| Updated: September 18, 2025Sports Betting Bonuses – October, 2025
With so many sports betting websites available, gambling operators face fierce competition to attract new customers and keep them coming back. One way to achieve this is by offering bonuses to new bettors, motivating them to register with online sportsbooks. Sportsbooks maintain the interest of existing customers by treating them to a variety of ongoing and limited-time promotions that provide extra value for their money.
Such promotional incentives have been an important part of the online sports betting industry since its very inception. There are a variety of bonuses you can claim to boost your bankroll, including sign-up bonuses of different sizes, reload bonuses, cashback offers on losing accumulators, free bets, and price boosts.
The types of available bonuses vary greatly across online sportsbooks, both in size and in their wagering requirements. To make things easier for readers, we explain how each type of sports betting bonus works, as well as the most important conditions bettors should meet in order to fully benefit from these offers.
Types of Bonuses for Online Sports Betting
Before you take advantage of a sports betting bonus, it is important to understand how the promotion works, how you can qualify for the free credits, and what the terms of participation are. A proper understanding of these promotions will enable you to sift out the good offers from the bad and meet the attached conditions with ease.
No-Deposit Bonuses
Some of the largest online sportsbooks offer new registrants No-Deposit Bonuses as part of their promotional packages for first-time users. When a new customer signs up for a real-money account with the sportsbook, they are credited with bonus money and can place a few bets without having to make a payment. This provides newcomers with a way to test the waters and try the sportsbook without risking their own bankrolls.
Due to the nature of this promo type, the bonus amounts are smaller, usually between £5 and £10. In some instances, No-Deposit Bonuses are offered during major sporting events, like the Super Bowl or the European Football Championship, as a means to draw in business from casual bettors.
To qualify, you simply need to sign up and opt in to the bonus by entering the corresponding promo code. The winnings associated with the bonus funds are normally capped at a given amount (£100 in many cases), while the remainder is forfeited from the bettor’s balance once a withdrawal is initiated. More often than not, bettors must use the bonus on wagers at specific odds and must cover the turnover requirement before they can cash out their winnings.
Welcome Bonuses
This is undoubtedly the most common type of bonus you will encounter when choosing a sportsbook. Welcome bonuses are a powerful marketing tool for betting operators. These are offered when new bettors sign up for an account and make their first deposit.
The bonus amount corresponds to a specific percentage of the deposited sum, with some operators offering 50% matches on deposits and others 100% or even 150%. For example, if you claim a 100% Welcome Bonus of up to £100 and deposit £50, you will be credited with an extra £50 for a total of £100 to bet with.
The free money is credited to bettors’ bonus balance right away, but they cannot cash out the bonus funds – at least not immediately after obtaining them. The turnover requirements must be met before a withdrawal is initiated. In other words, the bonus amount needs to be wagered the stipulated number of times at specific odds before the free money and its associated winnings are released from the bonus balance.
Reload Bonuses
Reload bonuses largely resemble the sign-up offers claimed by new bettors; the only difference is that they are granted on subsequent deposits. This is another marketing approach sports betting operators commonly employ to retain the interest of registered bettors.
Like the welcome offers, Reload Bonuses come in the form of percentage match rates that are capped at a given amount. Sometimes these percentages may differ depending on the deposit method used. Some operators may offer 5% to 15% reload bonuses on each deposit made via credit cards or e-wallets.
Free Bets
Risk-free bets are commonly offered to customers as an incentive to keep them coming back to the sportsbook. The name of this promotion is quite self-explanatory, as free bets are exactly what they sound like – bets you do not have to pay for. Their size varies between online sportsbooks.
The free bets are credited to the bettor’s account after they have entered a given promotional code or have placed a specific number of wagers on a certain event. The free bet usually matches the amount of the qualifying wager. For example, if you place a £20 bet on a qualifying market, you receive an additional £20 in the form of a free bet.
The free bet is treated separately from your initial stake. If you back the winner with a £20 free bet that pays even money, you would receive only £20 in profits, since the bonus amount is non-redeemable. Some operators have rollover requirements attached to their free-bet offers. There may be additional conditions prohibiting bettors from using their free bets on certain markets, such as Asian Handicaps or Goal Lines.
Price Boosts
Existing registrants at online sportsbooks are often treated to the so-called Price Boosts. These are offers that feature enhanced odds for specific markets to incentivize registered customers to bet on them. Price Boosts are frequently available on accumulators, and the odds of the qualifying markets may be enhanced only for a limited period of time.
Occasionally, these may be offered in place of the standard sign-up bonuses. For example, imagine the odds of James Milner scoring the first goal in the game have been boosted from 4:1 to 6:1. If Milner indeed scores first and you have bet £10 on this outcome, the Price Boost will earn you £60 instead of £40 in profits.
There is no need to opt in for this bonus or enter a promo code. This type of promotional offer is usually displayed in bettors’ bet slips when valid.
Cashbacks and Rebates on Losing Bets
Registered customers of online sportsbooks are sometimes given the chance to partially reclaim their losses on single bets or accumulators by opting in for a cashback on their losing bets. As you know, if one of your accumulator’s selections fails, your entire accumulator loses. But if you have opted in for a Cashback Bonus, you can redeem some of the amount lost.
Similarly to deposit bonuses, cashbacks are expressed as percentages and usually range between 5% and 50% – it all depends on which sportsbook you have registered with. The amount corresponding to the cashback percentage is deducted from your final losses. Thus, if you have lost £50 with your accumulator, your cashback will reduce your losses to only £25.
Key Conditions of Sports Betting Bonuses
Never underestimate the importance of reading the sportsbook’s terms and conditions regarding the bonuses on offer. This is the section where you will find all you need to know about the bonus you intend to claim, including the turnover – also known as “wagering” or “rollover” requirements.
This turnover is expressed with numerical values like 20x or 25x. This number indicates how much the bettor must wager in order to clear their entire bonus amount and request a cash-out. To use an example, a £10 bonus with 20x turnover requires you to wager a total of £200 to clear the bonus and cash out the profits associated with it.
Sports betting bonuses often have an expiration date, as bettors are allotted a specific amount of time to use the free credits and clear the turnover. The allotted time differs across online sportsbooks. When using a bonus, pay attention to the types of bets that contribute toward clearing the bonus.
As a general rule, bettors have to wager on sporting events with specific odds, most often 1.50 or 1.60 and greater, to clear the turnover. The wagers must be settled before the bonus’s expiry. Some markets may be excluded from turnover contribution. Wagers that are settled at odds lower than those specified in the terms will not contribute to fulfilling the turnover.
The terms and conditions may also limit the amount of winnings bettors are allowed to withdraw when using a bonus. This applies in full force to No-Deposit Bonuses, where the winnings are customarily capped at a lower amount, up to £100 in the majority of cases. Even if the bettor wins more, the remainder of the profits will be forfeited upon initiating a withdrawal.
Common Issues with Redeeming a Sports Betting Bonus
Bonuses are perhaps the most common way for online sportsbooks to attract new bettors, but you need to understand how they work if you wish to get the most out of your free betting experience. This knowledge will spare you the hassle of ensuing problems when opting in for an offer and will allow you to maximize the value of your bonus credits.
Speaking of issues, bettors may sometimes face difficulties in redeeming or clearing their sports betting bonuses. Some of the most common problems involve failing to receive the bonus despite opting in or having the free credits forfeited.
If you have accepted a promotional offer requiring a deposit but have not been credited with the bonus funds, you might have to reconsider the payment method you used to initiate the deposit. Some online sportsbooks exclude specific payment methods from promotional incentives, most commonly e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller.
Another reason why bettors are unable to claim a bonus involves regulatory restrictions. Residents of some jurisdictions may be able to register at the sportsbook but are prohibited from participating in promotional incentives on the website.
If you have your bonus and its winnings forfeited, most likely the issue is related to the turnover requirements. This may result from failing to clear the wagering requirements within the designated time. If so, the bonus credits are automatically removed from your account once your bonus expires. Requesting a cash-out before you cover the turnover will almost certainly void your bonus.
Another potential reason for forfeiture is failing to comply with the odds restrictions attached to the offer. The turnover is cleared with bets at certain odds, usually 1.50 or above. Violating these restrictions leads to the removal of the bonus credits.
Signing up with multiple accounts to redeem more bonuses is a stark violation of the promotional terms and leads to permanent account termination. Bettors must remember they are generally prohibited from using one type of bonus in conjunction with another. Often, you are required to clear one bonus before claiming another.
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