Working Out What a Bonus Costs
Turnover requirements are arithmetic, not opinion. Once you can convert a multiplier into an amount of play, most offers stop looking mysterious and start looking either fine or absurd.
The game is only half of it. Below is what the casino hosting Aviator expects from a Canadian account.
Maximum Bet Rules That Void Balances
Nearly every bonus caps the stake you may place while a requirement is open, commonly $5 or $7.50 CAD, sometimes 10 per cent of the bonus amount, whichever is lower. The penalty is rarely a blocked spin. More often the wager is accepted, play continues, and the winnings are removed during withdrawal review days later. The cap counts total stake per round rather than per line, and an ante or boosted-bet toggle that lifts a $4.50 spin by 25 per cent leaves you at $5.63, over a $5 limit on every spin you play. Check the figure in the bet panel, not the base stake.
Which Balance Gets Spent First
When cash and bonus sit in one account, the spending order changes your options. If cash is drawn down first, your deposit is consumed before the bonus is touched and there is nothing left to withdraw when you change your mind. If bonus funds go first, the deposit stays intact and withdrawable, though requesting that withdrawal normally forfeits whatever bonus remains. Some operators run two separate wallets and let you switch between them; many do not. The clause is a single line, 'bonus funds are used before cash' or its reverse, and it decides what walking away mid-session costs.
Sticky Bonuses and the Cashout Deduction
Two structures hide behind identical match offers. A sticky bonus, sometimes labelled phantom, never becomes yours: clear a $100 match into a $460 balance and the $100 is subtracted when you cash out, leaving $360. A non-sticky bonus sits in its own wallet and converts to cash only once the requirement is met, with the deposit staying real money throughout. The tell is one sentence, the bonus amount will be deducted from any withdrawal, or a cashier showing two balances instead of one. Sticky terms often carry softer multipliers, 20x rather than 40x, because the principal never leaves the operator.
Cashback Instead of a Match Bonus
Cashback returns a share of net losses rather than multiplying a deposit. Rates on Canadian-facing sites run five to fifteen per cent, calculated over a Monday-to-Sunday period and credited Tuesday, with a weekly ceiling near $500. Net loss means deposits minus withdrawals minus the balance left standing, so a week that ends level pays nothing at all. What matters is the wagering attached: cashback paid as cash with zero turnover is withdrawable on arrival, while cashback paid as bonus funds at 1x still has to be staked once. That single line separates an offer worth its face value from one worth considerably less.
Deposit Limits Against an Open Bonus
Account tools and bonus mechanics interact in ways worth knowing before you set either. A weekly deposit limit applies immediately when lowered but usually needs a 24-hour cooling period before an increase takes effect, so a qualifying deposit for a time-limited offer can simply be declined. A cool-off or short break does not pause a wagering clock; the requirement keeps expiring while access is blocked. Self-exclusion voids open bonuses and anything built from them, though cleared cash balances are paid out. If your limit already sits near its ceiling, decide on the promotion before adjusting anything.
Playthrough, Rollover and Wagering Are One Thing
Three words describe a single mechanism, and operators mix them freely. Playthrough, rollover and wagering all mean the turnover you must generate before bonus funds convert. What genuinely differs between offers is the base the multiplier applies to — bonus alone, or deposit plus bonus — and that one distinction changes the requirement by a factor of two. The terminology is noise; the base is the number worth finding. A page that uses any of these words without saying what it multiplies is a reason to open the full terms.
Run two calculations, turnover per bonus dollar and turnover per hour of play, and most offers answer the question themselves.