Wagering requirements (rollover) explained with maths

What is a wagering requirement?

A wagering requirement is the amount of betting you must complete before bonus money, and anything won with it, can be withdrawn. Bonus terms also call it rollover, playthrough or turnover, and what rollover means gives the short definition. The requirement is written as a multiple, such as 10x, applied to a base amount.

The multiple comes from the operator, not from the law. The Gambling Control Act, 2025, the Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 112) and the Advertising Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 114), as gazetted, set no wagering multiple, no minimum odds and no expiry for a bonus. Section 74(3) of the Act only confirms that the inducement ban in s.74(1) does not stop an operator from running free bets and bonus bets as part of its ordinary business.

What L.N. 112 r.22(2) does demand is plain terms. A bookmaker's terms and conditions must be in simple language and must state all significant conditions that may affect a punter's decision, and the multiple is one of them.

Does the multiple apply to the bonus alone or to the deposit too?

Turnover equals the multiple times the base. The base is the short phrase after the multiple, such as "on the bonus amount" or "on deposit plus bonus", and it can triple the turnover without changing the headline.

Illustrative example: you deposit KES 1,000 and receive a bonus of KES 500. A requirement of 10x the bonus means 10 × KES 500, so KES 5,000 of bets. A requirement of 10x the bonus plus deposit means 10 × KES 1,500, so KES 15,000 of bets.

Where the deposit is part of the base, check whether the deposit is locked as well. Some terms hold it until the wagering ends, and some cancel the bonus if any of it is withdrawn early. A longer run through one matched offer is in the deposit match worked example in shillings.

How does the bookmaker margin make turnover costly?

Every price carries a margin. To find it, turn each price into an implied probability by dividing 1 by the odds, add those probabilities across the market, and subtract 100%. With both sides of a two-way market at 1.90, each implies 52.6% and the total is 105.26%, an overround of 5.26%.

Illustrative example: suppose each side truly has a 50% chance. A KES 100 bet then returns KES 190 half the time, an average of KES 95, so about 5% of every shilling staked is lost on average. That rate applies to the whole turnover, not to the bonus.

Illustrative example: KES 5,000 of turnover at a 5% average loss costs KES 250, half of the KES 500 bonus. KES 15,000 of turnover costs KES 750 on average, more than the bonus gives. One phrase about the base moves the offer from a small average gain to an average loss.

Accumulators raise the cost because the margins multiply. The combined odds are the product of the leg odds, so four legs that each keep 95% of the stake on average keep 0.95 × 0.95 × 0.95 × 0.95, about 81.5%. The average loss then rises to about 18.5% of every shilling staked.

These figures are averages over many bets, and they ignore any cap on winnings. When the average cost is larger than the whole starting balance of KES 1,500, the average says the balance runs out before the turnover is done. Finishing it then depends on a winning run.

Which bets count toward the turnover?

Not every stake counts in full. Check these lines in the terms before any bet is placed.

• Minimum odds. Bets below the stated price may add nothing to the total, and the minimum odds rule covers singles and accumulators.
• Settlement. Check whether only settled bets count, and whether a bet that is cashed out or voided is taken off the total.
• Contribution. Some terms count certain markets or games at a fraction of the stake, or not at all.
• Stake source. Check whether bets placed with free bet tokens add to the turnover.
• Bet size. Section 71(1) of the Act sets KES 20 as the smallest online bet, so KES 5,000 of turnover is 250 bets at that minimum stake, or fewer bets at larger stakes.

How long do you have to finish the wagering?

Check the period allowed for wagering and when it starts. When it ends, the terms decide what happens to the bonus and to any winnings still tied to it. The page on how expiry and maximum win clauses work explains how to read that clock and the cap that may sit on top of it.

A deadline adds pressure to bet more in less time. L.N. 112 r.84(2) requires operators to give players deposit limits on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, and loss, session and expenditure limits. If a wagering target would take you past a limit you have set, keep the limit.

How to work out a wagering requirement yourself

1. Find the multiple in the terms, for example 10x.
2. Find the base: bonus only, or bonus plus deposit.
3. Multiply the two to get the turnover in shillings.
4. Check the minimum odds and which bets count in full.
5. Multiply the turnover by a loss rate, such as 5% for singles on a market with a 5.26% overround, to estimate the average cost.
6. Compare that cost with the bonus and with your balance, then check the deadline and any maximum win.

The wagering calculator on this site works out the turnover a bonus demands from the figures in its terms. Run it with the numbers from the bonus page in front of you.

What the advertising rules say about the headline

Under the Advertising Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 114) r.9(g), a gambling advert may not carry a message about gambling that is false, misleading or deceptive. A bonus figure on its own still tells you half the story. The multiple and the base tell you the rest.

The terms behind the headline should not shift while you wager either. L.N. 112 r.22(6) bars a bookmaker from amending or varying its submitted terms and conditions without the Authority's prior approval. For the wider picture, see betting bonuses in Kenya: types, terms and the law.