Real money balance
A real money balance is the part of your betting or casino account made up of your own deposited funds plus any winnings already cleared of conditions, which you can stake freely or withdraw. It sits apart from bonus funds and free bets, which carry wagering or stake-not-returned terms. Most operators show the two figures separately in the cashier or account menu, though the labels differ from one site to the next, so it pays to know which number is actually yours.
How the real money figure is worked out
The sum itself is simple: deposits, minus stakes placed with cash, plus winnings settled on those cash stakes, minus withdrawals. Bonus credit and free bet tokens stay out of it until their terms are met.
The detail that catches people is the order in which a site spends your money. Many operators take a stake from the real money balance first and only then dip into bonus funds, but some reverse that, and the published terms are the only place it is stated.
Take a €20 deposit and a €10 free bet on a 3/1 shot, which implies a probability of 25 per cent. If the free bet wins, you get €30 in winnings without the €10 stake, and whether that €30 lands as real money or as restricted bonus cash depends on the operator’s rules.
Read the terms before you assume.
What it gets confused with
The usual mix-up is with the total balance, which on many sites adds real money and bonus funds into one headline number. Only the real money portion can be withdrawn on request.
A second trap is the withdrawable balance. On some sites it matches the real money figure exactly, while on others an open bonus can lock your own deposit too, until the wagering is completed or the bonus is forfeited, so the two numbers can differ even though no bonus cash is involved.
Pending bets are the third point: money tied up in unsettled stakes or an accumulator awaiting its last leg has left the real money balance and only returns if the bet is settled in your favour or cashed out.
