Bonuses

The bonus offer is one of the most important parts on which bookmakers build their promotions. Their purpose is to reward the customer for choosing a particular company and to motivate him to make a deposit. For a large number of bettors, bonuses are the deciding factor in choosing a bookmaker.

Most often you will come across the so-called welcome bonus. It is a reward that adds a certain percentage of bonus money to your first deposit. These bonuses usually equal to 100%. However, there are a large number of other bonuses that you can enjoy. The most common ones are listed below.

Which bonus is the best for you? We can’t give you a definite answer to this question. Each bookmaker sets different conditions, which you have to meet in order to claim the bonus. Be sure to read these carefully before seeking a bonus. In particular, pay attention to how many times the bonus amount needs to be wagered before it can be claimed, which betting slips (e.g. minimum odds or bet type) count towards the wager, what is the minimum deposit to receive the bonus, etc.

Common types of bonuses

We have mentioned that there are a number of bonuses. They differ from each other in many ways, but their essence is the same: to offer the bettor the opportunity to earn some extra money. We will introduce to you the most common types of bonuses you may encounter.

👋 Welcome bonus

This is the most common bonus offered by almost all bookmakers. The welcome bonus (bonus for the first deposit) is the bookmaker’s signature branding, which you may see in advertisements or on social media. Its essence is to add a certain percentage of bonus money to the first deposit made by the bettor. It is most often set to 100% (but you can find even higer numbers). With this bonus, you can significantly increase your bankroll.

✍️ Free registration bonus

The principle of this offer is to reward a newly registered bettor. So the only task of new customer is to complete the whole process of registration including verification of identity. Although this bonus does not usually offer as high financial sums as other bonuses, it is free and without the need for any deposit.

🔃 Reload bonus

This is no longer a bonus offered by the bookmaker to newcomers, but to its regular bettors. The essence remains the same as at the welcome bonus. Make a deposit and you will be rewarded with a certain percentage of bonus money. In the case of a reload bonus, it is most often 50%. You will be able to use the reload bonus once a week with most bookmakers.

🆓 Free bet

A very popular promotion among bettors is free bet, which is offered in multiple variations. A common variation is the risk free bet, which typically means that if you lose the betting slip, you will get your stake back. The essence of the second popular free bet version is to make a deposit of a certain amount, for which you will receive a free bet (e.g. deposit €10 and get a €20 free bet). A variation of such a free bet can be betting slip (or number of betting slips) of a certain amount, for which you will receive a free bet (for example, bet a €10 betting slip every day of the week and receive a €10 free bet on Monday of the following week). A less common variation of this bonus is a free bet that you get for free, e.g. on top of your welcome bonus.

🔝 Promotions such as enhanced odds and profit boost

Recently, bookmakers have started to include many promotions that are related to improving the odds. Such a bonus can have many modifications, e.g. 0% margin markets, markets with improved odds or with profit increase (e.g. when betting AKO bet with five opportunities, the bookmaker adds 5% to your extra winnings, etc.).

Similar offers are increasing. Some bookmakers offer to pay out winnings before the match is over. For example, if you bet on the winner of a football match and your team leads by two goals, the win is yours, even if your team does not end up winning the match.

What to look for in bonus conditions?

The best answer to this question is: everything. Really, the best thing you can do before trying to get a bonus is to read the terms and conditions carefully, several times. We can help you by providing you with some basic terms and conditions that are found on more or less all bonuses.

One bonus per user / IP address

Here it is clear. You can only claim the bonus once per your name and address (unless otherwise stated in the terms and conditions).

Wagering conditions

Before you can withdraw the bonus, you have to “wager” it several times, for example, you have to place bets of a certain amount, which is usually several times the total amount of the bonus (e.g. if you have to wager the bonus amount 5x and the bonus amount is €200, it means that you have to place €1,000 worth of bets first).

Also pay attention to whether you only need to roll over the bonus amount or the sum of the deposit and the bonus. Bookmakers are definitely not united in this.

Minimum odds

Note the minimum odds requirements on your betting slip. There may also be different conditions for the type of betting slip that counts towards the wagering (single bet x AKO).

Accepted markets and types of bets

Many bookmakers list markets in their terms and conditions that do not count towards the wagering. Most often, these are two-way markets, i.e. Asian handicap, over/under, both teams to score, even/odd, etc. Voided (VOID) bets, cash-out bets or bets placed from a free bet are usually not counted in the wagering.

Minimum deposit

Before claiming the bonus, you must also meet the minimum deposit requirements. Most often it is an amount like €5 or €10.

Restrictions in individual countries

Be especially careful here. Check the terms and conditions to see if you are excluded from the bonus because of your country of residence. Some bookmakers have different bonus wagering conditions for certain countries.

Limited deposit methods

Some bookmakers will not give a bonus to anyone, who makes a deposit via Skrill and Neteller e-wallets. Watch out for this.

Maximum win

Some bookmakers have a maximum limit on the winnings that come from bonus money, meaning that no matter how much you win, you will only be able to withdraw the limit allowed by the bookmaker.

Maximum bet amount

Also pay attention to the maximum amount of the bet that counts towards the wagering. Many bookmakers have some sort of limit in place to protect themselves from “bonus hunters” and arbitrage bettors.

Expiration date

You have a certain amount of time to complete the bonus conditions. This is usually 30 days. However, it is individual. If you fail to meet the conditions within this time, your entitlement to the bonus will be forfeited.

Bonus code

Some companies require you to enter a promo code during registration. Without it, they will not credit you with the bonus. However, these are rather exceptions. In most cases, the bonus is activated automatically or you can request it through customer support.