Key takeaways
- Wagering requirement, game weighting, and maximum cashout are the three terms that most affect how much a bonus is actually worth in practice.
- A 'sticky' bonus can't be withdrawn itself, only used to generate withdrawable winnings — different from a 'cash' bonus that can eventually be withdrawn directly.
- 'Bonus abuse' clauses let a casino void winnings if you're found to be exploiting the bonus mechanically rather than playing normally.
- Reading the glossary once and applying it to any bonus you're considering takes a few minutes and can save you from a genuinely bad offer.
Core terms you'll see on every bonus
Wagering requirement (or playthrough): the multiple of the bonus (or deposit+bonus) you must bet before winnings become withdrawable. Ranges from a fixed 35x at Spin Casino to a flat 70x at Lucky Nugget among the casinos we review.
Game weighting: the percentage of a bet on a specific game that counts toward your wagering requirement. Pokies are usually 100%; table games are often 2–8%; some games are 0%.
Maximum cashout (or win cap): a ceiling on how much you can actually withdraw from bonus-funded winnings, regardless of wagering completed. Spirit Casino's 10x cap is the strictest among the operators we review.
Minimum deposit: the smallest deposit that qualifies you for a specific bonus offer — Spin Casino and All Slots both sit at a flat NZ$10, the lowest among the nine casinos we review.
Less common but important terms
Sticky bonus: bonus funds that can't be withdrawn directly themselves — only winnings generated by wagering with them become withdrawable, while the bonus amount itself stays "stuck" in the account until forfeited or used up.
Cash (or non-sticky) bonus: the opposite — once wagering requirements are met, the bonus amount itself becomes withdrawable alongside any winnings, not just the winnings generated from it.
Bonus abuse clause: standard language allowing a casino to void bonus winnings if it determines you exploited the offer mechanically — for example, betting patterns designed purely to clear wagering with minimal risk, rather than genuine play.
Multi-deposit package: a welcome offer split across several separate deposits rather than a single one — Crocoslots' NZ$12,200 headline, for instance, is split across three deposits, each with its own matched percentage and its own wagering requirement.
Free spins value: the notional dollar value assigned to each free spin, used to calculate any winnings' own separate wagering requirement — free spins winnings are almost always subject to wagering just like a matched deposit bonus would be.
A worked example using real terms
Take a NZ$400 first-deposit bonus at 35x wagering, sticky, with a 10x max cashout: you'd need to wager NZ$14,000 total (400 × 35) before any winnings become withdrawable, the NZ$400 bonus itself never becomes directly withdrawable, and even if you clear wagering with a great session, your maximum withdrawable winnings from that bonus are capped at NZ$4,000 (400 × 10) regardless of how much further ahead you get. Understood together, these three terms tell you far more about a bonus's real value than the NZ$400 headline figure alone ever could.
Frequently asked questions
Responsible gambling
Decoding bonus terms is useful, but it doesn't change the underlying risk of gambling itself. Use this glossary to make an informed choice, not to convince yourself a bonus makes losing money impossible.