Very few things in life are truly free. And those that are “free” usually come with a catch hidden somewhere. That is, unless you’re talking about the ever-elusive free bet, no deposit sports bet bonus.
You see, betting on sports online is a common practice across the entire globe, and has been since the early days of the Internet. Since there’s such a high, pent-up demand for it, there’s also a large supply of online sportsbooks.
Like any highly competitive industry (e.g. automobile or retail), sportsbooks roll out promotions regularly to entice players to their site over other competitors. In betting speak, these are dubbed “bonuses.” And for sports bettors, no bonus provides more value than the completely-free bet.
The value is implied in the name — it’s free of cost to the player. Well, sort of. You see, this bonus comes in two varieties. Both provide eerily similar value, but in different ways. Let us explain:
Money-Back Or Risk Free Bet Bonus
This bonus is technically “free” but does require some skin in the game first. The way it works is simple: sign up for a sportsbook, fund your account for the first time, and your first bet inside the sportsbook is “on the house” — up to a certain cap (typically between $10 and $25 or so).
But here’s the kicker: that initial bet you make is done with your own deposited funds. If the wager hits, then you keep the profit per usual. But the bonus’ real value comes in case the bet doesn’t pan out. If it’s a loser, you keep whatever dollar amount you originally staked. So in theory, you have nothing — and we mean nothing — to lose when leveraging this bonus type.
Of course, there’s some players that don’t want to budge with any deposited money to begin with. If you fall into that category, feast your eyes on the free-bet bonus variant two:
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Free Bet, No Deposit Bonus
Alright, this is one of those deals that sounds “too good to be true” but we can assure you, it’s not. There’s no fine print with this bonus, what you see, is what you get.
Just as the name suggests, this free bet requires no initial deposit on your end. The sportsbook is literally giving you a free bet with its own money. Win the wager and the profit is all yours, thus earning you “house money” to continue gambling with. Lose the bet and well, you’re back to where you started — zero dollars but at no cost to you.
Akin to the risk-free bonus, the no-deposit deal is typically limited to $25 or less. While that’s not an overly steep amount — certainly not compared to other sportsbook bonus offers (though, these require deposits from bettors) — the point is, it’s free or at least, virtually free. And why complain about free money?
Furthermore, free-bet bonuses are a great way to “test drive” a given sportsbook. Like we said before, there’s no shortage of online bookies these days. Before you chose one to gamble on, it would be a good idea to drop a bet or two first.
Like what you see? Perhaps the bookmaker is a keeper. Don’t? Then, move on to a different one. Of course, this approach could be costly if not for a free bet deal. With this bonus, it at least keeps the upfront costs to a minimum.
Now that you know that free bets exist, where do you go about finding them on the Internet? Welp, unfortunately, they’re not exactly easy-to-find commodities.
Think about it, sportsbooks could go broke if they doled out free bets left and right to any would-be bettor. It’s that good of a deal — and when that’s the case, it’s only offered at limited times.
We strongly advise creating accounts at several online sportsbooks and signing up for email notifications. That’s where you’re more likely to find the rare free bet bonus — sent straight to your inbox from a bookmaker that values its users. Once this deal does end up on your lap, be sure to take advantage of it right away because it won’t last for long.
