $100 Bonus, 25x, 97% Slot
This is what a fair offer looks like. A $100 bonus at 25x means $2,500 of wagering, and on a 97% slot the 3% edge costs about $75 to clear. The expected value is a positive twenty-five dollars, so claiming is worth it if you were going to deposit anyway. The calculator rates it good and the chart shows your wagering sitting comfortably left of the break-even line.
The Standard Trap: $200 Bonus, 40x, 95% Slot
The bigger headline hides worse terms. A $200 bonus at 40x is $8,000 of wagering, and a 5% edge on a 95% slot costs $400 to clear, double the bonus itself. The expected value is a brutal negative two hundred dollars. The calculator flags it as a trap, and this is the kind of offer that looks the most tempting on the banner while quietly being the worst value on the page.
The Capped No-Deposit: $50 Free, 50x, $50 Max Cashout
Free money still has fine print. A $50 no-deposit bonus at 50x is $2,500 of wagering, costing around $100 on a 96% slot, while the $50 max cashout caps any upside at fifty dollars. The expected value is firmly negative once you account for the cap. The lesson the calculator drives home is that no-deposit does not mean no cost, and a tight cashout cap can sink even a free bonus.
Common Bonus Mistakes the Calculator Helps You Avoid
Most bonus regret comes from a handful of predictable errors. Here are the six worst, and how running the numbers fixes each.
Judging a Bonus by the Match Percentage
A 200% match feels twice as good as 100%, but the match barely touches the real value. A huge match with 50x wagering is worth less than a modest one at 20x. The calculator ignores the marketing and works from the wagering requirement and RTP, which are the terms that actually decide whether you come out ahead.
Ignoring the Wagering Requirement Entirely
The most expensive mistake is claiming a bonus without reading the playthrough. A 40x or 50x requirement can make even a large bonus a guaranteed expected loss. Always enter the wagering into the calculator first, because it is the single number most likely to flip an offer from worth-it to a trap.
Clearing on a Low-RTP Game
Grinding a bonus on a 92% slot instead of a 97% one nearly triples the cost of the same wagering. Many players clear on whatever game looks fun rather than the highest-RTP eligible option. Check game contribution rules, then use the toolsgambling RTP database to pick the cheapest game to clear on.
Forgetting the Max Cashout Cap
A low max cashout caps your winnings no matter how well you run, and it is the most overlooked line in any bonus. A $50 cap on a $100 bonus halves your realistic upside before you spin once. Enter it into the calculator so the verdict reflects the real ceiling, not the headline.
Underestimating a Tight Expiry
A large wagering requirement crammed into a three-day window forces big, fast bets that spike variance and bust risk. Players assume they will clear it in time and rarely do. The calculator penalises short expiries because an offer you cannot realistically finish is not worth its stated value.
Believing a Bonus Is Free Money
The phrase free bonus is the most expensive idea in gambling. Every bonus carries an expected cost through its wagering requirement, and many carry a net negative expected value. The calculator is a tool for finding the rare offers that genuinely pay and declining the majority that do not, never for convincing yourself that any bonus is risk-free.
Casino Bonus Glossary
To read a bonus's terms and conditions without confusion, keep these key terms handy. Each one feeds directly into what an offer is really worth.
Key Concepts
- How many times you must bet the bonus, or bonus plus deposit, before winnings become withdrawable. A $100 bonus at 35x means wagering $3,500. Also called playthrough or rollover, it is the single biggest driver of a bonus's real cost.
- The bonus amount minus the expected cost of clearing its wagering at your game's house edge. Positive EV means the offer is worth claiming on average, negative EV means you expect to lose money grinding it.
- The percentage each game type counts toward wagering. Slots usually count 100%, table games often 10% or are excluded. A game contributing 10% means you must wager ten times as much to clear the same requirement.
- The maximum you can withdraw from a bonus, regardless of how much you win. A low cap, common on no-deposit and free spin bonuses, sets a hard ceiling on value before you even start playing.
- A bonus that adds a percentage of your deposit as bonus credit, such as a 100% match up to $500. The match size is far less important to value than the wagering requirement attached to it.
- Bonus credit or free spins given without a deposit. Tempting because it is free, but usually paired with high wagering and a low max cashout, which often pushes its real expected value negative.
- A cap on the stake you may place while clearing a bonus, often around $5. Breaching it, even once, typically voids the bonus and any winnings. It does not change the EV math but is the most common way players lose a cleared bonus.
- A sticky bonus cannot be withdrawn and is removed when you cash out, only winnings are yours. A non-sticky bonus is added to withdrawable funds. Sticky terms reduce real value because the bonus itself never becomes money you keep.
Wagering Requirement (Playthrough)
Bonus Expected Value (EV)
Game Contribution
Max Cashout
Deposit Match
No-Deposit Bonus
Max Bet Rule
Sticky vs Non-Sticky Bonus
Free Casino Bonus Tools on toolsgambling.com
On toolsgambling.com you can use the Bonus Calculator for free, just like all our other tools, with no sign-up required. They work well together: judge an offer's value here, work out the exact wagering plan in the wagering calculator, check your clearing game's real return in the RTP calculator, and pull stated RTP for thousands of slots from the RTP database next door.
Gamble Responsibly
A bonus calculator helps you claim only the offers that genuinely pay, but no bonus turns gambling into a winning bet. The house edge wins over time, on every game, bonus or not. Only ever play with money you can afford to lose, never chase losses, set a budget and a time limit before you start, and treat any cleared bonus as a small saving rather than income. 18+. If gambling stops being fun, get free support at BeGambleAware.org.
Evgeniy Volkov
Fullstack developer with a background in mathematics. I build the calculators and game-style tools on ToolsGambling with Pixi.js and modern web tech, and every result uses transparent probability formulas you can verify yourself.
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