Sportsbook Bonuses and Their Key Terms
There is a rich assortment of sports betting promotions you can claim while punting online. However, these can carry a bewildering array of terms and conditions that are often confusing to unseasoned bettors. Violate the terms, and you can kiss your sports bonus and its related winnings goodbye. To prevent this from happening, Betting Sites Online presents everything you need to know about the different bonus types you will encounter, along with coherent explanations of the key terms you must watch out for.
Sign-Up Bonuses
Sign-up bonuses are available to punters who create new accounts with a given betting site and typically come as a percentage match of their initial deposits. The percentage varies across different sports betting sites but normally ranges from 50% and 200%. Provided that you meet the minimum deposit requirements, the bookie will credit the amount to your balance but the free money is not yours yet.
You must unlock the free credits through betting and clearing the rollover specified in the bonus terms and conditions. In other words, you will have to wager the bonus (along with the triggering deposit in some instances) the designated number of times before the free credits actually become yours.
Free bets
Many online sports betting sites welcome new customers with free bets once they place their first wager. To give you some context, a bookie might require you to deposit and wager $10 to receive another $10 as a free bet. More often than not, your qualifying wager must meet given minimum odds requirements and settle before you can trigger the free bet.
Market restrictions might also be in place for some free bets. Most betting sites do not return the free bet stakes when qualifying customers request a withdrawal, meaning they can only cash out the winnings accrued with the free credits.
Enhanced Odds
You might encounter this type of promotion under different names – enhanced odds, odds boost, flash odds, reduced juice, or enhanced price. Opting in gives you the chance to pocket higher potential payouts on specific qualifying wagers for the same amount of risk. In essence, the bookmaker removes some of the vigorish, moving the odds in favor of the customers. Lower wagering limits often apply to these offers, meaning that your qualifying bets must not exceed a certain small amount.
Some bookmakers offer daily or weekly odds boosts, while others provide enhanced prices for major events and championships. The promotion essentially helps you extract greater value from your winning wagers. The markets and bet types that qualify for a price enhancement are sportsbook-specific. For example, certain betting sites might allow you to lengthen your odds only on single markets for horse racing.
Paylay Insurance
Any proficient punter will tell you the probability of winning a parlay decreases with each selection you add. Online bookmakers often incentivize customers to place these riskier multiple-selection wagers by offering them parlay insurance. The promotion gives you the chance to have your stake returned in the form of a bonus or a free bet provided that one of your selections loses. Rather than losing the entire parlay, you get a partial refund of your stake.
There are usually requirements on the minimum number of selections you must include in your parlay to qualify. Most bookies allow you to participate with parlays that contain at least five selections. The minimum odds requirement per selection is another thing to observe. Market restrictions are normally also in place. For instance, some betting sites do not allow you to opt in for insurance when you bet on total points or handicaps.
Reload Bonuses
Reload offers are quite similar to sign-up bonuses, with the chief difference being they target a sportsbook’s existing account holders. Reload bonuses reward returning customers with percentage-based bonuses on their subsequent deposits. The percentages are often smaller than those available for sign-up bonuses, usually 25% to 100% at best.
Reload bonuses are generally associated with the same terms as those attached to sign-up promotions. In other words, you must observe for conditions related to the minimum deposit and odds requirements, market eligibility, validity, rollover, and more.
Glossary of Key Terms and Conditions
To get the most out of your sports betting bonuses, you must closely adhere to the terms associated with the promotions. This is important because failure to comply with the conditions often leads to confiscation of the bonuses and their resulting profits. Betting Sites Online covers the most common terms you will encounter at our recommended sportsbooks to help you stay on top of your sports betting bonuses.
- Rollover – Most sign-up and reload bonuses have a rollover, also known as playthrough or wagering requirements. The rollover reflects the amount you must wager before you can withdraw a bonus and its profits. How much you have to bet depends on the size of the bonus. For example, a 5x rollover attached to a $100 bonus means you have to spend at least $500 on bets before you ask for a withdrawal.
- Minimum Deposit – This one is quite self-explanatory as it reflects how much money you have to transfer to your balance when you opt in for a given sign-up or reload bonus. The required amount for bonus participation does not necessarily coincide with the sportsbook’s overall minimum deposit limit, i.e the minimum needed for bonus participation might be higher. The requirements range from as little as $10 all the way up to $100, depending on where you punt.
- Opt-In Required – In many cases, punters must opt in while making their deposits in the cashier to indicate they wish to participate in a given promotion. Sometimes the opt-in is automatically enabled – you must unmark the corresponding checkbox to opt out if you do not intend to claim the bonus. Some online betting sites would also require you to enter unique promo codes during the process of bonus redemption.
- Bonus Balance vs. Cach Balance – Most bonuses are credited to the bonus balance of your account, where they remain until you fulfill the attached wagering requirements. Conversely, the cash balance consists of real instantly-withdrawable money you can collect whenever you want. Once you clear your playthrough, the sportsbook will move your bonus winnings (and sometimes the bonus itself) to your cash balance.
- Minimum Odds Requirements – Many online sportsbooks require you to place wagers at certain minimum odds to qualify for a free bet promotion. To give you an example, let’s assume you want to opt in for an acca insurance where you must bet a total of $20 on a parlay with at least three selections at combined odds of 4.0 or higher.
- Bet Type and Market Restrictions – Some bonuses are intended for use only on specific markets and sports. If you claim the bonus and then use it on ineligible markets, the sportsbook will confiscate the free credits and their related winnings.
- Bonus Time Limits – Players must claim each sports betting bonus within a certain period. Sign-up deposit matches and free bets are normally available for redemption within one to two weeks after registration but the timeframe is bookie-specific.
After you redeem a bonus, you have to observe its validity period, i.e. how much time you have to clear its rollover. If you fail to meet the wagering while the bonus is active, the sportsbook will deactivate it and remove it from your bonus balance.
- Country and Payment Method Restrictions – Some sportsbooks deny bonus participation to customers based in specific countries. This is usually due to regulatory requirements or frequent bonus abuse from these jurisdictions. Similarly, deposits initiated via given payment methods may be excluded from bonus participation. The most common examples are digital wallets like Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, and ecoPayz.
- One Bonus Per Account – Punters can create no more than one account per household, person, and IP address. Those who violate this condition face account termination. In the same way, each customer can have only one active bonus per account and can claim another one only after clearing the attached wagering. Some people are in the habit of creating multiple accounts to redeem the same sign-up offer multiple times. Betting Sites Online advises you to refrain from this practice as it is considered bonus abuse.
- No Minimal Risk Wagering – Many sportsbooks prohibit betting patterns that aim to unfairly minimize your risk while you clear your playthrough.