Is a Bonus Worth It? Work Out the Real Cost
A bonus is worth what it pays minus what it costs you to unlock. The cost depends on the multiple and the game’s house edge. This table shows how fast the worth falls as either one rises.
Worth is the bonus minus its cost
A bonus pays the amount credited. It costs the part of your betting that the game keeps while you clear the turnover, which is the turnover times the house edge. The worth is the difference. When the multiple applies to the bonus alone, that works out as the bonus × (1 − multiple × edge). So the bonus keeps some value only while the multiple times the edge stays below 100%.
The multiple-by-edge table
Bonus worth for a ₹500 bonus with no deposit, ₹10 a round, and the multiple applied to the bonus alone. The three games are illustrations of how such rounds are commonly described. They are not any platform’s rules, so replace them with the odds your own app states before you read your row.
| Multiple (amount to stake) | Two-way, edge 2.00% | Colour, edge 6.90% | Violet, edge 11.80% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5× (₹2,500) | ₹450 | ₹328 | ₹205 |
| 10× (₹5,000) | ₹400 | ₹155 | −₹90 |
| 20× (₹10,000) | ₹300 | −₹190 | −₹680 |
| 30× (₹15,000) | ₹200 | −₹535 | −₹1,270 |
| 50× (₹25,000) | ₹0 | −₹1,225 | −₹2,450 |
A negative number means that unlocking the bonus costs more than it pays, on average. Under this reading the worth does not depend on your deposit, so the calculator above matches the table at any deposit. The 20× row on the colour illustration, for instance, shows −₹190 either way.
Where the worth reaches zero
Each game has a multiple at which the bonus stops paying for itself:
- Two-way illustration: about 50×. At 49× the worth is ₹10, at 50× it is ₹0 and at 51× it is −₹10.
- Colour illustration: between 14× and 15×. At 14× the worth is ₹17 and at 15× it is −₹17.
- Violet illustration: between 8× and 9×. At 8× the worth is ₹28 and at 9× it is −₹31.
A bigger edge pulls the break-even multiple down fast. The same ₹500 bonus that is still worth something at 49× on a 2.00% game is already a loss at 9× on an 11.80% game.
The chance of running out first
A positive worth is an average. In many runs the balance hits zero before the turnover is done, and the bonus disappears with it. Here is the rough chance of that, with no deposit, so the balance is the ₹500 bonus alone, and with ₹10 a round:
| Multiple | Two-way | Colour | Violet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5× | 0% | 2% | 33% |
| 10× | 6% | 30% | 72% |
| 20× | 26% | 82% | 95% |
| 30× | 44% | 96% | 99% |
| 50× | 67% | 100% | 100% |
These come from a smooth estimate of a bumpy path, so read them as sizes of risk, not exact percentages. A 100% means almost every run is wiped out. The deposit box matters here. The calculator above starts with a ₹500 deposit, so its running-out tile reads 19% for the colour illustration at 20×, not 82%, because the balance is twice as large. Set Your own deposit to 0 to match this table.
The cost the table leaves out
The table assumes you would clear the bonus anyway. If you would not have bet ₹10,000 without it, the expected loss in the table is spending that the bonus caused, not a discount. Ask yourself how much you would have played this month with no offer. The gap between that and the turnover is extra exposure.
A rule you can run on your phone
- Find the multiple and the base in the terms.
- Multiply the multiple by the house edge of the game that counts. If the multiple applies to the bonus alone and the answer is above 100%, the bonus costs more than it pays, on average. If it applies to bonus plus deposit, the base is bigger, so use the calculator instead of this shortcut.
- If the terms count a game for only part of each bet, divide the multiple by that share first.
- Ask whether you would have played this much anyway. If not, count the cost as extra spending.
- If you cannot find the terms, treat the bonus as an unknown, not as a free gift.
In short, the arithmetic says skip when the multiple is high and the games that count have a high edge. It turns in the bonus’s favour only when the multiple is low and the edge is low, as the top-left of the table shows. Whether the entertainment is worth the cost is your call. The arithmetic cannot make it for you.
Where the arithmetic stops holding up
- It uses averages. A single run can finish far from them.
- The risk figures rest on approximations: a smooth curve for the result and a smooth path for the balance.
- It sees only the boxes you fill in. A time limit, a maximum bet, a withdrawal cap or a game that counts for less all change the real answer, and wagering requirements shows how to allow for them.
- With My own house edge, the tool assumes the swing of an even-money bet, which understates the risk of long-shot games.
- We could not read any platform’s bonus terms. Nothing here says what an offer on the platform’s page is worth. Bonus offers has the questions to ask first, and the bonus calculator page walks through every result tile. If a bonus tempts you to play more than you planned, the daily limit guide helps you set a limit before you accept.
Common questions
At what multiple does a bonus stop being worth it?
It depends on the game’s house edge. In the three illustrations for a ₹500 bonus, the worth reaches zero at about 50× for a 2.00% edge, between 14× and 15× for 6.90%, and between 8× and 9× for 11.80%. Real games differ.
Can a bonus be worth money on average and still leave me with nothing?
Yes. The worth is an average over many runs. In some runs the balance hits zero before the turnover is done. For the two-way illustration at 20× with no deposit, the rough chance of that is 26%.
Does the game I clear a bonus on change what it costs?
Yes. The cost is the turnover times that game’s house edge, so the same turnover costs more on a higher-edge game. At 20× on a ₹500 bonus the cost is ₹200, ₹690 or ₹1,180 across the three illustrations. Terms often limit which games count.
What if I withdraw before I finish the turnover?
Terms often say what happens, and some remove the bonus or refuse the withdrawal. We do not know this platform’s terms, so read that clause before your first bet and take a screenshot of it.
Is this page telling me to take or refuse a bonus?
No. It shows what the arithmetic says for the numbers you give it. Whether to accept is your decision, and it depends on things the arithmetic cannot see, such as terms you have not read.