The vocabulary, translated
Offer Terms Explained
Qualifying bet, minimum odds, wagering, maximum stake, expiry. Five phrases decide whether any betting offer is worth taking, and they mean the same thing wherever you meet them.
Promotional terms are written in a dialect that assumes familiarity, and the result is that people take offers without knowing quite what they have agreed to. This page translates the five phrases that matter, with the LadBet offers as the worked example. They are industry-wide rather than ours, so what follows is useful wherever you bet.
Qualifying bet
The bet that triggers the offer. Almost every welcome promotion has one and its conditions are where most disqualifications happen.
What is usually required
A minimum stake, a minimum price, and settlement. Settlement is the one people miss: a bet that is cashed out has not settled as a win or a loss, so it has not qualified. A void bet has not qualified either, though in that case the stake comes back and the next bet takes its place.
Ours
£20 or more at 1/1 (2.00) or bigger, settled rather than cashed out, on a sportsbook market. That is the whole of it, and it is on the welcome offer page in a table.
Minimum odds
A price floor on the qualifying bet, the reward, or both. Almost always evens, expressed as 1/1 or 2.00.
Why it exists
Without it, the cheapest way to collect a reward would be to stake the qualifying amount on something at 1/25, lose a few pence and take the free bet. Every operator sets a floor for that reason, and the level is a reasonable proxy for how generous the offer actually is.
Checking a price clears it
In fractions, the first number at least as big as the second. In decimals, 2.00 or higher. On a multiple, the combined price is what counts — three legs at 4/5 multiply past 5/1 and qualify comfortably even though none of them would alone.
Wagering
The phrase that separates a casino bonus from a sportsbook free bet, and the most important one on this page.
What it means
A multiple showing how many times a bonus is played through before it becomes withdrawable cash. At 35x the bonus goes round thirty-five times, and the count is of stakes rather than losses, so money won and put back on counts towards it again. For a regular slots player that accumulates a good deal faster than the multiple suggests.
Sportsbook free bets usually carry none
Ours do not. Winnings from a free bet are ordinary cash immediately. That is the genuine difference between the two welcome offers on this site, and confusing them is the most common misreading of the whole package.
Game weighting
A casino bonus rarely counts every game equally. Slots typically count in full, table games at a fraction, some live formats at nothing. A bonus with 35x on slots is a very different proposition from the same bonus if you intend to play blackjack, and the weighting table is where that is written down.
Maximum stake
A cap on what you may stake per spin or per bet while a bonus is being worked through.
What happens if you exceed it
Usually not a void, which is the good news, but the excess stops counting towards the requirement, which is worse than it sounds. The progress bar keeps moving while the actual qualifying turnover does not, and somebody can spend an evening apparently completing a wagering requirement while going backwards against it.
Ours
£5 per spin or hand while casino wagering is running. There is no equivalent cap on the sportsbook side because there is no wagering to protect.
Expiry
The clock, and the condition that quietly costs people the most.
Two different clocks
A free bet expires a set time after it is credited — ours after 7 days. A casino bonus expires a set time after it is credited too, ours after 30, and any unconverted bonus balance disappears with it. Neither clock starts at registration, which is a common misreading.
Expiry is generally final
Across the industry, expiry is written into the token when it is issued and cannot be altered afterwards. It is worth assuming that wherever you bet rather than expecting a conversation about it.
Reading any offer in two minutes
A checklist that works on anybody’s promotion, not just ours.
- What has to happen to trigger it? Stake, price, settlement.
- What exactly do I get? Cash, a free bet, or a bonus with wagering. These are three very different things.
- What does it cost to convert? Wagering multiple and game weighting, if any.
- What is capped? Maximum stake while wagering, and maximum reward.
- How long have I got? And from when — credit, not registration.
If an offer cannot be read against those five questions in two minutes, that is itself information about the offer. Our full promotion terms are written so that it can be.
A break between sessions costs nothing and keeps the whole thing enjoyable. Independent help is one call away: 0808 8020 133, run by GamCare. 18 and over only, without exception.
Common questions
What is a qualifying bet?
The bet that triggers an offer. It usually needs a minimum stake, a minimum price, and to settle rather than be cashed out.
What does 35x wagering mean?
The bonus is played through thirty-five times before it becomes withdrawable cash. The count is of stakes rather than losses, so anything that comes back as a win and goes on again counts towards it a second time.
Do sportsbook free bets have wagering?
Ours do not. Winnings from a free bet are ordinary cash straight away. Casino bonuses are the ones that carry 35x.
What happens if I stake above the maximum?
The bonus is usually not voided, but the excess stops counting towards wagering. Progress looks like it is continuing when it is not.
When does the expiry clock start?
When the reward is credited, not when you register. Free bets run 7 days and casino bonuses 30.