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£50
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Football
Football
Bet £10 Get £50 in free football bet builders
Place a min £10 bet on Football on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £50 in Free Bet Builders. Rewards valid for 30 days. Only deposits via cards will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.
£50
paddypower logo
Football
Football
Bet £10 Get £50 in Free Bet Builder Bets
New Customer offer. Place a min £10 bet on Football on odds of min 1.5 (1/2), get £50 in Free Bet Builders after the qualifying bet has been settled. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards will qualify (Apple Pay excluded). T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.
£20
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All Sports
All Sports
Bet £5 get a £20 Free Bet
18+ New UK+IRE Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 4x £5 free bets. Free bets available to use on selected sportsbook markets only. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply.
£20
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All Sports
All Sports
Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets
18+ New UK Customers. Must bet £10 in total on accas with 4+ legs, min odds 3/1 (4.0). £20 credited as 4x £5 Free Bets, valid for 7 days on selected bets only, stakes not returned. Restrictions & T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
£30
bet365 logo
All Sports
All Sports
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.
£20
betfair logo
All Sports
All Sports
MONEY BACK AS CASH UP TO £20 IF YOUR FIRST EXCHANGE BET LOSES
Max £20 refund on first bet. Bet must be placed in first 7 days of account opening. Payment restrictions apply for the promotion. T&Cs
£40
copybet logo
All Sports
All Sports
Bet £10 Get £40 in free bets
18+ only. New customers only. For verified UK clients only. The qualifying bet should start at £10 and have 1.5 or greater odds. Following the qualifying bet, you will receive 4 free bets that can be used one after another. Each free bet lasts for 7 days. Single bet only. Pre-Match or Live. No Cash-Out. Max payout – £500.
£20
betfair logo
Football
Football
Bet £5 Get £20 in free bets
New Customer offer. Place a min £5 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £20 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly
£40
betfred logo
All Sports
All Sports
Bet £10 Get £40 in bonuses
New 18+ UK customers only. Register using the promo code WELCOME40, deposit and place first bet of £10+ on Sports (cumulative Evens+) within 7 days of registration. First bet must be on Sports. £30 in Free Bets and £10 in Free Spins (50x20p) credited within 10 hours of bet settlement. Free Bet stakes are not included in any returns. Bonuses have a 7-day expiry. Payment restrictions apply. SMS verification and/or Proof of I.D and address may be required. Full T&Cs apply.
£400
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GET A 100% BONUS UP TO £400
First-time depositors only. Min. deposit £10 with code ‘STARS400’. No withdrawal during bonus period. Terms apply.
£30
paddypower logo
All Sports
All Sports
Money Back In Cash Up To £30
New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £30. Only deposits made using Cards will qualify for this promotion (Apple Pay deposits excluded). T&Cs apply.
£30
betway logo
Football
Football
£30 Matched Free Bet if your first Acca loses
*New UK customers only. Min Deposit: £5. Maximum Free Bet: £30. First bet on a Football or Horse Racing multiple with 3+ selections. Overall odds: 3.00 (2/1) or higher. Free Bets available upon settlement of the qualifying bet. This is offer is valid for 7 days from your new account being registered. 50 Bonus Spins credited on placement of qualifying Acca bet.50x bonus wagering applies as do weighting requirements, bonus Spins only available on selected games and expires 7 days after being awarded. Debit card deposits only (exclusions apply). 18+. BeGambleAware.org. Bet The Responsible Way. Full terms apply.
£20
coral logo
All Sports
All Sports
Bet £5 get a £20 Free Bet
18+ New UK+IRE Customers. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 1x £20 free bet. Free bet available to use on selected sportsbook markets only. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply
£00
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All Sports
All Sports
Double the Odds on any bet
New customers. Max £10. 100% Odds Boost token. Keep it fun – set your deposit limit. T&Cs apply. 18 Plus BeGambleAware.org
£20
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Football
Football
Get a £20 Surprise Bet when you bet £10
18+ only. New customers only. Min. deposit of £/€10. Qualifying real money bet of £/€10. Min odds greater than or equal to 1.5 required. E/W bets excluded. Offer credited within 48 hours. Additional T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly.
£40
unibet logo
All Sports
All Sports
Money Back as Bonus up to £40
18+ begambleaware.org. New customers only. Min deposit £10. Money back as bonus if first sports bet loses. Wagering requirements: sportsbook 3x at min. odds of 1.40 (2/5), casino 50x. Unless forfeited the sportsbook bonus must be wagered before using the casino bonus. Bonus expires 7 days after opt-in. Visit Unibet.co.uk for full T&C’s.
£5000
paddypower logo
All Sports
All Sports
WIN £5000 with Beat the Drop
New Customer Offer. Place your FIRST bet on any Sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £10. Only deposits made using cards will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply.
£20
betfair logo
All Sports
All Sports
Money Back In Cash Up To £20
Max £20 refund on first bet. Bet must be placed in first 7 days of account opening. Only deposits made via Debit Card will be eligible for the promotion. T&Cs apply.
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Free Bets Ultimate Guide

Here at Bad Man Betting we provide our customers with the best free bets and all the latest betting offers from the top UK bookmakers. This is our Ultimate Guide to free bets, how they work and how to get one.

You can find all of the best UK bookies’ offers in our free bet section, as well as comprehensive bookmakers reviews, helping you to make the right choices when selecting which offers and free bets are best for you.

Bad Man Betting delivers the best insights, tips and predictions so that our customers can make highly informed decisions, whether you’re using a free bet offer with a new bookmaker or you’re an experienced sports gambler.

What is a free bet?

So firstly, exactly what is a free bet? Let’s say you’re searching for a free bet to place on a forthcoming match, game, race, tournament or other sporting event.

Bookies regularly create free bet offers to motivate new customers to register with them and create a betting account for the first time.

Whilst many of the most valuable free bets are only offered as incentives to sign up with a bookmaker, there are also free wagers available for existing customers with bookies if you know where to look. These offers may be part of a free bet club or loyalty programme.

For new and existing customers free bets are usually accessed as a credit in the betting account, normally after an initial deposit or specific bet has been made. The credit can then be used to make a bet on a specified market or used freely at the choice of the customer.

There are several different forms of free bets, such as introductory offers, free betting credits, deposit matching free bets, cashback welcomes and first bet matched offers. We’ll get into more detail on these specific offer types later in Bad Man Betting’s Ultimate Guide to free bets.

How do free bets work?

To understand how free bets work let’s look at a typical example.

For new customers a bookmaker might offer £30 in free bets when a bet of £10 is placed. That £10 is the minimum the bettor has to initially wager and the offer only applies when the initial bet has minimum odds of at least 1/2 (1.5). If the odds are lower the bet is not be applicable in our example.

The initial bet and the free bets can only be placed on the sportsbook, meaning the customer is betting against the bookmaker, so the bets in this case cannot be placed on a betting exchange. The free bet credit only becomes available once the initial bet has been settled – whether or not the customer has won – and the free credit has to be used within 30 days.

That is just one typical example, there are many variations available. You can always find offers like this on our free bets page, with a simple explanation always provided of the key terms of the offer, which explains how the free bet works.

How to choose your free bet

The best way to choose your free bet is to previously do some research by reading the analysis and insights on the Bad Man Betting predictions page, our football tips page, our other sports tips page or by joining our social media community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Armed with that knowledge you are better placed to take advantage of any free bet. Next, consider how much you initially want to deposit or bet on your first wager. It is best to start small as we always encourage people to gamble responsibly.

Then look at which bookmakers have the most appealing free bet offer available and create an account with that bookie via their website or app. You’ll then see the bets in the relevant markets which would be applicable to the free bet offer, for example those which may have the required minimum odds and those which you think you can predict correctly.

Then you place your initial bet to trigger access to your free bet credits or you get your free bet matched against your initial deposit, depending on the type of offer you signed up for.

Are there lists of UK bookies offering free bets?

All the main bookmakers in the United Kingdom and Ireland frequently offer free bets, including 888 Sport, Bet365, Betfair, BetVictor, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, William Hill and many others. The Bad Man Betting free bet section is always right up to date with the latest offers, ensuring we keep you informed on all the best new & existing bookmaker offers.

Types of Bookmaker Offers

Now let’s take a look at some of the main types of free bets which are offered by UK and Irish bookmakers:

Free Betting Credits

Free Betting Credits are some of the most frequently offered free bet types. So here, like in our example above, the new customer places an initial bet with a stake such as £10, with the wager based on odds above a minimum level, then once that bet is settled they get £30 credit for further bets. Often the ‘free credit’ stake is not returned as part of the winnings if the subsequent free bets placed are successful.

 Matched Deposit Free Bets

Another type of free bet for new customers signing up with a bookmaker is a matched deposit free bet, in which the bettor places an initial deposit of say £10 and the bookmaker matches, or doubles, the deposited credit amount in the new betting account. Conditions usually apply to how this initial credit can be used – e.g. not on lots of ‘easy’ or very low odds subsequent bets. Rather the first bet using the free credit may have to be over certain minimum odds.

First Bet Matched Offers

A typical example of a First Bet Matched Offer would be ‘Bet £20 and you get a free £20 bet’. So the customer creates a new account, adds a deposit, then makes a first bet of £20 and when it settles he or she receives a £20 free bet credit. Minimum conditions will apply to the initial bet and may apply to the free bet credit.

Cashback Welcome Offers

A cashback free bet welcome typically works as follows: a customer registers a new account and deposits money with the bookmaker. The customer places a bet (again specific terms and conditions are applied by the bookie). In the case that the wager is successful the returns are paid out to the bettor like on a normal bet. In the case that the customer’s wager is unsuccessful and they ‘lose’ the bet they don’t really lose as the bookie refunds the initial amount staked as cash or credit in the account.

Again restrictions may apply as to how this refunded stake can be used.

 No Deposit Free Bets

With a No Deposit Free Bet the bookie allows the customer to place a free bet without any funds being placed into the account. These kinds of offers can be quite rare. There might be specific conditions placed on how returns from successful ‘no deposit free bet’ selections can subsequently be used or withdrawn from the account.

Our advice is that even when you are taking advantage of a free bet you still want to bet as smartly as possible, using the insight you can get from Bad Man Betting’s tips and predictions. You still want to make the most of any winnings, potentially to reinvest in additional bets.

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