What are free bets?
Free bets can often inspire some scepticism among potential customers but they are the most common offer from betting sites to entice new punters to their platforms.
These offers are available for customers to use throughout the year, and bookmakers look to make sure that their punters have the option and the ability to place free bets as soon as they make their initial single deposit or qualifying bet. That’s a useful offer for those who are new to a bookie as it allows them to get a feel for the different markets and to test them out to see what they like and don’t like.
It’s usually possible to take all your winnings if you win a bet you have put on with a free welcome offer, so there shouldn’t be any chance of losing your money on that particular punt.
You are credited the free bets either upon your first deposit of a certain amount, usually £10, or it can be a matched percentage of your first deposit, such as the bet365 sign-up offer.
How do free bets work?
There are many ways in which free betting offers can be claimed and the offers differ depending on the specific bookmaker you’re using.
Some will also refer to them as a “bonus”. Despite being known as a “free bet”, they will practically always require a new customer to sign up and deposit a certain amount of funds into their account to qualify for the bet in question. This can be as simple as having to open an account and deposit a specified amount of cash in it, or having to place a bet with a certain stake to unlock the free bets.
Here we will run you through the different types of free bets.
Free bets
This can be something like “bet £10 and receive £30 in free bets”. Your initial £10 bet that is placed with your own money is known as the qualifying bet.
The qualifying bet will often have its own requirements and these can be different depending on the bookmaker, so it’s always worth making a note of them. For example, often your qualifying bet will need to be placed at a certain price or prices. This is so the bookmaker can ensure customers don’t bet on a dead cert just to unlock the free bet.
It’s important to remember to take a careful look at the required terms and conditions of the offer, and once the qualifying needs have been met you are left with an amount from the bookies to stake as a free bet.
These offers can often be generic but there can be times when bookmakers tie them in with a specific event, such as Cheltenham, which is why it is pivotal to know the different types of offer bookmakers have in order to make more from the free bets.
Matched deposits/bets
Matched deposits is another popular format for welcome offers, used by the likes of STS. A bookmaker may give you a bonus of free bets equal to your first deposit. So if you deposit £40, you will receive £40 in free bets.
With this type of free bet and others, you may have additional wagering requirements. If there were a bonus wagering requirement of x6 on the example above, the wagering amount would be £40x6 = £240. This wagering requirement is one that has to be met before you are able to withdraw any of the free bets as cash. We have a more in-depth explanation on play-through and wagering requirements below.
It’s important that you allow yourself a good amount of time to read all the terms and conditions that can be seen on each bookmaker’s website for the promotion being offered. You need to make sure you understand the ins and outs of a given offer. Not all free bets offers are the same and some will have different T&Cs.
Money back as cash bets
Instead of just the normal free bet offers that most bookmakers have, some look to try out different formats of rewards, including offers that give customers money back as cash when signing up – an attractive choice for many bettors. This means that you will often be required to place a bet of a certain value and, if the bet loses, your stake will be refunded as cash. You will usually be refunded up to a maximum amount, with the most popular on the market being the Paddy Power sign-up offer.
Enhanced odds/boosted odds
Another offer is enhanced odds, which are used for one specific game or event, usually in football. Enhanced odds are most often used by 888sport and William Hill. This offer means bookmakers will offer bigger odds than usual on an outcome to get new customers to sign up. The maximum stake is usually limited to between £1 and £5, but if the enhanced odds are high enough there is still a decent amount of money to be made with the winnings paid out in free bets. The odds can be boosted to as high as 100/1 for some offers on popular events such as football games or boxing.
Loyalty rewards
Loyalty rewards are now vital for bookmakers to keep their customers on their betting sites for a long period of time and ensure that they return and explore their markets.
Sky Bet is the leader when it comes to outstanding loyalty rewards schemes in the industry, and its Sky Bet Club offers plenty of incentives for customers to stay on the site. The £5 reward can be part of a punter’s weekly earnings when you bet £30 or more on different sports throughout that week.
Simply opt In, place £30 worth of bets at odds of 1/1 (2.00) or greater each week and Sky Bet will credit you with a completely free, no-strings attached £5 bet.
Free bet stakes are not returned. Free bet is non-withdrawable. No free bet expiry. Eligibility restrictions apply. Further T&Cs apply. 18+.
Some of the best loyalty reward offers worth taking advantage of:
Paddy Power (free bets dependent on how much staked per week)
Paddy Power does a great deal for its existing customers, including offering you free bets depending on how much you stake through the week.
For every five £10 bets staked, you can earn a £10 free bet to use on any sports market, and for every five £5 bets stakes, you can earn a £5 free bet.
T&Cs: Qualify for rewards online when you a) Sports: place minimum one qualifying bet of £5 or more. Maximum free bet is £10 per week when you wager 5 x £10+ in a week, minimum odds 1/2 (1.5) per qualifying bet. Free bet valid for seven days. Max Power Up is one per week, valid for seven days, and maximum stake is £50; b) Slots: wager a minimum of £20+ on any slot. Maximum free bet is £5 per week (1x wagering requirement) when you wager £100+ in a week. Bonuses/spins valid for seven days and awarded on channel you wagered most on. Free spins can be used on eligible games. Rewards credited by 12noon on Monday following the qualifying week. Cashed-out bets and bets placed with free bets will not count.
Join Paddy Power
Betfair (free bets dependent on how much is staked per week)
Betfair offers customers exactly the same reward as Paddy Power, which can lead to a number of free bets to be used.
These free bets do have expiry dates so it’s important to take know when you have to use them by.
Join Betfair
Insurance offers
Insurance offers have been a major hit with bookmakers for quite some time now and are among the best ways to ensure you don’t make a loss when betting.
Paddy Power’s sign-up offer also comes in the form of this particular offer with the bookmaker offering up to £20 cash back if a customer’s first bet loses.
T&Cs: New customers only. Place your first bet on any football market and if it loses we will refund your stake in cash. Maximum refund for this offer is £20. Only deposits made using cards will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply.
Free bets vs bonus offers: What’s the difference?
Free bets and bonus offers have their perks and downfalls, but in reality both can give punters who sign up some great rewards.
Free bets are available for use on all the most popular markets and sports in the UK. They can also be used in the more niche markets globally.
Bonuses will often be in the form of boosts to bets, or to be used on either the casino part of the bookmaker and/or its slots games. These normally have wagering requirements so it’s vitally important to read the T&Cs.
How to claim free bets
Claiming the different free bets that you want is usually the most simple part, especially with our terrific free bets page. We have made a list of all the very best new customer betting offers available that are all fully licensed and regulated to make sure that you will have a good gaming experience on their sites.
The main thing you have to do is ensure that you find the best free bet offer for all of your personal betting needs and then click on the buttons in the table above next to each of the offers to claim them. Once claimed, the offer will be added to your account and all you must do is follow the instructions to redeem.
We have a fantastic table of free bets, which is updated regularly with all the great new offers and new bookmakers that become available. It’s always worth taking a moment to have a look and find out what’s available at different points in time, as these change regularly.
Can you withdraw free bets?
Free bets are more often than not more complicated than you think and are never just free withdrawable cash. The idea of the free bets is to get the customer to use them on the specific bookmaker’s platform to make sure they become a regular customer.
You should have the facility to withdraw your winnings with ease from a free bet once you have bet them if you have met all the requirements the bookmaker has set.
These requirements can be as little as having to use the free bets with minimum odds set to having wagering or play-through requirements. Winnings from free bets are usually paid out minus the free bet stake.
Is there an expiry date for my free bets?
This will depend on the bookmaker and the website in question, with the majority having a seven-day expiry date, meaning you have a full week to choose what markets to use them. It’s worth remembering that you can put outright/ante-post bets on with the free bets.
There are exceptions to this however, for example with Sky Bet, the bookmaker allows you to keep the free bets for as long as you would like with no expiry on them meaning you can save them for the events that you are interested in.
Best free bets available with low deposit
There are many free bet options available for relatively low deposits, designed to attract customers and keep them punting with a specific bookmaker.
Sky Bet’s offer is the lowest by quite some way with the bookmaker needing just one £5 bet in order to earn £20 in free bets to use.
T&Cs: New customers only. First single & e/w bet only. Odds of 1/1 or greater. 4 x £5 bet tokens. Free bet stakes not included in returns. Free bets exclude virtuals. Free bets are non withdrawable. No free bet expiry. Eligibility restrictions. Further t&cs apply. 18+. Begambleaware.org.
Other bookmakers normally hover around the £10 mark in order to claim free bets with a one-time deposit needed from the customer.
Top 7 best football free bet offers
