Free bets are offered by bookmakers, usually to win you over as a new customer. With so many betting operators competing for your business, the availability of free bet offers presents a huge opportunity to punters. In recent years however, new betting legislation has restricted bookmakers from offering sign up incentives like free bets, so their availability will depend on the legislation in the country you reside in. Genie’s free bets guide covers the key info you need to know.
Another common use of free bets is to reward loyal customers or as part of a reactivation campaign to get you to return if your account has been dormant for a period. The old adage that it’s cheaper to retain a customer than acquire a new one applies, so expect to receive incentives to reactivate if you have an account with a bookie, but haven’t used it in a while.
Restrictions on free bets
Depending on your country of residence, there may be some restrictions on free bets. In Australia for example, there are different restrictions in each state meaning that bookies cannot offer free bet incentives to acquire a punter. The can however do so after the member has joined, though there are certain restrictions on the types of offers also.
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Online free bets – what are the typical terms and conditions?
Nothing in life is free. The same applies to free bets. When offered, they typically come with some terms and conditions you need to be aware of, that usually include the following:
- Stakes on free bets are typically not returned – This means that the punter is usually better advised to spend freebies on an outcome with higher than average odds. Why? Because if you bet on Man City to win at 1/2 with your 20 quid free bet, you will only be returned the winnings (10) if they are successful.
- Free bets are excluded from other special offers – as an example, if there is a cashback special on an event you are betting on, the bookmaker may not return free bets in the event of the cashback clicking. The reason for this is often due to restrictions in the bookmaker’s backend systems that make it an extremely manual process to re-credit free bets.
GENIE SAYS: Punters should love free bets and avail of them where possible. Because almost all of the bookmakers these days give away free bets as part of sign-up offers, when you see a good sign-up offer take it while it is available. Try get ahead of the bookie before they clip your wings.