Free Bets With No Wagering Explained
In the context of sports betting (as casino offers can be different), a "no wagering" betting offer refers to a type of promotion or bonus provided by betting sites, when you join. It's otherwise referred to as a no wagering welcome bonus.
A wager free welcome bonus means you receive a bonus or free bet without any specific restrictions attached to the winnings. This means that you can use the bonus or free bet to place bets immediately, and crucially any winnings you make from those bets are typically yours to keep as withdrawable cash.
No wagering betting sites
Personally, I think it's a good sign when a betting site lists a bonus with no wagering. It means they're transparent and prepared to take a risk on the joining offer by loosening the terms and conditions of the deal.
With no wagering offers, there are no catches or hidden caveats that some betting sites place on their promotions so the terms of use are simple.
Wagering is betting
The term wager means to bet, so a wagering requirement is the number of additional bets you need to make to fulfil the wagering terms. It's normally a multiple of the bonus you earned when you joined and means you have to spend X times that bonus before you can withdraw any bonus winnings.
What's the point of wagering terms?
Bonus abuse is a term used to describe the practice of registering on multiple betting sites just to get a bonus. The aim is then to try and win free cash by only spending your free bets. Wagering requirements are designed to restrict this practice bonus abuse, so you have to stick around and try out the site a few more times before you can take any winnings you've earned and leave.
No wagering means low deposit offers
The top betting sites used to offer substantially bigger betting offers than what you will find nowadays, but they were all secured by equally large play-through terms, with some sites often requiring 10 x wagering on the bonus. So with a big bonus or free bet in your balance, the amount you had to wager could be quite limiting, so bookies now prefer low wagering but equally low deposit bonuses.
To explain this concept further, let's use the example of a £/€/$10 free bet and compare it with different versions of wagering versus no wagering:
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No Wagering Offer Example:
- You sign up or qualify for a promotion, and you receive a £/€/$10 free bet.
- You can use the entire £/€/$10 free bet to place a single bet on a sports event of your choice.
- If your bet wins, the winnings are added to your real money balance, and you can withdraw them or use them for further betting immediately, with no additional requirements.
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Wagering Offer Example:
- You sign up or qualify for a promotion, and you receive a £/€/$10 free bet.
- However, with a wagering offer, you may need to meet specific wagering requirements before you can withdraw any winnings generated from the free bet.
- For example, the bookmaker may require you to wager the free bet amount (in this case, £/€/$10) a certain number of times, typically expressed as a multiple of the bonus (e.g., 3x, 5x, 10x).
- If it's 3x Wagering you can't withdraw bonus winnings until you've bet £/€/$30 from your bonus balance.
- Once you've met the wagering requirements, any remaining winnings can be withdrawn or used for further betting.
- If you lose your bonus bets and your balance is zero, you can still withdraw your own money and any winnings you earn from your own money.
So, the key difference is that with a no-wagering offer, you can use the free bet and keep your winnings without any additional conditions, while a wagering offer requires you to bet the bonus amount a certain number of times before you can withdraw your winnings. Normally wagering bonus balances are kept separate from your cash balance, so you can freely deposit and withdraw these as separate amounts.
Understanding the value differences of Wagering vs No wagering
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Smaller No Wagering Bonuses:
- No wagering bonuses are often smaller in value because they are more straightforward and pose less financial risk to the bookmaker.
- Since there are no wagering requirements attached, punters can immediately use the bonus and potentially turn it into real money winnings without any additional conditions.
- Bookmakers offer smaller no wagering bonuses like £/€/$10 as an incentive to attract new customers or reward existing ones without exposing themselves to significant potential losses.
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Larger Bonuses with High Wagering:
- Larger bonuses, often in the hundreds or even thousands, can appear very attractive to players because of their apparent value.
- However, these larger bonuses usually come with high wagering requirements. The bookmaker imposes these requirements to ensure that punters don't simply claim the bonus and immediately withdraw the funds, which would be financially unsustainable for the bookmaker.
- To access and withdraw any winnings generated from a large bonus with high wagering, bettors must place numerous bets or wager a significant amount of money, often at odds that make it challenging to achieve a profit.
- These high wagering requirements create a significant barrier for bettors, making it less likely that they will be able to turn the bonus into actual profits.