Free Bets & Betting Offers

What is A Free Bet?

A free bet is a bonus you can claim at sports betting sites, allowing you to place bets without laying down any money. Free bets can win you real money, and all winnings will be awarded with the free stake removed. Free bets are often tied to specific events, like football matches or horse races, but you can use some free bets on any sport or event you want; look at the T&Cs to learn which is the case for you.

The most common way to claim free bet welcome bonuses is to create a new account, deposit and wager a specific amount of money, and wait for the bet to settle. After this, your bonus will either be credited automatically to your account, or you have to claim it from the promotions tab.

How Do Free Bets Work?

Once you’ve claimed your free bets, you just need to choose to use them from the betting slip when you place a wager. This will work like placing any other bet; you just have to wait for it to settle. Most free bets will have limitations on what kinds of wagers they can be applied to and which events you can use them on. Additionally, you might have a maximum amount you can win from them, minimum odds to place at, and a time limit to use them within. To find more details on all of this, thoroughly examine the bonus terms and conditions.

The Different Types Of Free Bets Explained 

Many different free betting promotions are available at the top UK betting sites. Here’s a look at the most common deals available:

Fixed Free Bet

This is the most common bet you’ll find on betting sites. These deals grant you a fixed value of free bets when you wager a minimum amount or more. For example, you might gain £40 worth of assorted free betting tokens for wagering £10 or more on a new account. You’ll receive your free bets once your qualifying bet settles, regardless of whether it wins or loses. This will count for the first bet over the qualifying minimum to settle, not the first one made. 

Matched Deposit

These deals are more commonly seen at casinos than online sportsbooks, but you still find them occasionally. A matched deposit deal awards you with free bets at a value directly proportional to how much you deposit into your account. For example, at a 100% match rate, a sportsbook might award you £50 in free bets for depositing £50. These deals usually award larger amounts of free bets, sometimes maxing out around £200! However, as a payoff, these bonuses typically have wagering requirements attached, where you need to use the value of your free bets a certain number of times before you can withdraw any of your winnings.

No Deposit Free Bets

These free bets can be claimed without having to put any money down at all! To claim a no-deposit free bet, you just have to register for a new account and accept your bonus funds. You may be required to complete a specific action, like linking another account or using a unique promo code. Regardless, this deal will not need any of your money to count as a no-deposit free bet. 

Cashback Free Bets

Cashback free bets are for those times when lady luck isn’t on your side. Losing money is all a part of the betting game, but cashback deals alleviate some of that disappointment by returning a percentage of your losses as free bets. These are sometimes welcome bonuses, returning all of your stake if you lose as a free bet, which you can put forward somewhere else. Or it might be a regular deal that returns maybe 20% of your losses over a week or month to reward you for sticking with the platform. The free bets are a nice pick-me-up if you lose out.

Enhanced Odds Bonus

Enhanced odds aren’t a free bet per se, but they often work alongside them to improve your betting experience. An enhanced odds bonus artificially lengthens the odds on a specific event or bet to encourage people to bet on it. When you bet with enhanced odds, it doesn’t affect the odds of an outcome actually happening but will increase your payout if it wins. Usually, these deals are applied to specific events, but sometimes, you can pick when and where to use them.

Types Of Free Bets For Existing Customers

Free bet deals aren’t exclusively for new players to claim; you can get free bets all year round with ongoing promotions. Existing customers can benefit from the following deals:

Loyalty Bonuses

Sports betting sites want you to stick about and keep placing your bets on their platform. So, the best online sportsbooks will have VIP schemes to reward continued patronage. The perks you can gain at sportsbooks can vary wildly, from exclusive loyalty bonuses to increased cashback or regular entry to prize draws. 

Insurance Deals

Sometimes, a bet can look a little too risky, even for the most seasoned bettors. Or sometimes you just like having a safety net to alleviate the losses. That’s what insurance deals are for. If you’re willing to take shorter odds on a bet, you can add conditions to your bet that will return your stake under special circumstances. For example, if your backed racer comes in second to a victor with mile-long odds or if only one part of an acca pays out. These deals come in as many varieties as sportsbooks can come up with, so shop around to find insurance deals that work best for you.

Free Bet Clubs

Free bet clubs are similar to loyalty programmes but are more specific. If you opt-in to a free bet club at your sportsbook, you’ll receive regular free bets when you meet a minimum stake threshold. For example, if you wager at least £20 in a week, you can claim a £10 free bet. And this deal will renew every week. If you’re a regular bettor, free bet clubs are an excellent way to make your money go further with no cost to yourself.

Are Free Bets Really Free?

At their essence, yes, free bets are really free. They are bets you can place without spending any of your account balance, and if you win, you can win real money with them. However, there’s an argument to be made with some free bets that their status as ‘free’ is negated by the need to deposit and make a qualifying bet before you can claim them. 

The qualifying bet is an insurance measure from the sportsbook to ensure you’re committed to using the site and that it isn’t giving out swathes of money it can’t afford to lose. But sometimes, free bets are given out without any deposit required, usually around big sporting events. These are only for verified, existing accounts the site knows are real people. 

It’ll be a matter of personal opinion whether you consider a free bet worth it. You can use tactics like match betting to guarantee that these free bets will make returns (sportsbooks don’t have an issue with users doing this), but there’s also plenty of merit for casual bettors.

Terms & Conditions of Free Bets 

Terms and conditions are necessary for any kind of deal, especially in betting. It’s no fun to read through a page of dense text, but it’s important to understand a few stipulations that come up in every betting deal so you get the most out of it.

Minimum Odds Requirements

Most free bets have a minimum odds requirement, so you can’t just use your free bet on a wager that’s almost guaranteed to win. It’s a type of insurance for the sportsbook. These minimums are usually evens or higher, but some sportsbooks will set it lower or higher. You should check out the terms and conditions ahead of claiming and using your free bets, but since you’re not staking real money to use this free bet, the minimum shouldn’t be such an obstacle.

Minimum Deposit Requirements

This will usually be advertised in the promotion’s name, such as “Bet £10 Get £20 free bets.” Oftentimes, that initial bet requirement is also the minimum deposit you need to qualify for the bet. This isn’t always the case, though, so it’s worth checking out the terms and conditions — you may only have to wager £5, but if you have to deposit a minimum of £10 first, you could miss out on your bonus. 

Expiry Date on Bonuses

Free bets don’t last forever, and after claiming your bonus, you’ll only have a limited amount of time to actually use it before expiry. This doesn’t just apply to how long you have to place the bet; it also applies to when the bet has to settle and how long you have to claim the free bets after signing up and/or qualifying for the bonus. If you let your bonus expire, you’ll lose out on any free winnings regardless of if you met all the qualifying conditions. Bonuses also don’t hang around forever, and sportsbooks will put expiration dates on how long a bonus is available, especially during large sporting events. 

Accepted Payment Methods

This one could risk catching out a lot of hopeful punters. When you accept a bonus and attempt to meet the qualifying deposit, double-check to ensure you are using a valid payment method. Welcome offers, in particular, can be subject to fraud and scammers, so sportsbooks will only accept specific, safe payment methods for them. This is usually limited to debit cards and bank transfers in the UK.

Advantages of Free Bets 

It should be immediately obvious why you would want to claim a free bet. Free bets allow you to win real money rewards without spending your own money. Unlike other online gambling bonuses, free bets also tend to be a lot more generous. While you find them at smaller values, it’s rare to see a free bet that needs to be wagered more than once, unlike casino bonuses that can have wagering requirements as high as 60x. If you feel like being crafty, you can even guarantee returns on your free bets by using match betting. 

• Place bets without spending your own money on the stake
• Most have 1x wagering requirements
• Using match betting can guarantee a return

Disadvantages of Free Bets

However, there are drawbacks to some free bet deals. Many free betting tokens are limited to specific events and have strict parameters. They also tend to have short validity periods, expiring within a week or so of being redeemed. Most pressingly, free bets aren’t always completely ‘free,’ requiring upfront deposits and qualifying bets before you can redeem them. 

• Many are limited to specific sports, betting types and other parameters.
• Some free bets expire quickly
• Require a qualifying deposit, negating the ‘free’ aspect of the deal

Licensing & Safety

All betting sites in the UK must have a UKGC licence or another approved licensing body. This ensures that users at gambling sites are treated fairly with respect and aren’t taken advantage of. A large part of this is protecting vulnerable parties, like minors, the elderly and other susceptible individuals. Additionally, UKGC regulation ensures that the betting sites you’re using comply with the law and keep your data safe. All of our recommended sports betting sites are fully licenced.

How To Claim Free Bets

How you claim free bets can change depending on the site you’re signing up for. Some require promo codes, some have special links, and others need to be claimed directly from the promotions tab. However, regardless of your chosen sportsbook, there’s a good chance claiming your free bets will follow this basic process:

1. Choose a betting site from one of our top picks and use our link to reach the sign-up page.
2. When you register your new account, you’ll need to input sensitive information like your name, date of birth, and address.
3. Ensure your promo code has been applied if you need one.
4. Make your first deposit, and remember to deposit enough to meet the minimum.
5. Place your qualifying bet on a valid event and at the minimum amount or more.
6. Wait for the bet to settle.
7. Your free bets will either be credited to your balance automatically, or you’ll need to claim them from the promotions tab in your account. 

FAQs

Do Free Bets Expire?

Yes, if you don’t use your free bet within the deal’s time limit, you will forfeit your bonus funds. Your bet using the free bets must settle before the expiry date.

What Is A Cashback Free Bet?

Cashback free bets are bonus funds you receive if you lose money at a sportsbook. It returns all or a portion of your stake in free bets so you can try again on another wager.

Can You Cash Out A Free Bet? 

You cannot cash out a free bet mid-event, although you can sometimes use them on live betting. If you let the bet settle, you can withdraw real money if your bet wins.

Can I Still Get Free Bets If I’m An Existing Customer? 

You can’t claim free bets from a welcome bonus if you’re an existing customer, but many other promotions will award free bets to existing customers for various events and insurance deals.