The small print of free bets explained simply

A free bet is a betting token that a bookmaker adds to your account, usually after you have met certain conditions. You use it to place a bet without spending money from your balance on that particular stake. If the bet wins, you receive the winnings as withdrawable money, subject to the offer's terms. If it loses, the token is simply gone.

We explain how free bets work rather than listing current offers. Promotions change frequently, and the terms behind them matter far more than the headline. Whatever the offer, the same handful of ideas decides what it is worth, and once you know them you can read any free bet terms with confidence.

With a normal bet, a winner returns your profit plus your stake. With almost every free bet, the stake is not returned: you receive only the profit. This is usually written as SNR, short for stake not returned.

Because the stake does not come back, a free bet is worth less on short-priced selections. At evens, a £10 free bet returns half of what a £10 cash bet would. Our guide to how odds work explains the arithmetic behind these figures.

Most free bets are released only after a qualifying bet: a bet with your own money that meets the offer's rules. Those rules usually set a minimum stake, a minimum price and a time window, and they may restrict the markets that count.

Minimum odds often apply twice: once to the qualifying bet and again to the free bet itself. A bet struck at a shorter price than the minimum may not qualify, even if it wins. Each-way bets, multiples and bets placed with a cash-out can also be treated differently, so read the terms for the specific offer.

Some offers exclude certain payment methods from qualifying, which is worth knowing if you use an e-wallet. Our PayPal guide covers payment methods in more detail.

Some offers add a wagering requirement: winnings from the free bet, or a bonus balance, have to be staked a set number of times before they can be withdrawn as cash. The sum is simple. If £10 of bonus winnings carries a requirement of five times, you need to place £50 of further qualifying bets, at the odds and in the markets the terms allow, before that money is yours to withdraw. Losing bets along the way still count towards the total, but they also reduce the balance you are working through.

The Gambling Commission now caps wagering requirements on gambling bonuses in Great Britain at ten times. Many sportsbook free bets carry no wagering at all, and the winnings go straight to your cash balance, so it is worth reading which kind of offer you are looking at before you place the qualifying bet.

Free bets do not last for ever. Most come with an expiry period, after which any unused token disappears from your account. The period varies between offers and bookmakers, so check it as soon as the free bet appears in your account.

Other common restrictions include using the token in one go rather than splitting it, using it only on certain sports or markets, and a limit on how much a free bet can return. In racing, some free bets cannot be used each way, and some exclude particular races. None of this is unusual, but it does affect when and how you can use the token.

Racing fans will meet free bets in several general forms. Some are given after a qualifying bet. Some refund a losing stake as a free bet if your horse finishes in a stated position or the race meets a stated condition. Others are linked to bigger meetings, such as the Cheltenham Festival. In each case the refund comes back as a token rather than cash, so the stake-not-returned rule applies when you use it.

Free bets are a separate thing from concessions such as Best Odds Guaranteed or extra each-way places, which change how a normal bet is settled. If you back horses each way, our each-way calculator shows how place terms affect your returns.

A free bet is a marketing tool. It is designed to encourage you to open an account or to bet more often, and the qualifying bets are real money. Before you accept any offer, ask whether you would have placed the qualifying bet anyway, and whether the conditions fit how you normally bet.

Betting costs money over time, free bets included. Set a deposit limit, keep to your budget, and walk away from any offer whose terms you do not fully understand. Our guide to betting safely online explains the tools that help.