What part of the balance is actually paid to the estate
A balance on a screen looks like one number and is three. Real money is money. A bonus is a conditional credit that carries a wagering requirement, and if the requirement has not been met the bonus and anything won from it can be removed. The stake in an open bet is money that has been committed and not yet resolved. Each layer is treated differently, and the estate receives the sum of those treatments rather than the figure on the screen.
- mean gross
- 412.60
- real money
- 318.40
- bonus
- 61.90
- open bets
- 32.30
Real money is paid to the estate in full. A bonus whose wagering requirement has not been met is normally forfeited, together with any winnings derived from it. The stake in an open bet is returned or settled according to the bet's own rules and the result is then paid to the estate. On the sample's mean balance of 412.60, real money was 318.40, the uncleared bonus 61.90 and open-bet stakes 32.30.
Why a bonus is not money
A bonus is a credit with a condition attached, and the condition is that a multiple of it is wagered before it, or anything won with it, can be withdrawn. The sample balance carries a bonus of 61.90 with 6,190.00 of wagering still outstanding, which is a requirement of 100 times the bonus and nowhere near met. The operator's terms normally say that an unmet requirement means the bonus and its derived winnings are removed when the account is closed, and a death is a closure like any other.
This is the part of the process that most often surprises an executor, because the number on the statement at the date of death includes the bonus and the money actually paid does not. The honest way to value the estate is to ask the operator for the breakdown, in writing, as at the date of death: real money, bonus and open-bet stakes, separately.
What the samples show
| Layer | Mean | Share | Paid to the estate | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real money | 318.40 | 77.2% | 318.40 | Unconditional |
| Bonus, wagering unmet | 61.90 | 15.0% | 0.00 | The condition was never met |
| Stakes in open bets | 32.30 | 7.8% | 17.30 | Returned, or settled on the result |
| Mean gross, and what the mean estate received | 412.60 | 100.0% | 335.70 | Before fees and any tax |
- The real-money balance, the bonus balance and the open-bet stakes separately, as at the date of death.
- Whether any bonus was converted to real money before the death, and when.
- The wagering still outstanding on any bonus, and how that figure was reached.
- Whether winnings derived from a bonus are treated as real money or as bonus.
- The exact figure the operator proposes to pay, so the estate can compare it with its own reading of the terms.