Most betting sites have some sort of free bets bonus. It may not be the welcome bonus and instead included in the existing customer offers. When it is part of a welcome bonus, is when a free bet is most awarding due to it being a way to draw new players in. A betting bonus like this can be hard to choose from, with so many different betting sites and betting apps advertising them.
There is one key thing to remember about free bets. They are free chances to win money. Whether it is a wager on a sport you don’t know anything about or a bet type you don’t normally do it doesn’t matter, you are getting a free chance to add to your profit by placing this bet. This can alter your decision making when placing sports bets. It may make you decide to play it safe for some easy profit, or you might try an optimistic bet as you have nothing to lose, but possibly big profit to be won.
The best free bets are not necessarily offered by the betting giants in the industry, such as Paddy Power, William Hill etc. It can actually be the less popular ones with the best free bets, due to the fact that they want to be more appealing. This can also affect the terms and conditions of the promotions, some bookmakers are more lenient than others, when it comes to factors such as deposit method, valid with cash out, max stake, min first bet, withdrawal restrictions, the amount that must be wagered, and other TCs that apply.
Free bets are as simple as they sound. A free bet is a wager that is given to you by the bookmaker for you to spend on their site. The majority of bookmakers give you a free bet as a token, and when you have made your selections you can use the token to pay for the bet instead of using real cash.
Each bookmaker approaches free bets in a different way, so look out for the restrictions you have on them. Some bookmakers offer a free bet as part of a bonus and not as the full bonus. For example, the main bonus could be a deposit bonus and then with that you get an extra free bet as a nice little extra. It can be rare to find this kind of offer and in fact it maybe a free casino bonus up for grabs.
There are two ways in which you will receive a free bet, to increase your deposit balance.
The first is as a new customer with the bookmaker. This is referred to as your welcome bonus, and the bookmaker will give you free bets when you join them. Some give you a single free bet token while others give you bonus funds which you can use across a number of different bets, which is great for those who want to place a lot of little bets rather than one big bet. The bets credited to your account after you make your initial qualifying deposit or qualifying bet, depending on what is stated in the terms and conditions.
Welcome bonus free bets can be deposit matched, this means that the amount you receive in free bet funds is decided by the amount you deposit. It is not rare to find an online bookmaker that does this.
The second way to receive free bets is by being an existing customer and fulfilling the requirements for getting one. This may be a free bet club where you will receive free bets when you stake a minimum amount or free bets for betting on specific sports or events.
When you sign up with a bookmaker, you will be able to take advantage of a welcome offer with them. Some bookmakers offer you a single free bet, others offer multiple free bet tokens and some offer bonus funds, which you can use to place as many or as little free bets as you wish.
They are all good of course and give you the chance to win money for free, which is great. However, they are also very different and one of the things you need to try and do is find the one that matches how you bet in the best way possible.
One of the ways in which you get free bets from a bookmaker is in the form of one large free bet token. For example, some bookmakers may give you one free bet token to spend that is a large amount. This will really suit those who bet higher stakes, as you can place one large bet just like you normally would do.
What this doesn’t really suit is those who bet in smaller amounts and want to keep betting that way, rather than changing things and placing a larger bet with this. For these people, it is better to get multiple free bets of smaller amounts or to get bonus funds that can be used in any stake amount. These offer smaller players the flexibility that one large free bet token doesn’t.
This is the in-between offering that some bookmakers have, with slightly more flexibility for smaller staking players than one large free bet token, but not the same as getting bonus funds. For example, if you take an offer that gives you £30 in free bets, instead of one £30 free bet, you get 3 x £10 free bets, or 2 x £15 free bets. This gives you the chance to spread things around and place more than one bet, so you are not relying on one selection to win for you.
If you like to bet in these stake amounts, then this is the perfect offer for you. Instead of needing to place one big bet you can place two or three smaller ones like you normally would if you were paying for the bets yourself. There are many bookmakers that offer this kind of welcome bonus to their players, so if this suits you then make sure you look out for them.
Generally speaking, bonus funds can be spent how you want with regards to your stake. You may have bet type and odds restrictions on the bets you place, but in terms of your stake, these are perfect for those who want to place smaller bets rather than use their free bets across one or two wagers.
For example here, if you get £40 in bonus funds and you bet £5 per bet as a rule, you can use your bonus funds to place eight bets of £5, just as you would bet if you were paying for the bets yourself. If you had one free bet token then you would need to find something to place £40 on, or if you had two you would need to place two bets of £20 to use the free funds.
If you are a bigger player then you may not see the same kind of benefit as a smaller player would with bonus funds, but they certainly won’t prevent you betting as you normally do. If you wish to, you can place your bonus funds all in one go on one bet, but the key here is that they give you the flexibility to have this decision, whereas some other free bet offers don’t.
While the big free bet offers for new players will always catch the headlines and be the reason why people sign up with certain bookmakers, free bet offers are also available for existing customers. These offers are what you can take advantage of after you have used your welcome bonus, and while they may not be as big and attractive, if there are there for you to use each week then they are going to really build up over time and become a crucial part of your betting.
Some bookmakers will give free bets to their existing customers on a weekly basis, usually through bet clubs that they have. This means you can take advantage of a free wager each week, it may only be small but if you bet enough to get one each week, that is a lot of free bets over the course of a year with your bookmaker.
When looking for a new bookie to bet with, you should, of course, look at the free bets on offer for new players, but don’t neglect the free bets that existing customers can use, these can prove to be crucial for your profit.
There are many bookmakers who run a free bet club. This is a great way to get regular free bets from them, giving yourself the chance to win additional profit from your bets without actually spending money.
Free bet clubs come in a variety of different ways but are usually based around the stakes you place each week. For example, if you stake a certain amount throughout the week, you will receive a free bet at the weekend. Some bookmakers allow you to use any bets to take advantage of these and place the free bet on anything you like.
Others restrict the bets you can place the free bet on and the bets you place that qualify you for the freebie. For example, you must place accumulator bets to receive the offer, and when you get the free bet it must be used on an accumulator.
These won’t appear to regular punters, but if you bet on accumulators then you can use these just like you could a free bet club that didn’t have restrictions on it.
If you are looking for a new bookmaker and you want free bets from them both when you join and during your time with them then look for one that has a free bet club. The best of these are those without restrictions, although if the restrictions are based on bets you already place then these are just as good for players like you.
There are many bookmakers that offer something based on this. These come in many different ways to you, and you may think they aren’t the same kind of offer but actually, they are. Some bookmakers will offer a consolation to you where you get your money back as a free bet if something happens.
For example, football accumulator punters will like the acca insurance version of this offer. If you place a qualifying accumulator and one team lets you down, you will get your money back as a free bet. This means you can place your next football accumulator without actually paying for it, giving you a second chance to win.
Bookmakers have a very good way of making these offers appeal by allowing the cash back offers to be used on some major football competitions and fixtures, for example the premier league. The sporting events that the free bet can be used on is very important.
Horse racing punters can take advantage of this kind of offer too, with money back if 2nd to the favourite, money back if your horse falls and money back if you lose by a short distance all being versions of it. This also helps bookmakers when it comes to offering racing tips, because customers are more likely to follow them with a free bet.
While these are different, they all have one thing in common and that is they offer you a second chance to win without staking any more money. The reason for the free bet is because you have lost in a certain way on your first bet, so that is a loser, but the free bet you get back could be a winner and add some profit to your totals, all for nothing.
Free bet bonuses can also be claimed on mobile devices too, whether it be Android or iOS. You claim the bonuses in exactly the same way, placing any qualifying bets required, meeting the qualifying bet settlement, etc. All the terms and conditions still apply, the amount that must be wagered, the minimum stakes, the bet settlement and expire etc.
Free bet promo codes can also be redeemed on a mobile. Find the required field and redeem the bonus code you have.
Unlike the first two types of free bet we have spoken about, this isn’t something you can take advantage of on every bet or every week when you bet. This is a different type of offer, that comes around for the big games.
In this instance, if you place a certain bet on an event, you will get a free bet on either the same event or a different one. For example, if you place a bet on a big football game pre-match then you get a free bet on the same bet for the in-play markets when they start.
While you have already placed a bet on the game, you get another one and another chance to win when you use this offer, so you get two chances to make a profit instead of one. The other way this offer works is when two big games are taking place together. Some bookmakers may offer you the chance to bet on one game and get a free bet on the second game. Again, this is a way where you spend money once, but get two chances to win across the day.
There may be no pattern to the free bets you receive, some bookmakers just decide to reward their players with a free bet from time to time. This is usually sent out via email to you and gives you a free wager to place on the action that is coming up. These may only be valid for a certain weekend, so look at the time limit on these before deciding how you are going to spend them.
You may wonder why bookmakers actually give out free bets to their customers, and what they gain from it. The answer is that they have no choice because the market is hugely competitive. For anyone who wants to bet online, the choice has never been so good. Not only do we have a wide range of bookmakers to choose from, but the vast majority of them offer an excellent service, so they compete with each other they also have to go the extra mile when it comes to looking after customers.
This means when it comes to things such as welcome offers, existing customer offer and general free bets, bookmakers all have to offer as much as they can to try and stand out from the crowd.
A decade ago, many bookmakers offered a small welcome bonus to their players but nothing else. Now we are seeing them offer huge welcome bonuses, as well as regular offers to their players. The reason for this is simply competition. When one went forward and offered a slightly bigger welcome bonus, the other all had to follow. Then someone else would go slightly higher and offer more, so again, the rest had to follow.
That has led us to be where we are today. The position that punters are in is great and has never been so good. You can compare the bookmakers on offer and choose the best one for your needs, while also looking at the welcome bonuses and choosing the biggest you can find. This choice is something we didn’t have a decade ago and puts punters in a leading position.
Again, this is something else that comes down to the competition on offer. A decade ago, having a special offer from your bookmaker that got you your money back as a free bet, or enabled you to get a free bet by joining a club was seen as a huge deal. Now, the majority of bookmakers offer this in some kind of way.
The completes the service for punters and puts you in a great position in terms of the deal you are receiving. Look out for these offers and use them to your best advantage, and this will all help you be as profitable as you possible can as a punter.
The million-dollar question for any punter is how to make money from the free bets they are given. Of course, to make a profit from the free bets you have, you need to be competent when it comes to making picks in the sport you bet on.
For this reason, the first thing you should do is stick to what you know when you are using free bets. Just because they are free, you shouldn’t treat them as a throwaway bet that you aren’t bothered about. Stick to what you know and spend them as though you were betting with your own real cash for the best chance of making money.
Something else you should keep the same is your stake amount if you can, and the bets that you place. For example, if you are a regular accumulator punter that stakes £5 per bet, find a free bet offer you can breakdown into smaller bets and use it to place as many £5 accumulators as you can.
If you normally bet £5 stake but bet £20 using a free bet, you are going against what you normally do, and you are betting in bigger amounts just because it is free.
Use an odds calculator to compute your potential winning returns.
The vital thing here, which covers all of the above is to remain disciplined and use the free bets as though they are real cash that you are spending. If you do this then you are going to bet on sports you have a good knowledge of, bet in a way you are comfortable with and ultimately, do all you can to be in a position to make money.
A new customer free bet is something you are given when you sign up with a bookmaker. These may come as free bet tokens that you use on one bet or bonus funds that you can spread across many bets.
To give their punters the best deal, bookmakers offer free bets to existing customers. These could be as part of a free bet club, a money back consolation offer or just randomly given out by them but all of them have one thing in common, they give you the chance to make a profit without spending your own cash.
Some do, this is something you will have to look at in the terms and conditions. The restrictions may include things such as the bet type, odds taken and stake amount, so make sure you look out for these and adhere to the terms and conditions for the free bet. You can in fact get caught out sometimes in this respect and end up not being eligible for an offer due to there being a particular restriction. For example, the bet markets eligible, when the bonus will expire, whether the stake is included in returns, the payment method exclusions apply, which will tell you if you can use card or PayPal and more.
No, when you place a free bet you get the profit back from the bet, not the stake, that bet stake not included. For example, a £10 free bet at 4/1 would give you the £40 profit back as a return, and not the £10 stake.
If you can, the best way to spend your free bets is to bet exactly as you normally do. This means staying with the sports and bet types you already have a fantastic knowledge of, giving you the best possible chance to win a profit from them. Look at the best sportsbook markets to make profit on, or the markets you know best for the best judgement on bets to place.
This is all down to how you bet. Look for bookmakers that offer big welcome free bets and also ones that you can take advantage of as an existing customer. For example, if you are into horse racing betting look for bookmakers offering horse racing free bets if you like to bet on football look for football offers. We don’t judge the bonuses by which bookmaker offers them, but instead by what can be won, so what is credited upon qualifying bet. We want you to be able to get the maximum bonus amount. We also try to publish offers that allow you to withdraw funds at any time.
