What You Should Know About Free Bet offers

Recently I wrote an article about what you should look for in online betting site promotions. In that article, I mentioned that some websites offer a number of different types of bonuses. One of those types is what is known as a "free bet." What is a free bet and how does it work?

Well, the most important thing to know about "free bets” is they are not actually free. British betting sites are in existence to make money, not give it away. While promotions can add to the fun and excitement sports betting, you need to understand that they usually come with a price. More often than not, the terms and conditions will actually entice you into spending more money than you receive through the bonus.

How free bets work depends on the online betting website which you are using. Each site has its own set of terms and conditions. Some terms and conditions may be more user-friendly than others.

In general, you can expect something like this. You may be offered a free bet, say £20. If you look at the terms and conditions, you will find that in order to claim the free bet, you need to make at least one selection with certain odds, say 2.00. Moreover, you need to use your own money to place the bet, not the money offered through the free bet. You may also need to do this within a certain fairly restricted timeframe, usually within a couple of days or weeks.

If the odds are 2.00, you are actually less than likely to win your bet. In other words, it is a winning proposition for the online betting site, not for you. Some betting sites may also require you to meet an additional rollover requirement. Imagine that this rollover requirement is three times the amount of the free bet. This would require you to stake £60 in order to get £20. In fact, you may even be prohibited from making any sort of withdrawal until you meet this requirement. During that time, you might not even be able to withdraw your own initial investment or any winnings they may have made.

As you can see, “free bets” could often cost significantly more money than they are worth.

You will also sometimes be offered similar promotions such as "risk-free bets” or “promo cash”. Sometimes these words are used interchangeably, but sometimes they may denote a slightly different type of promotion. With a "risk-free bet," you stake your own bet, and if you lose, the betting site will refund you the money that you risked. As you might guess, there is often a rollover requirement associated with this type of promotion as well.

So you may need to make multiple bets before you can claim your reward. You could end up losing even more money while you are making those wagers. Of course, if you would have made them anyway, this does not represent any additional risk.

What is “promo cash?” Unlike the other types of bets here, you do not stake this bet yourself. The betting site provides you with the stake. If you should happen to win, you do get the chance to withdraw your winnings (after you meet any applicable rollover requirement of course). But you do not actually get to withdraw the stake; it is deducted and returned to the online betting site.

So “promo cash” is cash which belongs to the betting site the entire time. This makes “cash” in the name a bit misleading. At the same time, it does have a benefit; it gives you a chance to use leverage to win more money than you might have been able to if you were just staking the bet yourself.

Conclusion: Use Caution When Accepting Free Bets and Similar Promotions

So what is the bottom line? The message you should take away from this discussion is not necessarily that free bets and similar promotions are worthless or bad. In some cases, they may even help you to make more money. In general, however, they have more strings attached to them and more complexities governing them than most punters realise. If you are not careful, those terms and restrictions can cost you.

For that reason, you should very carefully read the terms and conditions before you accept. Make sure you know any rollover requirements, and also whether you need to stake your own bet. Be certain that you understand the conditions that you need to meet in order to withdraw your winnings and/or the "free" money that the betting site is loaning or giving you. Do not allow promotions to tempt you into placing irresponsible wagers that you would not otherwise make. Otherwise, if you are comfortable with the terms of the bonus, feel free to accept it and have fun!