Max Cashout: What Nine Casinos Cap a Bonus Win At

What max cashout means

The term "max cashout" defines the upper limit a bonus is allowed to pay. Win more than that limit and the excess is removed when the bonus converts to cash. Typically the terms use the word forfeited.

It is the least discussed clause in a bonus document and possibly the most important, because it is the only one that limits the upside. The wagering requirement determines how much work the bonus takes; the max cashout clause sets what the work can be worth.

The max cashout eight casinos publish

For our reviews, we have read the complete bonus terms of fifteen casinos. We found that eight of them state a win cap. To make them comparable, here is what each one allows on the same case: a 100 deposit drawing a 100 bonus.

Each figure read from that operator's published bonus terms during its review, dated on the review page. Where a clause names two limits, the one that binds first on a 100 deposit is the one shown.

Two readings are more important than the individual numbers.

• The spread is tenfold. Same deposit, same bonus, same effort, and the ceiling ranges from 100 to 1,000 depending only on which casino you picked. That is a bigger difference than any wagering multiplier on the market produces.
• The bottom of the range is brutal and it is not obvious. Fairspin advertises a headline cashout of $2,500 a step, and a separate clause caps winnings at the deposit that activated them. On a 100 deposit that is 100. A player stakes 45 times the bonus to be allowed to keep an amount equal to what they put in.

BetFury's is the tightest written as a multiple of the bonus. With a multiple of 1.2 on the bonus, a $10 deposit resulting in a $15 bonus has a max cashout of $18 after $600 has been wagered. The clause is published, it is precise, and it makes the arithmetic of the offer very different from the banner.

Whether max cashout is on the bonus or the deposit

Five of the eight apply the multiple to the bonus and three apply the multiple to the deposit. With a 100% match the two are identical, which is why the distinction hides. At anything other than 100% the two are drastically different.

The same multiple, the same deposit, two bases. The gap widens with every point the match percentage moves away from 100.

Here is the practical rule that falls straight out of that table. For a large percentage match, a cap written on the bonus is to your advantage. For a small match or a cashback offer, a cap written on the deposit is. And consider a casino advertising a 400% package with a deposit-based cap: it has essentially made the extra 300% worth nothing at all in terms of what you can withdraw.

That means it is worth taking this to the 200% deposit bonus page, where the headline percentages are large by definition and the cap is what determines which of them survive contact with the terms.

The separate cap on free spin winnings

Free spins usually carry their own capped amount, and it is normally written differently from the cash one. Two patterns emerge.

• A multiple, as with cash. BetFury caps free spin winnings at 1.5 times, slightly more generous than its 1.2 times on the cash bonus.
• A fixed amount per bonus. SpinLander caps free spin winnings at €100 per bonus however many spins it holds. Its headline package advertises 700 spins. The cap does not move.

The fixed-amount version is the one worth focusing on. It is counter-intuitive, but a bigger spins package does not actually mean a bigger prize. If two casinos both cap spin winnings at 100 and one gives you 50 spins while the other gives 700, the ceiling is the same and only the odds of reaching it differ. Our 200 free spins page records the spin counts; this clause is why the count alone never settles the question.

When two caps stack on the same win

A large win can meet more than one capped amount on its way out, and they are applied in sequence rather than the best one applying.

1. The bonus win cap trims the balance when the bonus converts to cash.
2. A per-spin or per-round cap may apply before that. Some casinos void any single win above a stated multiple of the stake.
3. The withdrawal limit then decides how fast what is left can leave the account, which is a separate clause with a separate number.

JetTon's is a compact example of two limits in one sentence: 5x the bonus or CA$1,402, whichever comes first. On a small deposit the multiple binds. Above a bonus of about CA$280 the fixed figure takes over. Only reading one of the two halves of that clause will give you the wrong answer on one side of the line or the other.

What a cap does to what a bonus is worth

A win cap changes an open-ended bonus into a bounded bet, and the two differ greatly in value.

Take a 100 bonus at 40x on bonus funds, which translates to 4,000 of turnover, and is the most common arrangement on this site. Staking 4,000 on a slot with a 96% return costs about 160 in expected losses along the way. What you are buying with that 160 is a chance at the distribution of outcomes above it.

Expected loss on 4,000 of turnover at a 96% return is roughly 160, which is the same in every row. Only the ceiling changes.

Follow the right-hand column down and the top row becomes less and less rational as a bet. Paying an expected cost of 160 for a maximum return of 120 is a fee rather than a bonus, and no amount of good luck changes it, because the ceiling removes exactly the outcomes that would have paid for the attempt.

That is the correct way to use this clause: not as a detail to note, but as the number that decides whether the wagering requirement is even worth attempting.

Bonuses with no max cashout at all

They exist. Seven of the fifteen casinos we have read in full publish no win cap on the welcome offer, and a bonus with no ceiling is worth materially more than one with a tight one at the same wagering.

The absence is rarely advertised, which is unfortunate for the casinos doing it, because it is a genuine selling point. It also means you cannot rely on spotting a claim: you have to examine the bonus terms for a cap and conclude it is missing, which is a different and more time-consuming kind of reading.

Be careful of one trap here. "No max cashout" in a promotion sometimes means no cap on the withdrawal rather than no cap on the bonus win. Those are separate clauses and a casino can honestly advertise the first while enforcing the second.

How to find the max cashout figure

1. Open the bonus terms page rather than the promotion. The promotion quotes the friendly number; the terms carry the formula.
2. Search the page for "cap", "cashout", "maximum win", "convert" and "forfeit". The clause is usually within a paragraph of the wagering requirement.
3. Work out the base. Bonus or deposit, and whether the figure is a multiple or a fixed amount.
4. Check whether free spins have their own. They usually do, and it is often a fixed amount rather than a multiple.
5. Look for a second limit in the same sentence. "Whichever comes first" means two ceilings and the lower one wins.

The norm is that if the promotion and the terms give different figures, you assume the terms govern. One casino in our reviews publishes a $2,500 headline cashout and a clause capping winnings at the deposit, on the same page, in the same document.

While the page is open, it is worth examining the rest of it. The cap is one of ten provisions that determine what an offer is worth, and our casino bonus terms guide explains all ten in the order they cost you money, so a single pass through the document answers everything.

Max cashout against withdrawal limits

These are two very different things and they get mixed up constantly.

A win cap deletes money. A withdrawal limit only delays it. Both appear in every review on this site where the operator publishes them.

The practical consequence is that a withdrawal limit causes inconvenience and a win cap poses a cost. A monthly limit of 20,000 on a 30,000 win means waiting; a win cap of 500 on the same win means you get 500.

Max cashout questions

What does max cashout mean at a casino? How much is a typical max cashout? Is max cashout calculated on the bonus or the deposit? Does max cashout apply to free spin winnings? What happens to winnings above the max cashout? Do all casino bonuses have a max cashout? Where do you find the max cashout figure?

About the author

Ana Petrescu

Bonus terms editor, CasinoFinderHub - Bucharest

I maintain the bonus data behind this site, which means reading terms documents in full. The eight ceilings on this page all came out of that work, and each is cited in the review where it was first recorded.

The win cap is the clause I check first now. A wagering requirement I dislike costs me time; a win cap I did not notice decides whether the time was worth spending, and the tenfold spread on this page is larger than any difference between multipliers on the market.

Play safely

A win cap is an excellent reminder of what a bonus essentially is. It is a bounded promotion with an expected cost, and reading the ceiling before you start is the difference between choosing an offer and being surprised by one.

Set a deposit limit before you claim anything. Treat any bonus with a tight cap and a large requirement as an offer you decline. Free, confidential help is available from BeGambleAware, Gambling Therapy and Gamblers Anonymous.