Be careful with the bonuses at gambling sites
When you wish to register with an online sportsbook, there is plenty to consider. One of these is the bonuses that they have on offer. There are many different types, so let’s take a look at some of the most common ones.
A welcome bonus is the first promotion that you will be interested in. The gambling industry is a highly competitive one with sites aplenty. Offering a welcome bonus is one way of attracting new customers. Some look great but aren’t all they appear to be and there are calls for changes to the 2005 Gambling Act to deal with this.
One popular form of welcome bonus is a matching of your first deposit after registration as William Hill UK offers. For example, this could be a 100% matching of that deposit up to a total of £100 or more. There will be a minimum deposit figure, for example £10.
However, you don’t really want to just deposit a tenner and get that amount as a bonus. You’ll want to deposit a higher figure than that and this will please any online bookmaker. Make sure you only deposit what you can afford to lose.
Deposit £100 and you will receive that amount in the form of free bets. It is vital that you look at the terms and conditions of any promotion. Often with this kind of bonus, there are wagering requirements.
It may be that you have to wager the sum of your deposit and bonus 5x, sometimes it’s even higher than that. In this example, it’d be £100 deposit plus £100 bonus x5. That’s £1000 has to be wagered in a set time, say seven or 14 days before a withdrawal can be made. You’ll have to do well to have any of your bonus to withdraw. There may also be restrictions on the odds of selections you have to make to fulfil that wagering requirement.
Then there’s the risk-free bet welcome bonus. Here you can place your first bet and if it’s a loser, the stake will be refunded as a free bet up to say, £20. Again, there is likely to be terms and conditions that have to be fulfilled. The problem with this type of welcome bonus is what if your first bet is a winner? If it is, then no bonus is received, so it’s an idea to place a speculative bet that can get you a good return. After all, if it loses, there’s your stake back as a free bet, perhaps even cash with some bookmakers.
An enhanced odds welcome offer is a popular bonus. This sees a certain event, perhaps a Premier League game or a big fight being used to entice people to join. The odds for each participant are greatly enhanced. A team that are odds on might see their odds boosted to say, 6/1. The outsiders might have odds of 12/1. There have been occasions when they are as high as 100/1.
You make an initial deposit after registering and then place a bet, often £5 on one of the participants to win. If they do, you’re paid out in cash at the regular shorter odds and the enhanced winnings are paid as free bets. You could end up with a massive amount if the outsider wins.
However, if your bet loses, then there’s no bonus and your account balance is reduced. Well, that’s gambling!