Free Bets
To increase their member base, bookies usually incentivise new customers with free bets, which let you try out new betting portals without spending too much cash.
We've compiled a list of the latest free bet offers so that you can easily compare the different types of new customer offers and claim the free bets that are right for you.
Free Bets Explained
If you're about to claim your first free bet offer, our “free bets explained” guide should help you understand all of the different types of new customer offers that bookies offer.
Once you’ve read our guide it should be easier for you to compare the free bets that bookies offer new customers and claim the right bonus for your style of betting.
Types of Free Bets
In a way to stand out from other bookies free bet offers for new customers, there are various naming conventions for the types of free bets that bookies offer.
Some bookies call them free matched bets, while others call them deposit match offers but they all usually let you place a bet using credit that the bookie adds to your account.
Free bets can be awarded as free bet vouchers, codes or tokens and are what bookies credit to new customers accounts that can be used instead of your own money when betting.
Here’s a list of the most popular free bet types:
Free Matched Bets
This type of free bet is the one that kicked it all off when bookies started operating online and wanted to attract new customers and is still very popular to this day.
Bookies that offer free matched bets are basically saying that if you signup as a new customer, they’ll match the value of the first bet that you place with them with free bets of equal value.
bet365 are a bookie that’s traditionally offered free matched bets to new signups in the past.
The way these free bet offers have worked in the past was that you joined and deposited anything that you want, and then decided what your first bet was going to be.
Let’s say that you decided to back Harry Kane as First Goalscorer in his next match and used the money in your account to bet £20 on the market.
And then as soon as the bet’s settled and also irrespective of if you won or lost your bet, the bookie would then credit your new account with a £20 free bet.
Most bookies also require that you use your free bet within a certain number of days which can range from 7 days right up to 28 so check the free bets terms and conditions carefully.
One of our favourite matched bet offers is bet365's free bet offer for new signups, but instead of getting free bets, you get Bet Credits that match your first settled bet instead.
Deposit Match Offers
Although not as common, deposit match offers are fairly similar to free matched bets but instead of your first bets value dictating the free bets amount, it’s your first deposit.
Bookies that match deposits are essentially saying that they’ll match the first deposit that you make as a new customer, with a free bet of equivalent value.
Betfred have favoured deposit match offers to attract new customers in the past.
The way the Betfred free bet offer used to work is once you’d registered as a new customer, they would take note of the value of the first deposit that you make into your new account.
They would then send you an email with a code for a free bet that matches your first deposit. This code can then be entered into their Betslip which lets you place the free bet.
Most deposit match offers come with some limitations and in Betfred’s case, it’s that the value of your first deposit had to be between £10 and £100.
The plus side to this type of free bet offer is the fact that you get to choose the value of the free bet that the bookie has to give you which is perfect for a wide range of betting budgets.
Double/Treble Offers
The competition for bookies to acquire new customers has increased massively over recent years and so they’ve come up with a new type of free bet offer.
It’s basically a deal where the free bet that new customers receive is 200% to 300% of the value of the first bet that you place.
Bookies offering this type of deal for new customers are basically saying that they’ll give you free bet that’s worth double or treble what you first bet.
William Hill were one of the first to offer this type of free bet offer and only required you to bet £10 in order to recieve £30 in free bets!
The William Hill free bet offer was also split into 3 separate £10 free bets totalling £30 which now seems commonplace with similar new customer offers.
Getting three £10 free bets instead of one worth £30 is actually a good thing for punters as it gives you three chances of winning and not just one.
Staged Free Bets
There are also a small number of online bookies that require new customers to place a series of bets before any free bets are released.
These types of free bet offers usually take the average stake from your first five or ten bets as a basis for the value of your free bet.
One bookie that’s offered this type of deal in the past is SportingBet.
The SportingBet free bet offer in question was worth up to £50 and was split into three separate stages as detailed below:
STAGE 1: Bet £10 for a £10 free bet.
STAGE 2: Place five more bets for a free bet matching your average stake (max £20).
STAGE 3: Repeat stage 2 for another £20 free bet and £50 in total.
To be honest we’re not really fans of new customer offers that are split over many stages as they seem overly complicated to us.
When most bookies offer a more simple new customer offer it’s hard to see how making an offer so convoluted will attract new members.
No Deposit Free Bets
Free bets that don’t even require that you make a deposit or place a bet with a new online bookie in order to receive them are extremely rare - but they do exist!
To claim a “free bet, no deposit offers” you usually just need to signup as a new customer with an online bookie on order to receive the deal.
Obviously you can’t have previously signed up with the bookie, and they usually need your credit card details, but this is usually for payouts.
Although not a traditional bookie, spread betting experts Sporting Index have been known to offer a £100 free bet to new customers without requiring a deposit.
The Sporting Index free bet offer is about as good as it gets as it essentially lets you experience betting on their website with their money!
Although they're quite rare, no deposit free bet offers are a great way of seeing if you like betting at a new bookie without using any of your own money what-so-ever.
What's the Point of Free Bets?
So even after you've read all about the different types of free bets that bookies offer, a lot punters will still be asking themselves; what the point of of free bets actually is?
Well, as previously mentioned, bookies offer free bets to both new and existing customers, which basically means you'll receive bonus betting funds, that you can use to bet on various events.
As you can see from the list above, there are also many different types of free bets available when betting at a new online bookie, so what is the point of free bets?
One explanation for their existence is that the online betting arena has become extremely saturated over the past few years, with more and more bookies launching into the marketplace.
Traditionally the online betting industry was retained by a handful of bookies, but the options for punters have massively increased, and therefore it’s become increasingly more competitive.
Bookies must now proactively acquire more bettors in order to maintain grow profits.
This has meant that bookies must provide punters with something of value, especially if they want to continually attract new players to join and use them as their primary betting account.
You’ll find that most online bookies offer free bets in an attempt to attract new customers, and will then continue to provide ongoing betting offers and free bets to regular punters.
What's the point of Free Bets for Punters?
Apart from being able to place a bet using your online bookies money instead of your own, what the point of free bets is for bettors is crucial to the type of free bets that you claim.
Each bettor will have specific betting requirements when choosing free bets to claim; such as searching for the best football ACCA free bets or horse racing related free bet offers.
A lot of the ongoing free bet offers are pretty comparable as they've all got a value.
The value of a bookies free bet offer can easily determine which bookies punters open an account with, and the highest value could easily sway them to join a particular one.
In saying that however, we can’t underestimate the importance of the ongoing free bets.
If punters are sport specific bettors, bookies must ensure that they offer a comprehensive range of free bets that cover a wide range of sports and markets in order to create loyal bettors.
There are numerous types of free bets that you can claim from bookies including:
• New account free bets.
• Matched free bets.
• Initial deposit free bets.
• Enhanced or boosted odds free bets.
• Event specific free bets.
• Free bets for loyalty.
• Free bets for referring friends.
It’s important when bettors are looking for a new bookie to have an account with, that they look as the full range of betting offers that are available once you become a member.
Yes the initial free bet on offer when you signup may be great, but will that bookie offer enough free bets to ensure that you can get the most from continuing to bet with them?
What's the Point Of Free Bets For Bookies?
Loyalty levels in betting have decreased, mostly due to bettors looking to claim free bets from other bookies, a possible side effect of the number of bookies in the industry has increased.
Therefore, bookies must offer free bets to customers who open new betting accounts with them.
They use this tool as one of the mains way in which to entice potential punters to open a new online betting account with them instead of one of their many competitors.
Once bettors go through a signup process, the chances are that they'll be more inclined to use the bookie as a regular betting option - unless they get swayed by a new free bet offer!
Usually once you've joined a new bookie, they'll start to offer you lots of free bets, ongoing promotions and loyalty programmes to keep you betting with them over a rival bookie.
The more regular a punter bets with a specific bookie and the more engaged they are with them, the more likely they are to remain loyal to that bookie - the main point of free bets for bookies!
Offer of the Month
+- Open a new account with bet365
- Make a qualifying deposit of £10
- Bet the £10 at odds of 1/5 or greater
- Receive £30 in Free Bets!
Read our review of bet365 or more about bet365's free bet offer for new customers.
#Ad. bet365 Open Account Offer. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.
Our Favourite Free Bets
We've also selected the three free bet offers that we consider to be the best free bets that bookies currently offer. Make sure you consider them when choosing which free bets to claim.
- Open a new account with 888sport
- Bet £10 on any sports market to get...
- £30 in free bets & £10 Casino bonus!
#Ad. Min deposit £10 • A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 • Min odds 1/2 (1.50) • Free Bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days • Free Bet stakes not included in returns • Casino Bonus must be claimed within 7 days and expires after 14 days • Bonus valid on selected Casino games only • Bonus wins capped at £500, excluding Jackpot wins • You must wager Bonus amount x40 – this requirement varies by game T&Cs apply.
- Open a new account with bet365
- Make a qualifying deposit of £10
- Bet the £10 to get £30 in Free Bets!
#Ad. bet365 Open Account Offer. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.
- Register with promo BETFRED50
- Bet £10 on any sport you want
- You then receive £50 in free bets!
#Ad. New customers only. Register with BETFRED50. Deposit £10+ via Debit Card and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. T&Cs apply.
- Open a new account with BetVictor
- Bet £10 on any sports market
- You'll be given £30 in free bets!
#Ad. 18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £10 at odds 2.00+ within 7 days, no cashout. Get 6x £5 Free Bets, set events at odds 2.00+. 7 day bonus expiry. Debit Card / Apple Pay payments only. Click for T&Cs. Please Gamble Responsibly.
- Open a new BoyleSports account
- Bet £10 on any market they offer
- You get £20 in free bets!
#Ad. New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Mobile exclusive. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply.
- Open a new account with Bwin
- Bet £10 on any market they offer
- Get a £10 free bet if it doesn't win!
#Ad. Min deposit £10, Max stake £10, Min Odds 1/1 (2.0). Max free bet £10; New players only; +18; T&Cs Apply. If a player loses their first bet (on minimum odds of 2.0), we will offer a matching free bet (of up to £10). Neteller and Skrill excluded.
- Open a new account with Coral
- Bet £5 within the next 14 days
- You'll then be given a £20 free bet
#Ad. 18+ New UK+IRE Customers. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 1x £20 free bet. Free bet available to use on selected sportsbook markets only. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply.
- Register a new account at Ladbrokes
- Bet just £5 on any sport you want
- Get credited with 4 x £5 free bets!
#Ad. 18+ New UK+IRE Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 4x £5 free bets. Free bets available to use on selected sportsbook markets only. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply.
- Open a new account with SportingBet
- Complete their 4 Welcome Challenges
- Get up to £50 in free bets + much more
#Ad. 18+. New players only. This Promotion is available to Website customers who: are over 18 years old; are a new player with sportingbet.com; are resident in the United Kingdom. This offer is available to 1 person per household. Further T&C's apply.
- Open a new Sporting Index account
- Get up to £300 in cashback on stakes...
- Made within 28 days of registering
#Ad. 18+ £300 cashback on stakes on selected sports spread betting markets. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other Sporting Index offer and will expire if the required number of qualifying settled sports bets have not been placed within 28 days of opening an account. Spread betting losses can exceed deposit. Full T&C's apply.
- Open a new account at William Hill
- Bet £10 on any sports betting market
- Get credited with 3 x £10 free bets!
#Ad. 18+. Play Safe. From 00:01 on 18.10.2022. £30 bonus. New customers only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on sportsbook (excluding Virtual markets). Further terms apply.
claiming Free Bets
It’s also quite common for our visitors to claim free bet offers from more than one bookie, the only requirement is that you can't have opened a betting account with them before.
Bookies also have differing odds for the same betting markets, so it pays to be able to select your odds from a wider range to increase the potential for free bets to generate bigger wins!
Having placed free bets with all the online bookies that we feature, it’s clear that being able to bet at the betting portal offering the best odds has often led to larger profits.