Read a casino's terms and spot unfair clauses

Most of the cost of a bonus sits in five or six clauses, and almost none of them are on the promotion banner. You find them in the bonus terms, which are usually separate from the general terms and conditions.

Start with wagering. A requirement of 40x on a €100 bonus means €4,000 of bets before anything can be withdrawn. If the multiplier applies to deposit plus bonus, the same €100 match on a €100 deposit becomes 40x on €200, which is €8,000 of bets. That one word, “deposit”, doubles the cost.

Then look for the cap on winnings from the bonus.

A clause such as “maximum winnings from bonus funds are limited to €100” means that even a lucky run ends at €100, whatever the balance says. Read it next to the maximum bet rule, typically phrased as “the maximum stake while a bonus is active is €5”. Break that rule once and the operator can usually void the bonus and the winnings attached to it, so a single €6 spin late in the wagering can cost you everything you have built up. Game weighting works the same quiet way: if table games count at 10%, a €10 blackjack hand clears only €1 of wagering.

Deadlines and bonus type

Check how many days you get to finish wagering, and whether the bonus is sticky or non-sticky. With a non-sticky bonus your own cash is played first and can be withdrawn before the bonus is touched, which is the better structure for you.

Bonus clauses are only half the picture. The general terms govern withdrawals, verification and account closure, and that is where disputes tend to start once money is involved.

Look for a clause giving the operator discretion to void winnings for “irregular play” without defining it. Vague wording like that is the clearest warning sign, because it lets the site decide after the fact what you did wrong. Check too whether KYC documents are requested at sign-up or only when you try to withdraw, since late verification is a common cause of delayed payouts.

Licensing matters, and in Ireland it is changing. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, set up under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, has licensed remote betting operators since 1 July 2026, and the Act requires licensees to pay out winnings and close accounts on request. Applications for gaming licences, which cover casino products, are due to open in phases through 2027 and 2028, and Revenue continues to licence gaming until that transition happens.

So, for a casino site, check what licence it actually displays and confirm it on the regulator’s own register rather than trusting a logo in the footer.

One point on bonuses specifically: the Act bars licensees from offering an inducement to a person or a specific group, while public offers remain allowed. The Department of Justice has said the inducement provisions have not yet been commenced, so treat any personal offer with that in mind once the rules apply.

If a casino voids a bonus or withholds a withdrawal, ask support for the exact clause it relied on, in writing. Quote it back and say plainly why you think it does not apply.

Keep screenshots of the terms as they stood when you opted in.

Operators revise terms, and the version on the site later may not be the one you accepted. If the internal complaints process gets you nowhere, the next route depends on who licenses the operator. The GRAI has a consumer protection division that has begun taking complaints about its licensees, many of them about difficulty withdrawing money, according to its chief executive. For a site licensed elsewhere, the complaints route is set by that regulator, and the site’s terms should name it; if they do not, that tells you something too.

Fair terms also include the tools that let you stay in control. A reasonable site lets you set deposit and loss limits, take a cooling-off break or self-exclude from your account settings without having to argue with an agent. Under the Act, licensed operators must also close an account on request. If gambling has stopped being something you choose, set a deposit limit today and contact a support service such as Gamblers Anonymous Ireland or your GP for a referral.