Two balances behind one number
The player can easily tell from the balance whether any bonus is currently trading, but not which balance any particular spin will take a stake from. That decision depends on the terms of the bonus itself.
A casino account displays the combined balance of cash and bonus. A $50 stake from a bonus offer may count for just 10 cents on the requirement. As soon as the requirement opens, that locked win is automatically counted. The system may report a spin's stakes by balance, which makes it easier to track the remaining requirement against the total of the bonus offer.
Order of spend is a term, not a setting
The order in which cash and bonus are spent is a term, not a setting. The balance may display the total but the order of 'cash first', 'bonus first' or 'first subs' controls the use of the cash part of the balance. Cash first means the bonus will sit, or go offline, until the cash has spent out. Bonus first allows the player to play the bonus before touching the cash, or 'first subs' takes the amount of the bonus itself, on top of the cash required to fulfill the total stake. A play history of stakes from cash and bonus shows the order of spend in action.
A $10 stake for a slot on a cash-first bonus will usually subtract $10 from the cash. On the same bonus, paying $3 in cash and $7 in bonus, that draws $7 from a bonus that would otherwise sit. The history shows that the cost to progress the cash prerequisite is higher, even if the balance remains the same. It takes hundreds of repeated plays on a cash-first bonus to get the bonus into play in the same way as a bonus-first. Where a requirement is found on the winnings from the bonus as well as on the bonus sum, a cash-first bonus is less likely to complete the requirement in the allowance to play.
What a withdrawal does to an open requirement
Cash on the account is withdrawable, but bonus money may not be. But a withdrawal during an active requirement may forfeit the bonus and its winnings, and it is irreversible. Withdrawing while a bonus is trading may not be possible, in which case the app may suggest abandoning the bonus to free the balance. Abandoning a bonus later may forfeit some of the bonus sum, leaving a smaller bonus pending than before. The player can also lose the contribution made if a requirement is met after the withdrawal.
The requirement continues to stand even if the player has fulfilled all of it before. Take for example a requirement to trade the amount of the bonus five times; if the player makes a withdrawal before the fivefold sum has traded, the bonus and its winnings are forfeited. In a bonus that is part of a loyalty deal, the system may still forfeit the bonus, unless the terms specifically state that the same money is provided. On some bonuses, any stake is returned to the player if the bonus and its winnings are forfeited. Where that refund occurs, the requirement may differ. Some bonus offers may be irrevocable.
Two kinds of bonus, and the cap on winnings
The money or credit given in a bonus can be withdrawable or locked. The terms name their kind. A withdrawable bonus credit becomes part of the cash balance if the requirement is met. A locked credit premium moves to its own withdrawing space, where it is shown on the balance, but becomes part of the cash balance once the requirement is fulfilled. It may be subject to additional terms. The slot credit cap on what may be won with a bonus is a separate term from the requirement. Where it applies, it limits the value provable to be won. Here a player who wins $50 from a $5 bonus but where the terms put the payment cap at $30, will have $20 of the bonus win set aside, staying as a locked credit unwithdrawable until the requirement is fulfilled.
