When ranking your most popular promotions at online sportsbooks, you can’t leave out free bets. As the name says, these offers allow you to wager for free. However, you’ll only find them valuable if you claim quality ones.
To assist, we’ve handpicked the best free bets to claim at online betting sites. All you need to do is check the banners on this page for bookmakers that offer them in your location. Then, sign up, and you’re ready to start exploring. As you continue reading, we’ll explain more about free bets and how they work.
Explore the Best Free Bets Bonuses Available in 2025
Quick facts about free bet offers
- Free bets can be standalone or result from other promotions
- They are often given after making a qualifying deposit or bet
- The free bets can’t be withdrawn as cash and must be used for betting
- Free bet winnings are usually subject to wagering requirements
What are free sports bets?
In simple words, a free bet is a bonus offered by sportsbooks that lets you wager without using your own money. They can be available as a sign up bonus or part of other promotions. You use the free bet betting bonus to wager as usual. If you win, you can withdraw.
From our experience, these free bets can be standalone or part of other promotions. For instance, a sportsbook may have a $50 free bet offer if you wager $100 in real money. Meanwhile, you can get free bets as a return from cashback or rakeback promotions. Whichever, you use them the same way.
Due to their popularity, you’ll find free bet bonuses at many online sportsbooks. However, we can only advise going for those with real value. That’s why we curated bookmakers with the best free bets, which you’ll find on the banners on this page.
Do free bets pay real money?
Yes, free bets can actually result in real money winnings, but we must highlight some important aspects to consider. When you use a free bet, the winnings from your wager are usually paid out in real money. However, online betting sites will minus the value of the free bet itself.
Suppose you place a free bet of $10 and win $50. In that case, you’ll only receive $40 in actual money, as the $10 free bet stake will be removed from the payout.
Furthermore, note that free bet winnings typically come with restrictions like wagering requirements. You must meet these conditions before you can withdraw the funds you win. As such, always check the terms and conditions of the promotion to know how and when you’ll get your real money winnings.
Types of free bets at online sportsbooks
We found over five different free bet types while reviewing online sportsbooks. Ultimately, they work the same way, but a few conditions here and there make them different. Check out the offers below:
No-wagering free bet
If you ask us, no-wagering free bets are one of the most straightforward and best sportsbook promotions for any bettor. This type allows you to bet with the sportsbook’s money. If you win, you withdraw the winnings in cash with no strings attached.
Basically, there are no additional wagering requirements to meet before you can cash out. However, the free bet stake will still not be added to the payment. Nevertheless, if you’re familiar with how regular betting promotions work, you’ll know this is a huge advantage. Hence, we rate this promo as the most transparent and player-friendly free bet type.
Risk-free bet
Have you ever come across a safety net bonus at an online betting site? If yes, it’s probably this offer: a risk-free bet. We rate and recommend it for new bettors who are cautious about losing their first stake.
With this type of free bet, you wager using your own money, and if it loses, the sportsbook refunds the amount of the bet. To illustrate, you can place a $50 first bet and lose. Then, the sportsbook returns the entire $50 as a free bet. Thanks to this, you can try again without any loss. However, if you win, you get the payout, which is much better than a refund.
As one of the best free bets, risk-free offers make betting less daunting for beginners. If you’re a pro, you can also use it to test strategies. However, note that there’s usually a maximum cap. If the cap is $100 and you lose $150, you’ll not receive the additional $50 in the promotion.
Matched free bet
Here’s another popular option to consider if you want more value from your wagers. In this case, the bookmaker matches your deposit or bet by a certain percentage. Typically, you have to fund your account with up to a particular amount.
During our review of the best free bets, we found a matched bonus of up to $200. We participated in the promo by depositing and placing a $20 bet. Immediately, the sportsbook gave us a matched free bet of $20 as well. Clearly, this essentially doubled our betting bankroll, allowing us to place more wagers.
If you’re interested in matched free bets, we can recommend offers from the lowest deposit betting sites. These bookmakers allow you to get bashed rewards for relatively small payments.
Free bet token
When you score a free bet token, you use it to bet on any market. However, the token itself is not cashable. You might say this is just a regular free bet, which isn’t totally wrong.
The difference is that free bet tokens are typically awarded for free without any direct payment. As such, they’re similar to offers on no deposit bonus betting sites. While the token itself doesn’t have a cash value, winnings from the bet will be paid out.
Accumulator free bet
The last we’ll be mentioning are accumulator free bets, which are ideal if you prefer wagering on multiple selections in one slip. Hence, it’s specifically for accumulators or parlays, where multiple outcomes must all win for the bet to be successful.
While reviewing top sportsbooks, we noted that this clause is usually added to the T&Cs. Therefore, if you try to submit a single event in your slip, the free bet won’t be available.
Indeed, this type of free bet involves more risk since multiple events must win. Nevertheless, the silver lining is that you also get potentially higher payouts if you get your predictions right.
Free bet terms and conditions
Before and after claiming a free bet from a sportsbook, it’s essential to carefully review the T&Cs. That’s the only way to understand how the offer works and what you need to do to fully benefit from it.
From our experience, we know that these terms can significantly vary between sportsbooks. However, here are some common conditions to look out for:
1. Minimum odds
Perhaps the most common condition attached to free bets is the minimum odds. It simply means that to use the bonus, your picks must be on selections with odds that meet the minimum specified by the bookmaker.
Consider a situation where a sportsbook requires you to bet with minimum odds of 1.50 or higher. If you choose a game with 1.0, 1.2, or 1.3 odds, the free bet won’t be active. Suppose it is and you proceed to wager, you might lose the free bet.
2. Wagering requirement
Also known as playthrough or rollover, this term is more or less a constant on many free bet promotions. It tells you how many times to wager the free bet amount or winnings to cash out.
You might win $100 using a free bet with a 3x wagering requirement. In that case, you have to wager a total of $300 (3 x $100) in real money funds before withdrawing.
At the top betting sites with free bets on the banners on this page, you can expect relatively low rollovers. The only free bets that don’t come with this term are the no-wagering types, where winnings are immediately available for payouts.
3. Validity period
Free bet offers come with a time limit within which you must claim or use the bonus. For instance, you may have five days to claim the free bet after creating your account. Then, the sportsbook will set a one week window to bet and meet the playthrough.
Below are estimates for the different free bet types based on our analyses:
| Type | Estimated duration |
|---|---|
| No-wagering free bet | 24 hours to 7 days |
| Risk-free bet | 7 to 14 days |
| Matched free bets | 7 to 30 days |
| Free bet tokens | 24 hours to 10 days |
| Accumulator free bets | 7 to 14 days |
We really can’t overemphasize the importance of keeping track of the expiration date of the offers. If you fail to use it within the specified timeframe, you’ll lose the free bet.
4. Betting restrictions
We encountered many sportsbooks that place betting restrictions on how and where you use the free bets. As such, you may find free bet offers that are only valid for specific sports, markets, or bet types.
In other cases, you may be limited from using the reward on singles, accumulators, or other special bets. The good thing is that the best betting sites with free bets allow you to wager your bonus with more freedom. You can find them on the banners on this page.
5. Free bet usage
Another important condition is how you use the free bet you receive. Remember, the amount isn’t added to the winnings during payout. A sportsbook may offer a $20 free bet token valued at $10 each. With such an offer, you can place two bets. If it’s $5, you can make four bets.
However, many bookmakers we come across often demand using the free bet in full. Hence, you can’t split or share across multiple slips.
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How to choose the best free bets
Interested in claiming the best free bets today? If yes, there are several factors to consider when choosing. The goal is not to get just any free bets but quality ones with actual value. Below are some tips that have worked well for us:
Evaluate the Value 🤑
The first factor we want you to consider is the worth of the free bet itself. You’ll agree that higher value offers provide more opportunities to place bigger wagers and get potentially more significant wins. If a sportsbook offers a $50 free bet and another has $10, it’s easy to pick the former. Besides, we’ve found that sportsbooks with larger free bet amounts tend to feature more generous T&Cs.
Look for Flexible Betting Markets ⚽️
For this tip, the goal is to make sure you don’t have a lot of restrictions when wagering. The best free bets online are those that work across a variety of sports and markets. It’s best when you can stake on everything from football to tennis and e-sports. Notably, free bets with flexible markets go beyond just freedom. They also allow you to locate and leverage the most favorable odds and events.
Consider the Bet Type 🎲
When choosing free bet offers, we also look for flexibility in the bet type. You should, too. That’s because some sites restrict the bonuses to specific singles or accumulators. The question is, which of the two is better? From our experience, sportsbooks that let us use free bets on accumulators of 3+ legs are ideal. Your picks can lead to more payouts without overly high risks.
Don’t Overlook the Timing ⏰
To be honest, timing is everything when it comes to free bets. For example, some offers are available during major events like the Super Bowl or Champions League Final. This makes them more valuable since that’s the period many bettors will typically bet.
Go for Loyalty Free Bet Rewards 🎁
The best free bets are those that are ongoing, such that you can claim them daily, weekly, or monthly. These are mainly available as part of a loyalty program or VIP program. You can get the free bets by exchanging points, which you accumulate from staking over time. Based on our findings, new betting sites tend to have more rewarding loyalty promotions than older ones. You may want to keep that in mind.
Pros and cons of online free bets
Before rounding up, let’s quickly look at the advantages and disadvantages of free bet promotions. First, these offers come with no financial risk, as you’re not using your own money to place a wager. Thanks to this, you can bet without much pressure about losing.
Using the best free bets is easy, too. You simply apply them before submitting your slip, and they work just like regular funds. What’s the drawback? Well, the wagering requirements can be high at times. Therefore, you may have to place multiple bets or meet other conditions before you can withdraw any winnings. This can be a bit challenging if you’re not a high roller.
In summary, these are the main pros and cons to know about free bets.
Conclusion – Claim quality free bets at the best sportsbooks
At this point, we must re-emphasize that free bets are only valuable when you choose the right ones. Thats why we recommend claiming the best free bets at our recommended sportsbooks. Therefore, check the banners on this page and pick a bookmaker in your location. Once you sign up, you’ll find good free bet deals with favorable terms and conditions.
Our top recommended sportsbook bonuses for 2025
Best free bets FAQs
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📈 How to get free bets?
🏆 Which sportsbook has the best free bet offers?
⏳ When will my free bet expire?
📝 How do I place a free bet?
Simon Day
Simon has been writing about Gaming and Sports for over a decade, with his work featured in a variety of well-known gaming magazines. This year, he joined win.gg as an Editorial Specialist, where he continues to share his passion for the industry through insightful and well-crafted content pieces.
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