The online gambling industry is amongst the most competitive in the world as major bookmakers fight tooth and nail to attract your business.

How to Get Free Bets

• Gone are the days were local was king and leading names, such as William Hill, Coral and Ladbrokes would thrive simply by placing betting offices in convenient locations.
• A nice spot on the high street, a bookie near a popular pub or packed workplace.
• It was enough to get by and a few hundred of those meant a firm were considered a major player, turning millions of pounds in profit every year.

Punters didn’t care too much about price or promotions and very few put in the effort to move between rival companies to see who was offering best odds or special offers on the biggest horse races and football matches of the weekend.

Things changed Thankfully, all that has changed forever.

The invention and growth in popularity of online betting meant the focus moved from convenience to value with punters finally realising what they’re worth.

Online gambling followed by a surge in bets made using betting apps on mobile phones and tablet devices shook things up again.

It’s now possible, and indeed common to place your bets wherever you want using a betting app.

That could be at home on the sofa watching live sport, at the stadium, in the pub, on the commute to work or even on your lunchbreak.

If you have a mobile or tablet and a reliable wifi connection, you can turn everyday scenarios into a thrilling betting experience.

Web-based betting has proven to be a game-changer for sports punters, but it has also made life easier for sportsbook bookmakers.

There’s now no need to own a list of premises, handling business completely online.

That has resulted in a saving for the names already established in the industry and it also paved the way for an avalanche of new, start-up online bookmakers who have flooded the market.

It has become busier than ever and that’s ideal for punters as we now have choice and customer is king.

Placing a shop at the end of your road is no longer good enough.

Now if a bookmaker wants your business they must go and earn it, fighting off the competition and convincing you their service is the best available.

They could have the best site, quickest app, most eye-catching prices and markets but it’ll all count for nothing if they can’t get you onto their site and betting.

They must get you registered and across the threshold and the way the achieve that is by offering promotions such as welcome bonuses.

These come in the form of free bets. Those two words fit perfectly when placed side-by-side, but what is a free bet and how can you get one?

Where can I find them?

Bookies often offer new customers opening an online account for the first time a free bet to persuade the player to choose them over the competition. Free bets act as the lure to attract your attention.

A free Cheltenham Festival bet in modern gambling usually comes in the form of a matched bet. So, if you open an account and place a £10 bet, you’ll also get a £10 free bet.

More generous firms will ask you to deposit and bet £10 on a selection with odds of 1/2 or better and will give you £30 in free bets, often divided into £5 bet tokens.

How do I use a free bet?

Online betting firms strive to keep things simple as they know the internet generation are used to getting what they want, and quickly.

They know placing hurdles in your way will result in you going with a rival, so they aim to make things as easy as possible.

Therefore, the free bets are appealing, and they are also very easy to use. To get your hands on a free bet offered as welcome bonus you must be a first-time customer, opening a new account.

You will then have to make a deposit and place a bet on sports to prove your intentions – the industry suffered for a while from players registering, using the free bet and leaving.

Making you place a qualifying bet helped stamp that out.

Open an account, make a qualifying deposit of £10 or more.

Place £10 worth of bets on sports markets at minimum agreed odds or better – these can’t be cashed out – and the bonus will appear in your account balance, ready to use as you see fit.

It’s worth mentioning that free bet stakes won’t be included in any winnings achieved using the promo.

New Customer Offers

Do your research and you’ll find any online bookmaker worth their salt offer a welcome bonus to ensure they stand out from the crowd.

Many of the top names are deserving of your attention and there’s not a lot between the leading firms in terms of welcome bonus, markets covered or prices offered, but bet365 are one of the standouts in the pack.

Open an account and you’ll find a stunning welcome bonus, with up to £100 in bet credits available for new customers.

There’s also loads of recurring promotions for existing customers, including extra places for each-way backers, money back on losing football accumulators and their brand new Bet Builder feature which allows you to place same game multis, including match winner, first goal scorer, total goals, correct score and even assists.

What is a Free Bet No Deposit?

If the words free bet catches the eye of punters, then the phrase free bet no deposit has them scrambling for their wallets.

This promotion appears to be dying out and is increasingly difficult to find, but it is still out there.

What you’re offered here is a free bet – similar to what you’ll get with other bookmakers – but there’s no need to deposit.

All you need to do is register for an account and the marketing team will give you a free bet, usually £5 or £10, to use however you want.

Any winnings are yours and it’s then up to you if you want to remain betting with that bookmaker.