What You Should Know About Sports Betting Bonuses

Sports betting sites offer a lot of competitive advantages to try and bring in customers, not the least of which are bonuses.  Online betting sites typically offer a variety of different bonuses.  These include new account bonuses, deposit bonuses, mobile betting bonuses, online casino bonuses, and free bets.  You will often see promotional offers like, “Deposit £100 now, and get £100 free.”  Or you might see, “Deposit today and enjoy a 50% match bonus.”

Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?  New bettors often accept these bonus offers without asking any questions.  But the reality is that nobody is going to give you free money, and you should always be wary when something sounds too good to be true.  That isn’t to say that these offers aren’t real or that you shouldn’t accept a bonus, but you should read the fine print and make sure you know what you are in for before you do, because there is always a catch.

Generally you can use a match bonus on your first deposit on any type of wager, though some sites may have restrictions.  The most important thing to understand about bonuses is that they are subject to rollover requirements (also called “turnover” requirements).  Basically, your bonus is not really yours when you first receive it.  It is a kind of loan—money you can bet with, but not withdraw.  This remains true until you meet the rollover requirement.  At that point, the bonus becomes yours 100%, and you can withdraw it along with the rest of your money.

So for example,  let’s say that an online betting site offers you a 50% bonus on a deposit of £100.  That gives you £150 to bet with.  Now let’s say the rollover requirement on this amount is 5x.  That means you must risk five times the total amount (your deposit plus the bonus).  You will have to place the equivalent of 5 bets worth £150.  That doesn’t mean each bet needs to be worth £150, but you need to eventually total up to £150 x 5 = £750 with your wagers. 

This requirement actually should not be all that hard for you to meet—it may sound daunting at first, but consider that the turnover requirements for binary options traders (who are basically another type of online gambler) often are close to 30-40x, and you will see how reasonable most online betting sites are with their rollover requirements!  Here are some quick additional tips on gambling with bonuses:

• Remember that the bonus is not truly yours until you meet the rollover.  If you make a withdrawal before that, you will not be able to withdraw the bonus.  Depending on the terms of service, you may actually forfeit the bonus as well as all earnings tied to wagers using the bonus money.

• If you lose the bonus after you try wagering with it, and then you attempt to make a withdrawal, the bonus amount will be deducted from your withdrawal unless you meet the rollover requirements first.  In other words, you can lose this money, and it can become your money in a negative sense as well as a positive sense.  From that point of view, you are actually gambling on leverage.  Bonuses can help you build up your account fast, but they can also bring you down just as fast.

Some sports bettors love bonuses because they add to the thrill, but others do not enjoy the added risk, and find that bonuses complicate their money management plans.  Read all the terms and conditions governing bonuses before you accept one, and do so at your own risk.  Have fun!