Football reigns king of American Sports, and the NFL is the most popular league in the nation. With legalized sports betting continuing to expand, we see a ton of sportsbook operators fighting to acquire new customers.
This means that sportsbooks will attract customers using lucrative sign-up offers and bonuses, we’ll go through the different types of offers, how to take advantage of them, and the best current offers.
Benefits of NFL Betting Promos
The benefits of NFL betting promos are they limit, or in some cases, eliminate the edge of the sportsbook for an amount of time or number of bets. Whether it’s by receiving bet and gets, deposit bonuses, or offering odds boosts, all will increase your edge and give you a chance to expand your bankroll in some way or another.
In theory, the customer will take advantage of a bonus and then become a loyal customer who, over time, will give their money back to the sportsbook in the form of losing bets.
Some common benefits of NFL betting promos include:
- Larger Bankroll
- Deposit Matches
- Boosted Odds
- Bonus Bets
- Insurance/No Sweat Bets
Best Betting Sites with NFL Signup Bonuses
DraftKings Sportsbook
One of the best and most popular NFL betting sites is DraftKings. Starting primarily as a daily fantasy sports site, DraftKings has a wide range of betting options available. In fact, a typical NFL game will have hundreds of bets available.
As a well-known company that wants to be the most widely used sports betting app, DraftKings consistently offers its new users a bet and get bonus.
The bet and get amount varies depending on the time of the year, the sport, and how generous DraftKings is feeling at the time of signing up. In general, the get amount varies between $100 - $200 dollars for your first $5+ bet on the sportsbook.
Sometimes, they’ll also run Bet and Win promotions where your first bet has to win in order to receive your bonus bets. I would attempt to avoid these as it does increase your risk and leaves you vulnerable to losing your sign-up bonus from one of the top sportsbooks.
FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel Sportsbook is the most popular sportsbook in many states across the nation, and in turn, offers an aggressive sign-up bonus to acquire new sign-ups.
Unlike most operators, FanDuel is consistently changing its welcome offer and offers a wide variety of options but its most popular is the FanDuel No Sweat First Bet.
The No Sweat First Bet is an insured bet for your first bet on the platform. You sign-up, deposit at least $10, and place your first bet of at least $10. If your bet loses, you’ll get 100% of your stake back in bonus bets — up to a certain amount (usually $1,000, but has been up to $2,500).
They’ve also offered bet and gets for varying amounts like the FanDuel Bet $20 Get $200 bonus. One of the best aspects of the FanDuel bonuses, is they allow you to use your bonus bets in any denomination you’d like.
Right now, FanDuel is offering their Bet $5, Get $200 promotion.
BetMGM Sportsbook
BetMGM is a well-known company that is trying to be the most popular sports betting app. In the last year, BetMGM has increased its offering to its new and existing users.
The BetMGM app has great features such as being able to use the search bar in their menu to find the game that you are looking for. Additionally, they have an easy-to-navigate betting menu for each game.
In addition to the great features of the BetMGM app, they also offer a generous sign-up bonus in the form of a first bet offer up to $1,000.
The way the first bet offer works is that you can bet up to the maximum amount, which in the case of BetMGM is up to $1,000. If your bet loses, you get your bet back in the form of a bonus bet. If your bet wins, you win a large sum of money.
bet365 Sportsbook
be365 is the biggest sportsbook in the world, making its name in Europe before it tactically entered the US market in recent months. It has already proven itself as one of the cleanest interfaces and best apps on the market.
They also feature one of the best bet and gets in the world with the Bet $1, Get $200 (and sometimes for new state launches and special events, even $365!).
You must make a deposit of at least $10 and then place at least $1 on your first wager. It could be one single bet, or a parlay, as long as the odds on each bet are at -500 or better. Once your bet settles, you’ll receive your bonus bets. Within 30 days of registering your account, use your bonus bets once and any winnings will be withdrawable.
You can choose to disburse your bet credits in whatever form you like. It could be on a single bet or in several smaller bets.
Types of NFL Betting Promotions
Football Betting No-Deposit Bonus
No-deposit bonuses are more popular for online casinos, and as a sports bettor, I have not seen many no-deposit bonus offers. Obviously, these types of offers are fantastic because you’ll receive bonus bets or bet credits just for signing up.
The problem is that the no-deposit bonuses are usually small. Typically, the no-deposit bonus is only for a $5-$25 credit, and that is why usually no-deposit bonuses are offered in addition to other sign-up bonuses that are better for the user in terms of the size of the bonus.
Bet & Get
Bet and get bonus offers are also great as the terms are as simple as the name. If you make a bet, you get a bonus. Unfortunately, bet and get offers are less common than credited bet offers.
Additionally, one negative toward bet and get offers is the fact that most operators do not return the stake of your bonus bets.
For example, if you bet on a +100 money line with a $200 cash, if your bet wins you would get $400 (your stake plus your winnings). However, if you did the same with a $200 bonus bet or free credit, you would only get $200 in winnings but only if your bet wins.
Deposit Bonus
In my opinion, the best football betting promos are deposit bonuses.
As a bonus, they are the easiest to understand as you make a deposit and get a percentage of it matched. Additionally, it is most beneficial to bettors as they can choose how to use it whether it is conservatively as multiple small bets (my preference for beginners), or as one large bet.
One thing to note about deposit bonuses, is the rollover amount may vary by sportsbook.
A rollover amount is the amount you need to wager your bonus funds before they become withdrawable — some sportsbooks require you to just wager the funds once, and some may require up to six times.
Bet Credits
Bet Credit tokens are the most common welcome offer for NFL sportsbooks that look to represent the true stakes when you wager, even with funds that are gifted when you join a sportsbook.
This is why many offers have changed the wording behind what were previously labeled “risk-free" bets; for example, the FanDuel No Sweat, BetMGM first bet offer, first bet on Caesars, etc.
Laws and industry trends removed that from the common language.
The way a bet credit works is that up to a certain amount, usually at least $100 and up to $1000, if your first bet loses you are rewarded with credit. Typically, that credit is rewarded in the form of one single gifted bet, which cannot be broken up.
If that bonus bet loses, then you lose your whole bet reward credit. That is why I prefer to use the term risk reduced as it is reducing the risk of your bet but not eliminating it.
Special Welcome Bonuses For New Signups During the Football Season
During the NFL season, sportsbooks periodically have special offers such as bet $1 and get $200 in bonus bets if your team scores a point. The key to taking advantage of these low-cost promos is to be on the lookout for these offers.
You can check out The Game Day’s best sportsbook promos, for a constantly updating list of the best promotions from all the top operators.
How To Pick the Best NFL Sportsbook Bonus
Low Rollover Requirements
Frequently, to withdraw all of your account balance, you must meet the rollover requirements in order to have access to your bonus amount. This can include betting up to five times your initial deposit or only one times your initial deposit for BetRivers offer.
Type Of Bonus
As a sports bettor, you should pick a sportsbook that has the best sign-up offer for your NFL betting preference. If you are practicing conservative bankroll management, you are best off with a deposit match or bet and get offer where you can spread your risk. If you are a high-dollar bettor who likes placing a few wagers of $100 or more, you are best served by the bet credit offers.
Fewest Requirements
Part of the reason why some of these bonus offers appear too good to be true is that they have a long list of requirements to have to be met to receive the bonus. That is why I like the sign-up bonuses that have the fewest requirements.
How To Use NFL Betting Bonuses
Bet and Gets
If it is a true bet and get and it doesn’t matter if your first bet wins or loses, you can’t really go wrong. Be sure to check the terms and conditions, especially for any first bet requirements — minimum odds, wager amount, market requirements, pre-game vs live bet.
Some operators will offer bet and win bonuses where you must win your first bet, for these, you should be betting as big of a favorite or as safe a bet as permitted. It is especially important to look into the minimum odds requirement for bet and wins.
Deposit Bonus
If you’re activating a deposit bonus, you should deposit as much as your bankroll permits, up to the maximum amount of the bonus. These are almost always one-time per user, so you should take advantage and maximize your bonus amount as much as possible.
A majority of operators will offer only the profits from bets placed with bet credits, since you will only get your bet winnings and not your stake, your best course of action is to bet on something with a big payout.
Bet Credit Rewards
For bet credit rewards, you should consider taking a chance on a riskier bet such as an underdog moneyline or a parlay. The longshot could win and you could get a big payout or the longshot losses and at least you get a bet back in return.
For the bonus bet you receive if your bet loses, you should use it in a similar manner. For example, if you bet $100 as your first bet, and it loses and you receive $100 bonus bet. If you place that $100 bonus bet on a wager with odds of (-200), you would only receive $50 and have lost $50 of your initial deposit.
Bonus Bets
It is extremely important that you know whether or not the operator returns the stake from bonus bets.
If they do not return the stake, you should consider placing your bonus bets on wagers with longer odds.
Unlike placing a wager with cash, most operators will return just the profits of a wager placed with bonus bets. This gives you the best conversion rate on turning your bonus bets into withdrawable cash and getting the most out of your sign-up bonus and bonus bets.
NFL Sportsbook Promo Codes vs Bonus Codes
With plenty of different NFL sportsbooks, several of them use different terms for the same thing. A good example of this is the interchangeable use of the terms promo code and bonus code.
Is there a difference between a promotion or a bonus?
No. A bonus is a form of a promotion, and for getting a sign-up bonus, a promo code and a bonus code are the same things.
Do You Need A Promo Code?
Sometimes you need a promo code, and sometimes you do not.
Some NFL sportsbook promos require that you enter a promo code to get the sign-up bonus. For example, BetRivers require new bettors to enter promo code GAMEDAY when making a first-time deposit to get the matching deposit bonus.
An easy way to find out if you need to enter a promo code is to check our sportsbook offers page and it will list if a promo code is required or not, or if you are on a site offering you a promotion and it simply tells you to click “Get Bonus" or that a bonus code is unnecessary.
Where Can I Legally Bet With NFL Bonuses?
Current Legal Online Betting Locations
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington D.C.
- West Virginia
Future Legal Online Betting States
These states have either announced or passed the legalization of sports betting in their state and will likely attempt to launch before the onset of football season.
- Kentucky
- Maine
- North Carolina
- Vermont
Look for More than One NFL Sportsbook Bonus
The best thing that any football bettor can do to limit the sportsbook’s advantage is to use multiple betting sites. Different sites offer different betting odds and as a result, you can get the best price by shopping around for the best odds.
For example, on Sunday, January 3, 2021, the Indianapolis Colts were heavily favored against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On PointsBet, The Colts were favored by 15.5 points, while on BetMGM, the Colts were favored by only 14 points. The final score was Jaguars 14, Colts 28. If you had bet on Indianapolis on PointsBet, then you would have lost. However, if you bet on Indy on BetMGM, then you would have gotten your bet back in a push.
Additionally, for bonuses, it is beneficial to have multiple accounts to take advantage of every single sign-up offer.
