The Offer You Saw May Not Be the Offer You Get
You saw a promotion for a 200 bonus, and now you want to know if it is still running. The honest answer is that no article can tell you that with certainty, because promotional offers are changed, paused, or replaced by operators on their own schedule. What you can do is learn how to check the offer yourself, and more importantly, how to read what the 200 means.
A bonus amount is not cash. It is a promotional credit that comes with conditions attached, and those conditions determine whether any of it can ever become withdrawable money. Before you worry about whether the offer is live, you should understand what you would be accepting.
Where to Find the Current Offer
The only reliable source for a current promotion is the operator's own site or app. Promotions are typically listed under a dedicated section with a name like Promotions, Offers, or Bonuses. When you open a specific offer, the full terms are usually displayed on the same screen or behind a link labelled Terms, Conditions, or Full Terms.
If you received the offer by email, text message, or push notification, read that message carefully. Many promotions are targeted, meaning they are sent only to specific accounts. A bonus you saw advertised on a review site or in a search result may have expired, may require a promo code during registration, or may never have been available in your jurisdiction at all.
There is no universal rule for how long a bonus runs. Some are tied to a calendar window, some run until a fixed number of claims, and some are replaced without notice. The expiry date, if one exists, is stated in the terms for that specific offer.
What the 200 Figure Means
When a promotion advertises a 200 bonus, the number alone tells you almost nothing. You need to know what the 200 is measured in, what you must do to receive it, and what you must do before you can withdraw anything connected to it.
Common structures include a matched deposit bonus, where the operator adds a percentage of your first deposit up to a cap, and a no-deposit bonus, where the credit is granted without any deposit. A 200 figure could also refer to free spins, site credit, or a bet refund. The terms will state the structure explicitly.
Here is how the main bonus structures compare:
| Structure | What you receive | What you must do first | Typical restriction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matched deposit | A percentage of your deposit, up to a stated cap | Make a qualifying deposit | Bonus funds are locked until wagering is met |
| No-deposit bonus | A fixed credit without a deposit | Register or enter a promo code | Usually has a low maximum cashout |
| Free spins or site credit | Spins at a fixed stake, or credit for specific games | Opt in or make a qualifying bet | Winnings credited as bonus funds, not cash |
| Bet refund | Stake returned as credit if a condition is met | Place a qualifying bet | Refund is often site credit, not withdrawable cash |
Wagering Requirements: The Number That Decides Everything
A wagering requirement, sometimes called playthrough, is a multiplier stating how much must be wagered before bonus-related funds can be withdrawn. It is the single most important condition in any bonus offer, because it determines how much turnover stands between you and a withdrawal.
The arithmetic is simple to follow. Suppose a bonus of 50 units carries a 30x wagering requirement. That means 1,500 units must be wagered before the bonus funds can be withdrawn. As an example, if the bonus were 200 units with the same 30x requirement, the total wagering obligation would be 6,000 units. These are example figures only; the actual multiplier is printed in the offer's terms.
What makes wagering harder than it looks is game weighting. Not every wager counts equally toward the requirement. A slot spin might count in full, while a table game wager might count at a small fraction, or not at all. The terms will include a weighting table. Always read it before you start playing, because wagering on the wrong game can mean you make no progress at all.
Maximum Cashout, Expiry, and Other Caps
Even after you meet the wagering requirement, there may be a maximum-cashout cap. This is a stated limit on how much of the bonus-derived balance can ever be withdrawn. A no-deposit bonus almost always carries such a cap, and it is often low. Any balance above the cap is removed when you withdraw.
Expiry windows work against you in two ways. First, the offer itself may expire if not claimed by a certain date. Second, once claimed, the bonus and any winnings from it usually expire if the wagering requirement is not completed within a set number of days. The clock starts when the bonus is credited, not when you first log in.
Other restrictions to look for include a minimum deposit to qualify, a maximum bet while a bonus is active, excluded payment methods, and game restrictions. A bonus that cannot be used on the games you intended to play is worth far less than its headline number suggests.
How Loyalty and Comp Value Is Built Differently
Some players confuse a signup bonus with the ongoing value of a loyalty or comp programme. They are built on different arithmetic. A signup bonus is a fixed promotional credit with terms attached. A loyalty programme awards value based on tracked play over time.
The core concept behind most loyalty programmes is theoretical loss, sometimes called theo. It is an estimate of how much a player is expected to lose over a session, based on three inputs: average bet size, decisions per hour, and the house edge of the game being played. The arithmetic is a multiplication of those three figures. As a labelled example, suppose a player averages 10 units per bet, makes 50 bets per hour, and plays a game with a 2% house edge. The theoretical loss for that hour is 10 multiplied by 50 multiplied by 0.02, which equals 10 units. That is an example calculation, not a threshold or a promise.
Operators use theoretical loss to decide how much to reinvest in a player through comps, tier points, or cashback. The key difference from a signup bonus is that loyalty value accrues slowly and is tied to the volume and type of play, not to a single promotional claim. A 200 signup bonus is a one-time acquisition cost for the operator; a loyalty programme is a retention tool built on your long-term tracked play.
What You Control and What You Cannot
You cannot control whether a specific 200 bonus is still live. You can control how carefully you read the terms before you opt in, and whether the offer is worth your time once you understand the conditions.
No wagering strategy changes the built-in edge of the games you will play to clear the bonus. The house edge is a property of the game, not of the bonus. A bonus can change how much you must wager, and therefore how much expected loss you will generate while clearing it, but it does not turn a negative-expectation game into a positive one. Progression systems and betting patterns redistribute outcomes across a session; they do not remove the edge.
Before you claim any offer, ask yourself three questions. What is the total wagering obligation in units? Which games count toward it, and at what weighting? What is the maximum cashout and the expiry window? If the terms do not answer all three clearly, the offer is not worth claiming.
FAQ
How do I know if a bonus offer has expired?
Open the operator's promotions page and look for the offer. If it is not listed, it has likely ended or been replaced. If you received the offer by email or message, check the terms inside that message for an expiry date or a claim-by date. Some offers also expire a set number of days after being credited, even if you claimed them in time.
Can I withdraw a 200 bonus immediately after claiming it?
Almost never. Bonus funds are usually locked until you complete the wagering requirement stated in the terms. Even then, a maximum-cashout cap may limit how much of the bonus-derived balance can be withdrawn. The specific figures are printed in the offer's terms, not in any general article.
Does a bigger bonus always mean a better offer?
No. A large bonus with a high wagering requirement, low game weighting, and a short expiry window can be worth less than a smaller bonus with lighter conditions. The headline number is only one input. You need the full terms to compare offers properly.
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This article is general information about how these mechanics work. It is not legal advice and not a recommendation to gamble or to use any particular operator. Availability and legality differ by jurisdiction — check the rules that apply where you are.