Online Sportsbook Offers
Betting deals are readily available for UK players and work in a similar way to casino offers. Whether you’re betting with a dedicated sportsbook or with a site that offers both casino games and betting, there are plenty of ways to get more for your money.
Matched Deposit Betting Deals
Matched deposits are popular with sportsbook players as they give them flexibility. With bonus credit in your account, you can make a decision on where to place your bets and how much to wager at a time.
The terms and conditions attached to matched deposit betting deals vary widely across different betting sites, such as the wagering requirements and amount of time allowed to fulfil them. So, always be sure to read the relevant terms before claiming an offer.
Free Bets
Free bets are often dished out to existing players on high-profile sports events. They offer a great opportunity for players to take a risk-free punt on a market they may not normally bet on. The value of a free bet varies but £5, £10 and £20 free bets are the most common.
The flexibility of free bets also varies. For example, you may receive a free bet to wager on any market of a Premier League football match at the weekend, giving you the option to choose long or short odds. Alternatively, the sportsbook may issue you a free bet for one particular match or market.
Betting Cashback Offers
Cashback offers for sports betting work in a similar way to casino cashback deals, but are less common. Sportsbooks are more likely to offer free bets or matched deposits than a recurring cashback scheme, but those that do pay the players a percentage of their losses back as withdrawable cash.
Bet Credits
Bet credits are essentially a type of free bet — this terminology is used to emphasise the fact you’ll be receiving a free token to place a bet with, as opposed to bonus money in your account.
Many bookmakers offer bet credits as part of their welcome offers to new customers. For example, when registering and making your first deposit between £5 and £10 at Bet365, you can claim five times that value in free bet credits once you make a qualifying bet of the same amount. There are no wagering requirements attached to this particular offer — you’ll just need to ensure your original qualifying bet settles within 30 days of opting in to the promotion.
The option to use your bet credits will appear on your bet slip before placing a bet. You can even place a bet using a combination of bet credits and your own cash. If the bet wins, the winnings are given as withdrawable cash, but this doesn’t include the bet credit stake. All in all, bet credits offer a good opportunity to try out a new sportsbook and have a punt without risking your own cash.
Accumulators
An accumulator is a betting format popular with sports fans — instead of betting on a single outcome, you’ll place a bet on multiple outcomes at once. For your bet to win, you’ll need each segment or ‘leg’ of your bet to be successful. This type of bet is similar to a double or a treble — where you place two or three selections in one bet. Accumulators are simply any bet with four selections or more and are available on a range of sports from football to horse racing.
Naturally, accumulators usually offer higher payouts than single bets, as the bettor has to correctly predict four or more outcomes to win. This means that accumulators are generally a risky bet. However, they do offer punters who prefer to stick to smaller stakes the chance to win a larger amount than they ordinarily would on a single wager. What’s more, counting down the selections until they’re all successfully ticked off is a fun part of the process for many punters.
Let’s look at an example: Unibet offered pre-match odds of 21/50 for Liverpool to beat Newcastle in March 2022. A £1 bet on this selection would return £1.43. Many punters are happy with these returns when betting on the clear favourite. However, by adding some other selections with short odds together, bettors can create their own accumulator with odds above evens:
- Liverpool to beat Newcastle – 21/50
- Man City to beat Leeds – 7/25
- Aston Villa to beat Norwich – 4/11
- Chelsea to beat Everton – 4/6
- Arsenal to beat West Ham – 3/4
- Total odds: 6/1
- £1 stake returns £7.47
With this five-fold acca, there’s now a larger profit up for grabs. But remember, it only takes one of these selections to come up short for the whole bet to lose.
Placing an accumulator bet is a straightforward process; simply add multiple selections to your betslip and choose the amount you’d like to bet. Certain markets won’t be compatible with each other, so you may need to revise your selections if the acca option doesn’t appear.
Acca Insurance
Like the sound of an accumulator but not sure you want to take the risk? Acca insurance could be the option for you. The bane of any sports punter’s betting experience is missing out on an accumulator because of one selection losing — particularly if the team you need to win concedes a last-minute goal!
With acca insurance, the sportsbook will return your stake as cash if just one of your selections loses. This gambling offer gives you the chance to go for a punt, safe in the knowledge you’ll avoid the disappointment of one selection losing.
Acca insurance is usually offered to existing punters to advertise a particular market. Generally, you’ll just need to go ahead and place the bet and the insurance will automatically apply. This Betfred promotion is a typical example:
- Place a 5+ Fold Football accumulator (odds per leg of 1/2 or greater) on selected leagues and if one leg lets you down we’ll refund your stake as CASH up to £10.
Here, you’ll note some of the terms and conditions involved in this offer — the odds of each selection will need to be 1/2 or above, while the maximum amount you’ll be refunded is £10. Usually, you’ll also need to place the bet before any of the matches in the selection kick off, and often there won’t be an option to cash out early.
Odds Boosts/Enhanced Odds
An Odds Boost is another popular gambling offer that gives you the chance to place a bet on a market where the payout has been increased. Enhanced odds are regularly available for both new and existing customers, so it’s well worth looking out for them. That said, it’s advisable to stick to betting on markets that you’re familiar with, regardless of the potential payouts.
Betfair’s Odds Boost promotion is an example of a promotion available to both new and existing customers — you can boost your odds on three horses any day with a My OddsBoost token. To pick up a token, you’ll just need to have placed a bet within the last 30 days.
Some odds boost promotions will be specifically aimed at new punters, offering them enhanced odds on their first bets. In this instance, it’s important to check whether winnings are paid as cash or as further free bets.
Once you’re signed up with a new betting site, you’ll likely have access to improved odds on a regular basis. When browsing the available markets on a given day, you’ll often see a list of odds boosts at the top of the page. These could take the form of a single bet, for example Fabinho to get a yellow card in Liverpool vs Arsenal increased from 2/1 to 5/1. Alternatively, you could get enhanced odds for a premade double, treble, or accumulator.
Let’s take a look at an example. Bet365 offered the following in March 2022:
- Queens Park Rangers vs Sheffield Utd
- 10/1 odds enhanced to 16/1
- Sander Berge – over 0.5 shots in the match
- Over six corners in the match for Sheffield United
- Sam Field to be booked
The idea behind odds boosts is to offer extra incentives for punters to place a bet. Of course, it’s up to you whether the value of the enhanced odds is worth it — just remember to stick to betting with stakes that you’re comfortable with.