Bonus bets can look attractive, but they are not identical to cash. This guide explains how does bonus bet work in practice, why the promotional stake often matters more than you expect, and how to check whether you can cash out or withdraw winnings from a promotional wager. We focus on the mechanics operators use, the regulatory expectations that shape promotion wording, practical payout examples, and a short checklist you can use before accepting any bonus offer. The goal is to help you avoid surprises and make an informed choice about whether a promotion suits your play style.

Bonus bets are promotional credits, not the same as withdrawable cash.

Most operators pay only net winnings from a bonus-bet win, and the promotional stake is not returned.

Regulators require prominent disclosure of significant promotion terms, including stake-return and withdrawal limits.

What a bonus bet is and why the stake matters

A bonus bet is promotional credit provided by a platform that you can use to place a wager, but it is not the same as withdrawable cash. How does bonus bet work in practice is important to understand before you use the credit, because many platforms treat the bonus stake differently from real money and only make net winnings available for withdrawal when a bonus-bet selection wins.

Check promotion terms before you bet

Before you use a bonus bet, check the full promotion terms so you know whether the stake is treated as withdrawable cash or as promotional credit.

Review challenge terms

Operators often call these credits bonus bets, bonus tokens, or promotional credit, and they exist to encourage play without directly adding to your spendable balance. For readers used to real-money wagers, the key distinction is that a bonus stake can be consumed if a selection loses and may not be returned as part of a winning payout, which affects your withdrawable balance in practical terms.

Many help pages from operators state that the bonus stake is not returned and that only net winnings can become available to withdraw after a successful bonus-bet settlement, so the terminology matters when you read a promotion.

When you read an offer, look first for explicit language about whether the stake is returned, any minimum odds, expiry, or other limits that change how the promotional credit behaves in your account.

How does bonus bet work: core mechanics

How does bonus bet work starts with how the platform applies the promotional credit to a wager. Typically, you select a market, add the bonus credit as the stake, and place the bet; the platform will show the stake as promotional and will use that promotional balance rather than your real-money balance for the transaction.

When the selection loses, the promotional stake is simply removed from your promotional balance and your real-money balance is not affected. When the selection wins, most operators will credit the net return, excluding the original bonus stake, to your withdrawable balance so you can use or withdraw that amount under the operator rules, as explained in their help pages FanDuel help page.

In short, a bonus-bet wager consumes promotional credit on loss, and on win it commonly produces withdrawable net winnings, not the stake itself. That distinction determines what shows as cash you can withdraw, versus value you can only use for further play under promotion terms.

Regulation and advertising guidance that affects bonus offers

Regulators and advertising codes have tightened requirements so that promotions cannot imply a bonus is cashable without clear disclosure of important conditions. In the UK, CAP guidance requires significant conditions for free bets and bonuses to be made clear, including prominence of stake-return rules and any wagering, eligibility, or expiry limits CAP guidance on free bets and bonuses.

In the United States, several state rules also restrict misleading claims about free or risk-free offers and require prominent disclosure of material terms, such as whether the bonus stake is returned and any limits on withdrawing promotional winnings Massachusetts regulations on sports wagering advertising.

Can I cash out or withdraw the stake from a bonus bet?

Most bonus bets cannot be cashed out as stake because they are promotional credit, and operators generally only make net winnings withdrawable. Always check the promotion terms for explicit Cash Out rules, expiry, minimum odds, and any withdrawal caps.

Those regulatory expectations mean operators should conspicuously show whether a bonus stake is non-withdrawable, any minimum odds or rollover conditions, expiry dates, and whether Cash Out is permitted, because omissions can be the basis for regulatory scrutiny.

How operators usually implement bonus-bet rules

Operator help pages and terms commonly state that bonus bets are promotional credits, not withdrawable cash, and that only net winnings will be credited as withdrawable funds when a bonus-bet selection wins. You will often find this described in the section of the help center that explains bonus bets and promotional credit DraftKings explanation of bonus bets. See the DraftKings help center for more details DraftKings help center.

Typical clauses to watch for include restrictions on which markets accept bonus credit, minimum odds required for a bonus-bet wager to qualify, explicit exclusions for certain bet types, and an expiry window after which unredeemed promotional credit is forfeited. These limits determine whether you can use promoted funds on a particular market or withdraw any winnings.

When a promotion is presented, good practice is to read the small but material clauses that say, for example, 'stake not returned' or 'not withdrawable', because that language directly affects the real-money outcome when a bonus-bet wager settles.

Can you cash out a bonus bet?

Short answer, you usually cannot cash out a bonus bet in the way you can with a real-money stake. Many operators disable Cash Out functionality for wagers placed with promotional credit, so early settlement or an in-play cash-out refund of the bonus stake is commonly unavailable, which prevents you from locking in potential returns before event settlement.

Funded Plays Challenges

Review challenge terms

Because the promotional stake is often non-withdrawable, Cash Out features are either disabled or adjusted so that only net winnings from a settled bonus bet can become withdrawable. Check the promotion terms to see if Cash Out is explicitly allowed for promotional wagers before relying on early cash-out options.

If Cash Out is important to you, do not assume a bonus bet will behave like a cash stake. Verify the specific offer language about cash-out eligibility and how early settlement would affect what is returned to your withdrawable balance.

How payouts are calculated: worked examples

Practical math helps. The standard operator example is that a $25 bonus bet at odds that pay 3.00 in decimal, equivalent to +200 in American odds, will produce $50 in withdrawable winnings because the bonus stake is not included in the payout. That means you receive the net return, not the stake, when the bonus-bet selection wins DraftKings help article.

Example one, labelled single market, positive odds. Place a $25 bonus bet at +200. If it wins, the gross return would be $75 if the stake were real cash, but because the stake is promotional and not returned, you get withdrawable winnings equal to $50, which is the net profit on the stake.

Example two, fractional or decimal odds. Place a $20 bonus bet at decimal odds 2.5. The full cash return would be $50, but with a promotional stake the withdrawable amount is $30, representing the net winnings only.

Example three, negative or favourite odds. If the platform allows a bonus bet at odds of 1.5 decimal, a $30 promotional stake would yield a withdrawable $15 on win, because again the promotional stake is not part of the credited withdrawable balance. Exact formulas and rounding rules can vary by operator, so use worked examples only as a guide and confirm with the provider.

Wagering requirements, expiry and other limits to watch

Promotions can include wagering or rollover requirements that force you to place additional bets before any winnings become withdrawable. These rollover clauses mean you may have to meet a multiple of the bonus value or the winnings before a withdrawal is permitted. Regulators expect such significant conditions to be made clear in marketing materials and terms so users can make informed choices CAP guidance on significant conditions.

Quick checks to confirm bonus bet cashability before wagering

Stake returned
Cash Out allowed
Minimum odds
Expiry
Maximum withdrawal
Market exclusions

Save screenshots of offer and terms

Expiry windows are common. If you do not use a bonus bet before it expires, the promotional credit is forfeited. Some offers also impose maximum withdrawal caps on winnings derived from promotional credit, which reduces the effective cashability of a successful bonus-bet result.

Market exclusions and minimum-odds thresholds are typical. An operator may exclude certain bet types or require your bonus-bet wager to meet a minimum price before a win produces withdrawable funds. Read the clauses that list excluded markets and minimum odds so you do not place a bonus bet that will be invalid for payout.

How to check terms quickly before you accept an offer

Minimal vector illustration of a promotional token applied to a single market bet slip showing labeled fields stake net winnings and withdrawable balance how does bonus bet work

Search the offer text for clear phrases such as 'stake not returned', 'not withdrawable', 'Cash Out not available', 'expiry', and 'minimum odds'. Those phrases typically flag the key rules that affect whether you can cash out or withdraw anything connected to the promotion, and they appear in operator help centers and terms pages FanDuel help page.

Save or screenshot the promotion and its full terms at the time you accept the offer. A timestamped record can help in a dispute if the platform later applies a rule you did not see, and keeping a short note of the main constraints reduces later confusion.

If any clause is unclear, contact customer support before placing a promotional wager and ask explicitly whether Cash Out is available and what amount would be credited as withdrawable if the selection wins. Get any important confirmations in writing when possible.

Typical mistakes and how they cost you

A common mistake is assuming the bonus stake will be returned on a win. Believing that the stake is included in the payout leads many users to overestimate their withdrawable balance after a bonus-bet win, because operators frequently pay only the net winnings and not the promotional stake DraftKings help article.

Another mistake is assuming Cash Out applies to promotional wagers. If you try to use Cash Out on a bonus-bet stake and the function is disabled, you cannot secure a partial return and may lose the potential profit if the selection fails. Always confirm cash-out eligibility before you place the bet.

Failing to notice expiry or minimum odds can also erase value. If the promotion requires a minimum price and you place the bet at a lower price, the win may not produce withdrawable funds. Avoid these errors by verifying the core clauses and applying the simple checklist described earlier.

Practical strategies: getting the most from bonus bets

Use bonus bets on single-market selections at odds where you would normally be comfortable placing a small cash stake. This lets you test whether the promotion yields value, while keeping the outcome simple so operator limits are less likely to interfere with payout mechanics. See the FundedPlays blog for more tactical guidance FundedPlays blog.

Avoid complicated multi-leg parlays or markets commonly excluded by promotions. Many offers restrict multi-market bets or certain prop markets, so sticking to eligible single bets reduces the chance that a winning result will be limited by an exclusion clause.

Track net-winnings separately from your real-money balance so you clearly see what you can actually withdraw. For participants in funded sports simulation platforms, such as FundedPlays, treat promotional play as separate from your performance bankroll to keep results and expectations clear. More on how FundedPlays evaluations work is available at this blog post.

Scenarios: worked cases a reader might encounter

Scenario one, winning single bonus bet. You place a $25 bonus bet on a single selection at odds that yield double your stake on success. The platform settles the bet and credits $50 as withdrawable net winnings, because the promotional stake itself is not returned. This mirrors the standard operator example in published help resources DraftKings worked example.

Scenario two, losing a bonus-bet parlay. You use promotional credit on a parlay that fails. The promotional balance is reduced or set to zero and your real-money balance remains unchanged, but you lose the opportunity that the promotional stake represented and must rely on future promotions or your funds to play again.

Scenario three, borderline expiry or minimum-odds. You receive a bonus bet that expires in seven days and you place a qualifying selection, but the selection is offered at odds below the promotion minimum. Even if the selection would win, the operator may refuse to credit withdrawable winnings because the minimum-odds condition was not met, so always confirm timing and minimum pricing before staking promotional credits.

If terms look misleading or you cannot withdraw

If you believe a promotion misrepresented material conditions, regulators expect that significant terms should have been prominent and not hidden. Both advertising codes and state rules provide that promotions which omit or bury stake-return or withdrawal limits can be challenged, because clarity and fairness are regulatory priorities Ohio administrative rule on advertising and promotions.

Collect evidence if you plan to complain. Save screenshots, note timestamps, and keep any chat or email transcripts from support. Contact the operator first with a clear statement of the issue and your supporting material. If the operator does not resolve the problem, you can escalate to the relevant regulator with the same evidence and refer to the applicable advertising or wagering guidance that requires prominent disclosure.

Summary checklist: what to check before using a bonus bet

Quick final checklist. Confirm the stake-return rule, check whether Cash Out is available for promotional wagers, verify expiry and minimum odds, and note any maximum withdrawal cap. These items determine whether promotional play produces withdrawable winnings or simply an entertainment value that cannot be cashed out.

Remember that operators commonly pay net winnings only and that regulator guidance requires clear disclosure of significant conditions, so a short review of the terms will usually prevent surprises. When in doubt, save the offer text and ask support for clarification before placing a promotional wager.

Can I withdraw the original bonus stake after a winning bonus bet?

Typically no. Most promotions return only the net winnings derived from a winning bonus bet, not the promotional stake itself.

Can I use Cash Out on a bet placed with bonus credit?

Often Cash Out is disabled for promotional stakes. Always check the promotion terms to confirm cash-out eligibility before betting.

What should I do if an operator misled me about a bonus bet?

Save screenshots, contact the operator with your evidence, and escalate to the regulator if the issue remains unresolved while citing the applicable advertising guidance.

Promotional bets can add value when used carefully, but they come with rules that affect cashability. Read the terms, save a record of the offer, and treat bonus-bet play as separate from your main bankroll so you know exactly what you can withdraw if a promoted selection wins. If you need a structured environment to practise forecasting without staking cash, consider platforms that run funded challenges where promotional structures and rules are clearly stated.