How to Take Advantage of Online Sportsbook Bonuses

Learn how to take advantage of online sportsbook bonuses.

Key Points

– Taking advantage of sportsbook bonuses begins with understanding how they work.

– Use free bets in certain situations.

The number of benefits and bonuses available in the sportsbook market is enormous. In this fiercely competitive world, sportsbooks try their hardest to earn your business. As a result, sportsbooks provide a variety of bonuses to attract new customers and offer even more bonuses to keep their existing bettors.

These bonuses can help you win bets you have placed or bets you might not have otherwise placed. You can maximize each and every sportsbook bonus if you play it correctly. All you need to know is how.

Understanding the different kinds of bonuses that sportsbooks provide is beneficial. Not all bonuses were created equal.

Keep in mind that sportsbooks rarely give away free money. Sportsbook incentives and bonuses come in a variety of formats. The vast bulk of these incentives come in the form of free bets. Consider a deposit bonus, for instance.

You deposit $100 into a new betting account. The sportsbook has a 100 percent deposit match. As a result, you have $200 to bet with. The extra $100 comes as free bets. 

In order to withdraw, sportsbooks protect themselves with a rollover requirement. Let’s say the rollover requirement in this case is 4x. What that means is you must bet $800 (4 x $200) before you are able to withdraw any bonus money.

New signup bonuses are frequently the best perks. Again, sportsbooks are vying for new customers, so they make an extra effort to entice you to sign up the first time.

The signup bonus is typically the one that receives the most advertising and is also the biggest incentive that a certain sportsbook offers. The majority of these are distributed as risk-free bonuses.

As mentioned, most sportsbooks offer a deposit match on any deposit. Many sportsbooks now offer even higher deposit match bonuses when you fund your account with Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency due to the increased popularity of cryptocurrencies.

It is important to understand how the rollover requirements work for the bonuses that you are considering. Look for bonuses where you don’t have to rollover as often. Be mindful of any timing constraints as well. Your bonus amount might have to be used by a specific date or it will be lost.

EDITOR’S CHOICE: A PROFESSIONAL HANDICAPPERS TOOLS OF TRADE

Sportsbooks rarely give away money. When they do, it’s usually $5 here or $10 there. Sometimes, it comes with no strings attached but again that is very rare. Some sportsbooks will take the chance that most bettors will either use the funds on a bet or simply forget about it.

The free bet bonus is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a bet that doesn’t cost the bettor anything. The majority of sportsbooks offer these bonuses. Bettors frequently notice ads that say “Bet $5, Win $500”. The $500 in free bets are given as payment for the win.

There is also the risk-free bet. Normally, conditions are tied to a no-risk wager. For example, a $500 risk-free wager may require a $500 initial deposit from the bettor. Any winnings are paid out in free bets (another bonus).

Whatever the bonus may be, be sure you understand it and any conditions related to it.

The bonuses that you receive should be put to work to help build your betting account. One of the first things you should do is look for some solid underdogs to bet on. 

Bettors have nothing to lose when using a free bet. Your bankroll doesn’t change when you lose a free bet. However, it will grow when you win a free bet. Why not take advantage of great plus-money odds and really stack that bankroll?

If you bet $100 on an MLB playoff underdog at +250, a winning bet will add $250 to your account. You can still add to your account betting on quality favorites, but you don’t need to win as often when betting underdogs.

Another way to use your free bets is on futures. In an effort to win betting football, you put a bet on a team to win the Super Bowl early in the NFL season. Instead of tying up your own money for the entire season, use a free bet in this case. Let the sportsbook hold your free bet instead of your money. If you lose, no big deal as it wasn’t your money tied up for several months.

Arbitrage is another approach to using sportsbook bonuses. Let’s say you have the Vikings at -250 playing the Bears at +225. You bet $125 to win $50 before the game on the Vikings. Then, you start to have second thoughts about the Bears as kickoff approaches.

Let’s say you place a $50 free bet on Chicago at an odds of +225. Either way, you are good to go. You will win $50 and incur no losses on the free bet if the Vikings win. You will lose the $125 you bet on the Vikings if the Bears win, but you will get it back on the bet you placed with your bonus.

Make sure you understand how your bonuses work and then use them wisely. Let the bonuses work for you as you build your bankroll.