When a site claims to offer free online sports betting to its customers, it can mean a number of things. The most obvious is when the site gives the bettor free money up front to place a bet. Although many bookmakers prefer to refund the customer after a losing bet, this scenario makes it sound as if the customer has been given a risk-free opportunity to gamble with the bookmaker's money.
Along with the sorts of free bets mentioned earlier, online sportsbooks love to give new customers all sorts of additional enticements. These generally go by the name of sign up or deposit bonuses. This article will touch on some of the more plentiful and popular options.
Types of Free Bets Offered by Online Sportsbooks
Definitions of free online bets may vary, but one facet remains constant: they incentivize betting behavior at a particular sportsbook. Of course, some betting promotions are just that: promotions designed to get you into a particular sportsbook. But what if the very nature of the promotion was actually part of a nefarious scheme? What if they were not promotions designed to get you to gamble, but rather disguised attempts at a new kind of credit system? Let's take a look at some common types of free bet offers and then return to these questions.
These free bets also apply to all types of sports. Whether your betting ambitions lie in college basketball, the NBA, or any other sport for which you can obtain a betting license, these bonuses remain valid.
These free bets can be used on any type of sporting event. If you're into betting on the world's game, you'll find these bonuses applicable to betting on football. If you're all about the NBA, the same goes for betting on professional basketball.
Here are some of the most popular types of free betting bonuses:
- Risk-Free Bets:
- Also known as "refund bets" or "free plays", these bonuses give the player a second chance to win after losing a certain number of bets. To make the most of this refund, a player must email the sportsbook immediately after the last bet that triggered the refund and include a promo code
- Weekly Wager Bonus:
- Placing a bet each week during a sports season qualifies one to receive a specified amount of free money. Some sites require wagers to be made from the first week onward, while others allow the offer to be claimed at any time during the season;
Other Sportsbook Sign-Up/Deposit Bonuses
In addition to free bets, sportsbooks offer a number of other promotions and bonuses. As with all such offers, these bonuses come with wagering requirements - namely that you must wager a certain multiple of the "free" money before it can be cashed out. The amount wagered before withdrawal doesn't seem to be a factor in choosing a bonus.
- Welcome Bonus:
- When you create an account on the site, you will receive a welcome bonus in the form of free cash. As a new customer, you receive a monetary gesture of goodwill. Like almost all bonuses, this one has wagering requirements attached to it
- Matching Bonus:
- Also called a "deposit bonus", this incentive matches every single amount of money that is deposited into a customer's account. For example, a customer could make a $100 deposit and receive a 100% match bonus, giving them an extra $100;
Conclusion
When you find a site that offers free online sports betting, remember that these bets may not be as free as they seem. Almost all sites have terms and conditions that must be met before you can actually withdraw your money. What are these conditions? They usually require the bettor to wager a multiple of the bonus amount before it can be withdrawn from your account.
Regardless of these stipulations, any place that offers free sports betting is worth investigating. If you have already made the decision to place multiple bets at an online sportsbook, you might as well get some extra money for doing so.