The main aspect of such an offer is the fact that it doesn’t tie your deposited money with the bonus funds. Hence there is no withdrawal restriction should you decide to take your cash back. The main downside of such a situation is that withdrawing equals forfeiting the bonus you’ve received (however, some casinos even let you keep it). Still, it’s a fair deal if you suddenly change your mind. The casino enables you to decide how you want to manage both types of funds but takes away the prize if you take away your deposit.

In a non sticky bonus, your funds always deplete first. That’s why it’s often called a “second chance bonus” or a “lifeline bonus”. Meaning that once you exhaust your own money, there is always the bonus to fall back on and keep playing.

The difference is the wagering requirement. While any wins you acquire from your deposit are wagering-free and available to withdraw at any point, the wins you score after dipping into the bonus funds will have the exact wagering requirement as the bonus itself.

Let’s look at an example:

Anna chose a non sticky casino bonus offering a 100% deposit prize of up to €100. She wants to gain the most out of this promotion, so she puts €100 into her account and automatically receives another €100. Her balance now shows €200, and she’s off to do some spinning on slots.

While staking €1 per spin, she plays 50 spins (for the sake of this example, let’s assume there weren’t any small wins within that time) and lands a big win of €250 on her very last spin. Lucky gal! Her balance is now showing €300. Since the win came when she was still on her deposited cash, €200 out of that total is hers, and she can withdraw it anytime.

Anna has the freedom to decide whether she should keep playing and try to increase her balance further or cash out what she’s already won.

This type of offer is much more restricting. Once you deposit, your funds become “locked” together with the bonus amount, which means you can’t request a withdrawal before completing the wagering requirement. Additionally, they are subject to any other conditions relating to that bonus (for example, a maximum bet qualifying towards the wagering).

One could ask – “So what? After all, I can always cancel the bonus and still have my deposited money”.

Indeed. With one significant difference. The casino treats any winnings you score from a sticky bonus as bonus funds. Therefore, you forfeit them together with the initially awarded amount.

To illustrate this better, let’s go back to our example with Anna, but now imagine she’s using a sticky casino bonus.

She deposited €100 and got €100 extra from the casino. Her balance is €200, and it’s all bonus funds. She proceeds to play slots and wins €250 after spending €50. Her balance now is €300. To withdraw anything, she needs to keep playing until she finishes the wagering requirements. If she decides to cancel the bonus, she will be left only with €100 of her deposited money since the bonus and any winnings will be forfeited.

Usually yes. A non sticky casino bonus should not be confused with a no wagering casino bonus. Those are two separate sides of a casino offer, and one does not exclude the other.

In a non sticky bonus, only the money awarded to you by the casino is subject to wagering. Your deposited funds are free of such restrictions.

If you see an offer saying “100% bonus up to €100, 30x wagering“, you don’t instantly know if it’s sticky or non sticky. Always refer to the terms & conditions, but also remember that a casino may not use the same terminology, so the bonus may not be literally described as “non sticky”.

Here’s an example from the LeoVegas casino:

If the rules don’t mention anything similar, the bonus is most likely sticky. Hence the 30x wagering will be applied to the total of your bonus funds and result in €6000. However, some casinos only apply it to the awarded bonus funds, which means the requirement, in this case, would be €3000.

Most people will agree that the non sticky casino bonus is the way to go. It’s fair, transparent and allows players to decide what to do with their entire balance. However, some claim that the sticky bonus has its upsides, like the fact that the wagering requirement starts decreasing from the very first spin and not only after dipping into the bonus funds. It’s a reasonable statement, and we leave it to each person’s personal preference to decide if it’s actually a benefit.

With so many online casinos in the business these days, there is a massive variety of bonuses. The conditions are mixed constantly. Sometimes to create the best possible offer and sometimes to disguise requirements and hook gullible players.

Always remember to choose the right approach and familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions. Don’t accept them blindly. Even though it may seem tedious to read them when you’re eager to play, that’s the best thing you can do. Respect your hard-earned money.