As more countries and states vote to relax their laws regarding online gambling, the betting industry becomes more competitive. Today, established names from the era of high-street sportsbooks and land-based casinos can no longer rely on past performances and reputation to survive. They have been thrown into a battle against online-only and start-up bookies for your custom. It’s a cut-throat market where only the best and most generous businesses succeed.

It is a challenging time to be a bookmaker but a golden age for the bettor with so much choice around. If you have an interest in gambling on your favourite sports, like horse racing, football and tennis, you are spoiled for choice with so many respected betting apps trying to catch your eye. They aim to stand out from the crowd and entice you into joining them, bypassing the competition. How they achieve that is the purpose of this article.

They offer promotions, special offers and free bets, but what is the best sportsbook bonus, and how do you secure your share? With each betting app selling itself as the best in the business, with the top odds and promos, it can be difficult to know which to trust. Which sites can live up to their boasts, and which offer little more than smart marketing?

Bet with the best bookie

Finding the right bookie to bet with is important as it can have an effect on your profit and loss tally at the end of the year. If you are serious about sports betting and making a profit from your wagers, you must have access to the best tools, and, in this instance, that’s a betting app that gives you a premier online gambling experience.

Every sportsbook worth mentioning gives new customers a welcome bonus. This is a reward for choosing one firm over the competition, but they come in many different forms, and some are better than others. Although the deals may look great on the surface, advertised as a free bet or a huge price boost, you must read the small print before accepting any offer made by a bookmaker.

Doing so may take a few minutes, but it will give you a solid understanding of how the promotion works, what is expected of you as a customer and any steps you must complete before withdrawing winnings made using the free bet. Below you’ll find three types of popular welcome bonuses that are worth looking out for.

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Free bets

This is the most popular welcome bonus available today, and it works well for both the bookie and the bettor. The free bet given to most new customers is a deposit matched free bet. This offer works by giving all new customers who sign up, deposit and place a bet on a qualifying sportsbook market with a free bet.

In many cases, the value of the free bet is equal to that of the first wager. That means the more you gamble on your first bet. The higher your free bet will be. Others can be higher, such as bet 10 get a 30 free bet, but there’s a lower limit. In the first example, you would be matched up to 100, but in the second example, you are limited to 30.

Enhanced odds

Another popular welcome bonus is the enhanced odds, where the trading and marketing teams work together to boost the odds of a popular selection. This won’t be a small boost, like two or three points. It’ll often be huge.

An example of this type of promo could be on Man City to win the Premier League with the odds multiplied by ten or even more. That means anyone betting on Man City to win the league – the most popular selection in that market by a fair distance – would do it with a bookie offering this bonus.

Cashback

Place a bet on a market and get your cashback if your bet loses. This is also known as a risk-free bet as there is no way to drop your money. Let’s say you gamble 25 on a horse as your free bet, and the selection wins. You land the winning bet and the profits that go with it. But if the selection loses, your 25 stake is returned to you, allowing you the opportunity to have another go. The fact you can’t lose makes it easier to shoot for a pick at higher odds.