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Topic · cross-market

Bonus & promotion rules

From wagering disclosure to outright prohibition

Bonus rules cluster into three postures in our indexed corpus: prohibition (Spain), structural restriction (Sweden\'s one-bonus rule, Denmark\'s DKK 1,000 / 10× wagering cap, Ontario\'s inducement-advertising restriction), and disclosure-based (UK, US states, Malta, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania). The rules mostly sit at the intersection of advertising regulation and player-protection, a bonus term is both a commercial communication and a product feature, which is why bonus rules show up in both the advertising and customer-protection chapters of most rulebooks.

  • 13frameworks indexed
  • 12with matched standard
  • 92%topic coverage

Snapshot across 13 frameworks

Each chip is one indexed rulebook. Green = we have a directly matched standard on this topic; dim = the topic may be covered under different wording, explore the framework to verify.

AGCO S 2.06 AGLC AGLC 5.5.9 DGA MKT — Bonus caps DGOJ RD 958/2020 art. 16 GGL Bonuses MGA PPD 14(1)-(2) MGCB R PROMO-DEDUCTION NJ DGE § 69O-1.4(q) OCCC OAC 3.4 PA PGCB 58 Pa. Code § 807.3 SGA Ch14 §9 (terms) UKGC LCCP not directly indexed UKGC RTS RTS RTS 6A

Side by side

Best-match standard per framework. Scored against titles, requirements and editorial tags, click through for the full text.

Market Standard Excerpt Source
AGCO S 2.06 Inducement and bonus disclosure Any bonus or credit advertising must disclose material conditions prominently and avoid misleading "free" or "risk-free" language. Open ↗
AGLC AGLC 5.5.9 The promotion or movement of code from testing through other environments to production must be accompanied by… The promotion or movement of code from testing through other environments to production must be accompanied by the required documentation and approvals. Open ↗
DGA MKT — Bonus caps DKK 1,000 bonus cap and 10x wagering ceiling Promotional offers are capped at DKK 1,000 in value, with wagering requirements no higher than 10x and a minimum 60-day completion window. Key terms must be visible alongside the offer. Open ↗
DGOJ RD 958/2020 art. 16 Welcome-bonus ban and limits on registered-user promotions Welcome bonuses and other inducements aimed at new unregistered users are prohibited. Operators may still offer promotions to users who have completed verification and who are not in the protected intensive-player or you… Open ↗
GGL Bonuses Bonus offers must be transparent and non-misleading GGL guidance requires every bonus to carry prominent wagering, expiry and eligibility terms. Misleading 'free money' framing and any offer that induces chasing losses are prohibited. Bonuses counted against the €1,000… Open ↗
MGA PPD 14(1)-(2) Mandatory and optional player limits B2C licensees must offer players the possibility to set deposit limits and/or wagering limits. Optionally, loss limits and time or session limits may also be offered. Bonuses and incentives need not count towards wagerin… Open ↗
MGCB R PROMO-DEDUCTION Promotional-credit deduction cap Michigan caps the value of promotional credits that may be deducted from taxable AGR. The cap is computed as a declining percentage of aggregate promotional credits awarded, so heavy promotional activity after the first… Open ↗
NJ DGE § 69O-1.4(q) Bonus and promotional offer records All bonus and promotional wagering offers must be stated in clear and unambiguous terms, be accessible to the patron, and be maintained in an electronic file available to the Division, with offer metadata (date/time pres… Open ↗
OCCC OAC 3.4 Free, Risk-Free, and Bonus Offer Rules No sports gaming proprietor shall advertise a wager as free, risk-free, or of no cost to the patron where the patron is required to lose or risk any of their own money to claim the advertised offer or to withdraw the win… Open ↗
PA PGCB 58 Pa. Code § 807.3 Promotion and bonus terms Every bonus offer must clearly disclose wagering requirements, eligible games, maximum bet during play-through, and expiration, in plain language, with full records retained under Chapter 814. Open ↗
SGA Ch14 §9 (terms) Transparent bonus terms All conditions attached to the bonus must be clear, concise, and communicated before acceptance. Wagering requirements and maximum-win caps must be expressed in a manner the player can readily understand. Open ↗
UKGC LCCP No standard directly indexed — Open ↗
UKGC RTS RTS RTS 6A Parity between play-for-free and play-for-money Play-for-free games must use the same game rules as the corresponding play-for-money games, and must accurately represent winning likelihood and prize distribution. Open ↗

The policy trend line

1

Outright ban is rare; structural restriction is now common

Only Spain bans welcome bonuses outright (RD 958/2020 art. 16). The Swedish one-bonus rule (Gambling Act Ch 14 §9) and Denmark's DKK 1,000 / 10× wagering cap (dk-mkt-bonus-caps) do not prohibit bonuses but make retention-driven promotions structurally hard. Ontario's 2024 bulletin restricts inducement advertising to direct communication with consenting existing players (Standard 2.05), bonuses exist but cannot be used as customer-acquisition tools.

2

Disclosure rules are universal

Every market we index requires clear bonus disclosure, wagering requirement, expiry, eligibility, contribution rates. Pennsylvania § 807.3 prohibits mid-play changes to bonus terms. New Jersey 13:69O-2.5 imposes specific disclosure requirements. Germany's § D bonus guidance requires transparent framing. The variation is in what the disclosure regime protects against: predatory retention (Sweden, Denmark, Ontario) vs. misleading presentation (US states, UK CAP/BCAP).

3

Ohio: no "free" or "risk-free" where the patron still risks money

Ohio prohibits sports gaming proprietors from advertising a wager as free, risk-free, or of no cost to the patron where the patron must lose or risk their own money to claim the offer or withdraw its winnings, under OAC 3775-16-09. Material terms of every promotion must be disclosed with equal prominence to the headline. The 2023 OCCC settlements with DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars arose from this rule.

What to watch

Open questions and imminent changes that will shift the cells above. Each item is traceable to a regulator publication or indexed statute.

  • Sweden's one-bonus rule has been litigated repeatedly since 2019; no structural change is indexed.
  • The UK prize-linked savings and free-bet accounting fall under LCCP SRCP 5.1 and the advertising codes outside our index.

Frequently asked

Which markets restrict or ban welcome bonuses?

Spain bans welcome bonuses outright under RD 958/2020 art. 16. Sweden's Gambling Act Ch 14 §9 one-bonus rule permits only one bonus per customer per form of gambling with each licensee. Denmark caps individual bonuses at DKK 1,000 with 10× wagering (dk-mkt-bonus-caps). Ontario Standard 2.05 restricts inducement advertising to consenting existing players, effectively blocking public welcome-bonus promotion. Other markets permit welcome bonuses subject to disclosure.

Can bonus terms change mid-play?

Pennsylvania § 807.3 explicitly prohibits mid-play changes to bonus terms. UK CAP/BCAP and LCCP provisions treat a unilateral mid-use change as an unfair contract term. Other US-state regulations require up-front disclosure and accept that changes require explicit customer opt-in.

What is Sweden's "one-bonus rule"?

Gambling Act Ch 14 §9: a licensee may offer a customer a bonus only on the first occasion of play per form of gambling with that licensee. Reload bonuses, retention promotions and VIP reactivation are prohibited. The rule has been read broadly by Spelinspektionen and tested in several administrative court cases.

Marketing & advertising Content standards, audience targeting limits, and mandatory RG disclosures on every creative. Deposit, loss & session limits Voluntary player-set caps on what can go in, what can be lost, and how long a session can run. Responsible gambling & customer interaction When operators must proactively contact a player showing signs of harm. Game design & in-game protections Spin durations, stake caps, autoplay bans, reality-check prompts and loss indicators.

Primary sources

Every claim above traces to one of these citations. Matched standards link straight into the framework explorer; overlay facts link to the RG Observatory card with its audit note.

Indexed standards

Built 2026-05-11 from the same datasets that power the framework explorers. Not legal advice; verify against the issuing regulator.