The Best Free Bets and Betting Offers 2025 - Iqraa news

Betting on sporting events is a hobby for millions of Brits and one of the best ways to get started is with free bets.

These allow punters to access free betting tokens - usually given after a customer makes a deposit - to use on bets of your choice without risking any more of your own money.

We want to deliver impartial and reliable insights for our readers. Applying our journalistic expertise, we’ve undertaken a detailed evaluation of the best free bet offers available on betting sites, reviewing each of the promotions we recommend.

This review of betting offers draws on research and first-hand testing to assess each platform’s odds selection, security measures, bonus offerings and more. By leveraging trusted third-party data and our reporting standards, we aim to provide readers with an accurate and up-to-date guide to choosing a free bet offer.

So whether you’re into betting on football, horse racing, tennis or golf, there should be something below to grab your attention.

What is a Free Bet and How Do They Work?

A free bet is a bookmaker promotion that lets you place a wager without risking your own money.

To qualify, you usually need to deposit or bet a set amount (often £10). Once eligible, the bookmaker credits your account with a free bet, which can be used on selected events.

If your bet wins, you keep the winnings, but the free bet stake isn’t returned. Some bookmakers apply wagering requirements, meaning winnings may need to be played through before withdrawal, but this is more common on casino sites.

Free bets often come with restrictions, limiting their use to specific sports, events, or bet types like accumulators or in-play betting.

They typically fall into two categories: welcome offers for new customers and ongoing promotions for existing players.

To qualify, you may need to meet certain conditions, such as depositing £10 to receive £30 in free bets or placing a £20 bet within a set timeframe to earn a £5 free bet.

To find out more about how we rate the best online bookmakers and about gambling responsibly please scroll a little further down the page.

Best Free Bets UK Welcome Offers 2025

We’ve scoured many betting offers and come up with some of the best free bet sign up offers out there right now.

Betfred: Bet £10 and get £50 in free bets

This offer at Betfred will give you £50 in free bets when you bet just £10. There’s a Betfred promo code required, so you just need to enter ‘BETFRED50’ when you register and deposit (using a debit card) to be eligible for the free bets.

Once you’ve done that and placed a bet of at least £10 on any sports market (at odds of at least 1/1), you’ll be rewarded with £50 of free sports bets.

Those will be 3x £10 free bets for any sports market and 2x £10 accumulator free bets, all of which have to be used within seven days.

Betfred is one of the best all-rounders in the business, but it stands out as a rugby betting site, particularly for rugby league thanks to sponsorships with the Super League and Challenge Cup. There are a great range of markets to use free bets on and more.

BetMGM: Bet £10 and get £40 in free bets

Perhaps the best bet £10 get £40 betting offer comes from BetMGM, a new UK bookmaker with one of the best betting sign up offers. It’s the same process as the Betfred deal above in that you need to place a £10 qualifying bet after you’ve signed up, on any market with odds of at least 1/1.

If you do so, you’ll receive £40 worth of free bets for use on any market, with the typical seven-day expiry. Thankfully, the BetMGM sign up process is quick and easy, with just three simple steps to complete before you can get cracking.

BetMGM is one of the bigger success stories in terms of new betting sites, though it has had some teething issues surrounding payouts (both in terms of time taken to pay and certain terms and restrictions in paying).

That said, the pros generally outweigh the cons, as illustrated below.

BetUK: Bet £10 and get £30 in free bets

Our next recommended free bet welcome offer comes from BetUK, who require the usual sign-up and bet £10 to qualify, although that initial bet only needs to be at minimum odds of 4/5 rather than evens.

Once that’s settled you’ll be credited with £30 of free bets across a couple of sports. You’ll be given a £10 horse racing free bet, a £10 football free bet and a £10 free bet builder (with at least three selections and with minimum total odds of 3/1).

BetUK focuses on football and horse racing betting with their welcome bonus, but you’ll find a complete product when exploring other sports on their sportsbook - it’s one of the best UFC betting sites around, for example.

Bet365: Bet £10 get £30 in free bets

Bet365 are one of the premier gambling sites in the industry and as you would expect from such a reputable name, they offer a compelling welcome bonus to new customers.

New users can secure up to £30 in free bets, receiving five times their deposit amount, which starts from a minimum of £5 and goes up to £10. Qualifying bets placed at 1/5 odds or greater are required to unlock the £30.

The best feature of Bet365’s welcome offer is the option of a choice for new customers. If you’re lower on budget, a qualifying deposit of £5 will still yield £25 in free bets, while those who deposit £10 will get the full £30. This choice makes Bet365 stand out from the crowd.

Although Bet365 doesn’t miss a beat on its entire sportsbook, we feel that it’s one of the best F1 betting sites in particular. Look out for their F1 odds, boosts and markets when using your free bets online.

Parimatch: Bet £5 and get £30 in bonus bets

Although one of the newer betting sites available in the UK, Parimatch is one to watch for its free bet offers for new customers, providing £30 in free bonus funds.

Parimatch’s offer is straightforward, allowing bettors to get down to business. Simply sign up, opt in, then deposit and bet at least £5 on any football market with odds of evens or greater.

Once your bet settles, Parimatch will give you one £10 Premier League accumulator bet and one £10 free bet on any Premier League market. The remaining £10 credit will arrive as a casino bonus for use on the slot game Big Bass Splash.

Overall, the value of the Parimatch offer is pretty good, but some may be put off by the need to use £10 of the credit on their new UK casino.

Talksport Bet: Get up to £40 in free football bets

Fans of the Premier League will appreciate Talksport Bet’s welcome offer. New customers can claim up to £40 in free football bets by signing up on a mobile device, opting-in on the promotion, and betting between £20 and £40 on football at odds of evens or greater.

As soon as your qualifying wager settles, you’ll receive four free football bets to the value of your qualifying bet. For example, if you make a bet of £20, you will get 4x £5 free bets, while if you bet £40 you will get 4x £10 free bets.

The four free football bets are divided into 1x bet builder, 1x correct score, 1x win & BTTS and 1x football accumulator.

It’s a strong bookmaker sign up offer for football fans, who will have an abundance of markets and odds to choose from on one of the top football betting sites.

William Hill: Bet £10 and get £30 in free bets

Finally for this section, we’re highlighting one of the UK’s best-known bookmakers, William Hill. The stakes and value of their welcome offer are the same as BetUK above – a bet £10 get £30 free bet offer.

What makes this one of the best free bet offers is that William Hill have one of the shortest odds requirements for the qualifying £10 bet.

Your selection only needs to be 1/2 or greater on any sports market, allowing you to bet on an outcome that you consider more of a sure thing.

Once that is done, you’ll get £30 of free bets as three lots of £10 bets. William Hill distinguishes itself as one of the leading golf betting sites and that is one of many sports you can use your free bets on after signing up online.

Free Bet Offers For Existing Customers

Betting sites offer various free bet promotions for existing customers, including money-back deals on losing bets, acca insurance if one leg fails, and first-scorer insurance if your player scores but not first.

Some bookmakers also reward users with free bets simply for playing. Here are some of the best free bet offers available for existing customers.

Read on to find out more about our favourite free bet offers for existing customers.

BetUK: Bet £10 on football bet builder and get a £5 free bet

For you accumulator lovers out there, BetUK have a free bet offer worth considering. All you have to do is opt in via the ‘My Offers’ page and then stake at least £10 on any football bet builder market at betting odds of evens (1/1) or greater.

You will receive a £5 free bet that can then be used on any market, not just football, and there is no minimum odds requirement, although you will not receive the free bet stake in your winnings. There is a maximum of one £5 free bet per week.

BoyleSports: Acca Rewards

This is a simple accumulator insurance policy from BoyleSports. When putting on an acca, you have the choice of Acca Boost or Acca Insure.

Boost will increase your prospective winnings, while Insure means you get your money back as a free bet if just one leg of the accumulator lets you down.

You need a minimum of five selections in the acca to qualify for the insurance promotion and the maximum refund is £20.

BoyleSports is one of the best operators around for this type of bonus, and although it delivers a high quality product across its entire sportsbook, its range of markets and odds on its tennis betting site are appealing to use with this promotion.

Kwiff: Football Acca Shield

The niftily-named Football Acca Shield from Kwiff is pretty similar to the BoyleSports offer above. After putting a pre-match football accumulator on (minimum four selections with total odds of 4/1 or greater), you’ll receive your money back as a free bet up to £20 if one leg lets you down.

Your pre-match acca must have a qualifying stake of at least £5, with minimum odds per selection of 1/2. The free bet can be used on any football market with odds of evens or higher.

Unibet: Money back specials

Unibet is one of the top betting sites with free bets and they have a horse racing-specific money back offer that covers you when your horse is so near but yet so far.

If you place a single bet on any of the day’s selected races and your horse finishes second, then you’ll receive your stake back as a free bet (up to a maximum of £20, with a minimum £1 stake).

Unibet also sometimes run a similar offer where you’ll get your money back as cash (rather than a free bet) if your horse finishes second or third in selected races.

They post the eligible races for both these offers on their site every day.

Bet365: Soccer Substitute Guarantee

It’s extremely frustrating when you bet on a player to do something in a match and then watch them get hobbled by a reckless challenge in the opening 10 minutes. Luckily, Bet365 have you covered on this front.

If your player is substituted before half-time, they will return your stake as a free bet on single markets (provided the market hasn’t already been settled) and for multiple bets, your remaining selections will be left to run.

So if you’ve bet on a player to be the last goalscorer, or take a certain number of shots or to be booked and they are subbed in the first half, you’ll get your money back as a free bet.

Fitzdares: No More Bore Draws

Goalless draws can be painful viewing in football, especially if you’ve had a bet on one team to win, but with Fitzdares, at least you can get your money back as a free bet if the match finishes 0-0.

This offer is only available on Champions League games and to qualify, you’ll need to back one team to win the match at odds of 1/2 or greater.

If the game ends 0-0, Fitzdares will credit your account with free bets equivalent to the total you staked on the game, although the maximum free bet is £2.

Free Bet Offer Of The Week

LiveScore Bet – Get a £5 free bet for football

LiveScore are offering users a £5 free bet on football when they stake £10 on any horse racing bet. Users simply have to place a £10 minimum stake on any horse racing market, and within one hour of that wager being settled, they will receive one £5 free bet token to use on a football market.

The qualifying bet must be a win-only bet, not an each-way wager, with odds of evens or greater. The free bet token must be placed on a single selection with odds of 1/100 or greater, and it must be used within seven days.

How We Rank and Review Free Bets UK

Operators must meet a number of important attributes before being considered by our team when we’re compiling our list of the best free bet offers, such as:

Licensing & Regulation

Only gambling sites who hold a valid licence from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) are considered when we evaluate free bet offers. The UKGC exists to protect consumers and enforce the rules of independent testing agencies like eCOGRA, so their licence shows us that the bookmaker operates fairly.

Indeed, all our recommended bookmakers on this page have passed rigorous testing from eCOGRA, who provide the highest level of service in testing, inspection and certification in the iGaming industry. Bookies who are not regulated are considered unsafe - anyone can check the UKGC register for confirmation of a bookmaker’s licence to trade.

Security

As an extension of licensing and regulation, all of our recommended sites must use the latest security features to keep customer data and details secure. Examples include SSL encryption and two-factor authentication for users.

Reputation

There are lots of good new betting sites emerging in the UK, but reputation still goes a long way and it shows in our rankings as we’ve given preference to brands we’ve built up a solid level of trust in. That’s why household names like Betfred, William Hill and Bet365 figure highly on our best free bets list, although we do highly rate some newcomers such as BetMGM.

Odds & Markets

What’s the point in having free bets if you don’t have much choice where to spend them? We take a close look at the number of markets a bookmaker offers on a particular sporting event to see how they compare with other betting sites. Within those markets, we also weigh up the odds, looking at how other operators have priced up the same market to determine whether they have competitive odds.

Promotions

Rewarding new custom is a given in the bookmaking industry and customers can expect to receive anything from free bets to price boosts upon registering. We factor in the welcome package when rating free bet offers, while we also consider their ongoing promotions once a user has moved beyond the new customer phase.

Sportsbook Variety

When recommending a bookmaker, we make sure that their sportsbook offering is varied and interesting across a range of sports, not just football and horse racing. As well as offering a range of sports to bet on, bookies will also offer a range of different markets – for example, anything from scorecast or first scorer to handicap betting and ante-post markets.

Mobile Betting

The majority of bets are now placed through betting apps or mobile betting sites. Those bookmakers with dedicated betting apps that offer the same functionality as a desktop site will score higher marks than those that just offer a mobile version of their website. We also consider other users’ feedback on Apple and Google app stores when deciding which betting apps work better than others.

Customer Experience

We put the customer service teams at leading bookmakers through the ringer during our testing phase, with preference given to those who resolve issues quickly and with a minimum of fuss. We mark bookies down if they have inefficient bots sending users around in circles.

Being Responsible

We prioritise betting sites that actively promote socially responsible gambling while providing tools to help players foster better gambling habits. We’ll mark down bookmakers who don’t give users every opportunity to stay in control of their betting.

All regulated gambling sites are required to offer safer betting tools, in particular self-exclusion, but visibility and usability can vary from site to site. In our reviews, preference is given to those who prominently promote their safer gambling tools and make them easy to use.

How To Use Free Bets Effectively

Before using a free bet, always review the terms and conditions, including minimum odds, expiry dates, and wagering requirements.

Most offers cap the free bet amount, meaning a ‘Bet £20, Get £20’ deal will still award £20 even if you stake more.

While rare on sportsbooks, some sites impose wagering requirements, requiring multiple bets before withdrawals are allowed. For example, a £50 free bet with a 5x requirement means wagering £250 before cashing out.

To maximise value, consider using free bets on higher odds selections rather than short odds, as winnings do not include the free bet stake. Also, check which sports the offer applies to—there’s little benefit in claiming a horse racing free bet if you only bet on football.

Types Of Free Bet Offers

Online bookmakers structure their free bet offers in different ways, each with its own benefits. Below are the most common types of promotions available for new and existing customers.

Free Bet Welcome Offer

This is the most lucrative type of free bet promotion, rewarding new customers after their first deposit and qualifying bet. For example, William Hill offers a Bet £10, Get £30 deal, though terms vary between bookmakers.

Matched Deposit

Here, bookmakers match a customer's deposit with an equivalent amount in free bets, provided the bonus conditions are met. For instance, a £20 deposit would return £20 in free bets.

Enhanced Odds Bonus

Some bookies boost the odds for new customers on specific markets, usually in football. While the maximum stake is often capped, these promotions provide significantly better returns than standard odds. Parimatch is among the top sites for enhanced odds offers.

Free Bets No Deposit

These free bets are usually reserved for existing customers. No deposit free bets are unlocked without having to place a deposit and are marked as a sign of loyalty for regular use of a betting site. They can often be obtained via free-to-play games too.

Responsible Gambling

Data from the UK Gambling Commission suggests that around 0.5 per cent of the UK population could be considered as experiencing problem gambling (though some studies estimate this number could be up to eight times higher).

The most important thing to remember is to gamble responsibly. You’ve probably heard the slogan ‘When the fun stops. Stop’ plenty of times but it still rings true.

Betting can add further enjoyment to watching sporting events but there are certainly no guarantees you’ll make money out of it, no matter how much you think you know about sport.

When betting, always assume you’ll lose and therefore, only bet what you can afford to lose. If you win, then that’s simply a nice bonus. The same applies if you’re using casino sites, slot sites, poker sites or any other form of gambling.

It’s particularly important not to get carried away by free bet offers which are readily available on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution.

Make sure you use the responsible gambling tools offered by betting companies such as deposit limits, reality checks, loss limits and time outs. These can stop gambling from getting out of hand.

If you have gambling-related concerns, then seek independent help. There are several UK charities and institutions that offer support, advice and information, with a few listed below:

Best Free Bet Offers Summary

On this page, we’ve picked some of our favourite free bets and we only recommend safe betting sites that are regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), so they are safe to engage with.

There are plenty of illegitimate gambling companies and traders out there, so be careful. For example, in March 2025, the UKGC assisted Staffordshire Police leading to the charge of a 39-year-old man for providing unlicensed gambling.

So the threat is still very real, even in a well-regulated market like the UK. If in doubt, check the register of gambling businesses on the UKGC website.

While our recommended free bet offers will be perfect for some people, you should always choose bookmakers who provide free bets that cater to your specific needs. Make sure you fully read the terms and conditions when signing up so you’re clear on how to qualify for the offers.

FAQs on Free Bets UK

How do you get free bets?

You can claim free bets by signing up for brand new betting sites and meeting the requirements of the bookie or by unlocking free bet rewards as an existing customer.

What are the best betting sign up offers?

The best betting sites offer the top free bet sign up offers. Betfred’s bet £10 get £50 free bet offer is arguably the best on the market right now, but there are plenty of bet £10 get £40 free bet offers which are also good, even if they’re worth slightly less than the Betfred bonus.

What are free bets no deposit bonuses?

No deposit free bets are bonuses that don’t require a deposit to unlock. These are one of the most popular free bet offers to obtain online, although they are not as readily available as deposit free bet bonuses.

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.