Leading sportsbooks offer betting sign-up offers to provide new customers with a bankroll boost at the start of their online gambling journey. These come in many forms and range from deposit matches to free bets.
In this article, we run through some of the best promotions you can currently find at online sportsbooks and explain how they work. We help you to understand how sportsbook promos are structured and how to sign up. Read on to learn of three brilliant welcome packages currently available at leading sportsbooks and why you should give them a shot.
Accessing the best betting bonuses upon sign up is the best way to get started at any sportsbook, as you can use the free bets or bonus funds to boost your bankroll for online betting. Here are three of the best sports betting promotions currently available at online sportsbooks for you to consider:
Unibet currently offers one of the best betting bonuses in the industry, with a welcome package worth £50 to new customers. The promotion is in the form of a money-back promotion, which triggers if your first bet loses. As per the offer, Unibet will refund your first wager if it loses, up to a total of £40. If that’s not enough, you will also be given a £10 bonus to use at the Unibet Casino, which will be valid for 24 hours after your initial deposit.
To qualify for this Unibet promotion, you need to place a bet with minimum odds of 1.40 and wagering requirements of 3x apply for all sports bets that you subsequently place with the free bets.
Once you use the sports bonus, then the £10 casino credits come, but with wagering requirements of 50x and can be used on table games, slots, or at the live casino. Given the total value of £50 and the fact that there is a casino promo included, the Unibet package is one of the best betting sign up offers around right now from one of the world’s best betting sites.
Another of our favourite sports betting offers currently available to new customers is offered by bet365. Available since March 2023, new customers at bet365 can receive up to £30 in free bets after making a real money deposit and wagering at least £5. This is essentially a 300% free bet bonus, so if you bet £10 (the maximum stake permitted), you will receive the full £30 in free bets.
To activate the bonus, your initial bet must have odds of 1.20 or higher, and the bet credits will be issued to your account when the initial bet is settled. You then have up to 90 days to use the bet credits before they are removed from your account. You can’t withdraw the bet credits directly – they can only be used to place sports bets. Overall, the bet365 offer is one of the best betting bonuses currently available, as it’s easy to access and comes with fair terms and conditions.
Just like the bet365 promotion, the Betfred welcome bonus is one of the best betting site offers currently available. To access the promotion, you need to create an account at Betfred and deposit £10. You then need to place an initial bet of £10 with odds of 2.0 or better, within seven days of creating your account.
If you meet these requirements, Betfred will add £30 in free bet credits to your account within ten hours of your qualifying bet settling. Note that you must use a valid debit card to deposit the funds, and your wager must be placed in Pounds or Euros. Moreover, you cannot use the bonus funds to bet on virtual sports or the Betfred Totepool, and cash out is not offered as part of the promotion.
Though you can’t withdraw the free bets right away, you can use the £30 in free bets on practically any sporting market offered at Betfred, making this one of the more attractive sports betting offers currently available.
As you can see from the three sports betting promotions we have introduced, they are structured differently from site to site, down to the finer details like specific betting odds. Of course, the ones featured recently are not the only ones out there in general. Here are some of the most common betting site promotions to be aware of, many of which you may see at some point as either a sign up bonus or a regular promotion:
One of the best sign up bonuses and offers promoted by any sportsbook, a no-deposit bonus is available to new customers without requiring a real-money deposit. You can usually access this type of offer simply by creating an account, but be mindful of the wagering requirements attached, as they are usually fairly high.
Many sportsbooks offer to match your initial deposit with bonus funds in the form of matched deposit offers. This is often 100%, but it may even be 50% or 200%, depending on the sportsbook in question. With this type of offer, you can usually deposit up to a specific ceiling (perhaps £100), and when you do, you will receive the same amount in bonus funds that you can then use to place sports bets on the site.
The current bet365 promo and Betfred welcome bonus offer free bets. Usually, to access free bet bonuses, you need to deposit and then wager a minimum amount to access the free bets (in these examples, it is £10), and the free bets will then be added to your account. This is a popular type of sports betting bonus and offers good value as you’re just getting started.
As is the case with Unibet, some sportsbooks offer cash back promotions to new customers. Here, you can place bets up to a specific amount (perhaps £50), and if your bet loses, the bookmaker will refund your stake and give you a second chance. Please note that these offers are sometimes described as “risk-free bets” but there is no such thing – there is always risk attached to online gambling; losing your first bet and getting a free bet doesn’t ever guarantee you’ll win anything with your bonus, so please be aware of this before using this type of promotion.
As many of the leading sportsbooks also have integrated online casinos, you might come across betting site offers that combine the two. For example, you might receive £30 in free sports bets and a £10 credit to use at the casino when you place an initial wager of £10. While it might be nice to take a break at the casino while you wait for your matches to settle, note here that the wagering requirements for online casino free bets are usually quite high – perhaps in the region of 50x the bet or more, so prepare your bankroll accordingly if you wish to use this type of welcome bonus.
To make the most of the best betting bonuses, you need to understand how they work. The table below presents and explains some of the key terms and conditions that are usually attached to a sports betting bonus, so you know what to expect when you create an account at a sportsbook:
Condition | Explained |
---|---|
Site Credits | Cannot be withdrawn for cash – only available to use as a free bet. |
Wagering Requirements | Indicates how much of your own money you have to wager before withdrawing funds obtained from a bonus bet. |
Time Limits | Stipulates how long you have to access the promotion after creating an account. It might also indicate how long the bonus will be available in your account. |
Deposit Limits | The sportsbook will indicate how much you have to deposit to access the bonus. They will also state the maximum amount you can deposit. |
Minimum Odds | The minimum odds that your wager must be to qualify for the free bet/s (e.g., 1.20 or 1.50). |
Payment Restrictions | Some betting site offers are not available if you deposit via specific payment methods (usually e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill). |
You can find detailed terms and conditions attached to every sportsbook promo directly underneath the advertisement. At the very least, we recommend reading the key terms and conditions, even if you don’t want to read the small print. This is because every sportsbook promo is unique to the site in question, so you need to familiarise yourself with what to expect before creating an account.
Getting started with sports betting offers is a great way to boost your bankroll when you create an account at a sportsbook. The bookmaker provides you with additional funds in the form of free bets for you to place your wagers.
We love the promotions offered by bet365, Betfred, and Unibet in particular, and each site presents a good value option if you’re looking for free bets to use as you make your selections. Please just remember to read the terms and conditions carefully and carry out any required actions when you sign up. There’s a good chance certain markets would be excluded, such as football transfers. You will then have bonus bets to use on selected markets alongside your initial deposit.
No, there is no such thing as a risk-free bet. However, it is fair to say that free bets reduce the risk associated with your initial bet, as they give you another chance to place a wager. But you should never look at free bets as totally risk free, as there is always risk attached to gambling.
Lots of online sportsbooks provide free bets to customers. Some of the best betting site promotions right now are from bet365, Unibet, and Betfred, as each site offers free site credits that you can use to bet on various sporting markets.
To get free bets on betting sites, you need to create an account and make a qualifying deposit and wager. When you have carried out the required actions, the free bet credits will be made available in your account.
Yes, bet365 is one of the platforms that offers betting site bonuses. Currently, you can receive up to £30 in free bets when you deposit and then wager up to £10.
Bonus bets have strict terms and conditions attached, and they are all slightly different. Although numerous restrictions apply, consider these factors for starters: