You have the bonus screen open and a small line sits under the headline: the playthrough requirement. That line decides whether the extra money ever becomes yours to withdraw, because until you meet it the bonus stays a promise rather than a balance. Players who skim past it often win a round and still find the cash locked.
Getting the Welcome Offer
The welcome offer is claimed through your player account, and the order of the steps matters more than the speed.
- Open your account through the casino’s own registration page. A sign-up started from an affiliate link still needs your details confirmed before the offer attaches.
- Complete the identity fields with your legal name exactly as it appears on your documents. Mismatched spelling is a common reason a bonus never lands.
- Confirm your email and phone where the form asks for them. These are the channels the casino uses to tie the account to the person.
- Find the bonus section in your account and select the welcome offer before you deposit. An offer chosen after the money arrives may not apply.
- Make your first deposit with a payment route the offer allows. Not every method qualifies, so pick one the bonus page lists as eligible.
- Watch for the bonus balance to appear separately from your cash balance. The two are treated differently when you play and when you withdraw.
- Note the expiry window at the moment the bonus is credited. Forget the deadline and the offer can disappear while you still hold a balance.
Order beats speed here, because a bonus selected too late has nothing to attach to. Treat the separate bonus balance as play money until the conditions are met. Once the welcome offer is live, the wagering rule becomes the thing that governs every spin and every wager.
Key Terms in Plain Words
The table below sets out the terms that most often decide whether bonus money turns into withdrawable cash.
| Term | What it means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Wagering requirement | The number of times you must play the bonus through before it can be withdrawn | Whether the rule applies to the bonus alone or to the deposit as well |
| Qualifying bet | A wager that counts toward the playthrough, which excludes some games | Which game types count and which contribute nothing |
| Bonus expiry | The window in which the playthrough must be finished | The point at which unused bonus is removed from the account |
| Maximum cashout | The cap on what bonus winnings can become real money | Whether the cap sits on the win or on the conversion |
| Game weighting | How much of each stake on a given game type counts toward the playthrough | Whether table games count in full, partly or not at all |
Game weighting is the term players misread most, because a bet is not simply a bet. A stake on one game type can count differently from the same stake on another. That difference quietly changes how long the playthrough takes. Reading the weighting list before you start saves the shock of a slow-moving progress bar. It also stops players blaming the casino for a rule that was simply printed in the wrong place. A player who checks weighting first picks a game that actually moves the balance.
How the Maths Works
Here is an example to show the shape of the calculation; the figures are invented for illustration and are not Casino de Montréal’s actual terms. In this example a player deposits thirty and receives a bonus on top. The offer carries a wagering multiplier of forty. That multiplier is applied to the bonus amount. The result is the total stake the player must turn over.
The formula in words is simple: bonus multiplied by the wagering factor equals the required playthrough. With a thirty deposit and a forty-times rule, the target becomes one thousand two hundred in total wagers. That number is not a fee; it is the volume of play. You reach it by placing bets, not by paying anything extra.
Now add game weighting, still working from the example. A slot typically counts at the full rate, so a spin of one moves the target by one. A table wager often counts at a fraction, so the same stake moves the target far less. If only half the stake counts, the player needs twice the play volume. Choose the game type before you start, not halfway through.
Stake size changes the pace but not the total. Larger bets reach the target faster, yet they also drain the balance faster when the run turns cold. A steady stake keeps the rule within reach. An impatient stake can end the session before the target is met.
Time is the last variable in the example, and it is easy to forget. A playthrough that is not finished before the expiry window closes leaves the bonus removed. That is why players who plan their stake and their game type from the start keep the offer. The playthrough is a volume of bets to be reached, not a sum of money to be paid.
Free Spins Rules
Free spins usually arrive as a bundle tied to a specific game, not as a free choice across the lobby. The value of each spin comes from the coin size set when the bundle was issued. That amount is fixed and is not something you adjust yourself. Wins from those spins land in the bonus balance by default.
Each spin bundle carries its own expiry, separate from the main offer deadline. Unused spins are removed when the window closes, even if the rest of the bonus is still active. Casino de Montréal bonus sets its spin bundles with this kind of expiry built in, and the clock starts when the spins appear rather than when you first use them. Watch the timestamp on the bundle the moment it is credited. Spins that lapse cannot be restored by support after the window shuts.
Winnings from free spins are bonus money, which means the wagering rule applies to them as well. A win of a few units on a spin can lock into a playthrough that takes far longer to clear. Some offers treat spin winnings as cash, but most fold them into the bonus balance. Check which one applies to your bundle before you spin. It changes how quickly anything from that bundle becomes yours.
Not every game accepts spin bundles, and the eligible list is fixed at issue. Spins on a game outside that list will not run, and support cannot redirect them. Before the window closes, confirm the named game matches the one you plan to play. A mismatched bundle simply sits unused until it expires.
Spin values are set by the casino and are usually small compared with a cash stake. That keeps the playthrough on spin winnings modest in stake terms but still tied to the multiplier. Players who expect a single big spin win to free their whole balance are often disappointed. Treat the bundle as a low-stake run with the same closing rule attached.
Cashing Out Bonus Winnings
Withdrawal of bonus winnings only opens once the playthrough is complete, not when the balance looks full. Until then the bonus part stays in a separate bucket. Your own cash may be withdrawable earlier depending on the offer, but the bonus is not. Mixing the two in your head is the usual source of confusion.
Identity checks normally run before the first payout leaves the account. The documents requested are matched against the name used at sign-up. A spelling difference between the account and the document stalls the payment. Get the check done early instead of at the moment you want the money. Players who verify while the playthrough is still running avoid a wait at the end.
Where the offer sets a maximum cashout, that cap applies to the winnings drawn from the bonus, not to your own deposit. Winnings above the cap are typically removed rather than paid. Read the cap before the playthrough, because it shapes how much value the offer can hold. A large balance cleared through a capped offer can convert to less than the player expected.
Any withdrawal usually voids the remaining bonus and its progress. That is not a penalty; it is the rule that ends the bonus once cash leaves. Decide whether to withdraw now or finish the playthrough first. Withdrawing early forfeits the bonus portion you have not yet cleared.
Withdrawal routing follows the deposit method where the casino’s rules allow it. The name on the destination account must match the player account. A third-party account is a common reason a payout is held back. Once the bonus is gone and the cash has been paid, the account returns to normal play.
Traps to Avoid
Most lost bonuses come from a handful of avoidable slips rather than from bad luck on the reels.
- Playing games outside the qualifying list: some titles contribute nothing to the playthrough. Confirm the game type counts before you stake on it.
- Ignoring the expiry window: the deadline runs from credit, not from your first spin. Note the date when the bonus lands.
- Claiming the offer after the deposit: a bonus chosen too late may not attach. Select the offer before the money is sent.
- Withdrawing mid-playthrough: cashing out usually cancels the rest of the bonus. Finish the playthrough or accept the loss of the bonus.
- Assuming every wager counts equally: each game type carries its own weighting. Mix in a fully counting game to keep progress steady.
- Overlooking the maximum cashout: a cap can cut a large bonus win. Plan the value of the offer around it.
- Skipping identity checks until payout: unverified details hold the money. Complete the checks while the playthrough is still running.
Each of these traps is visible before the first spin, and none requires guessing. The wagering rule, the weighting and the expiry work together, so treat them as one condition rather than three separate lines. A player who plans for all three keeps the offer and the winnings it can produce.