What are Betting Bonuses and how they work?
Betting bonuses are a great way to boost your bets and bolster your bankroll. But you need to understand how they work to maximise the potential of sports free bets, sportsbook bonuses and sports betting rewards.
Most bookmakers offer free bets and bonuses to persuade new customers to open an account or to tempt existing punters to use the site as their main betting option.
Free bets and bonuses offered by online sportsbooks come with a set of terms and conditions. You need to know what these are before you can cash in on the reward or before you can make a withdrawal of any profits made.
The type of requirement placed on a sports betting bonus will usually be one of the following:
- A deposit requirement
- Play-through or wagering requirements
- Time limits
- Odds restrictions
- Available only on certain markets
Types Of Sportsbook Bonuses
Free bets and rewards come in lots of formats. The most common are described in this guide to sports betting bonuses.
Opening Matched Bet
The bookie matches the amount of your first wager. This gives you double the stake of your original bet. Sometimes you could be offered a separate free bet equal to the value of your first pick.
There will usually be a restriction on the minimum and maximum amount you can gamble on the first bet and resulting bonus.
Online bookmakers will also normally apply certain minimum odds in order for the bet to qualify for the bonus. This will usually be in the range of 1.50 to 2.00 (1/2 to evens).
Multiple Opening Free Bets
Very similar to the matched stake free bet, some bookmakers divide the free bets awarded by number of individual bets rather than a single bonus.
A typical offer, for example, would be bet 5,000 INR when you open an account and receive five x 1,000 INR free bets.
There may be individual expiry dates on each of the free bets. This is applied so that the bookie can encourage you to revisit their site on a number of occasions.
Initial Deposit Bonus
This is less common these days as some betting regulators around the world become stricter on bookmakers encouraging new gamblers with what is essentially free money.
With an initial deposit bonus, the bookie will credit your account with a certain sum upon receipt of your first payment when you sign up with them.
This will usually be in the form of a percentage. For example, if you were to deposit £1,000 INR you may be offered a reward of 50% – so 500 INR.
Winning / Losing First Bet Bonus
You could find offers where you receive a bonus if your first bet is a winner or if your first bet is a losing one. Many bookmakers will award a bigger bonus if your bet was placed at longer odds rather than shorter ones.
If the sportsbook offers you a free bet because your initial one lost, this will be to tempt you to return and try again and perhaps deposit some more funds.
Understanding The Restrictions On Sports Betting Bonuses
The conditions that apply in order to qualify for a sports betting bonus vary from bookmaker to bookmaker. Some offer very generous sportsbook bonuses with a range of requirements while others may advertise smaller free bets with fewer conditions.
The most common restriction will be the minimum odds at which a qualifying bet is placed. You should carefully check the terms and conditions on the offer to ensure you do place a bet at the odds required to receive the bonus you want.
Sometimes the betting site will only offer a bonus or free bet on certain markets. Most commonly, this will be individual sports. For example, the bonus will only apply to football with free soccer bets awarded.
You might also find bookies that offer rewards for placing certain types of bets. For example, this could be a free in-play bet credited to your account if you placed a certain number of wagers on live events. Or you may be rewarded with a free sportsbook bet as a result of putting a multiple or accumulator bet on.
Free Sports Bets And Wagering Requirements
The majority of bookmakers do not let you withdraw your bonus until you have bet the full amount of the bonus a number of times and at a set minimum odds.
This is known as a ‘wagering requirement’ or a ‘playthrough requirement’. Sometimes this condition of clearing a required number of bets or value of bets is known as a ‘rollover’.
The good news is that rollover requirements are usually quite low for sportsbook betting. You will often find much higher play-through rules at casino and bingo sites.
For example, if a sportsbook offers a 50% bonus with a 5x wagering requirement and you deposit $50 you would receive the $50 plus a bonus of $25.
You won’t be able to withdraw proceeds from the bonus money until you have placed bets worth $125 before you could withdraw anything (5 x the bonus amount).
How Do Sportsbook Free Bets Work?
A free bet is basically an amount of money that a bookmaker will credit to your account.
A free bet differs from a regular bet. If you lose, you do not lose any money. Should you win, the free bet will only return you any profit made, unlike other bets which will also return your stake.
How To Find Sports Betting Bonuses
Most online bookmakers have a ‘promotions’ page that you can click on to find all their current free bet and bonus offers. You will usually find one for new customers and then another for existing ones.
Alternatively, let someone else do the hard work for you and search for sports betting bonuses offers which list all of the current bonuses available.
