- Maths reviewed by Josh Miller
- Tested by Diana Westfield
A cashback calculator puts a number on a “10% cashback” offer before you play for it. Wager £2,000 on slots at 96% RTP and your expected loss is £80. 10% cashback on losses gives back about £8, so the free CasinoCalcs calculator above shows your effective house edge falling from 4% to 3.6%. Useful, but it doesn’t turn a losing game into a winning one.
Cashback calculator: on losses or on bets?
There are two kinds, and they’re worth very different amounts:
- Cashback on net losses pays a percentage of what you lose over a period. Expected value = expected loss × cashback %. On a winning week you get nothing.
- Cashback on every bet (sometimes called rakeback) pays a percentage of turnover, win or lose. 0.5% of £2,000 is £10, more than the 10% loss cashback in the example.
Watch the wagering. Cashback paid as cash is worth its face value. Cashback with 10× wagering on slots at 4% edge costs 40% of itself to clear, and with 25× or more it’s worthless. Set the wagering in the calculator to see the net figure.
What wagering really means here
The amount you wager isn’t your deposit. A £100 deposit cycled through £1 spins can easily turn over £2,000 before it runs out, because winnings get played again. That’s why turnover-based offers can be worth more than they look, and why loss-based ones are tied to how much you lose, not how much you play.
| Offer on £2,000 wagered at 4% edge | Value | Effective edge |
|---|---|---|
| No cashback | £0 | 4.00% |
| 10% on losses, paid as cash | £8 | 3.60% |
| 20% on losses, paid as cash | £16 | 3.20% |
| 0.5% on every bet | £10 | 3.50% |
| 10% on losses, 10× wagering | £4.80 | 3.76% |
For deposit bonuses, the wagering requirement calculator does the same job, and the sticky bonus calculator compares sticky and non-sticky offers. The expected loss calculator works out the loss figure on its own.
Offered rakeback instead of cashback? Compare the two with the casino rakeback calculator.
Play for fun with money you won’t miss. If you’re spending more than you planned, BeGambleAware.org is free and confidential.