Peter has been writing for the gambling industry since 2013, and joined the SportsCasting team in July 2024. Outside of work Peter is a runner, gig rower, guitarist and musician (releasing two albums under the name 'ShiroToKuro'). Peter is also a lover of manga, anime and Japanese cinema and can even read and speak Japanese at the conversational level.
Get to know Peter Addison better
Ian Bruce became interested in betting in 1987, when he landed a winning Yankee on his first attempt. That stroke of luck (and he admits that's exactly what it was) sparked an interest in understanding the strategies behind successful wagers. Over the years, he has become one of the UK's most prolific writers on betting and gaming, and is best known for his systematic approach to winning. Ian's career in the industry now spans over three decades. His favorite betting method is Dutching because, in his words, "It's the one I win with more often than not."
All posts by Ian BruceAn introduction to betting offers in the UK. We explain what they are, the different kinds you will find and how you can get the most out of them.
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Bet £10 Get £60 in Free Bets |
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Bet £10, Get £40 |
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Bet £10, Get £50 in Bonuses |
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100% Profit Boost up to £100 on 1st Bet |
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Bet £10, Get a £30 Free Bet |
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Bet £50, Get £25 in Free Bets + 10 Free Spins |
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Bet £10 Get £10 Free Bet |
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£50 In Free Bets When You Bet £10 |
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Bet £10 and Get a £20 Free Bet |
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Bet £10 Get £20 In Free Bets |
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Top 10 Betting Offers in the UK at a Glance
Here for you now are what we think to be the ten best betting site offers currently available to UK punters.
- BetMGM – Bet £10, get £60 in free bets
- Spreadex – Bet £10, get £40
- The Tote – Bet £10, get £50 in bonuses
- LeoVegas – Up to £100 extra with a 100% profit boost
- NetBet – Bet £5 or more to get a £10 free bet
- Fitzdares – Get £25 in free bets + 10 free spins when you bet £50
- Luckster – Bet £10 get £10 free bet
- Betfred – £50 in free bets when you bet £10
- Caspbet – Bet £10 get £30 free bet
- BoyleSports – Bet £10 get £20 in free bets
Five of the Best Betting Sign-up Offers in Detail
We’ve hand-picked five of the very best betting offers, such as welcome or sign-up bonuses, that are available to punters in the UK today. You’ll find everything you need to know listed below.
1. BetMGM – Bet £10, Get £60 in Free bets
At BetMGM, one of our very favourite betting sites, you can claim a staggering £60 in free bets, just for making a £10 bet using your own money. Once you have signed up at BetMGM, you have seven days to place a minimum qualifying bet of £10 at minimum odds of Evens (2.0). Once that bet has settled, you will receive three £10 horse racing bets, one £10 bet builder bet, one £10 acca and one £10 football bet. Free bet stakes are not returned, and other terms and conditions apply.
For ongoing customers, you can get an acca boost of up to 200%. The boost kicks in at 3% for a three-selection acca and maxes out at 200% for twenty selections. There’s also a Golden Goals game, where you could win £2 million for getting the score of six selected football matches spot on.
There’s a bonus for casino players too. You’ll get 100 free spins on Big Bass Splash once you have wagered £10 on slots at the site, as long as you do so within seven days of signing up.
2. Spreadex – Bet £10, get £40
Spreadex is our number one choice for sports spread betting in the UK, and you can get your spread betting career here off to a flying start with £40 in bonus funds if you bet £10. Once you have opened your account at Spreadex, you only need to place a minimum £10 fixed odds bet at minimum odds of 1/2. Once that bet has settled, you will receive two £10 fee fixed odds bets, four £5 free spread bets, and a £1 race index spread bet. Other T&Cs apply and please note that this deal is only available if you click the button below.
You can also get spread-free bets at Spreadex. This is beneficial to you as it allows you to bet at the midpoint of the spread (market midpoint) rather than the top or the bottom. If you place three sports spread bets online on the same markets within 10 minutes, your fourth spread bet can be placed on the spread mid-point if you wish. You can also boost your acca winnings here by up to 75% and get double the odds for Lucky 15, Lucky 31 and Lucky 63 bets.
3. The Tote – Bet £10, Get £50 in Bonuses
The Tote has long been established as the UK’s number one pool betting organisation, initially at racetracks and then betting shops and finally online. Newcomers online are able to claim £50 in bonuses simply by making a £10 bet using their own money. When registering at the site, use the code ‘B10G50’ (or use the button below), then place a minimum £10 qualifying bet at minimum odds of Evens (must be a ‘to win’ bet – if E/W minimum stake is £20). Once settled, you will receive £20 in Tote credit and a £20 Free Bet. You will also receive 50 free spins on ‘Big Bass Bonanza’ to allow you to sample The Tote online casino.
As the Tote is primarily concerned with horse racing we would advise you to visit the site at the appropriate time to look for Grand National betting offers and Cheltenham betting offers. In terms of regular horse racing betting offers, there’s the ‘Stayers Club’ at the Tote, which means if you place a minimum of six qualifying bets during the week, you’ll receive free credit on the following Monday. For example, if you place 6 qualifying bets of £10 during the week, £10 of free Tote bet credit will be yours!
4. LeoVegas – Up to £100 Extra with a 100% Profit Boost
We have to credit LeoVegas with being one of the best all-round gambling sites in the UK, and we can also credit them with offering new signups to their site extra credit up to £10. You can claim this free credit by making a minimum first deposit at the site via the ‘My offers’ page within 30 days of signing up. You then have a further seven days to stake a maximum of £10 on in-play markets, with minimum odds of Evens. Any winnings from this qualifying bet will be boosted 100%, up to a maximum of £100. All winnings (including boosted winnings) are paid as cash.
If you are more of a casino player, then you can claim the casino bonus – opt-in and deposit either £10, £25 or £50 within seven days. Once you have wagered your deposit 35 times over, you will receive a matched bonus. You will also receive 25 ten-pence wager-free spins on Big Bass Splash. LeoVegas runs other promotions, with the exclusive LeoJackpot at the top of the bonus tree. This is available on over 250 slots at the site and consists of four progressive jackpots – Mini, Minor, Major and Mega with the Mega jackpot maxing out at a staggering £20 million!
5. NetBet – Bet £5 or More to Get a £10 Free Bet
NetBet is an international sports betting and casino brand that was formed way back in 2001. This means that some people now allowed to claim the bonus at this site weren’t even born when NetBet was formed! They (and everyone else) can claim a £10 free bet from NetBet, once they have made a £5 bet using their own money within thirty days of signing up for the site. This £5 qualifying bet must have a minimum of three selections and minimum odds of 3/1 (4.00). Your free bet worth £10 is awarded to you within 24 hours and must be used (accas only) within seven days. Note, do not make your qualifying deposit via Neteller, PayPal or Skrill.
As a NetBet customer, you can claim one spin daily of the ‘Wheel of Sportune’. This contains a range of free bets from £20 right down to the dreaded £0 free bet. To be able to spin the Wheel of Sportune you must have made a minimum £5 bet using your own money within the last four days. NetBet is one of those sites that pays out early once the football team you have backed goes two goals up. You can also boost any winning accas up to 50%, as long as the acca has minimum odds of 1.30 per selection.
Online New Customer Betting offers Compared
If you’re not a fan of reading on the internet, then you’ll gain all the knowledge you need simply by looking at the table of the best betting offers in the UK below.
Site Offer Min Deposit Expiry Min Odds Playthrough BetMGM Bet £10, get £60 £10 7 Days 1/1 (2.0) None Spreadex Bet £10, get £40 £10 28 days 1/2 (1.5) None Tote Bet £10, get £50 £10 7 days 1/1 (2.0) None LeoVegas Up to 100% profit boost £10 30 days 1/1 (2.0) None NetBet Bet £5, get £10 £5 7 days 3/1 (4.0) None Fitzdares £25 free bet + 10 free spins £10 7 days 1/1 (2.0) None Luckster Bet £10, get £10 £10 14 days 1/1 (2.0) None Betfred Bet £10, get £50 £10 7 days 1/1 (2.0) None CaspBet Bet £10, get £30 £10 7 days 1/2 (1.5) 1x BoyleSports Bet £10, get £20 £10 7 days 1/1 (2.0) None Common Types of Betting offers
Let’s now work through a few examples of the kind of online betting offers you are likely to find available at gambling sites in the UK.
New Customer Betting offers
There are two main types of new customer betting offers – matched bonuses and free bets. We will take a more detailed look at free bets below. A matched bonus will match your first deposit at a site with an identical amount of bonus money. You will need to make a minimum deposit, and there will be a maximum amount of bonus money you can acquire along with other restrictions such as allowable payment methods and timeframes.
If your betting sites offers bonus cash it can only ever be used for betting and cannot ever be withdrawn. Once it has been used as the stake for a bet (win or lose) it is removed from your account.
Free Bet Offers
A free bet is a very simple offer to understand. Once you have signed up to a site, make a minimum bet (as stipulated by the offer) and that bet has settled, then the free bet is yours. There will be other qualifying criteria that you will have to meet, even with the best free bet offers.
Your free bet may be restricted in terms of minimum odds, the timeframe available to use it and what you can use it on. Once placed, your free bet stake is considered void. If your bet wins, you will get back the winnings generated. If you lose, then you get back nothing.
Risk-Free Bet Offers
A risk-free bet is the same as a free bet except that you only receive it if your qualifying bet loses. Say you receive a £10 risk-free bet – you would then have to place a £10 bet using your own cash. If that bet wins, then you don’t get your free bet but if your bet loses, then you do.
Just like the free bet explained above, free bet stakes are non-withdrawable and will be removed from your account once used. Other terms and conditions are likely to apply.
Enhanced Odds
These are deals where you get better odds than those offered to punters who are unable to claim the deal. They are usually for a specific market outcome, such as Manchester City beating Manchester United in the EPL. If you take up the offer, then should Manchester City win (in this example), you would be paid out at the enhanced odds, not the normal odds.
With some deals, any money you win more than the ‘normal’ odds is paid as bonus cash as opposed to cash that goes straight to your account and is withdrawable.
Football Betting offers
We are now going to take a look at some offers that are almost always associated with football, and are available at the best football betting sites.
Early Payout
A small handful of sites will offer a deal where they payout any bet made as a winning one should the backed team take a two-goal lead. The final outcome of the match is immaterial, even if the side that has been backed goes on to tie or lose.
For cup games, the early payout is suspended if the tie goes into extra time (i.e. if the game is all-square once 90 minutes and the time added on for stoppages has concluded). If a side takes a two-goal lead in extra time then early payout does not apply.
Acca Insurance and Boosts
Generally speaking, an acca (short for accumulator) is a string of single bets of at least four selections. All selections have to win in order for your entire bet to win.
Some football betting sites will offer ‘acca insurance’. This is where your stake is returned as a free bet should your acca fail by a single selection. Your acca may have to have a minimum number of selections in order to be eligible for acca insurance.
Acca boosts are where the winnings from successful accas are given a boost. The more selections an acca has, the higher the boost. For example, a winning acca with four selections may only get a 2.5 per cent boost, while one with twenty selections may get a 100 per cent boost. Take care with acca boosts as they may encourage you to add more selections to your acca than you originally intended.
Horse Racing Betting offers
Here now are some betting offers that are generally available on horse racing, at the best horse racing betting sites. Look out at specific times of the year for Cheltenham betting offers and Grand National betting offers.
Best Odds Guaranteed
Two sets of odds are important when it comes to horse racing. The price of your selected mount when you placed your bet, and the starting price when the race started. Generally, you are paid at the odds when you placed your bet, and not at the starting price (SP) unless you specifically request.
Among betting sites offers is ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’ on horse racing (and some on greyhound racing too). This is where, if your bet wins, you are paid at the more beneficial price – the odds at which you placed your bet or the SP.
Beaten by a Head
With this horse racing deal you receive your money back if the horse you back is beaten into second place by a distance of a head. Many times you only qualify for this offer if the horse that wins is the SP favourite. Other possible distances include a nose, short head or a neck. You may also find that your stake money is returned as a free bet as part of any horse racing money back specials.
Extra Places
There are strict rules that govern what qualifies as a place in horse racing betting. It depends on the number of runners, the type of race and whether the race is a handicap. Usually first, second and third constitutes a place, but on occasion, it could be only the first two, or the first four.
Many times sports sites will go ‘maverick’ and offer extra places on specific races. Therefore a place finish could be top five or even top six. Naturally, only place and each way bets qualify for this deal.
Online Casino Betting offers
Let’s now take a look at the kind of gambling offers you may find at the best online casino sites.
Free Spins
Slots are the lifeblood of most online casinos, but you have to pay for every spin of every slot you take. With free spins, you don’t! Free spins are free and have a specific value (which, usually at UK casinos is ten pence each). You may be able to use them on a specific slot, a range of slots or on any slot at the site offering the deal.
It is becoming increasingly common for winnings from free spins at online casinos to be paid as cash, but they may be paid as bonus cash too. Bonus cash requires a deal of wagering before you can turn it into money you’re able to withdraw.
Reload Bonus
A reload bonus is a bonus that regular customers can claim as opposed to just new customers. If a customer opts into a bonus and they meet the criteria, such as depositing a minimum of £20, then the reload bonus is theirs.
Reload bonuses come with the same terms and conditions as a betting sign-up bonus – expiry time, minimum deposit, maximum bonus, payment restrictions, wagering and differing game contributions.
Cashback on Losses
Nobody likes losing money at a casino (or a betting site). Some sites will help you ease the pain of losses by giving you back a percentage of your losses at the end of the week. For example, say at the end of a week of casino play you are £20 down. The site you played at offers 10 per cent cashback on losses, so that’s £2 you will be getting back.
Note that more often than not, cashback on losses is given as bonus cash and not money that you can immediately withdraw. Cashback deals are much more common at online casinos than other gambling sites, but you may get cashback deals on your betting losses at some online bookmakers.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty Programs (or ‘VIP schemes’ as they are also known) give you extra rewards for playing at an online casino. For example, they may give you extra free spins or bonuses should you wager a minimum specific amount of money at an online casino during a particular time frame.
Care must be taken with loyalty programs as they may encourage you to gamble more than you originally intended to. If you are gambling to claim a particular reward, make sure you ask yourself if the reward is worth the money and times you are gambling to receive it.
Online Poker Betting offers
If you are playing at an online poker site, then there will be offers available to you. Here are a few deals you are likely to find at the best online poker sites.
Rakeback
If you play ring games at an online poker site, you generate take. This is the small percentage of chips that the poker site takes from each pot. The more you play, the more rake you generate, of course.
You may be entitled to a weekly percentage back of the rake you generate. This offer is known as ‘rakeback’. Some rakeback can be as high as fifty or even sixty per cent. Note, you may have to generate a minimum amount of rake to qualify for rakeback.
Freeroll Tournaments
These are tournaments that are free to enter. Usually, there will be a high number of minimum entrants into the tournament, or else the tournament will not take place. The prizes for top finishers in the freeroll are usually only a few dollars. Occasionally, winning a free roll tournament will permit entry into an exclusive freeroll with higher prizes, or free entry into a satellite tournament.
Free Entries
You will of course find a lot of tournaments at online poker sites. These could be site tournaments, or satellites into global poker tournaments such as those hosted by the WSOP or ETP. Usually, entry into such tournaments is expensive, but occasionally as part of a deal, you may be rewarded with a free entry into a tournament of your choice.
You may also receive a free entry into a tournament where the prizes include free entries into tournaments with substantial prize pots.
What to Look for in a Betting Offer
Fortunately, in the UK betting niche betting offers do now have to be fair and square, and offer the person taking up the offer distinct value. Sites that offer ‘enticing’ promotions that are essentially valueless will soon have some explaining to do to the UKGC.
But, some offers are better than others. Before you start taking up gambling offers from here, there and everywhere, it is important that you understand what makes a good betting offer, and what makes a less good one. As ever, we are here to help!
Overall ValueBroad AvailabilityFairness of TermsThis is a question of balance – is the value of the offer sufficient when compared to the effort needed to acquire it? Say you find a £200 casino bonus – that must be worth working for, surely? But what if you have to make a minimum £400 deposit in order to claim the bonus, and once acquired you need wagering of 50x in order to release it. That’s £400 of your money and £10,000 worth of wagering required … is it really worth the time and effort, and how much of your £400 is likely to be left once wagering is complete?
Understanding the overall value of bonuses is difficult to do, but the more experienced you become at using good bonuses, the better equipped you will become at recognising bad ones.
Many bonuses can be restrictive. Which do you think is better, 20 free spins on a specific slot after making a £20 deposit using a debit card only and spending £20 at the online casino within 24 hours (and then having another 24 hours to use your free spins and wager them 30x), or 10 free spins on any slot after making a £10 deposit using any accepted payment method, no wagering and winnings paid as cash?
Sure, the first offer may give you double the spins, but it’s four times the restrictions. In terms of bonus availability, quality nearly always trumps quantity.
This is perhaps the most important aspect of any betting offer is the terms and conditions attached. All betting offers come with terms and conditions, and you should read them thoroughly before doing what’s necessary to claim the offer. You should look for aspects such as minimum odds (for betting offers), wagering (for casino offers), expiry dates and times and so on. In short, you should fully understand every single hoop that you are expected to jump through to take advantage of the offer.
How to Claim Betting Offers
Gambling sites in the UK actively want you to claim betting offers (especially welcome bonuses) so they make the process as simple as possible. Here though is a quick overview of how to claim one.
- If you don’t have an account at the site at which you wish to claim an offer, go through the registration process.
- During the registration process, for a betting sign-up bonus you may need to ‘opt-in’ or use a bonus code to claim your bonus, so make sure you do so if required.
- Once your account is up and running, head to the cashier and make at least the minimum payment required to be eligible for your bonus.
- If you have to make bets or play games to receive your bonus, do so.
- Your bonus will now appear in your account, use it as you see fit!
- If the bonus is a casino bonus, once have used you may have to work through wagering. Do so and any money won via your bonus will finally be released into your account.
Common Betting offers Terms & Conditions
We’ve mentioned the importance of understanding the terms and conditions associated with any bonus a few times now. To help you out even further, he’s a list of the most common terms you find associated with online betting offers.
- Minimum Deposit/Bet – with nearly all offers, you will need to make a minimum deposit to be eligible. For sports betting offers, you are likely to be required to make a minimum bet too.
- Expiry Deadlines – betting offers do not hang around forever. For a welcome offer, you will be only able to claim the deal within a specific timeframe of signing up. You will also have timeframes to make a qualifying deposit or bet, to use your offer, and for casino offers complete wagering.
- Casino Credits – free bets and bonuses can never be withdrawn, and can only ever be used for placing bets or playing games. Once used, they are removed from your account.
- Excluded Payment Methods – many offers can only be claimed if the qualifying deposit is made using a debit card, with other payment methods such as eWallets outlawed. This is to help prevent people from claiming a welcome bonus more than once.
- Minimum Odds – for sports betting offers, qualifying bets will need to be made at minimum odds. This is to prevent people from abusing bonuses by betting on dead certs. Even the best free bet offers may have minimum odds restrictions too.
- Playthrough/Wagering – the amount of bets/play needed to release a bonus. For sports betting, playthrough is usually small or not required. For casino bonuses, it could be between 30 and 50 times the size of the bonus.
- Eligibility – you can only claim a bonus once. Also, a bonus can only be claimed once per household, or i.p. address. You cannot claim bonuses if you are under 18 years of age.
Grab Yourself a Betting Offer Today
You won’t get rich with betting promotions, but they do offer something for nothing so they are always worth claiming as long as the terms and conditions are fair. Why not take a punt and claim some of the offers we have outlined above? Remember to keep visiting our pages to receive the latest news about the newest and best betting offers available to UK punters.
Betting Offers & Free Bets FAQs
Can you withdraw winnings from a free bet?
What betting sites have the best offers in the UK?
Which sites gives free bets?
Which site offers the largest welcome bonus?
What is a risk-free bet?
What is a wagering requirement?
How many free bets can I claim?
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