Last Updated on December 19, 2024
Free Bets – What Are They And Where Can You Find Them?
Online betting sites offer free bets as bonuses to new and potential players. Offers range from no-deposit free bets, which provide a good opportunity to try the site, to event-specific offers. Punters can use free bets to recoup some losses and enhance their betting banks. The value of these bets can range from a few pounds to several hundred, and bookies can offer them as one-off or ongoing bonuses.
What Are Free Bets?
Free bets are bonuses offered by sportsbooks to their players. Online betting sites use them to attract new players and reward existing players for their continued use of the site. Depending on the format of the free bet bonus, players might not have to risk a penny of their own money.
However, offers can include wagering requirements that players need to meet before they can withdraw winnings. And, apart from a free bet sign-up with no deposit, they usually require players to deposit money or place a bet to receive them. Don’t let wagering requirements put you off using free bets, but do be aware of them before you play.
Free Bets Not On Gamstop
Although these bonuses are most often associated with sports betting, free bet casino offers do exist. These work in much the same way. The casino gives free spins on slot machines or free spins at the roulette table when they sign up for an account. Alternatively, some bonus or loyalty programs might reward players with occasional free bets not on gamstop.
How Do Free Bets Work?
A free bet effectively gives you a token for a free game on a sports betting or casino site. You usually have to meet specific requirements to access the bets, but these can be minimal. For example, you might need to meet a minimum deposit requirement. Other free bet bonuses demand that you place a bet of a specific size during a specific event. Always check the terms of the offer to ensure you can meet the minimum requirements.
The casino credits the free bet to your account. Sometimes, you can split the total bonus but, more typically, the bet needs to be placed as a single wager. And there might be wagering requirements. A typical requirement means that the player must wager ten times the bet value before they can withdraw winnings.
How Can You Get Free Bets?
While bookmakers reserve free bets for their new customers, others use them to keep existing players happy. Similarly, some bonuses are only available to bettors during specific events or for certain wagers.
Welcome Offers
The free bet sign up bonus is a common method used by bookies to attract new registrations. Typically, you need to sign up for an account and meet a minimum deposit to receive the free bet. Once the site has been able to verify account details and first deposit, the free bonus will be placed in your account. In other cases, sites offer to match a player’s first bet. Or even multiply the size of the first bet. You might even find sites offering free £100 bets after your first £5 bet, although these are rare.
Sports betting welcome offers tend to be the most generous. You can only take advantage of these offers once, and the betting site hopes you will keep betting with them.
Free Bets Club
Free bet clubs are regular promotions offered by some online bookmakers. The exact terms of these clubs differ but they naturally offer you access to free bets.
Some clubs offer free bets every week. In these, you typically need to place an accumulator or other high-odds bet to receive a free bet of the same value. Alternatively, free bets might be rewarded to players who place a certain number of qualifying bets every week or month. So, if you place five £5 bets in one month, you receive one £5 free horse bet.
Insurance Offer
Bookies offer insurance as part of some acca bets, or multiple bets. If a single leg of your multiple bet lets you down, you get some or all of your stake back. While these aren’t strictly free bets, some bookies offer the insurance return as a promotional bet. And, in any case, you should consider acca insurance bets as a bonus, because they aren’t standard.
Insurance offers can be a good option if you regularly place accumulators on free betting tips. But the high odds of landing enough bets to make an acca profitable can devalue these offers.
Event-Specific Promotions
Certain events held throughout the year attract a lot of betting money. Horse races like the Grand National, football matches like the FA Cup Final, and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone are some of the most popular betting events. Bookies might offer a free bet on the National or free football bets to coincide with these. You may need to bet on other events in the run-up to the main events. Alternatively, a site might reward you for betting on these showpiece occasions with a free bet.
Bookmakers hope to draw occasional or casual bettors in with these offers. The free bets typically have a time limit, and the site hopes that the extra bet will encourage the player to keep wagering.
Free Bet Refunds
A final source of free bets is refunds for lost bets. A betting app might offer these on first or subsequent bets and they usually have a maximum and minimum bet value. They might also be offered at specific events or sports. A £10 free bet refund on Man City vs Man Utd is a good way for bookmakers to attract more bets. For the bettor, it means if they place a qualifying £10 bet that loses, they get a free £10 bet on another event.
Types Of Free Bet
Online bookmakers offer a host of different types of free bets. And you will often find a combination of them at your chosen bookmaker site.
The matched free bet is one of the simplest. With this offer, you receive a free bet equal to the value of the bet you place. Sites usually place minimum and maximum wager values on the bets, but these are easy to work out and popular. Another possible stipulation might require that the player place the free bet within a given timeframe or on a specific event. With any type of free bet bonus, you need to check the bonus requirements and terms to ensure you aren’t disappointed.
Although most casinos tend to offer deposit matches as free betting banks, some provide the matched value in free bets. This might mean that you receive the total value as a single bet or multiple bets that meet the same total value. A £20 first deposit match bonus could give you two free £10 bets when you deposit £20.
Enhanced odds bonuses themselves are not free bets, but they often pay out in free bets. Free betting apps use these to lure players in and place bets. The bookie might offer you odds of 10/1 on Liverpool beating Arsenal. Those odds are unbelievably high, so you might find that you only receive a single qualifying bet of up to £2. Furthermore, the site is only likely to pay the bonus as a free bet and not as real-money winnings.
No deposit free bets are rare but not unheard of. They can be more common at brand-new sites looking to show off their new software. With these promotions, bettors do not need to deposit any money but still receive one or more free bets as per the promotional offer. This type of free bet usually comes with the highest wagering requirement but they are useful for trying out software and seeing what a betting site has to offer.
Conclusion
Sports betting sites use free bet bonuses to attract new players and encourage existing account holders to bet more. Some are offered to new account holders while others are provided as part of loyalty programs. The bets themselves can range from one-off matched bets to those that are several times the amount of the original wager. Do check the wagering requirements as well as time and other requirements to ensure you really are getting a good deal. Otherwise, make the most of the opportunity to try out a site’s software and try to win some free money.
FAQ
Most bookmaker offers and bonuses have wagering requirements. These mean that the player must wager the value of the bonus a certain number of times before withdrawing. For example, a bookmaker offers a £10 refunded free bet with 30x wagering requirements. If you place a £10 bet that loses, you receive a £10 free bet. You would need to place wagers totaling £300 before you could withdraw any winnings made from that free bet. Sites have to advertise wagering requirements, so check the free bet offer terms.
It isn’t just bookmakers that offer free bets. Casinos, including non gamstop casinos, also provide this type of bonus. These work the same way but on casino table games and slots. A player might get a free £10 roulette after placing and losing a real-money £10 bet. Or, they could receive a free £10 bet if they register and place a first deposit of £10.
Some bookmakers make free bets available on any event and any sport. Others might offer free bets for online horse racing betting. Event-specific bets might offer free football bets for European competition. All offers include specific details of how to qualify for the free bet and when you have to use these free bets.
