Can you really get free bets at online sportsbooks? Are they really free?
Online sportsbooks often provide incentives to encourage sports betting enthusiasts to create accounts on their sites. One popular promotion is to give new sign-ups a free bet that allows them to make a no-risk wager right away.
Another is a no deposit bonus that similarly gives users money with which to make their first bets.
So the answer is yes, you can get free bets at online sportsbooks. And they really are free, although they usually come with some stipulations that you’ll want to be aware of.
Here is a rundown explaining how to go about claiming the best free bets and no deposit bonuses at Tennessee online sportsbooks.
Most of us are rightly skeptical when offered something for free. But when it comes to online sportsbooks and free bets, they really are free, although as noted there are some stipulations to be aware of when you accept and place these free bets.
A free bet is essentially a bet you make without any risk. That means if you lose the bet, you lose nothing at all because you haven’t had to contribute the stake. The online sportsbook gives you the money you wager with.
However, there are two things you should keep in mind when it comes to free bets.
Some online sportsbooks give no deposit bonuses to new sign-ups. These bonuses are essentially free money with which to make sports bets.
Often these are relatively small ($10 or $25), when compared to matching bonuses associated with deposits. Even so, no deposit bonuses allow users to get a better feel for how an online sportsbook works by making a few bets without having to risk their own funds.
Like free bets, you can’t withdraw this money right away — you have to wager it. Also like free bets, bets won with no deposit bonuses only pay out the winnings and not the original stake.
Online sportsbooks offer different types of free bets. It helps to understand the differences between them before you jump in at any online sportsbook.
A risk free bet is a sports bet you make with your own money, but if the bet loses, you receive your stake back. Sometimes this refund comes as a free bet (see below), as some sort of bonus, or as a cash prize.
For example, some online sportsbooks will offer a $10 risk free bet. You use the promotion and make a $10 bet with your own money. If you win the bet, you earn the winnings as usual. But if you lose the bet, you get $10 back as a free bet, bonus, or cash.
Often risk free bets have to meet certain requirements such as having minimum odds in order to qualify.
Free bets are a very popular type of promotion for online sportsbooks, especially for new sign-ups. Unlike a risk free bet offer that requires you to bet your own money first, a free bet is just that — a bet you get to make with money given to you for free by the online sportsbook.
You lose nothing if your free bet loses. However, as noted above, if you win, you receive the winnings but not the original stake.
Free bets typically don’t have restrictions like minimum odds or other qualifications. However, they are sometimes time-sensitive (e.g., you must make the bet within a week, 30 days, etc.). Also, a free bet often has a maximum amount, and if you don’t bet that amount you forfeit the remainder.
For instance, if you have a $10 free bet and use it to make a $6 bet, you lose the remaining $4. Sometimes you have to make a deposit in order to claim a free bet, although you will also find “no deposit free bets” that do not require a deposit in order for you to claim them.
A match bet is another type of risk free bet. It’s a bet you make with your own money, and if you lose, you receive the amount of the bet as a refund.
In this case, an online sportsbook offers to match your bet up to a certain amount and percentage. For instance, the site can offer a 100% match bet up to $500. That means you can bet any amount up to $500, and if you lose your bet, the site will credit your account the entire amount as a refund.
Of these types of free bets, the non-restricted free bets are best for small stakes bettors as they have no associated requirements. With these you:
However, these free bets are usually smaller than the risk free bets that can be as much as $500 or even $1,000.
There are different rules of thought when it comes to the betting strategy with free bets. In theory, what works best as a profitable handicapping strategy with regular sports bets will also work best when betting with free sports bets.
However, since there is no risk of losing money when making a free bet, you can certainly consider making less conservative bets with better odds, thereby giving yourself a chance at a larger payout.
Thus, you might use your free bet to wager on a big underdog or even a multi-leg parlay, depending, of course, on whether the terms of the free bet allow such bets.
No deposit bonuses are especially good since they enable new sign-ups to try out online sportsbooks by making bets without risking any of their own funds.
Understandably, no deposit bonuses often come with significant restrictions. For one, the money awarded cannot be withdrawn, and must be wagered. Also, if the bets are winners, you only get the winnings and not the original stake.
No deposit bonuses are often time-sensitive as well. That means the money must be wagered within a certain time period, after which it is no longer available.
While no deposit bonuses work a lot like free bets, there is a significant difference. The value of a free bet has to be used on a single bet. No deposit bonus funds can usually be used over multiple bets at the customer’s discretion.
For example, a $100 free bet would have to be used on a single wager, and if the wager placed using the free-bet was only $90, the customer would forfeit the remaining $10 value. However, with $100 bonus funds, a customer could use them to place a single $100 wager or ten separate $10 bets.
With online sportsbooks, no deposit bonuses aren’t nearly as common as matching deposit bonuses, free bets, and other offers. That means when they do come along, you should take advantage of them.
To claim a no deposit bonus at an online sportsbook, you generally need to enter a bonus or promo code. Such codes work a lot like online coupons that you present in order to enjoy the savings they provide.
You will see bonus codes used for no deposit bonuses, matching bonuses, free bets, or other offers. Usually you can find them on the sportsbook’s website or in other promotional materials.
You’ll find the best Tennessee online sportsbook deposit codes right here on this page or in our sportsbook reviews.
There is typically a box on the registration page labeled “Enter Promo Code” (or something similar) where you type in the code in order to receive the bonus.
Sometimes you will also need to click a box agreeing to “Opt-In” in order to receive the bonus. Be sure to read the instructions and terms carefully when registering for an account.
Don’t lose the opportunity to take advantage of no deposit sportsbook bonus!
In addition to free bets and no deposit bonuses, there are other types of bonuses and promotions commonly found at online sportsbooks. These include:
Downloading and getting started with a sports betting app is a simple process. For iOS users (iPhone, iPad, etc.), the apps are available to download for free right from the sportsbook website, which you can reach by clicking directly through from this page.
Android users also can visit the online sportsbook’s website and download any sportsbook app for free.
Note: You can downloaded, create your account, claim your bonuses and fund your account from outside of Tennessee. However when it comes to making bets on the online sportsbook, you need to be physically located within Tennessee state lines to do so.
Online sportsbooks use geo-location to ensure all bettors are within state lines; you might need to download an extra geo-location app on your phone when you create your account.
In most cases, once you have downloaded the sportsbook app and created an account, you will need to enter some kind of bonus or promo code in order to claim your free bet and/or no deposit bonus. This can all be done right from the app. Here are some of the best examples of online sportsbooks that give new users free bets after they download their apps and create accounts.
The daily fantasy sports giant DraftKings also runs one of the most popular online sportsbooks around. For new users, DraftKings Sportsbook offers multiple promotions, including up to $1,000 in bonuses and $50 in free bets.
The DraftKings free bet is a first bet match, meaning the user makes an initial bet, and DraftKings gives the user a free bet to use worth an equivalent amount up to a maximum. You can then place the free bet on another contest, and if you win, you keep the winnings.
With a background in fantasy sports as well, FanDuel has likewise emerged with a popular online sportsbook app. FanDuel also offers new users a free bet worth up to $1,000, although it works a little differently than the one at DraftKings.
On FanDuel Sportsbook the free bet is not a matching bet. Rather, when making your first sports bet, if you lose the bet, you receive the money you wagered back in the form of a site credit. You can’t cash it out, but you can place another bet and if you win you get to keep the winnings.
Formerly PlayMGM, BetMGM also has a popular online sportsbook app that similarly gives new users a bonus of up to $600 after they create an account.
BetMGM has another promotion that gives users a $10 free bet once every week as long as they make at least $50 in qualifying wagers during the seven-day period – but always check to see if promotions are still active.
Yes, although they often have certain restrictions and/or requirements. Also, with free bets, the bettor only gets to collect the winnings and not the original stake.
It depends. Online sportsbooks can offer risk free bets up to $1,000 or more.
Online sportsbooks’ no deposit bonuses are typically small — $10 or $25. Meanwhile, matching deposit bonuses can be $500 or more.
Deposit bonuses usually come with a play-through requirement. They force the user to bet a certain amount in order to have bonus funds released into their account. Be certain to read the fine print when it comes to play-through requirements and bonuses. Sometimes the requirements are easy to fulfill, while others times they can be difficult.
Experienced online sports bettors sometimes use a technique called matched betting. It involves making multiple sports bets (usually on different sites) while using bonuses and promotions in order to ensure a profitable outcome. Don’t confuse “matched betting” with a “match bet,” a common type of risk free bet offered by online sportsbooks.
Usually free bets can be wagered on all the sports for which an online sportsbook has markets. Consult the terms of the free bet, however, for any restrictions by sport.
Yes. Pay attention to the maximum for a free bet and be certain to bet that amount. If you bet less than the maximum, you usually will lose whatever is left over.
Typically there is not, although there is always a maximum on the amount of the actual free bet. Sometimes there are odds restrictions, though, that necessarily limit the amount that can be won. Again, consult a free bet’s terms to see if there are any limits on the amount you can win.