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.

Mainly, because of their simplicity. A free bet does not have many complex requirements attached to it, which is the case with the other notable welcome offer-version, the matched deposit bonus.

Free bets are also easy to manage for the bookmaker, as they are a one-time thing, whereas the matched deposit bonus and its requirement can be tricky and both produce frustration with players and require a lot of resources from the customer support.

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 (2.00). 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 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 is usually subject to a wagering requirement. You need to meet this wagering requirement prior to any withdrawals.

The only part that can be a bit tricky to navigate when it comes to free bets is how to get one’s hand on them. Free bets are rarely given without a requirement on your part.

The minimum action on your part is to deposit a certain amount to your betting account, in order to release the free bet.

However, most common is that you are required to place a “qualifying bet”. You might have heard of “bet £10 get £30”-offers. Such an offer requires you to place a qualifying bet of £10, in order to release (normally) 3 x £10 free bets.

The qualifying bet will always have some sort of requirements attached to it, which is important to be aware of. They can include.

• Minimum odds - A minimum odds to qualify for the free bet.
• Minimum stake - A minimum stake that your qualifying bet needs to meet.
• Validity period - A period of time, within which you must place your bet.
• Deposit methods - Some deposit methods, such as i.e Skrill or Neteller are often excluded from free bet promotions.

All these conditions will be written out on the betting sites’ landing pages or promotion pages.

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 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 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.

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 use it within this period it will be forfeited.

The validity period can also refer to the period in which you have to place the qualifying bet. If you fail to meet the requirements within this period the free bet offer 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).

Normally even small deposits with the correct bookie are worth a lot more than free bets without deposit.

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.

With new British bookies coming online each year and healthy competition between these bookies, there’s more free bet offers available for punters than ever.

You can choose between a huge variety of online bookies, most of which offer free bets. Here at Bookiesbonuses.com we’re committed to finding you the very best UK free bet offers.

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. Below, we have listed some of the absolute best offers with the most respected bookies.

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.