Risk-Free Bets
Offering promotions to prospective new users at intervals is a tradition with sportsbooks. Online sports betting operators roll out promo codes to entice new users in signing up and making them their top choice for wagering. One of the regular and lucrative welcome bonuses available on several sportsbooks nowadays is the “risk-free bet”. The idea has become quite popular in the online sports betting world. Here we will take a detailed look into and analyze what they are really all about.
What is a Risk-Free Bet?
A risk-free bet is a kind of bet offered to a bettor which comes with some level of insurance. It’s a bet which if lost, the sportsbook refunds the user their wager. This is a type of bet that comes with a level of guarantee even before it is placed, giving the user the assurance of not making a total loss while wagering. In most cases, sportsbooks offer risk-free bets to new users but sometimes, returning players also get to enjoy the bonus.
Risk-free bet is crucial in helping new bettors try out a sportsbook without a high level of risk, which is a good reason sportsbook operators are always offering them to prospective users. One of the great advantages of risk-free bet is the fact that bettors get to keep the stake as well as the profit if the bet is won. Also, if the bet ends up a loss, the stake is refunded to the user by the sportsbook. It is to be noted that risk-free bet offers only insure bettor's wager up to a maximum amount specified by the sportsbook.
How do Risk-Free Bets Work?
When a sportsbook offers its new users a risk-free bet on their first wager after signing up, it practically allows them to bet with convenience and less pressure. For example, a sportsbook might offer first-time bettors risk-free bets worth up to $1,000. Any new user that places a bet less than $1,000 gets a refund of the exact amount of their stake; if the bet is won, the user will be paid his or her winnings and as well as the exact amount that was staked.
Also, a user that places a bet worth exactly $1,000 will get a refund of $1,000 from the sportsbook if the bet is lost, but will be paid $1,000 alongside the winnings if he ends up winning. Lastly, a bettor that stakes beyond the sportsbook books maximum bet insurance of $1,000 will still get $1,000 in refund in the case of a lost bet while the user will get his winnings as well as $1,000 in stake refund if the bet turns out a win.
It is to be noted that some sportsbooks do not refund bettor's stake in any of the three stake-amount scenarios when the bet is won. The users only get paid his or her winnings while a lost bet gets refunded up to the maximum amount.
Types of Refund in Risk-Free Bets
There are basically three types of risk-free bets in the way by which they are refunded. Different sportsbooks have their own specific way of refunding users when their bet is insured. The three major refund methods are site credits, free bet and cash refund.
Site Credits: Bettors get refunded in site credits by some sportsbook when they are offered a risk-free bet. In this type of refund method, the user is reimbursed in a kind of funds that is only usable within the sportsbook website. Site credits are not withdrawable nor transferable, it can't also be substituted by the user. Users can only use them in placing bets on the sportsbook platform, and they are often not restricted to any market. The winnings from a bet placed with a site credit is however withdrawable.
Free Bets: Sportsbooks' insured bets are also refunded in free bets. Free bets are incentivised bonuses offered to punters by sportsbooks. Free bets are like site credits, but it doesn't offer the flexibility the on-site fund gives to bettors. While site credits can be staked at user's discretion, free bets terms are determined by the sportsbook. Also, when gamblers win a bet staked with their free-bet bonus, they are only eligible for the winnings, unlike site credits that gives the bettor back the winnings as well as the staked credit.
Cash Refund: This is obviously the most admired way by which bettors love to get refunded a risk-free bet. With cash refund, users get reimbursed by sportsbooks in cash, just as it was deposited into the account. Cash refund offers a whole lot of flexibility as bettors can use it the very same way they can use a deposited fund. It can be staked, transferred as well as withdrawn from the account. Lastly, cash refund does not come with an expiration date unlike the previous two.
Benefits of Risk-Free Bet
Risk free bets come with a whole lot of benefits to both bettors and sportsbook operators. The phenomenon ensures both parties have an advantage to share which makes the scenario a pretty fair one. Some of the benefits of risk-free bet for both gamblers and sportsbooks are examined below.
Attractive to Prospective Bettors: Risk-free bet is a brilliant technique sportsbooks use in luring customers to their platform. It is primarily a customer acquisition tool in the online sports betting world. Operators often offer it as a welcome bonus in order to captivate prospective bettors and give them a great incentive to sign up. A good number of bettors have created an account with a certain sportsbook due to the risk-free bet it offers new customers. This is why risk-free bet has become a never ending offer to prospective punters from sportsbooks.
Help Builds Bankroll: One way bettors take advantage of risk-free bet is building their betting bankroll with it. This is especially handy when the gambler does have too much to stake with. Risk-free bets give bettors insurance on their wager and if it ends up as a win, users significantly increase their bankroll. Also, when the first bet ends in a loss, there's a refund which can be potentially used in winning big.
Offer Betting Freedom: Risk-free bet offers freedom to stake to bettors. There are a couple of times in which punters feel very confident about the bet they've decided to place and are willing to bet big on; but the possibility of losing is also a deterrent towards taking this decision. Risk-free bets offer a cushion to make such decisions as the users get refunded when the bet is lost. This thereby grants freedom to stake and the possibility of winning big.
Create Good Relationship With Customer: Risk-free bet is one of the notable promotions offered by sportsbooks in the online sports betting industry. It continues to be a promotion option for sportsbooks due to the healthy relationship it helps them foster with bettors. Sportsbooks have built brand loyalty among a host of bettors with the risk-free bet they were offered on the first wager. Operators forego short term gains for long term profit in risk-free bets when they are adequately able to maintain a good relationship with the customers.
Opportunity to Learn: Risk-free bet offers bettors the opportunity to gain knowledge of betting in new sports markets. Punters often want to explore a wide range of sports markets to maximize winning opportunities but such trials could lead to heavy losses. Having a bet insurance is one privilege that ensures bettors try out new things within the sportsbook app. It effectively gives gamblers the opportunity to see how things work in quite an unfamiliar betting environment.
Risk-Free Bet Terms and Conditions
Every risk-free bet available in online sports betting comes with its own unique terms and conditions, and this according to the discretion of the sportsbook offering it. It is important for bettors to read carefully and understand what are the terms of the risk-free bet they've decided to participate in. The conditions often listed include how refunds are made, how they can be reapplied, the odd requirement, how winnings are paid out and whether there's an expiry period.
