UK casino bonuses have carried a hard ceiling since 19 January 2026. A casino licensed by the Gambling Commission can't ask you to stake more than 10 times the bonus amount before winnings become withdrawable, so a £10 bonus tops out at £100 of qualifying bets.
The 30x and 50x terms common before that date are no longer permitted.
What Does the 10x Cap Actually Limit?
The rule sits in social responsibility code 5.1.1 of the Gambling Commission's licence conditions, and it applies to every operator licensed for the UK market.
It covers any incentive that hands you bonus funds: a matched deposit, bonus credit, or free spin winnings paid into a bonus balance. The multiplier is applied to the bonus itself, so the maximum is always ten times that figure.
What the cap doesn't touch is everything else in the terms. Game contribution rates, the maximum stake allowed while wagering, the expiry window and any limit on withdrawals from bonus winnings all still apply. The headline number is smaller now, though the rest of the conditions still decide how a bonus behaves.
How Do Wagering Requirements Work?
A wagering requirement, sometimes called a playthrough requirement, is the total amount you need to stake before bonus funds or bonus winnings turn into withdrawable cash.
Take a £20 bonus with a 10x requirement. You'd need £200 of qualifying bets in total, and every eligible stake counts towards that figure whether it wins or loses. Under the old ceilings, the same £20 bonus could have carried £600 or £1,000 of wagering.
Game weighting is the detail that changes the arithmetic. If slots count 100% towards the requirement and another category counts 10%, then £10 staked on that second category moves you £1 closer to the total. The contribution table sits in the promotion's terms and is worth reading before the multiplier.
What Else Changed in January 2026?
Two other things came in alongside the cap. Operators can no longer reduce or alter a reward because a player completes the qualifying activity faster than expected, so the terms you qualified under are the terms that hold.
Promotions also have to stay within a single product. Offers that mix sports betting and casino play in one deal, such as a football bet that unlocked free spins, are no longer permitted, and a casino bonus has to be earned and cleared through casino play alone.
How Can You Read Bonus Terms in Under a Minute?
Four lines do most of the work:
- The multiplier and the bonus amount it applies to, which gives you the total in pounds.
- The game contribution table, which tells you what actually counts towards that total.
- The expiry window, since an unmet requirement usually results in the bonus balance being removed.
- The maximum stake permitted while wagering, because going above it can void the bonus.
Terms have to be clear before you commit, so if any of those four is hard to find, treat that as an answer in itself.
Bonus conditions sit alongside deposit limits and reality checks in your account's safer gambling tools, and those are worth setting first.
The full terms for every current promotion are published alongside the offer itself on the casino website.
UK Wagering Requirements Cap – FAQ
What does 10x wagering mean?
It means you need to stake ten times the bonus amount before bonus winnings can be withdrawn. A £10 bonus carries £100 of qualifying bets. Ten times is the regulatory maximum in the UK, so an offer can set a lower multiplier and some carry none at all.
Do free spins have wagering requirements?
Sometimes. Where free spin winnings are credited as bonus funds, a wagering requirement can apply, and it's capped at ten times that amount. Other offers pay spin winnings straight into your cash balance with nothing to clear. The promotion's terms will say which applies.
Can a casino change bonus terms after I claim?
Not once you've qualified. A UK-licensed operator can't cut or change the reward because you met the conditions quicker than expected. An operator can still amend or withdraw an offer for new claims.
18+. Please gamble responsibly. For free, confidential advice and support, visit BeGambleAware.org.
