Online casinos advertise bonuses with headline figures — match percentage, free-spin counts, total package value — but rarely spotlight the one detail that changes everything: whether the bonus balance can actually be withdrawn after wagering. Every casino bonus falls into one of two fundamentally different categories: cashable (also called convertible) or sticky (also called phantom or non-cashable). The distinction is not cosmetic. It determines whether your bonus funds become real money once you clear the wagering requirement — or simply disappear. In this piece we break down both mechanics, run the expected-value math side by side, and explain which bonus type genuinely favors the player.
A cashable bonus works the way most players intuitively expect a casino bonus to work. The casino credits your account with bonus funds — say, €100 on a €100 deposit — and after you meet the wagering requirement, your deposit, any remaining bonus balance, and your winnings all become fully withdrawable. At 30x wagering you need to stake €3,000 before cashing out. The math is tractable: playing slots at 96% RTP, every €100 wagered costs roughly €4 in expected losses. Clearing a €100 cashable bonus at 30x wagering costs about €120 in expected value terms — the bonus itself offsets that drag. Under favorable variance you can come out ahead. Cashable bonuses are the industry standard at reputable operators holding MGA and UKGC licenses, and they are the first thing we look for when evaluating a welcome package.
A sticky (or non-cashable, or phantom) bonus operates on an entirely different principle. The casino adds bonus funds to your balance, and those funds help you play — but at the moment of withdrawal the casino removes the bonus amount first. You keep only what you earned above the bonus. Example: you receive a €100 sticky bonus, complete the wagering, and finish with a balance of €180. The casino deducts €100 — you withdraw only €80. If your balance after wagering falls below €100, you walk away with nothing. This can sound like a raw deal, but with favorable variance — especially on high-volatility slots — the sticky bonus does give real shots at meaningful wins at little real cost.
Let us run the expected-value comparison with concrete numbers. Cashable €100 at 30x wagering, slots at 96% RTP: expected cost to clear ≈ €120, which the bonus offsets. Sticky €100 at 10x wagering, same RTP: expected cost ≈ €40, but the bonus is deducted at withdrawal. Your actual profit depends entirely on whether variance pushes your balance well above €100. Mathematically, the sticky bonus carries a positive expected value only when wagering is very low and you play games with RTP above 99% — typically classic blackjack or video poker with basic strategy. The catch: most sticky bonus terms exclude table games outright or reduce their wagering contribution to 5–10%, which effectively renders that path closed.
There is one scenario where a sticky bonus becomes genuinely attractive: a large amount paired with very low wagering. A €500 sticky bonus at 5x wagering gives you 2,500 bets on slots without risking your own funds. High-volatility slots with max-win potential of x3,000–x5,000 can produce session wins well above €500 that you keep in full. LeoVegas, for example, publishes detailed game-contribution tables for each promotion — slots typically count 100%, live casino games 0–10%. Always verify those figures in the Terms and Conditions of the specific bonus before activating it, not just the headline wagering number.
Beyond cashable versus sticky, three further T&C parameters determine a bonus's real worth and are typically buried in the fine print. First: the maximum bet while a bonus is active — most operators cap this at €5 per spin (sometimes €2); exceeding it voids the bonus and all associated winnings with no appeal. Second: the maximum cashout or maximum win from a bonus — some casinos cap the total bonus-derived winnings at a multiple of the bonus amount, for example five times the bonus. Third: game contribution percentages — slots usually count 100%, blackjack 10–20%, roulette 5–20%, live casino 0–10%. Together with wagering and convertibility type, these three numbers give the complete picture of a bonus's real value before you make a single deposit.
Among the casinos in our database, approaches differ noticeably. 888 Casino consistently offers cashable welcome bonuses with clear terms — wagering stands at 30x at time of writing. LeoVegas uses the cashable model for its welcome package at 35x, with per-game contribution details broken out clearly. Stake, operating under a Curaçao license, frequently runs sticky promotional offers for returning players as part of campaign drops, though it also maintains a no-wagering cashback program separate from standard bonuses. A practical note: bonus terms change regularly, sometimes quarterly. Always check the current T&Cs directly on the casino's website before depositing — any review, including ours, can be out of date within weeks.
Our bottom line is clear: choosing between a cashable bonus at 30x and a sticky bonus at 10x of equal size, the cashable bonus delivers better expected value for the vast majority of players in the vast majority of situations. Sticky bonuses justify themselves only under very specific conditions — extremely low wagering, large amounts, and access to 99%+ RTP games — a combination that is rare in practice. We recommend seeking bonuses labeled cashable or convertible with wagering below 35x. Online casinos are 18+ entertainment, not an income stream, and no bonus guarantees a profit. If gambling is taking more time or money than you planned, use the self-exclusion tools available on every licensed site or contact a problem-gambling support service in your country.