There are plenty of free bets out there to choose from, but in some cases they are not necessarily as they seem.
For example, there are two main sorts of free bets in particular. First, there is a free matched bet, which is a free bet you will get no matter what the outcome of your qualifying (usually your first) bet. And second, there is a free bet that you will only get if your qualifying bet loses.
Both would be advertised as a free bet, but it’s only when you dig a bit deeper that you realise there is a subtle difference.
So what is a free matched bet? A free matched bet is when you get given a free bet that is a 100% match up of your qualifying bet. These are the perfect type of bet for Matched Betting, as you are guaranteed a return no matter what the result of your qualifying bet.
An example of a free matched bet is as follows….
A bookmaker is offering a Free Matched Bet of £25.00 to new customers. To claim this free bet we would place our first bet of £25.00 on Arsenal to win. Whether Arsenal win, lose or draw, is irrelevant, it doesn’t matter. We will receive our £25.00 Free Matched Bet no matter what happens in the Arsenal match.
This is where a Free Matched Bet differs from other free bets and welcome bonuses, etc. There are some bookmakers that will only give you a free bet if your qualifying bet loses. For example, if you place your qualifying (first) bet on Chelsea to beat Manchester United, and it’s a draw or Chelsea lose, you will get a free bet. While if Chelsea win, you get nothing.
That is the difference, and why it is a free matched bet that we look for when we wish to make risk free money using matched betting.
Bookmakers Offering Free Matched Bets
- 888Sport
- Betfair
- Betvictor
- Betway
- Coral
- Ladbrokes
- Paddy Power
- Skybet
- Stan James
- Titanbet
- Totepool
- William Hill
There are other types of free bets, or deposit bonuses. For example some bookmakers will give you free bets in instalments. You may get an initial free bet when you open an account, and then get a second one after you place another 5 bets.
Or with a deposit bonus, you may get a bookmaker that will give you a 100% bonus on your first deposit. For example, Bet365 are currently offering this. You need to sign up and deposit £200.00 in your account, and Bet365 will give you £200.00, meaning you have a healthy £400.00 betting bank.
The only problem with these offers is that you have to roll over the deposit, and then the deposit and bonus a number of times before you can cash it out. In the case of Bet365 you will need to roll over your deposit once to get the bonus, and then the deposit and the bonus 3 times before you can withdraw it.
Don’t be put off by such an offer though, as they are still well worth it. For the extra hassle involved there is a free £200.00, that can be cashed out by using a betting exchange such as Betfair.
Nearly all of the free bets listed down the left hand side on this website are Free Matched Bets, so why not get started at making some risk free money and cashing them in.
Subscription services such as Profit Maximiser also have hundreds of pounds worth of free bets on them, as well as casino offers and bingo sign up bonus offers. Profit Maximiser will show you how you can make hundreds of pounds of risk free money by cashing in all of these offers.