Free Bets

Sports Betting at a Glance

The best bookie freebies and promotions available are in the world of sports betting. In recent years there has been a huge explosion in sports betting in UK. The good news for us is that the bookies naturally want to cash in on all this interest and that’s why there are always so many free bets and promotions available. Free sports bets are probably the easiest way to turn a promotion or free bet into cash.

Below is a list of the usual promotions that are available:

Free bet after a qualifying bet with no restrictions.
Free bet after a qualifying bet with odds restrictions.
Matched deposit bonuses, between 20% and 100% with turnover restrictions.

There are a few different types of free bets available, the best are those were the terms and conditions are kept to a minimum. The best times to look out for these freebies are around major sporting events, for example the World Cup or the Grand National.

The most common types of free bets are those that are given only after a qualifying bet has been placed. Depending on the offer, the bookie will usually match your qualifying bet with a free bet based on a percentage, most offer a 100% match up but they can go as low as 50%.

To turn a free bet into hard cash risk free, we need to open an account with a betting exchange. In two easy steps we can guarantee a profit no matter what the result is.

Step 1

Find a qualifying bet where the difference between the bookie odds and the exchange lay odds are minimal. As long as the terms and conditions allow it, also keep the actual odds figures as low as possible. Lets look at the following example for a cricket game:

Bookie Odds:

Betting Exchange Lay Odds:

This is a good qualifying bet example. We can back India with the bookie at 1.17, then lay India with the exchange at 1.2. As the numbers are different we will take a small loss here, we also have to allow for the betting exchange commission which can be between 3% and 5%. To gain a £50 free bet and to keep losses to a minimum, we would back India with the bookie at 1.17 @£50, then lay India with the exchange for £50.87.

India win the game and we make an overall loss of £1.67. This is how we get to the £1.67:

India Win

Bookie: £50 x 1.17 = £8.50 (profit)

Exchange: -£10.17 (lay liability, i.e. the amount we pay to punters if India won.

£8.50 - £10.17 = -£1.67

India Lose

Bookie -£50

Exchange: £50 (minus 5% commission = £48.33)

£48.33 - £50 = -£1.67

We have covered both sides of the sides of the bet, we stand to lose £1.67 but we have gained a £50 free bet.

Step 2

All we have to do now is repeat the process with the free bet. This time we need to make a selection with higher odds. This is because as the free bet stake is not returned, a selection with higher the odds makes sure we get to keep a higher the proportion of the free bet. Lets look at the following example:

Bookie Odds: