New bookies and bookmakers are popping up online constantly, which has made the existing sites super competitive. The betting sites are offering their players different kinds of welcome bonuses, and they’re all fighting to be the that has the most to offer their players.
One common thing that the betting sites offer in order to attract new customer is free bets. This goes mostly for the sites that specializes in betting, such as Unibet and Betway.
What is a free bet?
A free bet is pretty much just what it sounds like – a bet for free. You simply get to make a bet on the betting site’s expense! In theory, you’ll be able to make a bet for free for the chance to win real money. But because of terms and conditions that comes with the free bet offers – it is a bit more complicated than that.
The term free bets online can have many meanings, and it’s used in many different contexts. Some betting sites uses the term about their welcome bonus, even though they are just offering a deposit bonus. For us, there is a distinct difference between bonuses and free bets – so the free bets we talk about on this page are bets made on the bookie’s expense.
Most of the time, in order to take part of a free bet, you’ll have to make a deposit and then place a bet. The bet itself is made for free, and if you lose nothing will really happen. The bet will simply go away, without you losing any money. If you’d win on the other hand, you’ll get to keep all the winnings that exceeds the original bet. So the amount of the bet will go back to the betting site, and you’ll get to keep the rest. So in short – you won’t lose any money with a free bet, but you have a chance on free cash!
Free bet no deposit
Free bet no deposit bonuses are available online as well, but they’re not as easy to find as the regular free bets. A free bet no deposit means that you can sign up for a bookmaker of your choice and start placing bets without making a deposit.
No deposit free bets are usually used as a part of the welcome offer from a bookmaker. They’re mainly used to get new players to try out the betting section of the site, and hopefully getting them hooked on betting.
Different kinds of free bets
All free bets comes with the same basic idea – you get to place a bet for no money for the chance to win real cash. But the terms and conditions for them vary, and they might work a little differently from one to another.
For that reason, you should always read the T&C’s that goes for the free bet offer that you’re interested in. That way, there will be no unpleasant surprises and you can just enjoy the thrill of the game.
New customer free bets
The free bets for new customers is probably the most common form that free bets comes in. The chance to win cash for no money catches the interest of a lot of players, and is a great way for betting sites to attract new customers.
Existing customer free bets
Free bets offered to existing customers at a betting site does also occur. Free bets does sometimes come as a campaign on a specific game or as a part of a promotion – so that existing customers can get the chance to win money for free as well.
Restriction free and restricted free bets
One thing that might be a bit tricky with free bets are the winnings, and how they work. The best thing for you, as a player, is sticking to free bets that are restriction free. This means that the money you win, the winnings that exceeds the bet amount, are all yours to keep. You can withdraw the money immediately if you want to, without having to turn over any money.
Restricted free bets doesn’t have quite as generous conditions to them. Your winnings for the free bet will be restricted in some way – to certain games or sporting events for example.
Finding the best free bets
As a player, of course, you want to find the free bet with the highest value. So how do you find that? Well, in our opinions there are three different aspects to look at. First of all, you should have a look at the free bet amount. You do of course want as large a free bet amount as possible, so it’s an important factor to take into consideration.
All that glitters isn’t gold though – and a big free bet amount doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the free bet available. So the second thing we think you should look at is the wagering requirements. Find a free bet with as low a wagering requirement as possible, otherwise you might end up losing what you just won.
And lastly – check out the validity period for your free bet. After you receive the free bet you might have a restricted time period to use it within. Usually it’s somewhere between 7 and 30 days. So make sure that you don’t miss out on your free bet because of that! Try to find a free bet that performs well on all of the three points – and you’ll get great value out of it!
Free bets UK
Free bets UK are often available to take part of on UK betting sites. On this page, we’ll list bookies and bookmakers that offer free bets for UK players. All of the sites that we have listed are licensed and regulated, so that you can play safely.