Freebets in Australia
Free bets are banned in Australia under the National Gambling Framework, with the legislation being enacted on May 26, 2019. Although the term “free bets” was banned before the new legislation, up until then we had been able to claim some forms of new bookie account incentives.
This article will run you through the various types of freebets that Australians claimed up until the ban, while it will also provide information and tips surrounding bonus bets for our international readers.
NB: The below information is intended for informational purposes or overseas readers, Australians can longer claim free bet offers at online betting sites.
An introduction to free bets
IT’S freebie time. Did you know that the best online bookmakers like to provide a little carrot for you to sign up in the form of free and bonus bets.
Some companies choose to charge up your account with cash that you can bet on any event. Others will give you a set amount of free bets. And some will even provide matched bonuses, giving you as much money in your free bet as you charge up your account with the first time you deposit.
And the free bets don’t stop there. Once you’ve signed up and used your free bets, keep an eye out for bookie promotions that offer recharges, cash back or free bets if your bets fail.
What betting sites have free bets
Whether you can claim a free bet will come down to the laws surrounding betting in your country. For instance Australians cannot claim free bet offers if they are enticing you to open an account. However bookies can still offer you real money bonus deals after you have opened an account – although this is contingent on the offer coming directly from the bookmaker.
Another regulated market is the United Kingdom where there was a clampdown on bonus offers and new account incentives in 2018. While they are not entirely banned, unfair wagering requirements and many direct marketing methods were stopped.
Other countries, New Zealand for instance, do not really address online betting in their local laws, which means they are able to claim freebets at many offshore online betting sites.
How to claim a freebet bonus
To claim a free bet at an online betting site you will need to open a new account, and depending on the type of bonus you are trying to claim, make a deposit. For instance some free bets are given to you when you make your first bet, while other free bets come in the form of matched deposits. Traditionally a free bet was when a bookie gave, as an example, a $10 bet no deposit required, wager.
Stipulations to use your freebets
Freebets are great fun, but you really need to read the fine print. Just be aware when you get your bonus bet, you will be betting with the bookie’s money. If you lose, they win. And if you win, they also win.
Don’t get it? Well, when you place your bet, say a $20 free bet on a $2 pop. If your team wins, you only get the winnings from the wager, not the full dividend. So instead of getting $40 back for your bet, you lose the $20 from your bonus bet, but you get the winnings of $20 in your account.
The good thing about this that now it has been turned over, you can withdraw from your betting account and get real money to use in the real world.
Often, the bookies won’t allow you to use bonus bets on their other promotional markets. And if they have cash back offers, they won’t tend to honour them if you used a bonus bet to place your wager.
The bonus bets usually have to be placed on markets with odds of $1.50 or better, so that $1.04 moral about Novak Djokovic in the first round of a grand slam is a no-go.
Tips on how to use your bonus bet
There are quite a few schools of though as to how best to use bonus bets.
Given that you almost always have to turn your bet over once, the popular idea is to find something that is almost a moral and lay it hard, with your whole freebet.
So say you have a $150 free bet, do your research and find a good thing, keeping in mind that they have to pay $1.50 or better. Keep the risk as low as possible with bets on head to head markets, etc.
The flip side of that is to go big. This is money you never had, so who cares if you lose it? Why not try and perform a miracle and load up your balance like crazy? The super mega multi is always an option here, with some punters seeking out parlay bets with up to 12 legs in the hunt for riches.
What about the outsider? free bets are always good for having a crack at an outsider. Some might think they are silly bets, but how about a sniff of Leicester City to win the English Premier League title at $5001-1? They say strange things happen in the sporting world and the same goes for the betting world.
No team or bet is without its chances, no matter how high the odds.
And if you’re a bit of a prospector, you can always split up your freebet. Some bookies will offer the free bets simply as bonus credit for you to use as you please. Say you get a $150 free bet, you could have 150 $1 bets, if you were so inclined. The possibilities are endless and the carrot of free bets just adds to the fun of placing your bets with someone else’s money.