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This always shocks new bettors but we’ll say it one more time: you can bet on sports (and casino) for free online. Not just once either, you can do this over and over again because there are a multitude of betting apps with free money (yes, real money!). You might not believe us right now, but you will as you keep reading and we lay out the best bonus bets available industry-wide.
What Are Bonus Bets?
Sports betting apps with free money are made possible due to one incentive: keep bettors using the site. Really, that’s all there is to it. The allure of free bets is great for attracting new users and also retaining existing ones. All this means bettors should expect bonus bets from whatever online betting site they’re using — no ifs, and, or buts about it. Free and real money is a rite of passage in this industry.
Bonus bets manifest themselves in multiple ways. Most of the time, they hinge on the bettor making a deposit into the platform — online sportsbooks, casino, or racebook. What is deposited is matched in free play up to a certain percentage. There’s usually also a cap on how much money can be matched (and made). Betting apps have variances in both the match percentage and max bonus (more on this later), and everything will be covered in the T&Cs.
Rebates are another popular form of bonus bets. Essentially, these are refunds on money that is lost betting. An app will credit a portion of those losses back in the form of bonus bets.
Bettors are free to use the bonus bets however they’d like. NFL, Super Bowl, NBA, NHL, MLB, college sporting events, casino games — really, all betting markets can freely be wagered on with the bonus bets. The same goes for different bet types (moneyline, prop bets, same game parlay, etc.) This free money really helps bettors stretch their wallets and attack all the betting opportunities that come their way.
Best Apps For Free Money?
Now that you know what sports betting bonuses are in the first place, the next important question is where can you get the best free-play bonuses? It’s not an easy answer because there are so many dang betting apps for free money out there.
Many bettors first think of legal online sportsbooks. That’s your BetMGM Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, ESPN Bet, FanDuel Sportsbook, PointsBet, and so forth. These are not bad options, but honestly, there are loads that are better.
Who you ask? Well, offshore sports betting apps, that’s who! These apps don’t operate in the United States (or other well-established countries). That means they’re less restricted, which for bettors, translates into bigger bonuses that are 100 percent legit. Allow us to clue you into some of the best apps for raking in the free money:
BetUS
Simply put, BetUS is the kingmaker of bonus-bet-loving apps. No one — and we mean no one (including legal sportsbooks) — can compete with the BetUS app when it comes to the dollar value of its bonus bets. We’re going to share two for your convenience. These might shock you so don’t go about thinking this type of free money is “too good to be true” cause it’s wrong in this case.
Sign-up offer: new players making their first deposit are eligible for up to $3125 or $5000 in free play. The difference here is how the new customer adds money — whether it’s cash or crypto. Cryptocurrencies are worth a higher value in this instance. No matter which welcome offer you redeem (and for how much), this sum of money is unparalleled industry-wide. Bonus codes will be JOIN125 and JOIN200 (for crypto).
Refer-a-friend bonus: believe it or not, the BetUS referral bonus is even bigger. This one goes for a potential $6000 in free play. It’s this high because the sportsbook app will match your referral’s first three deposits, not just the first like most online sportsbooks. If that referral has deep pockets, the value can shoot up to that six-grand mark.
BetOnline
BetOnline also offers a referral and sign-up bonus like BetUS, though not as lucrative. Regardless, we want to mention different kinds of bonus bets. Just to help you understand the type of free money that’s out there across different bet offers. Here are a few goodies available at the BetOnline app:
Reload bonus: welcome bonus offers are great, but they’re usually one-time affairs. For repeat free play from depositing, reload bonuses are where it’s at. BetOnline will give you a 25-percent deposit match up to $250 on every re-up made for life. Over the long run, this free-play value is insane. Bonus code is LIFEWEEK8.
Casino first bet bonus: for users wanting to bet the online casino and only the casino, there’s a special welcome bonus geared for it. Each of the first three deposits made into the BetOnline casino are matched at 100 percent and $1000 dollars. Max all three out and the total value here can reach a whopping $3000 — almost on par with BetUS. Promo code is BETCASINO.
BetNow
At the very least, the BetNow app does free-play bonus bets differently than its competitors.
There are unique bonus offers that you can only find at BetNow, as well as fresh takes on tried-and-true deals like the welcome offer. Here’s what we mean:
Multiple sign-up sportsbook bonuses: most sports betting apps only offer one welcome offer per new account. Not BetNow, which offers four different ones. Each has some variance between them on the rollover requirement, bonus winnings, and deposit match percentage. As a sports bettor, it’s never bad to have options and BetNow definitely offers that here.
Sportsbook rebate bonus: rebates are common for horse racing or online casino betting, but almost nonexistent for sports wagering — except BetNow. The betting app will refund two percent of weekly losses (net losses only) for sports gambling. The percentage isn’t huge, but this type of deal really is unheard of.
XBet
The XBet app is another leader in the offshore space, especially because of its app, which is tailor-made for mobile betting (whether from iOS or Android). No need to download anything from the App Store either, the mobile app just works from the web browser.
There are some solid free-play deals to go along with the mobile betting experience, including these two:
Weekend casino reload bonuses: the biggest deal of all is reserved for deposits made into the XBet casino from Friday to Sunday. This is a 100-percent match for up to $1000 in free play. The best part? It can be redeemed up to two times in a single weekend so that’s a potential $2000 come up. Bonus code is 100XB.
Horse rebate: if you weren’t impressed by the 2-percent sports rebate we mentioned before, maybe you will be by XBet’s horse-racing rebate. This sucker goes for seven percent of losses. Better yet, it’s applied every day so there’s money to be had daily if the horse betting goes cold.
How To Claim Free Money?
Claiming your free bonus bets is usually quite simple. First of all, you have to do whatever is required from that promotional bonus — whether that’s making an initial deposit (welcome bonus) or referring friends (refer-a-friend bonus). But there’s another requirement needed, and this usually involves a code.
See, the vast majority of bonuses come with a bonus code, also called a promo code. If you read closely above, we included a few bonus codes specific to the app and offer we were talking about. These codes need to be inputted when the user is doing the bonus’ necessary task (e.g. depositing or referring friends). That code guarantees the player gets their share of the free money.
In a perfect world, many of these free-play bonuses would be automatically credited to a user’s account when the deal’s requirements are met, code or not. But we live in an imperfect world and most apps still require these codes. Without them, the free money isn’t redeemable (at most places). So don’t overlook this important deal if you don’t want to lose out on free money that’s rightfully yours.
That does it for us and sports betting sites bonuses. Check out our FAQ for any final questions.
