Bookies are always Offering Exciting Bonuses
Online gambling has been popular for more than two decades now, and continues to grow, particularly when it comes to betting on the Premier League. The competitive nature of the market means that almost every bookie offers deals to try and tempt players to join them, rather than a rival. If you’re interested in dipping your toe in the water but wary of risking cash, you can get an offer before you play to see if you like the site or the process of sports gambling.
If you decide that gambling is your cup of tea, there are also welcome bonuses involving deposit matching. These can be a nice way of increasing your initial funds, although they do come with some restrictions (more on that below).
Tip One – Keep Your Eyes Open for Sports Bonuses and Free Bets
Because deals vary from one bookie to the next, and they’re often updated, we’re going to keep this broad rather than citing specific bonuses. It’s also worth knowing the difference between a bonus and a free bet. A free bet means your stake is not returned if the bet wins. A bonus is just cash to do with as you will (with some restrictions).
Free bets often require a bet to be made first. These are offered pretty often as an incentive for signing up, and sometimes as a reward for loyal gamblers. Bonuses for existing members are less common, and frequently aimed at new players. Because of this, you could tour the various bookies hunting down special offers. For that matter, you could just join a number of sites and make different bets on the same market using the free bets/bonus cash, without risking a penny of your own money.
The precise details of each bonus and free bet offer are different, and can vary quite a bit. There’s a duty on bookies to be open and transparent about the terms and conditions so if you’re unsure of something you can read this write up on free bets and bonuses which may address your concerns. It’s also helpful that the betting market is competitive, and no bookie wants to get a reputation for being unreasonable, let alone shady. If you do have a problem, try contacting your bookie and they’ll often be able to resolve the matter pretty easily.
Tip Two – Take Advantage of Match Deposit Bonuses
It’s very common for bookies to offer match deposit bonuses, usually as a welcome bonus for new players. These are just as they sound, with the sportsbook putting in money based on how much you deposit (up to a limit, of course). The matching rate is typically 100%, but it can be a little lower or higher. This matched money can then be used to place bets.
Matched deposit bonuses are usually subject to wagering requirements. What this means in practice is that you have to bet a certain sum relative to the bonus value before you can withdraw the cash. You can’t just get the bonus and then withdraw the money right away (delightful as that sounds). On top of that, sports bets with bonus cash often have to have odds exceeding a certain point. So you can’t just lump a ton on Manchester City to beat Accrington Stanley. All that said, matched deposit bonuses do give you free cash and if you were going to deposit anyway, that’s extra money for something you were doing in any event. Just be sure you check the terms and conditions, and don’t be afraid to shop around for the best deal.
Tip Three – Watch for Cashing Out Restrictions
You’ve got your bonus, called your bet, and it won. Fantastic! But how do you actually get your hands on the cash?
When you activate a special offer there might well be a limitation on eligible odds, as mentioned above. This varies from one bookie to the next. You might have to make something longer than 1.5 (that’s in 1/2 in old money) or longer than evens. Depending on how you intend to bet this might be a major factor to consider, or an irrelevance, so just give this aspect however much consideration you need to.
Once you’ve satisfied the wagering requirements and made suitably long bets, and won, it shouldn’t be difficult to withdraw the cash using your preferred banking method. Be aware that there’s a plethora of payment options and some can be slower than others. If you’ve activated a no deposit bonus, check that the bookie has your preferred withdrawal choice.
One schoolboy error you should be sure to avoid is using a banking method that only allows for deposits. Whilst the vast majority of the various funding options allow for both deposits and withdrawals, there are some that only permit deposits. This might be due to the nature of the method itself, or because of laws in a given country.
Another thing to know is that ‘cashing out’ is sometimes used as a general term for withdrawal, and sometimes in a specific betting context. In-play gambling (betting on a football match that’s currently being played, for example) is big business. Cashing out an in-play bet means when you take a smaller profit for a seemingly winning bet whilst the match in question is still being played. That way you get a guaranteed, albeit smaller, profit. Many bookies offer this as an option, but not all, so if live betting is your bag, then find out ahead of time. An alternative is to back the other option. If you bet on team A pre-match and they’re leading 1-0, even if cashing out isn’t available you can almost certainly back team B at odds that will make you a profit either way. It’s also possible to cash out for a loss, if you think you’re destined to come out red and want to reduce your loss.