Risk Free Bet Offers & Promotions

If you live in a legal sports betting state, then chances are that you have seen or heard a sportsbook ad where they mention risk-free bets.

Sportsbooks have many types of welcome offers, but risk-free bet offers are the most common. We’ve also seen this offer termed as “no-sweat first bet" or “bet insurance."

In this article, I’ll provide a rundown on the ins and outs of risk-free bets, including the best offers and top sites for this bonus.

What Is a Risk-Free Bet?

A risk-free bet is an offer where you’re refunded for your initial wager if it loses. This is capped at a certain number, often ranging between $200 and $1,000.

For example, let’s say you’re joining a site with a risk-free bet up to $500. You wager on the Brooklyn Nets moneyline (+100), but they lose the game. You’ll then receive $500 in bet credits.

You may notice that each site disperses the bet credits differently. One may offer it as a single bet token that matches your initial wager, while others will allow you to bet in smaller denominations, like 25% of your first bet.

There are also odds requirements attached to this offer. This is usually set at -200 or longer (-150, +100, etc.). This means that your bet cannot be shorter than -200 (-220, -250, etc.)

Best Risk-Free Betting Sites

FanDuel Sportsbook

• No Sweat First Bet: Get a FanDuel No Sweat First Bet of up to $1,000. If your bet loses, you will be refunded in site credit. You can withdraw any winnings obtained through the site credit right away. You need to use your site credit within 14 days. This does not need to be used as one single wager, it can be spread around.
• Pros: FanDuel has more betting options than most sportsbooks and the app interface is easy for customers to use. There are so many player props to choose from, helping differentiate the site from its competitors.

BetMGM Sportsbook

• Risk-Free Bet: At times, you will find different BetMGM promos, but you can currently get a risk-free bet with a maximum of $1,000. If it loses, you get up to $1,000 in bet credits. If your bet is greater than $50, you will receive free bets in 20 percent denominations. This means that if you put a $1,000 bet and it loses, you will receive five $200 free bets. If it is less than $50, you will get one free bet in the full amount of your original wager. These must be used within seven days.
• Pros: BetMGM has a ton of useful sportsbook promos with several odds boosts to give you better value on your bet. There are also live streams on selected events, allowing you to follow your wager in real-time.

PointsBet Sportsbook

• Second Chance Free Bets: PointsBet Sportsbook is offering five $100 free bets if your first fixed-odds wager loses. You essentially get one risk-free bet per day for five consecutive days. However, make sure that you use it for each day — if you miss a day, you lose the offer. For example, if it starts on Monday, I need to bet Tuesday through Friday as well in order to get all five free bets.
• Pros: PointsBet allows users to split up free bet credits into multiple free bets. You can use it as a single bet token or break it down into smaller denominations. This is an intuitive app that has a cool feature called PointsBetting, where you win more if your bet has a greater margin of victory and vice versa if it loses.

Unibet Sportsbook

• Risk-Free Bet: Unibet Sportsbook provides a risk-free bet that gets you up to $100 ($500 in PA) if it loses. This is refunded into your account as cash funds, which is great because it can be withdrawable.
• Pros: Unibet offers betting options on each game more than most apps. Specific bets are easy to find in Unibet’s search bar, which is located conveniently at the top of the app.

How To Pick the Best Risk-Free Betting Sites

• Bonus Credits: The best offers are the ones that allow you to use your free bets as you desire. This way, you don’t need to wager a lump sum. Having the ability to break it down into smaller denominations gives you a better chance at winning money — there’s more risk in using it as a single bet token.
• Highest Dollar Risk-Free Benefit: In a theoretical world where bettors have a large bankroll, bettors should look for Risk-Free offers with the highest maximums. A $500 risk-free offer has more value than a $100 risk-free offer.
• Good Odds: Bettors should look for risk-free betting sites that offer the highest payouts for their preferred risk-free bet. When making a $100 bet, the difference between +110 and +100 is $10.
• User-Friendly Interface: For any betting app, bettors should look for an app that has an easy-to-use interface. Nothing is worse than having a tough time finding your preferred wager because the app you are using is poorly designed.

Risk-Free Betting Tips & Strategies

Maximize Your Earnings

In an ideal world where you have an unlimited bankroll, you should bet the maximum allowable risk-free amount and use it on an underdog. To quote Eminem, “you only have one shot, do not miss your chance to blow.”

Mathematically, if you use your risk-free bet on an underdog and that underdog loses, you get a free bet. However, if that underdog wins, you get a large sum of money. With the free bet, you should use it on an underdog again as you only get the profit of the free bet and not the stake.

Use Another App To Hedge Your Risk-Free Bet

For risk-averse bettors with small bankrolls like myself at the beginning of my sports betting journey, they should look into hedging their risk-free bets with another app (arbitrage).

As a condition of risk-free bets, betting apps typically nullify risk-free bets if you bet on all outcomes. However, if you use another app to bet on the other outcomes of a bet to guarantee a profit, then they won’t know.

For example, if you think the Knicks will cover a -5.5 spread against the Magic, you could bet $200 risk-free on the Magic and then bet $200 on another app on the Knicks. If the Knicks cover, you lose $18.18 but get a $200 free bet. If the Magic cover, then you lose $18.18.

For bettors with a higher level of risk tolerance, this is not a good strategy as you aren’t maximizing your sportsbook bonus. However, for bettors with a low level of risk tolerance, this is a cheap way of acquiring free bets.

Spread Out Your Free Bets

If your first wager loses and your site allows you to wager your free bets as smaller denominations, be sure to do so. This gives you a better opportunity to recoup your losses.

For example, imagine I wagered $500 on the Knicks -4 and lost. I now have $500 in free bets, with the options of using it as the following: one $500, two $250, five $100, and 10 $50 bets. I would choose the 10 $50 bets because I’ll have a higher probability of recouping some of my losses. In other words, it’s less risky.

Benefits of Risk-Free Betting

Bankroll Building

If you don’t have much of a sports betting bankroll and you open up a betting account with a risk-free bet offer, you could significantly increase your bankroll. If your initial bet wins, then you have a potentially large profit. If your bet loses, you can potentially win big on your free bet that you get in return.

Great For Bets You Feel Good About

Occasionally, bettors find a bet that they feel really confident about that they would like to bet more money than usual on. Risk-free bet offers are good for this as your risk is mediated if you are betting more than usual.

Customer Friendly

Even a caveman would make money most of the time on risk-free bets because of the math involved. Sportsbooks aren’t expecting a short-term profit on risk-free bet offers. They offer risk-free bets as a way to get customers on their app to build brand loyalty, so long-term you will give your profits back to the sportsbook.

How Can I Bet Without Risk?

You can bet without risk by using arbitrage if you are risk-averse, but ultimately you are limiting your potential earnings.

Your best way to use a risk-free bet is on something risky as the risk-free bet insurance kicks in when you lose. With this strategy, you either make a large amount of money, receive most of your initial investment back, or the least likely outcome is you lose your initial deposit by losing both bets.

How to Sign Up For a Risk-Free Bet Online

How to sign up for a risk-free bet depends on the app, so you should always look at the terms and conditions before signing up. In general, here are the steps to making sure you get a risk-free bet:

1. Set up an account: To set up an account, you submit your personal information.
2. Opt-In: Some sites require you to opt-in for your risk-free bet.
3. Place your bet: Your first bet will be what counts toward the risk-free bet promotion.
4. Collect your winnings: If you win, your account balance will update with your win.
5. Use your free bet: If you lose, you typically must use your free bet within seven days.
6. Withdraw: If you like the app, you should keep some money in it, but at least withdraw some of your winnings to use for other risk-free offers to build your bankroll.

Where Can I Legally Risk-Free Bet Online?

Current Legal Online Betting States with Risk-Free Betting

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• West Virginia

Choose More Than One Risk-Free Betting Site

When picking among risk-free betting offers, bettors should pick the betting site that offers the best odds on the bet that they are looking to place.

For example, if you wanted to bet on Illinois’ money line against Nebraska, you should find the site with the most favorable odds. Some sites may have Illinois at +450, while another site with a risk-free offer may offer Illinois at +500. If you bet $200 on Illinois and they win, by using the site with the best odds, you will make $1000 instead of $900.

Additionally, another reason to shop around for risk-free offers is to place multiple risk-free bets in order to fully maximize your edge from all of the risk-free betting promos. If you place several longshot risk-free bets, you eventually are likely to have a big win.