A maximum-bet clause limits the size of each stake while a bonus is active or its wagering is unfinished, and breaking it can mean forfeiting the bonus and the winnings made with it. Published terms show how specific these clauses get: Sky Bet's general promotion terms treat betting more than 30% of the initial bonus in one game round as a breach, with the example 'a £100 deposit bonus=£30 maximum bet per game'. In 2018 the UK Competition and Markets Authority listed 'maximum stake restrictions' among the significant conditions operators must show clearly.
- The CMA (updated 29 August 2018) named maximum stake size as a significant condition that must be shown clearly and prominently.
- The CMA said play restrictions should not apply to deposit-balance play unless the game itself stops the player breaching them.
- Sky Bet's promotion terms cap bets at 30% of the initial bonus per game round and £15 per slot spin while using bonus funds.
- From 19 January 2026, Great Britain caps wagering requirements at ten times the bonus.
On this page
- What the max-bet clause says
- Why operators use it
- What the UK regulator said about stake caps
- Worked example 1: fixed cap of A$5 (illustrative numbers)
- Worked example 2: proportional cap (illustrative numbers)
- Common ways players breach it without meaning to
- How the rule sits alongside UK caps on wagering and stakes
- If winnings are voided for a max-bet breach
- Questions readers ask
- Sources
What the max-bet clause says
Almost every deposit bonus comes with two numbers that matter more than the headline amount: the wagering requirement and the maximum bet. The wagering requirement says how much must be staked before bonus money, or winnings from it, can be withdrawn. The maximum-bet clause says how large each of those stakes is allowed to be while the requirement is still open.
The clause takes two common forms:
- A fixed cap, such as 5 units of the account currency per spin or hand. One large offshore crypto casino's published bonus terms set the maximum allowable bet with a bonus active at 5 EUR, USD, CAD, AUD, NZD or USDT.
- A proportional cap, tied to the size of the bonus. Sky Bet's general promotion terms treat 'betting more than 30% of the initial bonus amount in any one game round' as a breach until wagering requirements are met, and give the example 'a £100 deposit bonus=£30 maximum bet per game'. The same terms separately treat 'betting more than £15 per spin on slots while using bonus funds' as a breach.
Some terms use both, in which case the lower figure is the one that applies. The cap usually lasts until the wagering requirement is completed or the bonus is forfeited, not just for the first few spins. Our overview of welcome bonuses explains where these numbers typically sit in a promotion's terms.
Why operators use it
The commercial logic is straightforward. Without a cap, a player could use bonus money to make a handful of very large bets: if one big stake won, the player would clear most of the wagering at once; if it lost, the operator would have lost only bonus money it created. With the stake capped, the wagering requirement has to be worked through over many smaller bets, and the house edge on each one does its work. That is the commercial logic; whether a given clause is fair is a separate question, and the UK regulator has addressed that directly.
What the UK regulator said about stake caps
In 2018 the UK Competition and Markets Authority secured formal undertakings from several online gambling operators on how bonus promotions are run. Its overview for industry, updated 29 August 2018, relied on the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and it shaped how bonus terms are written in Britain. Three points bear directly on the max-bet clause:
- Prominence. The CMA listed 'maximum stake restrictions' as an example of significant conditions that operators had failed to communicate, and defined significant conditions as key restrictions such as who is excluded, time limits, how to qualify, 'maximum stake size' and wagering requirements. These must be given in a clear, timely, intelligible and prominent manner.
- Deposit money. Undertaking 6 requires operators to ensure promotional play restrictions and wagering requirements 'do not apply to any play with Deposit Balance except where in-game mechanisms automatically prevent' a breach. The CMA's own gloss: 'if there is maximum stake limit, they should not be able to exceed it.'
- Explanation. Where a consumer loses winnings or is refused a withdrawal for breaching a play restriction, Undertaking 9 says they should be given a full explanation of the breach. The CMA also criticised terms that conferred excessive discretion and sanctions that hit both bonus and deposit funds 'yet nothing to stop consumers from breaching the restrictions'.
The CMA notes on its case page that the guidance pre-dates the unfair commercial practices provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which came into force on 6 April 2025 with broadly similar prohibitions. None of this binds an operator licensed outside Britain, but it is the most detailed public statement of what a fair max-bet clause looks like, and it is a useful yardstick when reading any operator's terms.
Worked example 1: fixed cap of A$5 (illustrative numbers)
The terms below are invented for the example; they are not quoted from an operator.
A player deposits A$100 and receives a A$100 bonus. The terms say: wagering 35 times the bonus, bonus funds and winnings locked until wagering is complete, maximum bet A$5 per spin while the bonus is active.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Wagering required | 35 × A$100 = A$3,500 |
| Spins needed at the A$5 cap | A$3,500 ÷ A$5 = 700 spins |
| Spins needed at A$1 | 3,500 spins |
| Spins needed at A$0.50 | 7,000 spins |
Halfway through, the balance stands at A$420. The player raises the stake to A$6 for a few spins and one of them lands a A$900 win. Under terms like these, the operator can treat the A$6 spins as a breach and remove the bonus and all winnings made while it was active. The A$900 does not survive because the spin that produced it broke the cap. Where the terms forfeit the bonus and all winnings derived from it, the winnings made at A$5 and below go too, because the sanction attaches to the bonus as a whole rather than to the offending spin.
What happens to the player's own A$100 depends on the terms and on whether the deposit was already used up in play. Under the CMA's approach, restrictions should not reach play with deposit funds unless the game itself blocks the oversized bet; offshore terms do not always follow that approach.
Worked example 2: proportional cap (illustrative numbers)
Take a proportional clause modelled on the Sky Bet structure, but in AUD: maximum bet per game round is 30% of the initial bonus.
| Initial bonus | 30% cap per round |
|---|---|
| A$20 | A$6.00 |
| A$50 | A$15.00 |
| A$100 | A$30.00 |
| A$200 | A$60.00 |
A proportional cap scales with the bonus, so a small bonus carries a tight limit. If the same terms also impose a fixed per-spin limit on slots, as Sky Bet's do at £15, the lower of the two applies on slots.
Common ways players breach it without meaning to
The clause is breached by the size of the stake the system accepts, not by intent. Points worth checking in any set of terms:
- Total bet versus line bet. A cap is normally on the total stake per spin. A modest bet per line multiplied by many lines can exceed it.
- Feature purchases. If a slot lets you pay a multiple of the stake to enter the bonus round, check whether the terms count that price as a single bet. At typical buy prices it will be far above any per-spin cap.
- Gamble and double-up features on slots, and doubling or side bets on table games, can push a single round over the limit.
- Remembered stake sizes. Switching games can carry over a previous stake setting.
- Restricted games. Many terms combine the max-bet clause with a list of games that contribute little or nothing to wagering; playing those can be a separate breach.
Where the casino's software simply refuses a bet above the cap, the risk largely disappears. That is the arrangement the CMA described as acceptable for deposit-balance play. Where the software accepts the bet and the terms penalise it afterwards, the burden falls on the player.
How the rule sits alongside UK caps on wagering and stakes
Since 19 January 2026, licensees in Great Britain must cap wagering requirements at ten times the bonus, under changes the Gambling Commission announced in 2025. The Commission's own illustration of the problem was a £10 bonus with a 50 times requirement, which would require £500 of play. Britain also has statutory stake limits on online slots: £5 per spin for adults aged 25 and over from 9 April 2025, and £2 for adults aged 18 to 24 from 21 May 2025. A bonus-term cap can sit below these but cannot authorise a slot stake above them.
Offshore casinos serving Australians are not covered by any of this, and Australia has no licensing regime for online casinos at all: under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 it is an offence to offer them to people in Australia. Offshore terms are not subject to the ten-times cap (the crypto casino terms cited above set a general 40 times requirement alongside the 5-unit stake cap), and there is no local regulator to apply a fairness test. Our bonus guides and the companion article on wagering requirement maths show how to work out the expected cost before accepting an offer.
If winnings are voided for a max-bet breach
- Ask the operator to identify the specific bet or bets that breached the clause, with time, game and stake. The CMA's principle that a player should get a full explanation is a reasonable standard to ask for.
- Compare the stake against the exact wording of the bonus terms as they stood when the bonus was claimed. Save a copy of the terms at that point.
- Check whether the clause was shown with the offer or only in general terms several clicks away.
- If the operator will not engage, escalation depends on its licence; see offshore casino complaints.
A bonus that needs 700 spins at the maximum stake to clear is a lot of play. If chasing a wagering requirement starts to feel like an obligation, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858, and BetStop, the national self-exclusion register, covers licensed Australian wagering providers.
Questions readers ask
What is the max bet rule in a casino bonus?
It is a term that limits the size of each stake while a bonus is active or its wagering requirement is unfinished. It can be a fixed amount per spin or a percentage of the bonus.
What happens if I bet over the maximum with a bonus?
Under typical terms the operator can remove the bonus and all winnings made with it, and sometimes close the promotion to you. The exact sanction is set out in the operator's terms.
Does the max bet rule apply to my own deposit?
That depends on the terms. The UK Competition and Markets Authority said play restrictions should not apply to deposit-balance play unless the game automatically blocks a breaching bet, but offshore operators are not bound by that.
Does buying a bonus feature count as one bet?
Check the terms. If a feature purchase is counted as a single stake, its price will usually exceed a per-spin cap and breach the clause.
Sources
Every figure and date in this article comes from the documents below; we re-check them when a source changes.
- CMA — CMA action in the remote gambling sector: overview for industry (updated 29 August 2018)
- CMA — Online gambling case page
- Sky Bet — General Sky Bet Promotion Terms
- BitStarz — Bonus terms and conditions
- UK Gambling Commission — Gambling promotions to be safer and simpler
- UK Gambling Commission — Online slots stake limit guidance
- ACMA — About the Interactive Gambling Act
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