Free Bets Australia

Are Bonus Bets and Free Bets Really Free?

Free bets sound appealing because of the word ‘free’, but are they really free? Are bonus bets free as well? Some people get mixed up with the two terms, so what is the difference and are they both free?

Free Bets and Bonus Bets

Because of the use of free, it would appear that punters would have to wager no money to get a free bet. However, generally, that is not the case. The term bonus bet, however, is more accurate, as it is ‘simulated’ money. Bookmakers often offer a ‘bonus bet’ in a number of circumstances. Sometimes to promote a certain game or event, but sometimes as a reward, if you bet on horse racing and your horse came in second. However, due to recent legislation, they can no longer be used to encourage punters to join their site. Many punters use free bets rewards on riskier bets (as they don’t have to risk their own funds) or to practice their skills and betting strategies.

Withdrawing Your Bonus Bet / Free Bet

Because a Free Bet is simulated money, you cannot withdraw the bet as cash. If you place your bonus bet on an event and it wins, you have to meet a number of requirements before you can withdraw anything at all. Firstly, you can generally not withdraw the free bet amount itself. So, if you were to place a regular bet of £5 and won, you would withdraw your winnings as well as your original sportsbet amount. However, with free bets, you will only be able to withdraw the winnings and not the free sportsbet.

Most bookmakers will also require you to fulfil other conditions, such as turnover requirements, use on a specific product or event, and the free bet must be used on certain markets with odds of 1.50 or greater.

As such, you need to consent to all the terms and conditions and be sure you know exactly the real cost of your free bet – as it is never really a ‘free’ bet.

A Closer Look at Free Bets and Promotions

Here at Aussie Bets, we will take you through all the top bookmakers’ bonus bets and free bets offers so you can find the best of the best out there.

The Best Free Bets Offers at Top Australian Bookmakers

Here are the best free bets, bonus bet offers and bookie promotions from the best Australian bookmakers in the country:

Tab .com AU – $50 in Bonus Bets if Your Horse Comes in 2nd or 3rd

Not only does TAB com au offer a great overall product, with plenty of sports markets and great customer service, but it also offers a fantastic bonus bets offer if you are a fan of horse racing. Currently, if you place a sportsbet on horse racing on the website or mobile app, then if your horse runs 2nd or 3rd, they will award you with up to $50 in free bets. Please check the racing bonus on the site for the full t & cs such as minimum bet stake, required promo code or bonus code, valid market and events and what you need to do to withdraw your winnings.

So, if you are looking for an Australian bookmaker and are a fan of racing, this is a great product as it offers great markets and the best tote betting product out there. It has great value odds, lots of markets for Australian and United Kingdom racing and sports – and great offers and racing bonuses for their punters!

BlueBet. com au – A Variety of Racing and Sport Betting Offers

BlueBet com au is an Australian bookmaker that shakes it up a lot, and as such, the type of offers, promo codes and bonus codes available change daily. So, to know exactly what bonus bets are on offer, you will need to log into your account on a daily basis.

As a sports betting product, this is a true Australian online bookmaker and it excels in all Australian sports. Punters can place bets on a wide variety of sports betting markets – including soccer and racing, fixed win bets, each way and more. This is a bookmaker that offers top-class customer service, a well designed website and mobile app, value odds and a wide variety of promotions, which could include enhanced odds, fixed odds sportsbet, bonus bets, free bets, bonus back promotion offers, double your winnings offers and more. Punters can also find something new every day. Make sure you log in every day to see what’s available and read through the t & cs carefully.

SportsBet. com au – Get Up to $50 Bonus Bets Horse Comes in 2nd or 3rd

The SportsBet com au offer is very similar to the TAB horse racing bonus. Currently, it offers up to $50 in free bets if you place a win bet on a horse that ends up coming in 2nd or 3rd.

SportsBet is a great overall online bookmaker, with a solid sports betting product. The site layout makes placing bets really easy – and very rewarding if you pick up some of the site’s promo codes or bonus code offers which are available. As well as this, we found this Australian bookmaker to have generous odds in a number of different areas as well.

In general, aside from great offers, a variety of betting markets – such as racing and sports, competitive odds and a great mobile app, the customer service was also impressive. The bookmaker updates its offers regularly so check the site to see what’s available, as well as the terms and conditions attached (such as wagering requirements, bet types and minimum odds), so you can withdraw your winnings.

B Bet. com au – A Variety of Sports Bonuses and Free Bets

B Bet is another Australian owned and operated online bookmaker that has a variety of sports betting offers that change regularly, so you will need to log into your account and see what bonus bets are currently available to you. So, what you need to do is head over to the site and sign up or sign in, then take a look at their promotions page. Here you could find several offers, depending on the time of year, including double your winnings, money back deals, fixed odds and more – not just for racing sports, but also AFL, EPL and other bet types.

In general, we have found the B Bet offers to be generous and fair when it comes to t & cs. However, all different offers have different terms attached, so you need to check through all carefully.

Sports Champs. com au – Fantasy Tournaments Bonus Offers

Because Sports Champs is an Australian owned fantasy sports betting site, it is a little different from the other online bookmakers around. As such, you are betting against other punters as opposed to the house. There are still a number of different betting markets and bet types available, however, and as such, you will still be able to find different free bets and promo code offers. These will just be a little different. However., you still have to read through each offer carefully and check out what promotional t cs apply.

Once punters sign up for the betting site, they will have access to different sports tournaments, with different buy-ins and different winnings. Once they check out any promotions on offer, they can then make a bet on whatever tournament they want.

There are a number of fantasy sports tournaments available, including racing and sports. You can then use your offer to enjoy the wagering experience on desktop or mobile betting.

What You Need to Know About Promotional Free Bets and Offers at Australian Owned Bookmakers

In many other countries, such as the United Kingdom, a lot of bookmakers offer free bets to gain new punters. As such, many new customers often see which are the best offers out there to take advantage of when picking a new bookmaker. However, as of May 26th, 2019, it was ruled that Australian owned bookmakers cannot offer free bets, bonuses and offers as an incentive to open a new account.

This new rule first came about in New South Wales. However, not long after, all Australian states followed suit. The situation was an ongoing issue, as there were a number of betting offers where Australian residency restrictions made the offer invalid to many.

Instead, the bookmaker must make their whole product appealing to players. This includes offering competitive odds, a good and easy to use online betting experience, including desktop and mobile betting, lots of betting markets on sports and racing. It is only after a player has signed up that they can take advantage of such bookmaker promotions like free bets, best odds guaranteed, money back and more.

The main difference now is that you can only see what bonus is available to you after you have opened a new account. So, the process is the same, but in a different order. Simply locate your choice of online betting site, enter your personal details, make your deposit and get your offer.

Other Types of Promotions and Available

After sign up, there may be a number of different promotions available to take advantage of:

Double Your Deposit / Deposit Match

One of the most popular bonus offers available is a match deposit. This simply means that if you make your first deposit of $100, then you will get an additional $100 bonus money to bet with. If you decide to take up this offer then you need to know some of the general terms attached. Betting sites will always use real money before bonus funds, so your first bet will come from your own money. Only when this is used up will you start using the bonus funds.

Also, be aware that you cannot withdraw bonus money and it will have a wagering requirement, which can be as high as 40-times or more. This is the bonus that looks great but can have the toughest terms.

Double Your Winnings

As the name suggests, this offer will double your winnings. Often, this will be used on a specific event and is not for use in general sports markets. It tends to work that if you make a win bet, and it comes in, then you will get double your winnings. However, check the terms as often the extra winnings will be paid out as bonus funds, which will come with wagering requirements attached before you can withdraw.

Enhanced Odds

If you find an offer for enhanced on, this will normally be for a specific market, event or game only. Here you will find the best odds – far better than any other available, for a day or two in the run up to an event. This is often a very appealing offer, especially if the odds are on an event where the outcome looks pretty assured – a top soccer team taking on a bottom of the league team for example. However, often when you look at the t & cs, you will see that there are a number of restrictions. Generally, you will be allowed to bet only a small stake (around $5-$10). Also, often the standard odds will be paid out in cash and the ‘enhanced odds’ will be paid in free bets and also to be used on a specific market. It is a great offer, but you need to read through the terms closely.

Risk Free Bets

This isn’t given to you on your deposit or bet. This is really just an offer that benefits you if you should lose your bet. If you place a win bet that wins, you won’t actually get any promotional offer. You will only gain if your bet loses. So, if your bet doesn’t come in, then the bookmakers would credit your account with a free bet up to a specified amount. This would then be considered a free bet and the same standard t&cs would apply.

Profit Boost

This is a bit like ‘double your winnings’. Basically, it means that if you find specified odds, bet on those, then wish you had bet more you needn’t worry. The bookmaker will ‘boost’ your winnings by a certain percentage. This could be available on a specific market, single win fixed odds bets or even multiple bets.

What Else You Need to Know about Free Bets and Bonus Bets

Undeniably, getting a free bet or bonus bet is lots of fun. However, there’s a bit more involved if you take it more seriously, as picking the right promotion can help you stay ahead of the game.

For example, if there is a sports match that isn’t appealing to many sports fans apart from followers of the teams involved, then a betting bonus could help promote the match and create more interest. These are great for keeping up interest from sports betting fans for a prolonged period of time.

The idea of these types of promotion originally came from the large multinational betting sites, such as Ladbrokes and betting exchange supremo, Betfair. However, gradually, because of the effect they had, they became common place in all betting sites in Australia, with sites such as TAB, B.Bet and bookmaker com au getting in on the act .

Standard Free Bets Terms and Conditions

Most bonus bets and free bets come with standard terms and conditions. Here are some that you might find when claiming yours:

Minimum Deposit

This is the minimum amount that you need to deposit into your account to trigger your bonus funds. This varies from offer to offer.

Minimum Odds

These are the minimum odds that your sportsbet will need to be placed on for it to count towards the turnover / wagering requirements. Generally, it tends to be fixed odds around 1.50.

Payment Methods

When making your qualifying deposit, some betting sites won’t accept certain payment methods, such as Neteller, Skrill or PayPal. As such, you need to make sure that you use the relevant banking method to claim the offer.

Specific Sporting Game/Event/Product

Many offers are centred around specific sports and racing betting events and markets. So, you need to be aware what bonus you are getting and what market it is valid on.

Expiry Dates

After the free bet has been credited to your account, you may well find that there is an expiry date on the offer. This can be anywhere between 7 days and 31 days after your first deposit or first bet, so check the terms to check how long you have to use your promotions.

Stake Not Returned

When making a bet using your free bet, you will only get the winnings credited to your account and not the original stake. They used to credit stake and winnings, but due to cost cutting, it has been changed to just winnings.

Bonus Codes

Certain offers available on a bookmaker site will require a bonus or promo code. This is not the case for all offers however, so be sure to check when making your qualifying deposit.

Because of legislation, it is imperative that all bookmakers make t and cs completely transparent to their punters and easy to use. If it is deemed that the terms for an online betting promotion are not clear or not fair, then they could receive a hefty fine. They need to make sure that players using offers available on its website gamble responsibly.