With fierce competition, there are countless promotions offered on betting sites to choose from, and you can start your journey without significant risk. But, of course, every offer comes with certain wagering conditions, and the rest depends on your deposit amount.
Since the sports betting industry is highly competitive, sportsbooks are always looking for ways to attract the attention of gamblers. As a result, they will launch many promotions, money, and gifts to get more players to sign up for accounts or keep them in the long run.
Amidst the matrix of different offers, you will sometimes get confused as most of them come with complicated terms, making it impossible to know which one is the most profitable. So we'll guide you through the different types of promotions, how they work, and how to get the most out of them.
How Do Sportsbooks Bonuses Usually Work?
Bonuses are one of the best ways bettors can profit before winning. Most sportsbooks offer players various bonus opportunities to increase their winnings if they know how to use those bonuses and choose to win.
In practice, however, most bonuses tend to be a bit confusing, and you need to meet some T&Cs before converting them to real money and making a net profit. That's why it's best to understand the different types of bonuses you often encounter in sportsbooks advertising and the meanings of the terms they often use when offering bonuses.
All Basic Types of Bonuses That a Players Concern

We have compiled all the most popular bonuses among online sports betting platforms in the list below. At the same time, you can refer to specific examples of each type of bonus to understand how they work.
Free Bets and Examples
The free bet is the least complicated sign-up bonus and one of the most popular betting promotions from sportsbooks. We have compiled a complete list of free bets, please have a look.
For this type of bonus, the operator will offer a certain amount of free money after the bettor makes a deposit. However, the free bets are usually not returned.
Simply put, if you use the free bet and win, you will be entitled to your winnings minus the value of your free bet. However, on the other hand, there is no risk to your real money if you lose.
For example: If you get a $10 free bet and win with odds of 2.0, you will get $10 and withdraw the total. When compared to your bet with real money, if you use $10 to bet, you will get a total of $20 back if you win.
However, it becomes fair that if you use the free bet, you will lose nothing if you lose your bet. On the other hand, if you use real money funds and fail, you will lose $10.
Cashbacks and Examples
Not as popular as free bets, cashback bonuses are quite rarely offered.
Theoretically, the operator will give you back a certain percentage of the total amount you lost on unsuccessful bets.
Although the value of this bonus is usually not much, it shows the operator's encouragement for the players' next betting decisions. At the same time, it affects you positively because if you lose your entire bet, you will get a small part of it back.
For example, let's say you bet $100 on Manchester United to beat your opponent, and the operator offers a 5% cashback, but in reality, the team failed. The promotion will get you $5 back instead of losing your entire $100 bet if that happens.
Deposit Bonuses (Match Deposit Bonuses) and Examples
The match deposit bonus is the most popular one. The way it works is that the betting site will offer a free amount to bet based on a percentage of your deposit.
Usually, new players can get a 100% deposit bonus, up to a certain amount, usually between $250 - $750. Therefore, if you deposit $250 in betting sites that apply for the program, you will get a total of $500 to bet, with $250 real money and a $250 bonus.
However, this offer will come with the maximum bonus amount that you get. So, for example, if the operator stipulates that the promotion includes a maximum value of $250, even if you deposit $500, you will only be entitled to $250 because that's the maximum in the promotion.
Also, a frequently asked question by players is can they take advantage of the bonus money by signing up for an account and then running away? Unfortunately, the answer is no because if all the players of a sports betting platform did so, the house would go bankrupt.
Therefore, to prevent this, bookies often regulate wagering requirements to balance the interests of both parties. If you do not understand that term, we will explain it later in the article.
No Deposit Bonuses
Unlike the match deposit bonus, these no deposit bonuses do not require you to deposit a certain amount to get free money.
Betting sites will give you a free bonus as soon as you sign up there. However, their value won't be as impressive as other rewards, which typically range from $5 to $25.
No deposit bonuses work almost like a free bet. You will benefit from using them and winning your bets, but not as much profit as if you play with real money funds. However, you will not suffer any loss if you lose the bet.
Also, the difference between them is that you won't be obligated to deposit more money into the account with the no deposit bonus. You can also convert the bonus to real money if you fulfill the wagering requirements, an option not possible for free bets.
Moreover, no deposit bonuses are also most interesting to many players because they benefit all aspects. First, they act as the operator's greeting to new customers, helping them get used to the risk-free betting system. Unfortunately, however, not many sportsbooks offer this type of bonus.
On top of that, this type of bonus also often comes with some minor stipulations. For example, some betting platforms will set a validity period, meaning that if you don't use the funds within the time allowed, you will lose them with no way to get them back. In addition, you will also be asked from time to time to use the funds you receive in a single bet instead of dividing them out among multiple bets.
Speaking of examples, DraftKings recently offered new Louisiana customers a free $100 sign-up bonus.
Few Important Things When Claiming a Bonus

Most offers come with specific terms and conditions that you must meet if you want to withdraw the bonus, even if there is no deposit bonus. Therefore, you should read the fine print carefully if you're going to claim any promotions.
However, amid the tedious array of sections that the operator provides, some information is more important than the rest. If you wish to benefit from these offers, it concerns your rights and obligations. So we have compiled them into the list below for your reference.
Wagering Requirements
This provision is essential because it prevents players from leaving the bookie immediately after receiving the bonus or withdrawing all winnings without betting on any matches.
Regarding the definition of wagering requirements, to convert the bonus amount into real money, you will have to bet a certain amount, proportional to the amount of the bonus you receive.
Usually, this term appears as a multiplier applied to the bonus amount to create the maximum amount you must wager to be allowed to withdraw the bonus amount.
For example: If you deposit $100 into your account and get a $100 bonus with an industry-standard wagering requirement of 35x, you will have to wager a total of $3,500 ($100 x 35) to be able to transfer $100 from the bonus fund to the real money fund.
This condition also speaks to the wisdom of the bookies in preventing players from profiting from incentive programs. After all, the purpose of promotions is to encourage gamblers to bet more, not charity programs to get customers to cash out quickly.
You should also know that each offer will have a different wagering requirement. Therefore, you should carefully check the T&Cs of the promotion before committing to receive the bonus to ensure benefits.
Also, the standard wagering requirement limit is usually 35x. Therefore, if you come across a larger number, you will be at a disadvantage in the process of claiming your bonus.
Maximum Cashout
Maximum cash out is also an essential factor. This limit specifies the total amount you can withdraw when playing with the bonus. Even if you win more, you will only get the maximum amount previously specified by the operator.
For example You receive a $100 deposit bonus after depositing in a sportsbook, and that deposit bonus stipulates that the maximum withdrawal amount is $200. Therefore, if you use $100 to bet on a match with odds of 5.0 and win, you will get $500 back. However, you will only be allowed to withdraw up to $200 because of this regulation.
How Much Does the Bonus Convert into Real Money?
Usually, betting sites will redeem 1-1 for low-value offers. So, for example, if you get a $10 offer with a redeemable rate of 1-1 (or 1x), you can convert that to $10 in real money.
For high-value offers, this parameter will be correspondingly higher.
For example, Even if you get an offer worth $1,000 or more, the redemption rate can increase to 50x or more. Therefore, if you want to withdraw that amount, you will only get a maximum of $20.
That again confirms what the operators want, that the offers should only be applied to bets, and they don't want you to take advantage of them for profit. So you can increase your real money pool more transparently through betting and winning.
Restricted Countries
One final factor to consider is to check the list of restricted countries. Some bonuses will not be available to players from certain countries or jurisdictions for various reasons.
The most common reason for this binding is the legal background in those regions. Specifically, many governments do not want their citizens to spend too much money on sports betting.
Besides, sometimes it can also come from the operator itself. So, for example, if it is found that people in certain regions are regularly using fraudulent methods to receive offers more than once, they reserve the right to include those regions in the list of areas restrictions to prevent future fraud.
If You Are a Bonus Hunter, What Should You Not Do?
There's nothing wrong with bounty hunting, as long as you don't break the rules set forth by the operator. Unfortunately, however, some players are still looking for every possible way to abuse bonuses for long-term gain on purpose.
Therefore, if you are a bounty hunter, you should follow the rules. A typical case is that some players create multiple accounts with fake identities to receive the same offer more than once. Some bookmakers even said that many players had created 20 different accounts to profit from bonus packages.
The result is forcing the operators to freeze that player's account and confiscate all bonuses and winnings earned through fraud. At a more severe penalty, the bookie has the right to sue that player for legal compensation.
As mentioned, this cheating will create a bad impression on the country of the cheaters. In the worst-case scenario, betting platforms can put those countries on a restricted list.
In addition, there is another case where players intentionally cheat by repeatedly claiming different free bonuses on platforms with the same management system.
However, today's executives are wiser and know how to prevent that. So, finally, they added a standard rule for welcome offers, specifically that each customer is only required to claim the offer once within 72 hours between all casinos in the same system.