There are many different kinds of betting offers at online betting sites, but free bets are the most common ones, at least in the UK. You will often get one or several when signing up with an online bookmaker, as a welcome offer. Another type of a common welcome offers is a bonus that matches your first deposit. Those offers often come with some sort of wagering requirement though.

Read more about deposit bonuses on our page about betting offers.

How do free bets work?

The short version is that you get the stake from the bookmaker, hence the “free”. But you only keep potential winnings.

An example.

You place a £10 free bet on England to beat France at even odds. England wins. You end up with £10. Those £10 are from your winnings, while the stake is returned to the bookie.

Risk Free Bets

Another common type of free bets online is the a risk free bet. With this type of promotion, you first have to place a bet with your own money. If you win, you get to keep all of the winnings, as you normally would. Should you lose, on the other hand, the sum of the stake will be credited to your account. In effect, you are betting risk free.

The one thing you need to keep in mind though, is that your refunded stake are usually subject to a wagering requirement. You need to meet this wagering requirement prior to any withdrawals.

There are few different things to take into consideration if you want to find the best offers. The factors listed below are things that are important to consider in relation to all sign up bonuses and sports betting offers, not only for free bet offers.

Amount

Naturally you want as large a free bet amount as possible. This is of course an important factor when choosing an offer from a bookmakers, but all that glitters is not gold. Some of the larger free bets come with less favourable terms, such as a higher minimum odds requirement or a wagering requirement. Always make sure to read the terms and conditions.

Wagering Requirement

For some promotions, your returned stake is credited as bonus money that needs to be be rolled-over a certain number of times prior to withdrawal. However, the wagering requirements for free bets tends to be rather low compared to matched deposit bonuses.

Minimum Odds

Minimum odds for a bet can refer to a few different things. It can be the lowest odds at which you are allowed to place a bet to qualify for the offer.

It can also refer to the minimum odds at which you can use your already credited free bet.

It may also refer to the minimum odds at which you have to fulfill your wagering requirement for you bonus refund. Always be thorough when looking up the terms and conditions.

Validity Period

After your account has been credited with a free bet you need to use it within a certain number of days, usually somewhere in between 7 to 30 days. If you don’t useit within this period it will be forfeited.

The validity period can also refer to the the period in which you have to meet the wagering requirements. If you fail to meet the wagering requirements within this period the bonus and/or winning amounts may be forfeited.

Let’s make things more clear by taking an example of a common free bet offer. In this case we use a “Bet £10 get £20 free bet new customer offer”.

1. First thing you have to do is sign up at the bookies website.
2. Second step is to make a deposit. Note that some new customer free bet offers are not available to players using Neteller or Skrill (Moneybookers) to fund their account.
3. Third step is to place a qualifying bet of £10 or more, normally at odds of 4/5 (1.80) on any market.
4. Once your qualifying bet has been settled, your £20 free bet will be credited to your account within 24 hours. The free bet will be available to use for 7 days.
5. Once your free bet has been credited to your account you are free to use it on any market. Let’s say you place your £20 free bet at odds of 3/2 (2.50): if your selection wins, you get £30 (stake of £20 x odds of 3/2 (2.50) = £50, minus £20 = £30).

Although rare, some betting sites offer online betting offers in the shape of free bets without any requirement of a deposit first. When this is the case, the free bet normally comes with quite heavy wagering requirements if you win with your free bet. The winnings does often come with a turnover requirement of at least 6 times at odds around 1/1 (2.00).

So, what should you do with the free bet once it has been awarded to you? What is the best way to turn it into cash? Our advice is to be sensible about your free bet, and to not be expecting too much.

Since it is a free bet, and the stake often is £10, you will not become a millionaire. But it is possible to convert it to a reasonable starting bankroll. Depending on the type of offer, the most important thing is to decide how much money you want to end up with.

Most bookies keep the stake when you place a free bet, which means you only keep the winnings. If you place a £10 free bet at 1/2 (1.50) and win you are only left with £5 as cash. That might be enough for some, but as it is “free”, most players will try to get more out of it. This is where the risk/reward-discussion begins.

Say you want to make £50 back from your free bet, for a decent starting bankroll. In that case you have to place a bet at 5/1 (6.00) and win. This is of course a possible bet, via a treble on three favourites for example. But still quite hard.

If you are really into getting much out of your free bet offer, and aim for a starting bankroll of say £300, you would have to place a winning bet at 30/1 (31.00). This is rare, but not impossible. One upset and a few favourite victories can easily accumulate to 30/1. But with the potential reward, the risk of not winning is increasing.

Our advice is to either go with the second or third alternative, depending on your aim. As it is a free bet, you don’t risk anything and “securing” a £5 win seems like a lot of work for nothing.

On this page we list bookies for players residing in the UK. All of the bookies you find in this list are fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission.

On other parts of our website you may find bookies without a UK license. However, all bookies without a UK license are clearly marked as such.

For UK Customers, there is a plethora of great free bets to claim. Down below, we have listed some of the absolute best offers with the most respected bookies. To get a deeper knowledge, check out our page about Free Bets UK.

In the modern world we live in, your mobile device has risen in importance. More and more bookies are putting a lot of effort into making the smartphone the no.1 device from where their customers place bets. With that in mind, many modern bookmakers offer many kinds of promotions for mobile customers only. One bookie that has carried the torch in this development is Swedish LeoVegas, who offer their customers many promotions on their mobile devices.

To claim a free bet that is offered by a bookmaker, you normally need to deposit money and place a qualifying bet. Depositing money at an online bookmaker is often quite easy, but there are some things to consider. Especially when it comes to welcome offers. Can you claim a free whilst paying with cards of paypal? E-wallets? Bank transfer?

There are a plethora of different payment options, but the problem lies with the bonus offers. With certain payment methods you will not be eligible for the welcome offer, which means that in order to claim the specific offer, you must deposit money via an approved method.

It comes down to KYC, or “know your customer”.

This policy exists to prevent money laundering. Therefore, payment (or withdrawals) via methods where your identity is not “revealed”, such as e-wallet (Neteller, Skrill), will not make you eligible for bonuses. Normally the approved payment methods are listed in the terms and conditions of the specific offer.