RISK-FREE BETS – HOW DO RISK-FREE SPORTSBOOK BONUSES WORK?
Anyone familiar with online sports betting is probably aware of the existence of risk-free bets. Especially in the US risk-free bet promotions are very common. But are these promotions at sportsbooks really risk-free?
In my opinion this type of promotion is not 100% risk-free. The catch of the risk-free bet is that it is basically a cashback offer. You can place a first bet, and when you lose the bet, the total wager amount will be refunded.
The refund which you will get from your risk-free bet will usually have a play-through requirement attached. This means additional betting is required to wager the bonus money. During this process you will of course be able to lose your refund, which leaves you with a net loss.
Although the ‘’risk-free bet’’ might not be 100% risk-free, it could still be interesting to claim them. It simply offers you an extra chance to win while betting at popular US sports betting sites.
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Depending on the operator of choice you can now get risk-free bets worth up to $1,000. Pretty interesting right? Continue reading to learn more about how risk-free sportsbook bonuses work, and how you can take advantage of them.
Best US Risk-Free Bet Promotions in 2023
Risk-free bets come in many shapes and sizes. In our portfolio we have licensed US sportsbook offering up to $250 in risk-free bets, but also sports betting sites offering up to $1,000. Various sportsbook also offers deposit bonuses which will match your deposit with a certain percentage in bonus funds. To convince people to join some sportsbooks also offer no deposit free bets or no deposit offers which you can use in their online casino. View the most popular bonus offers in the table below.
Code: BBCSUSA
1
First Bet
$1000
Offer
First Bet
$1000
Offer
99
points
Grab a First Bet Offer up to $1000
Excellent sports betting app available
Wide range of sports and betting options in the US
Risk-free bets are the most popular type of sign-up promotions at US sportsbooks. And that’s why it is crucial to fully understand how this type of promotion works. To get your knowledge to the right level we will explain it by using multiple scenarios.
To get started you must select a risk-free bonus offer from the table on this page. Let’s say you go for the most popular options, which is the $1,000 risk-free bet at BetMGM sportsbook. You simply open the BetMGM site and sign up an free account using our unique promo code ‘’BBCSUSA’’. Once done, your account will be eligible to receive the $1,000 risk-free bet.
The next step is to make a deposit through the cashier. Let’s say you want to get the maximum out of the bonus and deposit $1,000. Now you will be able to get a refund up to $1,000 in site credits when you lose your first bet.
So, let’s say you bet $1,000 on the LA Lakers to win from Chicago Bulls at -130. When the LA Lakers really win, you will get your winnings and nothing other happens regarding the promotion. So you get your $1,000 stake plus your winnings.
But if the LA Lakers lose, you will get a refund! BetMGM will activate a $1,000 refund for your account. You will get your refund as site credits which you will need to play-through before you can withdrawal the money. At BetMGM Sportsbook the wagering requirement is only 1x which should make it doable to convert your bonus to cash.
Please mind that if you deposit $1,000, but only bet $500 during your first wager, you will only be able to get up to $500 in refunds when you lose your bet.
How to claim a risk-free bet?
Claiming a risk-free bonus isn’t really a hard thing to do. You just need to sign up a free account and make a first deposit. Once done, you can place a first risk-free bet which will be refunded when you lose it. Take the following steps to get started.
Pick a risk-free bet from our table of recommend licensed US sportsbooks to get started.
Open the site of the offer you have picked and start the registration process.
You will need to pick a username and password. You will also need to enter an e-mail address that will be used for your account.
Next you must enter various personal details which are required to setup your personal account. This includes your phone number, formal address, and the last part of your social security number. All US sportsbooks are required to ask a part of your SSN for validation reasons.
After completing the sign-up process, you can login and visit the cashier. Through the cashier you can make your first deposit. Most sportsbooks offer a wide range of payment options including credit cards, PayPal, ACH, online bank transfer, and Play+ Prepaid card.
Finally, it is time to place your first wager. Search through all the available events and place a bet in your bet slip to qualify for the risk-free bet. If it loses, you’ll receive a refund to the exact same value. But naturally, if it wins, the money is all yours to keep. Good luck!
Pro & Cons of a Risk-Free Bet
Pros
Up to $1,000 Bonus
Place a Bet to Win
Get a Refund when you lose!
Cons
Your refund will require wagering in most cases
Some sportsbooks have betting limitation
Not 100% risk-free in most cases
Difference between various risk-free bet promotions
Most licensed US sportsbook offer risk-free promotions, but they are not all the same. Especially the way how your losing bet will be refunded can differ between sites.
Various sportsbook will refund your losing bet with site credit which you will need to wager once. Examples of US sportsbooks that refund your losing bet with site credit are Fanduel Sportsbook and Betrivers Sportsbook. The benefit of getting refunded in site credits is that credit acts the same way a normal cash that you deposit in your account. The means you can bet on all types of sports, at any odd.
When you win a bet placed with site credits you will win the site credit plus your winnings. Let’s say you have got $500 as a refund, and you bet it all on the Red Sox at +130, you will get your $500 bet returned plus $650 profit. This leaves you with a total balance of $1150.
There are also sports betting sites that refund your losing bet with bonus cash. You will need to wager this bonus cash once on most occasions, but sometimes additional requirements are in place. You for example need to make sure that your bet has a certain amount of risk to qualify for wagering. This makes it harder for you to turn your refund in to real cash.
There are also sportsbooks that will refund your risk-free bet with real cash. This means the refund will be added to your normal withdrawable balance. This type of balance can be withdrawn right away after losing your bet which make this type of free bet really risk-free. But to be honest, there are not a lot of these offers out there.
Other types of sportsbooks promotions
Not all sign-up promotions at sportsbooks are risk-free bets. There are also US sports betting sites that offer alternative bonus offers.
One of them is DraftKings. At DraftKings you can get a 20% deposit bonus. This means the sportsbook with match your deposit with 20% bonus on top of your deposit. When you for example deposit $1,000, you will get $200 bonus.
The maximum bonus which you can get at DraftKings is $1,000. To receive the maximum bonus, you will need to make a deposit of $5,000.
You will not get your bonus instantly after making your deposit at DraftKings. Your bonus will be released in increments. For every $25 you wager, $1 in bonus credits will be released.
If you want to release your bonus credits you can also play games in DraftKings casino or DFS. Sports bets must be placed at odds of -300 or longer to qualify for wagering.
Can a strategy help you get more out of your risk-free bets?
People in general, but especially gamblers, are always looking for strategies that can help them achieve certain things like winning money. Because of this it is no surprise that people are searching for useful strategies to get the most out of the available risk-free bets.
When it comes down to this subject, we are always very skeptical. Most of the times strategies don’t work and gambling normally always comes down to luck. Although this is the case you can use common sense to better the odds for yourself.
The best strategy to really get the most out of risk-free bets is by looking for unique betting opportunities. Sometimes competing sportsbooks offer interesting odds or odd boosters on both sides of a wager. By using these scarce opportunities, you can guarantee that you will come out ahead.
Let’s say you have signed up an account at BetMGM sportsbook, and you are looking to place your risk-free bet. You also have a sports betting account at Caesars sportsbook, which offers this weekend an odds booster for the LA Lakers moneyline spread game against the Chicago Bulls.
Instead of being -200 moneyline favorites (where the Lakers are at most bookies), the “odds boost” is making the Lakers +150 to win. Well, over at BetMGM, the Chicago Bulls are also at +150 to win. So, you bet your $500 on the Chicago Bulls at +150 at BetMGM, and then bet $500 on the LA Lakers at the boosted +150 odds. Now you have placed your first real risk-free bet.
If the Chicago Bulls win? Great! You just pocketed $250, as the +150 bet netted you a tidy $750 profit at BetMGM. Of course, you lost the $500 LA Lakers bet at Caesars, but that’s what made this truly risk-free. Left or right, you couldn’t lose!
An even better scenario is if the LA Lakers win. If that happens, you will still win the $250, but since the Chicago Bulls lost, now you will also get a $500 refund at BetMGM. Pretty interesting right?
The problem with betting strategies
Online sportsbooks are of course not stupid, and they all know there are strategies out there to make them lose money. To lower the chance of getting played most sportsbook offer risk-free bet promotions with additional rules. You for example need to wager the refund, and at wagering can only be done at certain odds. This can result in you winning the wrong bet and you needing to wager your refund. If you don’t manage to wager your refund, you will still lose money.
Another problem with this strategy is that it is very hard to find the right bets. Odds boosts are rare and only available on certain events, which limit the choice. You could be searching for a suitable wager for hours, but don’t manage to find one.
Finally, you can find a suitable bet and odds boost, but sometimes you cannot place a bet with the betting amount you want. This might leave you with risk again, which you of course don’t want.
Frequently asked questions
‘’What is the difference between a free bet and a risk-free bet?’’
A free bet is a bet you will get without making a deposit. Some sportsbooks give a free bet as part of a no deposit bonus after signing up. Some sportsbooks also give away free bets as part of loyalty programs.
A risk-free bet requires a deposit, and will only be awarded when you lose the best you place as part of the promotion.
‘’Can I split my risk-free bet in multiple smaller bets?’’
No. This sign-up promotion is only active during your first bet. If you deposit $500, and only bet $250, you can only get $250 refunded using your risk-free bet.
”In what states can I claim risk-free bets?”
Risk-free betting is now available in the following states.
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