Bonus Bets Explained: How They Work

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By Wes Burns Hours Published Hours Updated

Most online sportsbooks offer bonus bets, also known as bet credits, to new and existing customers to encourage them to sign up, place wagers, or reactivate dormant accounts.

New customer bonuses are invariably tempting and often look similar across different sportsbooks, but every operator has a unique take on bonus bets and bet credits. As a result, comparing sports betting bonus bets is rarely as straightforward as looking at the headline offers.

On this page, BettingUSA will explain how bonus bets work, discuss the best ways to use bet credits, and compare welcome offers across sportsbooks.

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About the author: Wes Burns received his first bonus bet in 2005 and has claimed countless other offers and promotions in the nearly two decades since. His experiences with betting bonuses have ranged from outright fraud to claiming promos so good that operators quickly discontinued them. In this piece, he leverages his experience as a bettor, writer, and editor to give BettingUSA readers an objective guide to understanding, choosing, and maximizing bonus bets.

What Are Bonus Bets?

Bonus bets are online sportsbook promotions issued to new and existing customers to encourage brand loyalty. They are a form of sportsbook site credit that customers can use to place wagers and win real money.

In other words, bonus bets let bettors place wagers without using their own money. However, customers almost always have to place wagers or make deposits to claim bonus bets, so it’s inaccurate to call them “free” or “risk-free.”

Editor’s Note: A good rule of thumb is that all bonus bets, bet credits, and similar offers incur risk in one way or another. Even no-deposit registration bonuses typically require new customers to place X amount of wagers before withdrawing.

The best way to think of bonus bets is as rewards sportsbooks offer in exchange for bettors signing up for accounts, making deposits, and placing cash wagers. A bonus bet isn’t free money, but it can still be a good deal for someone who was already planning to bet on sports online.

How Bet Credits Work

Bet credits (a.k.a. bonus bets) are straightforward because online sportsbooks usually allow customers to use them on any sport and most markets.

Claiming a bet credit promotion usually goes like this:

  • You select an online sportsbook and sign up for an account
  • Log in and visit the cashier to fund your account
  • Some sportsbooks offer the bet credit immediately after your first deposit
  • Most only issue bet credits if you place your first wager and it loses
  • After receiving your bet credit, use it to place a wager on any sport
  • If it wins, you can withdraw your winnings

How to Use Bonus Bets

Typically, sportsbooks issue bet credits to customers by adding them as an option on the betting slip. Then, the next time the customer selects a wager, the betting slip will provide an option to place the bet with deposited funds or bet credits.

For example, a customer with a $100 bet credit can log in to their sports betting app and browse the lines to find a wager they want to place. After they select the wager, the betting slip will appear and provide an option to either place the wager with the bet credit or deposited funds.

Here’s how that looks in practice:

Latest Bonus Bet Offers

Most online sportsbooks offer bonus bets to new customers as a reward for registering, depositing, and placing wagers.

Typically, bettors first encounter bonus bets when visiting an online sportsbook’s website or downloading its mobile app. In the competitive US sports betting industry, online sportsbooks entice customers with eye-catching bonuses in an all-out effort to shore up market share and grow their user bases.

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Caesars Sportsbook Bonus Bets

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Bonus Bet Wagering Requirements

Bet credits are easy to use, but they almost always have terms and conditions that can complicate the picture on the backside. It’s usually nothing too complex, but bettors should be aware of the following limitations they’re likely to encounter when using bet credits.

Most bet credits only return the net profit when bettors use them to place winning wagers. Unlike cash wagers, bet credit payouts do not include the initial stake.

For example, someone using a $100 bet credit on a +100 line would receive a $100 payout instead of the $200 they would have gotten with a cash bet because the winnings on bet credits don’t return the initial wager.

Bet credits are always short-term in nature. It’s not uncommon for sportsbooks to issue bonus bets that customers must use within seven or fourteen days.

Bettors can use them on longer-term futures that resolve beyond the expiration date, but they cannot let their bet credits sit too long, or they will expire.

Some sports betting sites restrict customers from using bet credits on heavy favorites.

For example, sports betting sites may issue a bet credit that customers can only use on markets with odds of -200 or longer. That means customers can use their bet credits on wagers with odds of -200, -110, +200, +300, etc., but they cannot use them on wagers with odds of -220, -300, and so on.

Sportsbooks usually restrict customers from using bet credits on odds-boosted markets or in conjunction with other promotions. It’s also common for sportsbooks to restrict bettors from the early cash out feature on wagers placed with site credit.

Most bet credits are non-withdrawable but allow customers to cash out their winnings. For example, a bettor who receives a $100 bet credit can’t turn around and withdraw it. However, if they use it to place a winning wager, they can withdraw the net winnings as cash.

Some bonus bet promotions enforce wagering requirements customers must meet before they can withdraw any winnings obtained by wagering their bet credits.

For example, a bet credit offer with a 1x rollover would require bettors to place a total value of wagers equal to the bonus bet before withdrawing their winnings.

Tips for Maximizing Value with Bonus Bets

Mathematically speaking, the best way to maximize the value of bonus bets is to use them on the biggest underdogs possible. And if the bettor can find a huge underdog that shows some value before the bonus bet expires, that’s even better.

It’s counterintuitive and riskier in the short run, but using bet credits on big underdogs maximizes expected value (EV) over the long term. That’s because bonus bet winnings do not include the return of the initial wager.

Consider this:

Imagine you have a $100 bet credit to use on any market.

  • Option A: Use your bonus bet on a wager with odds of +100. Over the long term, you’ll receive a $100 payout about 50% of the time for an expected value of $50.
  • Option B: Use your bonus bet on a wager with odds of +1,000. Over the long term, you’ll receive a $1,000 payout about 9% of the time for an expected value of $90.

That calculation is based on the implied probability of winning according to the odds and without considering vigorish. Even so, it demonstrates why there’s more value in using bet credits on high-paying longshots. If you can find big underdogs with true odds that exceed the implied odds, you’ll be in even better shape over the long run.

The longshot approach is mathematically proven to be the best way to maximize bonus bets, but the downside is that it introduces a lot of variance into the mix. Bets on big underdogs lose most of the time, and bettors can only claim so many bonus bet offers.

Bettors can reduce variance and increase their likelihood of ending up ahead by using bet credits on wagers that are closer to even money. However, that comes at the price of lowering the amount of money they stand to win and reducing their long-term expected value.

Bonus Bets Conversion Calculator

Bonus bets provide real value, but their actual worth is less than their face value. Because sportsbooks don’t return the stake on winning bonus bets, a $100 bonus bet is not equal to a $100 cash wager.

This calculator shows you how much your bonus bet is truly worth by finding the optimal hedge amount to help you lock in value no matter which side wins.

The goal is to maximize your conversion rate, the portion of your bonus bet that turns into real, withdrawable money.

The idea is simple: you use your bonus bet to back one side of a market, then place a smaller real-money wager on the opposite side at another sportsbook. The hedge ensures that whichever outcome hits, you’ll walk away with roughly the same profit.

Enter the bonus bet amount and both sides’ odds, and the tool instantly displays your optimal hedge stake, locked-in profit, and conversion percentage.

You can use this tool whenever you receive:

  • A bonus bet from a sportsbook promotion, or
  • A refunded stake that you must re-wager as a bonus bet

It’s most useful right before you place your hedge, helping you compare possible matchups and decide which lines deliver the best cash-equivalent value.

Disclaimer: This calculator is for informational and educational purposes only. Results are estimates based on the odds and amounts you enter and may vary depending on sportsbook rules, timing, and market movement. This tool does not place bets or guarantee outcomes. Always verify final odds, wager details, and promotional terms directly with your sportsbook before submitting your wager.

Tips for Maximizing Bonus Bet Hedges

  • Aim for tight lines. Closer odds between the bonus side and hedge side usually produce higher conversions.
  • Compare multiple sportsbooks. Use odds comparison websites to spot small pricing differences that can lift conversion by several points.
  • Flip sides if conversion is low. If your result shows a poor rate (under 50–60%), try swapping which outcome you use for the bonus bet. Sometimes the other side converts better.
  • Treat conversions as estimates. Market movement or odds changes before placement can shift your final profit.

Bonus Bets FAQ

Bonus bets are the equivalent of using someone else's money (in this case, the sportsbook's) to place wagers. They function like cash wagers except bonus bets usually don't return the initial stake when paying out winners.

In most cases, fans can use bonus bets by selecting any wager in the sportsbook and adding it to the betting slip just like they would with a standard cash wager. If a customer has any unused bonus bets, they'll see an option to "apply bonus bet" when viewing the betting slip. Checking that box will use the bonus bet instead of the customer's account balance to place the wager.

The types of offers that used to be called “risk-free” still exist, but the legal sports betting industry has moved away from the phrases “risk-free bets” and “free bets.” Instead, operators use terms like “bonus bets” and “bet credits” for increased accuracy and transparency.

Those phrases have always seemed questionable from a responsible gambling standpoint, but things changed significantly in 2023 when the Ohio Casino Control Commission began issuing large fines to operators that used such language. As a result, sports betting sites in most states no longer use the word “free” in promotional materials.

Nearly all online sportsbooks offer bonus bets to new users, typically in return for making deposits or placing their first cash wagers. The only exceptions tend to be highly specialized operators like some betting exchanges or small, single-state operators managed by local casinos.

No. The terms and conditions attached to bonus bets invariably state that customers may not use the early cash out feature on wagers placed with site credit.

Not directly. Bettors cannot withdraw bonus bets, but they can use them to place wagers and win withdrawable cash. However, some bonus bet promotions attach additional wagering requirements that bettors must meet before withdrawing their winnings. Bettors should make it a habit to always read every promotion’s terms and conditions before accepting the offer.

Definitions vary between sportsbooks, but generally speaking, bonus bets tend to have three characteristics:

  • Non-withdrawable (winnings may be withdrawn)
  • Do not include the initial stake in any winnings
  • Cannot be broken up to use across multiple wagers – each bonus bet may only be used in whole on a single wager

In contrast, bonus cash or site credit has these features:

  • Returns the initial stake when paying winnings
  • Can be broken up and used across multiple wagers
  • Sometimes bonus cash is withdrawable after meeting any wagering requirements

Again, the above characteristics aren’t set in stone – definitions vary. Bettors should read the terms and conditions carefully to be sure they understand any offer they’re considering taking.

When viewing any bonus bet's terms, bettors will usually see some variation of the phrase "initial stake not included." That means bettors only receive the net profits when they use bonus bets to place winning wagers.

For example, a winning $100 wager placed with cash at +200 odds returns $300 to the customer. That's $200 in net profit plus the initial stake. That same wager placed with a $100 bonus bet only returns the net profit ($200).