You use a $20 bonus bet. It wins at +150. Then $30 lands in your balance.
Where did the other $20 go? Before assuming something went wrong, check whether the promotional stake was supposed to come back. A bonus bet can pay differently from a cash bet at exactly the same odds.
This guide shows you how to work out the return before the game starts, then check it after settlement.
Research checked October 15, 2026, at 7:58 a.m. Eastern (EDT). All stakes, prices and tickets below are hypothetical. They are not current offers or picks. The linked sportsbook terms are regional examples; your reward’s own terms determine how it works.
1. Find out what the reward actually is
Start with the funding label. Is this withdrawable cash, a bonus bet, a bet credit, an odds boost or a refund token? Similar-looking rewards can have different rules.
bet365’s Pennsylvania house rules, for example, say Bonus Bets cannot be withdrawn, their stake is excluded from returns, and winnings from them go to the withdrawable balance. That is the stake-not-returned structure used in our examples. It is not a statement about every sportsbook or every promotion.
A reward’s displayed amount is therefore not automatically cash you can withdraw. A $20 credit lets you fund the permitted wager. It does not promise a $20 cash payment, or a winning result.
2. Separate the stake from the winnings
With an ordinary winning cash single, the total return includes the original cash stake plus the profit. With a stake-not-returned bonus single, you receive only the winnings calculated from that promotional stake.
Here is the same hypothetical $20 selection at +150, with no fees, payout caps, boosts, pushes or voids:
| Funding | If it wins | If it loses |
|---|---|---|
| $20 cash | $50 total: $20 stake + $30 profit | $20 cash lost |
| $20 bonus, stake not returned | $30 winnings; no $20 stake returned | No cash return; bonus used |
The $30 bonus-bet return follows from $20 × 1.5. The missing $20 was the promotional stake, not an extra deduction from the calculated winnings.
That does not mean using a reward has no cost anywhere in your history. You may have placed a cash qualifying bet to earn it. Keep that earlier cash result separate when judging the whole promotion.
3. Calculate the payout at your odds
For a winning stake-not-returned bonus bet, use these formulas:
- Plus American odds: bonus amount × odds ÷ 100.
- Minus American odds: bonus amount × 100 ÷ the size of the minus number.
- Decimal odds: bonus amount × (decimal odds − 1).
For example, a $20 bonus at -200 returns $10 in winnings if successful: $20 × 100 ÷ 200. It does not return $30. At decimal 1.50, the same calculation is $20 × (1.50 − 1) = $10.
| American odds | Decimal odds | Winnings returned |
|---|---|---|
| -200 | 1.50 | $10 |
| -110 | About 1.9091 | About $18.18 |
| +100 | 2.00 | $20 |
| +150 | 2.50 | $30 |
| +300 | 4.00 | $60 |
Rounding can affect the final cents. Compare your calculation with the payout shown for the selected funding before placing the ticket. For an ordinary cash single at the same price, add the cash stake to the winnings to find total return.
Bigger odds increase the possible payment, but they do not make the selection more likely to win. Do not choose +300 just because $60 looks better than $10. The table shows payout mechanics, not which bet is worth taking.
4. Check whether cash is funding part of the ticket
Some rewards allow a mixture of cash and promotional funds; others do not. If mixed funding is allowed and the bonus portion is not returned, calculate the winnings on the whole stake, then add back only the cash portion.
Suppose a hypothetical $20 single at +200 is funded by $12 bonus credit and $8 cash. A win produces $40 in winnings plus the $8 cash stake: $48 total returned. A loss uses the $12 credit and loses $8 cash.
That example assumes the stated funding treatment. Check the actual ticket rather than assuming the entire stake came from the reward. A small cash top-up is still cash at risk.
5. Read the expiry, splitting and void rules
Write down the answers to four questions before using a reward:
- When does it expire, and must the wager be placed or settled by then?
- Can you divide it across several tickets, or must it be used in one?
- Are there minimum odds, excluded markets or payout limits?
- What happens to the reward if the bet pushes or becomes void?
bet365’s US Bonus Bets help page gives a seven-day expiry after crediting and lists restrictions on combining rewards with other promotions. Those are examples to check, not universal rules.
For another example, BetMGM’s published terms for a past Ontario promotion say each reward could not be split and a void bonus wager would return the bonus to the account. That promotion’s stated period ended June 24, 2026; it is a historical rules example, not an available offer. Do not copy its void treatment onto a different reward.
6. Check settlement against the accepted ticket
Save the accepted odds, funding split, reward terms and ticket number. Once settled, compare the paid amount with the expected return. A $20 bonus winning at +150 and paying $30 fits our assumed rules; a $20 cash bet paying $30 at that price would need an explanation.
If the figures do not match, first check for a void leg, reduced parlay price, partial cash-out, capped payout or a different funding split. Then ask the sportsbook to explain the calculation for that ticket. Keep the details specific.
In your betting log, record cash used, promotional credit used and cash received in separate fields. Do not record a non-withdrawable credit as a cash deposit. Track any qualifying cash bets too, so a winning reward does not hide an earlier loss.
Once you place a supported bet elsewhere, BetSlip Live can help you import it, review detected legs and follow supported live progress. Keep the original sportsbook ticket and reward terms for checking promotional settlement. Coverage varies by event and market; the app tracks bets and does not accept wagers.