New free bet bookmaker offers
Online bookmakers seem to be ten-a-penny these days with countless new betting operators appearing on the scene with monotonous regularity. Some of these quietly disappear or rebrand after a few months while others grow into well-known betting sites, however they all have one thing in common – they all, with very few exceptions, offer new customers some sort of welcome bonus once registered. These welcome bonuses generally take the form of free bets and all online bookmakers hand them out once certain terms and conditions have been met. Free Bet bonuses are an excellent way to get started with any online betting site, although to be fair they aren’t exactly ‘free’ as you usually need to make an initial deposit and place a first bet up to a predetermined amount in order to take advantage of them. That said, the free bet amount is in almost every case at least as large as the required initial deposit amount and overall, they represent excellent value.
Free Bet bonus
By far the most common type of welcome bonus (sometimes called sign-up bonuses) are the simple ‘Free Bet’ offers. Quite simply, any bookmaker which offers a free bet welcome bonus will ask you to make a first deposit of up to a certain amount and then place a first bet, again up to a minimum amount. Once this initial wager has been settled, you will receive the free bet which can be used on any betting market, subject to individual bookmaker terms and conditions. A typical example of a free bet is ‘Bet £5 Get £20’ which is currently offered by Ladbrokes. In this instance, the bookmaker will ask that you make a first deposit of £5 or more and then wager this amount. Once this has been done and the bet has been settled (win or lose), you will then qualify for free bets to the value of £20. Once you have received these free bets, you can’t just cash them in. Instead, you will need to use them to place further bets but the benefit here is that you won’t be using your own money. The amount offered as free bets varies considerably amongst the bookmakers, some offering up to £50 or even £60 in free bets once an initial deposit has been made.
Matched Deposit bonus
Many UK betting sites offer something called a ‘Matched Deposit Bonus’ to new players. These are in many respects quite similar to the simple Free Bets offer and the amount offered as free bets is purely dependent on how much you actually deposit in the first instance. A typical example of this offer is ‘Matched Deposit of 100% up to £50’ which is frequently offered by a handful of online bookmakers. Here you will be asked to make a deposit of any amount up to £50 and the free bet offered will be exactly the same as your initial deposit amount. Again, these free bets must be used to place further bets in the same way as you would with a cash bet, the only difference being that the stake won’t be returned should you win with the free bet.
Risk Free Bet bonus & Free Spins
An increasingly popular welcome bonus offer for new customers is a ‘Risk Free’ bet or ‘Partial Refund on First Day Losses’. In these cases, you make an initial deposit and place a first bet, then any losses you incur on the initial bet or during the first day will be refunded up to a maximum amount or percentage. In some cases, the refund may be offered as cash although the general rule is that it will be credited as free bets. Many online bookmakers also provide players with an online casino and when this is the case, new players will also be offered a number of free spins to use on selected games or slots. These may well be offered in addition to the regular free bets or risk-free bets offer and a typical example here is ‘Get 50% back as Free Bet up to £35 Plus 10 Free Spins’ which is currently offered by Quinnbet. Here you will be invited to place bets once registered and any first-day losses will be refunded by 50% up to a maximum of £35, plus you will also get 10 free spins to use on selected games.
Ongoing Promotions
It is important to remember that each bookmaker offers a different welcome bonus and these can change regularly. Once you take advantage of a sign-up free bet offer with a particular betting site and that bonus offer changes in the future, you can’t simply apply for the new offer as well. These types of bonuses are quite simple for new players only but there are many ongoing promotions which can be taken advantage of once registered with a bookmaker, many sites providing customers with weekly or monthly cash-back bonuses and price boosts.
Updated Offers
All the offers above can be found at UK and Irish free bets comparison sites such as Betting Sites Ireland and these are by far the best way to check out what each bookmaker is currently offering. These sites are always regularly updated with all the latest free bet bonus offers with links to the relevant betting site, while you can also read reviews about each operator and how they compare with each other. Indeed, claiming a sign-up bonus is all good and well but it is vital that you discover just how good a particular bookmaker is in terms of sports betting market coverage and competitiveness of odds.
Gamble Responsibly
Most importantly of all, it is vital that you always remember that online betting is purely for fun. Never chase losses, always gamble responsibly and always bet within your means.