Bonus Bet, in plain words
A bonus bet, or free bet, is a stake a sportsbook gives you, usually as a promotion. If it wins you keep the winnings, but the stake itself is never returned. So a $50 bonus bet is not worth $50; it is worth whatever its winnings are worth.
That is why bonus bets are usually placed on longer odds. The bigger the price, the more of the face value becomes winnings. Many bettors then hedge the other side with cash at a second book, sized so they collect the same amount whichever side wins. What is left is the bonus converted to cash.
A typical conversion keeps a bit over half to three quarters of the face value, depending on the prices. Read the book's terms first: some bonuses expire, some exclude certain markets, and some have minimum odds. The promo scanner and the free-bet calculator size the hedge for you.
The idea, drawn
Worked example · illustration
A $50.00 bonus at +250, hedged at −280
- Bonus winnings
- $125.00
- Hedge stake
- $92.11
- Locked cash
- $32.89
- Kept of face
- 65.8%
- If the bonus side wins it pays winnings only: $50.00 x 2.50 = $125.00.
- Hedge the other side with $92.11 of cash at −280, which returns $125.00 if it wins.
- Either way you end $32.89 ahead: 65.8% of the bonus's face value.
The $50.00 bonus was worth $32.89 in cash at these prices.