We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
A free bet is a type of bookmaker offer – normally used to attract new customers, but sometimes also offered to existing customers as a reward for loyalty. Free bets give new users an opportunity to trial a new betting platform out without having to stake a lot of their own money.
Make sure to read the terms and conditions of any free bet offer before signing up – it is important to know the terms of the deal and whether it is, in fact, a good deal.
The best way to get free bet offers is as a new customer, and you can use the Sporting Life free bets as a way to compare and contrast the best bets from three of the industry’s biggest and best operators.
When looking at free bets it is helpful to compare so that you get the best value – for instance, picking a Bet £5 Get £30 over a Bet £10 Get £30 – as that means you have to stake less up front to get the same amount of free bets.
Once you’ve decided which bookmaker you want to go with, click the link to visit the site. You will arrive on a landing page dedicated to the offer – it is important to take a moment to read the terms and conditions, and to understand what you need to do to get the offer, as there may be a voucher code or other step required.
After that you’ll need to register for a new account following the bookmaker's form, and provide them information to verify who you are – this is a really important part of keeping people safe when gambling online.
There are many types of different betting sign-up offers, and it is important to pay attention to what they are and how you avail of them. You can get all sorts of offers beyond the standard sign-ups, such as enhanced prices on football teams, or through the card for the horse racing.
Here are some key things to look out of:
As mentioned already, it is important to pay attention to the terms and conditions before signing up through a free bets offer – so you know what you’ll get and what you need to do to get it. Here are some common things to watch out for:
It depends on which bookmaker(s) you bet with as they all have different promotions. You may find that your bookmaker of choice has a loyalty scheme of some sort, where if you place so many bets or stake a certain amount, you then get a free bet.
You may also get free bets for other promotions such as if your horse falls, or is beaten by the SP favourite.
Sometimes you may even find that bookmakers will give you a free bet just because there’s a big sporting event, to get you using their product.
Cheltenham Festival is one of the biggest betting events of the year, with plenty of top class horses competing for victory. You’ll also find that, because of this, plenty of bookmakers will be offering extra generous offers to new customers, and even to existing customers – so keep an eye out for Cheltenham Festival free bets if you follow racing.
The Grand National is the nation’s biggest betting event – a real test of stamina for 34 horses around the big fences at Aintree. Bookmakers are often not very generous at this time of year due to the amount of people betting, so it is unlikely you’ll find any great value offers for Saturday. However, the Aintree Festival runs for several days and there are plenty of valuable offers to be had prior to the Saturday.
Another big horse racing event – the crown jewel of the Flat season in the UK where plenty of horses go to post for some top class racing, some of the best you’ll see all year. Similar to Cheltenham, you’ll find plenty of generous free bets around for Royal Ascot – so if jumps racing isn’t your thing, you’ll be able to find an offer for the Flat.
If racing isn’t your thing then look out for generous offers on the football – there are all sorts of offers around, such as for the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Not to forget the free bets you’ll be able to get for a World Cup or Euros.
Exclusive to new customers: