Game Weighting and Excluded Games:
What Actually Counts Toward Wagering

Contribution rules below come from our bonus reviews, rechecked in September 2026.

A 30x rollover is only 30x on a game that counts in full. On a game that counts 10%, it’s 300x. On an excluded game, it’s infinite, and at some casinos it’s also a reason to confiscate what you’ve won. That’s why eligible games are 22% of our grading formula, second only to rollover.

The formula

Effective rollover = advertised rollover ÷ contribution rate. On a $100 bonus at 30x:

Blackjack has the best RTP on the floor and still costs more to clear a bonus with, because weighting multiplies the volume faster than the lower edge saves you. That’s exactly what weighting is designed to do.

Why casinos weight games

A bonus is only profitable for the casino if clearing it costs players more than the bonus is worth. Low-edge games break that: blackjack at 0.5% could clear a 30x bonus for $15. Even-money bets can be hedged: red and black on the same spin cycles wagering at almost no risk. Provably fair originals often let you set your own odds. So casinos cut the contribution on anything that makes wagering cheap and push bonus play onto slots, where the edge is higher and the swings do the rest.

Some now go a step further and weight by RTP directly, which punishes exactly the strategy players are told to use. The details are in our guide to RTP and volatility for bonus clearing.

What real casinos count

Two details stand out. FortuneJack is the only casino here where a game counts for more than its stake: Aviator at double. That’s worth knowing, because it halves the wagering for players who cash out at 1.5x or better. And BC.GAME, one of the biggest crypto casinos, doesn’t publish its contribution rates at all, which is part of why its welcome package scores 56.

The exclusions that catch players

Whole providers

Excluding a provider removes dozens of games in one line, and the lobby won’t warn you. Sportsbet.io’s list covers 12 studios. If your favourite slot comes from one of them, the bonus is useless to you before you’ve placed a bet.

High-RTP slots

The slots bonus hunters pick are the first to go. Blood Suckers, at around 98% RTP, is on Sportsbet.io’s excluded list for exactly that reason. If a casino excludes named slots, check the RTP of the ones left.

Originals, crash and dice

In-house crypto games often let you pick your own multiplier, which makes low-risk wagering easy. Expect them at 10% (Sportsbet.io), 0% (FortuneJack’s crash and dice) or unpublished. Gamegram’s rakeback excludes PvP games entirely.

Live casino and jackpots

Live dealer tables usually count 10% or nothing. Progressive jackpots are commonly excluded because a jackpot hit on bonus money is a liability the casino doesn’t want.

Games blocked in your country

This one is rarely mentioned. FortuneJack’s free spins only work on eight titles, and Pragmatic Play blocks its games in Canada, India, Italy and several other countries, which removes Gates of Olympus and Sweet Bonanza from that list. Hacksaw blocks Le Bandit in Ontario, Italy, Portugal and Romania. Some casinos, such as 500 Casino, won’t replace spins you can’t use.

Bonus buys while wagering

A bonus buy lets you pay a fixed price, often 50x to 100x your stake, to skip straight to a slot’s feature round. Many casinos ban them while a bonus is active because one purchase can swing a balance further than hundreds of normal spins. Ante bets, which raise your stake to trigger features more often, are sometimes treated separately and sometimes lumped in.

The danger is enforcement. The buy button usually still works while the bonus is active. Nothing stops you, nothing warns you, and the breach only surfaces in the audit when you withdraw. Depending on the casino, that means the bet simply doesn’t count, the bonus winnings are voided, or the whole bonus is cancelled, including winnings made before the buy.

The rule for bonus buys is short: if the terms don’t clearly allow them during wagering, don’t use them. If you want feature buys, play with no active bonus, or use wager-free cashback instead. Even there, check the cashback terms, because some casinos copy their bonus restrictions into them. More in our cashback and rakeback guide.

When exclusions are fair and when they’re a red flag

An exclusion can hurt and still be fair, as long as it’s in writing before you deposit. A casino that decides which games counted after you’ve won is working from the red flags playbook.

Before you claim, check

1. Find the contribution table, in the bonus terms, not the promo banner.
2. Look up the games you actually play, including the provider. Is it excluded, reduced or full?
3. Divide the rollover by that game’s contribution. That’s your real multiplier.
4. Search the terms for “bonus buy”, “feature buy” and “ante”. If they’re silent, ask support and save the reply.
5. Check the free spin game is available in your country.
6. If the bonus only works on games you wouldn’t normally play, skip it.

For how weighting stacks with deposit-plus-bonus wagering and staged unlocks, see our rollover guide. For the sports equivalent of a contribution rule, see minimum odds requirements.

FAQ