Betting Sites With Bonus Bet Offers and Promotions

All novice bettors are interested in sports betting sites with bonuses, which is not surprising: bonus bets are an excellent opportunity to try your hand at betting with minimal risk or even without it. It's against the Australian laws to promote bonus bet offers, so we cannot describe them in detail on this page.

Australian bookmakers offering free bets can only reveal their sports betting bonuses to existing customers on secure betting site pages. However, having read the information on this Match.Center page, you'll be fully prepared to deal with various promotions: free bonus bets, insurance, enhanced odds, and more. We'll point out what to look for when choosing Australian betting sites with bonus bets and explain why this or that aspect is important. But only signing up on a bookmaker's betting site will provide you with the most exhaustive information about the essence of bonuses and conditions for receiving them in sports markets.

Bookmaker with Bonus for New Users

Betting Sites with Bonus for Existing Users

What Are Bonus Bets?

The bonus bets, also called free bets, are one of the most popular European bookmaker bonus bets. In Europe, the competition for users is very high, and local online bookmakers have developed best practises in terms of betting sites bonus offers to attract customers. Indeed, the free bet has many advantages for both the bettor and the bookmaker. Without going into details, we note that, unfortunately, Australian bookmakers don't favour them.

What is an honest free bet?

A free bet can only be used for betting but not withdrawal in any of the betting sites promotions. If the bet wins, you get the net winnings, minus the size of a free bet, and this money is all yours. It's a practical difference between a free bet and bonus cash, as it can strain your eyes for a whole month on a separate betting account and be out of reach until you make every qualifying bet. However, not all free bets are so cute and fluffy.

Accumulator Free Bet

Another common type of betting sites promotions are free bets, which can only be used on an accumulator bet of at least 3 events, each with minimum odds (usually about 1.4). This odds value, which seems simple at first glance, in an accumulator of 3 events doesn't give a very high probability of winning. If we take all three outcomes exactly at 1.4, the total odds will be 2.74. Considering the margin, the chance of passing the bet is slightly more than 30%.

“Mousetrap” Free Bets

Sometimes there are also certain online wagering requirements for free bets and betting promotions. It sounds a bit odd, like paying a car tax + road tax, but this type of free bet can also be found in the betting sites bonus offers sections here and there. The Match.Center team sees this practice more often in countries where the betting industry is only starting to develop, and online bookmakers are setting up frantic claims for almost all bonus bets.

You may be offered to win the free bet money back in the amount of three or five times the initial sum. This won't be a problem if you keep betting anyway. But it still becomes unpleasant, knowing that often free bets are given without any wagering requirements to comply with.

Free bet for betting on a sport or event

Among all the betting sites bonus offers, this is a nice one! From time to time, bookmakers draw attention to a particular sport or a specific match, offering betting site bonuses for it. Of course, such betting promotions may have restrictions like only choosing bet types on wins or, for example, "free bet on horse racing, but no Each Way," etc. But these bonus offers rarely have additional conditions for wagering. Thus, the online bookmaker gives a bettor the most valuable gift – an opportunity to spare oneself from reading the countless promotion conditions.

Australian bookmakers almost never offer free bets for specific sports, but other bonus types, especially insurance, are prevalent in betting markets.

Risk-Free bet

It's almost the same as a free bet, but you place it with your own money, not the bookmaker's. The user is required to have a valid betting account with sufficient funds to place this bet and claim betting sites bonus offers of this kind. If it loses, the betting agency gives the money back. There may also be requirements on which events this bet type needs to be placed.

Insurance

Sometimes a betting agency offers to return a wager as a free bonus bet under certain circumstances. For example, if your horse didn't win the race but took the podium, or the team led in the first half of the game and then lost. This type of bonus is one of the most frequent in Australian betting companies. 

Pros and Cons of Bookmaker Bonus Bets

It would seem that a bonus is always something pleasant and profitable. Sometimes it's true, but still, by offering sports betting bonuses, online bookies aim to ensure that, in the end, most bettors do not get them. Therefore, the bonus promotions come with an extensive list of rules. Let's talk about the bright and dark sides of bonus promotions. 

How Do We Choose the Best Bonus Bets

Choosing the best bonus offer can be problematic, especially if you can't find out about them before you sign up and open an account. Many bonus bet offers are similar at first glance. For example, "Make a deposit, get a bonus of 100% of its amount." But if you carefully read the rules, it turns out that almost each sports betting bonus has some differences: some are easy to wager and withdraw, and others are almost impossible. This chapter will explain what criteria should be considered when selecting bonus bets for online betting.

Bonus Amount

We've decided to place that point at the top of the list as many bettors first pay attention to how generous the sports betting bonus is: whether the betting agency offers 100% of the deposit money or more (sometimes you can meet a modest 50%) and what's the limit on this bonus. The minimum possible bonus amount is usually equal to the minimum deposit.

Wagering Requirements

Many bonuses have wagering requirements. If the free bet needs to be wagered once, it can be treated as a bonus without wagering, but this system is usually more complex, that includes:

Sometimes, a bookmaker may also indicate specific sports you must bet on to receive bonus funds.

Odds Limits

It's typical for bookmakers to make it harder for a customer to wager bonus funds. In most online betting companies, you won't be able to place a free bet on an event with odds below 1.4. Many bonus bets promotions require accumulator wagering, which must feature at least three events with minimum odds established. Before signing up for a bonus, pay attention to the qualifying bet odds specified in the promotion rules.

Time limits

Bookmaker bonuses can't be kept forever like the library books, so in most cases, the given time for drawing a free bet or wagering a cash bonus is 30 days (sometimes it can be shorter, like 7 days). During this period, the user must not only place the free bet but also fulfil all the wagering conditions.

Blocked withdrawals

Usually, the bettor can't withdraw money from the betting site account while participating in promotions. Otherwise, all bonuses will be cancelled.

How do Bonus Bets Work for Australian Betting Sites?

Except for the minor differences, the sports betting bonuses in Australia work the same way they do in other countries. Getting the betting bonuses is rather simple, but a chance of winning them back depends on a specific betting site.

There are several steps to be made in order to get a free bet or any other bonus:

Further actions will depend on the selected bonus bet offers. It can be wagering bonus money with a qualifying bet or simply placing a free bonus bet if the bookmaker has already issued it to you. More frequently, these are enhanced odds or bet insurance against loss if your horse takes second or third place.

Bookmakers commonly offer various betting bonuses as promotions to existing customers. One of the most probable is bonuses for accumulators.

Where Have The Bookies With Free Bets Gone?

Some bettors are wondering: why do bookmakers generously offer free bets? After all, the betting company's work is aimed at receiving the money someone else is betting with, not playing for free. The answer is simple: bookmakers are very nice guys. But seriously, on the scale of bookmakers' profits, giving away a few free bets is like feeding a duck with bread crumbs. But with the help of these free bets, the bookmaker can get a new and grateful (at first) bettor. Many people feel awkward when it comes to gambling. Free bonus bets allow you to try placing a wager and getting into the habit without risking anything. Therefore, bookmakers offer most of the free bonus bets to new customers.

Where did they all go? Free bonus bets bookmakers haven't disappeared, they just hide well as legislators are forcing them to do so. Australian betting is like Voldemort — it exists, it's active, and has great power, but you can't talk about it out loud. The popularity of betting in the country is very high (although it can't be compared with a casino), which is confirmed by government research. Therefore, the bets themselves remain legal.

Besides, betting advertising is prohibited by law. According to legislators, intrusive advertising of bets can affect the risk group and push them to gambling addiction. The advertising used to be really aggressive and led to a flood of letters to the government from frustrated TV viewers, who couldn't enjoy watching the game, interfered by constant offers to place a bet. Besides, the government was dissatisfied that ads imposed the idea on the audience that watching a sporting event without a bet is boring and pointless.

What would David Threlfall say about this? In 1964, this British man placed a £10 bet on the fact that within the next 7 years, a man would fly to the moon (the odds were 1000/1). In 1969, he enthusiastically watched as Neil Armstrong took his giant leap for mankind. Probably David would have been just as impressed by this event without the £10,000 check from the bookmaker (yes, they paid it all).

This short story is not about us defending the bookmakers and encouraging everyone to bet on everything at once. It's simply a shame that there's no way to tell you about the most profitable free bets the Australian bookmakers would probably offer you if they could advertise them. We checked out all the Australian bookmakers in January 2023, and at this point, there are no remarkable offers among the Australian bonus bets.

Gambling addiction is a serious problem that exists not only in Australia. That is why so much attention is now paid to the responsible gambling policy. If it seems to you that you are starting to lose control, call the hotline with an excellent customer service — there is a phone in the footer of any betting site. You can also establish responsible gaming settings. For example, limit the monthly deposit amount so you won't lose more than you can afford. Each betting agency offers this feature during the signing up process, you can choose any monthly or weekly limit.

The Law Banning Bonus Betting in Australia?

So what's this law that forbids offering bonuses to customers? Today's gambling regulations are based on the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which was altered later. In 2016, the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill was released, banning the advertising of gambling. After this document passed, local state governments issued their own restrictive acts. The state of New South Wales has the most strict regulations: not only welcome bonuses are prohibited there, but also cashback and referral programs. About a quarter of legal bookmakers in Australia are licensed by Liquor & Gaming NSW.

On the whole, regional anti-gambling laws are similar to each other. They ban betting ads on TV, except late at night, and on bookmakers' websites (as followed by the federal law). Therefore, if you're not registered, the "Promotions" section will not show you anything but only an offer to sign up.

The violation of law by bookmakers entails fines. Many politicians consider these fines insignificant and call for increasing them, which the government is gradually doing. However, so far, penalties are limited to several tens of thousands of dollars, which is not a harsh punishment for big bookmakers. 

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, in July 2018, the New South Wales government passed laws prohibiting advertising or incitement to gambling. By May the following year, 19 companies had violated them, including PointsBet, Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, Sportchamps, Ubet, Neds, bet365, and TAB.

Liquor & Gaming NSW stated that the fines are too small in relation to the bookmakers' income, and in the future, they'll increase the fines up to 110 thousand dollars for one violation. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Sportsbet betting company earned $752 million in 2018 and paid $10,000 plus legal fees for breaking the law.

Liquor & Gaming NSW almost kept its promise. In 2022, BetDeluxe company was fined $70,000 for violating the same anti-advertising laws, according to IGB. PointsBet managed to deal with more minor losses: it was fined $35,000. In 2019, the same bookmaker received a fine of $20,000 for a similar violation.

Lawsuits carry reputational risks, so after the release of these laws, the advertising offers of online bookmakers in Australia have been seriously reduced.

It must be said that according to the research of the Australian Gaming Council, the bookmakers, whose main activity is sports betting, deserve the punishment less than others. In 2017-2018, Australians spent, on average, $62 per person on placing bets. Separately, data about horse racing stands out in the study — $ 177 per person. So the total expenses are $239 per person. During the same period, each Australian spent $1,017 on gaming (various video games), plus another third of this amount on the casino.

Why Were Free Bet Advertisements Made Illegal in Australia?

The Australian government has decided to start the fight against gambling addiction among Australians. The Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill banned bookmakers from attracting new bettors through promotions and free bet bonus offers in particular.

The idea is to protect people at risk from possible gambling addiction, as it's a pressing problem in Australia. The government also cited complaints from people who were fed up with bookmaker ads during sports broadcasts.

At the same time, many advertisements on TV speak of people's high interest in betting. Otherwise, bookmakers wouldn't spend so much money on advertising (airtime is pricey).

It's hardly worth waiting for legislative relief in the nearest future — so far, only the topic of increasing violation fines has been mainly discussed.

Bonus Bets for NSW Residents

As we wrote above, New South Wales has the most rigid restrictions for Australian betting sites. It's not allowed to advertise promos as well as offer bonus bets. In this regard, on some online betting sites, you can find a special mention that this or that promotion is not available to NSW residents. They are not eligible for deposit bonus bets, reload bonuses, cashback, referral bonuses, or any free bets. The only bonus that bookmakers can offer to NSW residents is an odds boost.

Bonus Bets for Victorian Residents

For residents of Victoria state, most of the bonus promotions are not available (the same as in South Wales). But there are a few more exceptions here: residents of Victoria can be offered odds boosts, reload bonus, and cashback.

Types of Bonuses and Promotions from Bookmakers in Australia

Australian bettors registered on betting sites have access to only a tiny part of all the bonuses that exist in the betting world, especially in the states of Victoria and NSW, as previously described. Let's talk about the main types of bonuses and which ones you can get in Australia.

The sign up bonus is a favourite promotion among bettors and not so much among bookmakers. This bonus is given only because the user has registered on the betting site, even without depositing a cent. Most welcome bonuses are offered for the first deposit. In Australia, this sign up bonus is especially meaningless for the bookmaker since only an already registered user can see the promotions for sports betting. Using the bonus as a promo is impossible unless the office consciously decides to take a penalty.

Is it possible to get a sign up bonus in Australia now? The probability of this tends to be zero.

The deposit bonus is one of the most popular promotions around the world. A bookmaker offers the customer a free bonus bet or cash bonus for the first deposit. The most common offers are "100% bonus". The bookmaker either provides a free bonus bet equal to the deposit amount or credits this amount to the bonus account. In any case, you cannot withdraw this money right away as you must first meet the wagering requirements.

In the case of a free bet, the requirements are usually more straightforward. In most circumstances, it must be placed on a sporting event with limited fixed odds. Sometimes a free bonus bet can be split into parts, but you usually need to bet in full. You get the winning amount minus the free bet stake if the bet wins. This money can already be withdrawn. Cashout is not available for a free bonus bet.

If the betting agency transfers money to a bonus account, instead of deposit free bets, this money needs to be won back with bets on events with fixed minimum odds. The bonus amount must be wagered several times. The most common online wagering formats are x3, x5, and x10.

Both cash bonuses and free bets always have a limit, which you can't exceed.

A no deposit bonus is usually just another name for a signup bonus. Bonus bets for existing customers can technically be classified as no deposit bonuses, but sign up bonuses are more frequent.

No deposit bonuses usually have more strict wagering conditions since they don't cost the bettor a thing, and, probably, the bookmaker will be annoyed to give this money away just like that. Therefore, the bookmaker can introduce some kind of wild wagering from x10 and more or require you to put a no deposit a free bonus bet, for example, strictly on an accumulator of 3 events with odds of 2.0 for each, which is rarely a win.

Currently, the betting sites around the world, which offer no deposit bonuses at least from time to time, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In Australia, you will almost certainly fail finding bonus bets like these.

Several types of bonuses are popular on Australian online betting sites.

Betting Sites with Bonus FAQ