Finish Ahead with Sports Betting Bonuses

Sports betting is lots of fun, and promotions can provide the opportunity for real cash profits. But sometimes these bonuses can actually be even more useful than they might at first appear. Here are some tips and tricks to help you finish ahead.

Register Multiple Accounts for Matched Deposits

It’s a very smart idea to have accounts with multiple betting websites, including both sportsbooks (traditional bookies online) and exchanges. At a bare minimum, an account with at least one sportsbook and one betting exchange is recommended. The minor benefit of this is that odds can and do vary and this will enable you to get mildly better prices for your bets (which may seem small but 5-10% extra will add up over time). There is, however, a much bigger upside that comes with having multiple accounts.

It’s not universal but it is very commonplace for online sportsbooks to offer welcome promotions to new members. Therefore, more new accounts mean more promotions. Some of these are effectively without drawbacks as more accounts are added (no deposit bonuses cost nothing whatsoever) but be aware that match deposit bonuses are only worth something if you have the cash to deposit. In these cases it can be wiser to pace yourself and be aware of such sites, signing up when your bankroll permits it (hopefully after making some winning bets after taking advantage of other tips here).

Finding Bonuses

The competition within the betting industry is such that it’s fostered ever more generous bonuses. Naturally, this is to the advantage of players, whether going for sports betting or searching for the best casino bonus. Players can save time using this comprehensive bonus guide to simply pick and choose the online casino bonuses that are the best fit, and save a huge number of hours otherwise necessary trawling individual sites for promos. Many of the top sports promotions are covered in this article, with casino bonuses also including match deposit bonuses, in addition to free spins and free cash, referral bonuses, and more. Promotions are a key aspect of online betting sites, so don’t be afraid to browse the market before choosing which place(s) to play.

Free Bets Mean Guaranteed Profit

Free bets are obviously a good thing and can be made available in multiple different ways. Frequently offered as part of a welcome bonus, they can also be given to players who place bets on a regular basis and can sometimes be given when a player has a multiple/accumulator/parley bet that fails on just one leg. The sum can vary, but usually ranges from £/$/€1-10, with more possible for welcome bonuses (as these are one-off). A chance of winning real cash with no risk of loss is obviously a good thing, but there is a way to use free bets for a guaranteed profit.

This is one more reason why having multiple accounts is a very good thing, and why at least one of these should be with a betting exchange. For those unaware, an exchange also facilitates making bets on sports but functions fundamentally differently from a sportsbook. The latter tries to even out the odds with wagers made by players so that whatever outcome occurs, the sportsbook makes a profit. An exchange enables players to bet against one another and then takes a small slice of the winnings (so the exchange is in the black whoever wins). This means every single market has both a back and lay (betting against) option. And that’s the key to making free bets into profit.

Find a market that’s available at both a sportsbook and an exchange at which you have accounts. Use the free bet to back one option, and (ensuring the odds and stakes line up) back the diametrically opposing option with the exchange. So, if you had a football match with odds of 13/2 on a 2-0 win for one side you could back this at the bookie with a free bet, then lay the same bet at the exchange using your own money. Unless the odds are drastically different (although this can also work to your advantage) it should be easy enough to guarantee a profit.

Conversely, if you happen to have a free bet with a betting exchange (which happens less commonly, but exchanges may have associated sportsbooks) then this is the perfect time to back something with short odds and back the alternative (one soccer side in a win-only market, for example) with your own money, using a boost, at a sportsbook. This approach can’t be taken from the other direction because, generally speaking, free bets and odds boosts can’t be used at the same time.

Boosts/Improved Odds

A key thing to note is that the improvement to the odds is proportional. Something that is 5/1 might get extended to 6/1. But a market with a price of 100/1 may get extended to 110/1 or 120/1. If you’re making a long term trading bet (Rishi Sunak to be next Prime Minister of the UK was out to 250/1, without boost, at one point, and fell to a lay value of 3/1 or so at the shortest before his political honeymoon ended) this can dramatically add to the potential winnings. Not only that, it’s especially useful when a free bet elsewhere has been used for a safety-first option (always remembering to check any minimum odds requirements) as the other side of the bet will necessarily be on the longer side of things.

Improved odds are sometimes offered on a regular basis by certain sportsbooks. Longer odds are always better, obviously, but there are some extra things to bear in mind. You will not be able to pair these up with a free bet bonus at the same site, but you can use them for the opposite side of a matching bet (as outlined in the section above), improving your potential winnings. Due to the excellent F1 rivalries over the years this sort of bet can be used to good effect here, or you can try backing a top team’s second driver each way for a title (which can come off due to the car advantage).

Long odds, small stakes markets can be the best way to take advantage of boosted odds. One market that may be of interest is practice winners in Formula 1 when the weather is wet. Often drivers won’t be sent out at all (to avoid risking a costly crash) which can mean the ‘fastest’ driver is the only chap who goes out, does an installation lap, and immediately comes in. During a season this will likely occur at a couple of races and while payouts are infrequent (always go each way to maximize the chance of winning) the odds can range from 40/1 to hundreds to one. This is also an area where free bets can be spent if you wish.

Social media also dovetails nicely with long odds augmented by boosts. Another 250/1 bet (without boost) was Max Verstappen to win the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. Fans of the sport will recall he went on to do just that. His odds were so long because he was initially a Toro Rosso (junior/sister team) driver before getting promoted, which saw his odds tumble to 50/1. At this point, anyone who had backed him as the news broke but before the sportsbooks could amend their odds had a choice of holding on for potential profit or laying for a small but guaranteed payout. Social media may be something of a dumpster fire, but it can still offer value if you make a handy list of trusted sports/news accounts.

And that covers the best ways to use sports betting bonuses to give yourself an edge. As always, remember to keep an eye on your bankroll and don’t get in over your head.