Free Bets and Bonus Bets: Stake Not Returned

The defining term of a free bet is that the stake is not returned with winnings. A 10 unit free bet at odds of 3.00 returns 20, not 30.

This means the value of a free bet is meaningfully less than its face amount, and the optimal use differs from a cash stake: because the stake is lost either way, higher odds extract more value from a free bet than they would from cash, at the cost of a lower hit rate.

Other common conditions include minimum odds for qualification, expiry within days, exclusion of cashed-out bets, and restrictions on which markets qualify.

Check whether the qualifying bet itself has minimum odds. A qualifying loss at short odds can cost more than the free bet is worth.