Free bets in the UK: the current sign up offers
Most pages that list free bets in the UK stop at the headline. Every bookmaker below holds a Gambling Commission licence, and each offer carries the date we last checked it. We add a line: the median football margin each bookmaker charged in our odds data, which tells you what the account costs after the welcome credit is spent.
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1.
Football margin after the offer: 7.35% median
£40 in Free Bets When You Bet £5 + Ghost Leg Token
New customers only, 18+. Place a £5 bet at odds of 1/1 or bigger within 30 days of registering to get 4 x £10 free bets plus a Ghost Leg token. Free bets expire after 30 days and their stakes are not returned. Skrill and Neteller deposits do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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2.
Football margin after the offer: 7.10% median
Bet £5, Get £30 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Place a £5 bet at evens or bigger to get 3 x £10 free bets. E-wallet deposits do not qualify. Free bet stakes are not returned and the free bets expire after 30 days. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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3.
Football margin after the offer: 5.92% median
Get £30 In Free Bets When You Bet £5
New customers only, 18+. Bet £5 or more at odds of 1/2 or bigger within 14 days of registering to get 6 x £5 free bets, including one football and one horse racing bet builder. Valid 7 days, stake not returned. PayPal, Apple Pay, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafe and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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4.
Football margin after the offer: 6.59% median
Bet £5 Get £30 In Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Bet £5 or more at odds of 1/2 or bigger within 14 days of registering to get 6 x £5 free bets: four for any sportsbook market, one football Bet Builder and one horse racing Bet Builder. Valid 7 days, stake not returned. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafe and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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5.
Football margin after the offer: 7.31% median
First Acca Stake Back as a Free Bet up to £30 if It Loses
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10+ and place a first sports bet of £5+ as a combo of 3+ selections at odds of 1.40 or bigger each. If it loses, get the stake back as one free bet up to £30, valid 7 days, for a 3+ leg combo at 1.40+ per leg with combined odds no higher than 6.00. Horse racing and virtuals excluded; singles, system bets, bet builders and each way bets do not qualify. Stake not returned. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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6.
Football margin after the offer: 8.88% median
Bet £10, Get £50 in Free Bets
New UK customers only, 18+. Deposit by debit card and place a first sports bet of £10 or more at evens or bigger, settled within 7 days, to get £30 in sports free bets and £20 in Bet Builder free bets, valid 7 days. E-wallets and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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7.
Football margin after the offer: 7.71% median
Bet £10, Get £40 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Deposit by debit card and place a £10+ pre-event bet at odds of 2.0 or bigger within 7 days of registering. Get 4 x £10 free bet tokens on settlement for accas or bet builders of 4+ legs at odds of 4.0 or bigger, valid 7 days. Stake not returned. PayPal, Revolut and Neteller deposits do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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8.
Prices not in the odds feed we record
Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets
New UK customers only, 18+. Place a £10 qualifying bet at odds of 1/5 or bigger within 30 days to get £30 in Bet Credits. Bet Credits expire after 7 days and the stake is not returned. Some deposit methods do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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9.
Football margin after the offer: 10.81% median
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
New UK customers only, 18+, excluding Northern Ireland. Deposit and bet £10 at evens or bigger within 30 days to get £30 in free bets, valid 7 days. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and Paysafe deposits do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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10.
Football margin after the offer: 7.99% median
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10+ and place a £10+ cash bet on any sport (excl. virtuals) at odds of 1/2 or bigger, settled within 14 days of registering. Accept 2 x £10 sportsbook free bets and 2 x £5 Bet Builder free bets within 7 days; valid 7 days once accepted. Stake not returned. Prepaid, virtual and unidentified debit cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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11.
Football margin after the offer: 9.54% median
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10+ and place a £10+ cash bet on any sport (excl. virtuals) at odds of 1/2 or bigger, settled within 14 days of registering. Accept 2 x £10 sportsbook free bets and 2 x £5 Bet Builder free bets within 7 days; valid 7 days once accepted. Stake not returned. Prepaid, virtual and unidentified debit cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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12.
Football margin after the offer: 8.87% median
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
New UK customers only, 18+. Place a £10 single at odds of 1/2 or bigger from cash funds to get £30 in free bets, valid for 7 days. Stake not returned. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and some other deposit methods do not qualify. Not available in the app. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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13.
Football margin after the offer: 9.28% median
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10 with promo code 30FXS and place a £10 bet at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or bigger to get 3 x £10 free bets: one for football, one for horse racing and one for in-play. Free bets valid 7 days, one stake each, stake not returned. Paysafecard, Skrill, Neteller and MuchBetter deposits do not qualify; cashed-out bets excluded. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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14.
Football margin after the offer: 7.27% median
Bet £10, Get £30 Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Opt in, deposit and bet £10 at odds of 2.00 or bigger within 7 days of registering to get £30 in free bets on selected markets, valid 7 days. Cashed-out and void bets do not count. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
How to read the best sign up offers on this page
The list is sorted by a simple sum: free bet credit per pound of qualifying stake. Treat the offer and the margin as two halves of one decision. The offer is paid once, usually within a week of joining. The margin is charged on every bet you place afterwards, from a wet Tuesday in League Two to a cup final.
The offers in numbers
- £10 → £30the most common deal, at 11 of 18 bet and get offers
- 2–8×free bet credit per pound of qualifying stake
- 14 of 18offers that state an expiry give you 7 days to use the credit
- 11 of 18ask for a qualifying bet at evens (2.00) or bigger
- 13 of 18tie some or all of the credit to bet builders, accas or set markets
- 14 of 22welcome offers refuse at least some e-wallet deposits
One bookmaker has no margin line, and that is a matter of method. bet365 is not carried by the commercial odds feed we record each day, so its football prices sit outside our measurement. Its offer and terms appear in full, and its review scores it on five of our seven criteria, leaving out price and market coverage.
| Bookmaker | You bet | You get | Credit per £1 | Min odds | Where the credit goes | E-wallets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £5 | £404 × £10 + Ghost Leg token | 8× | evens (2.00) | Any market | Excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Place a £5 bet at odds of 1/1 or bigger within 30 days of registering to get 4 x £10 free bets plus a Ghost Leg token. Free bets expire after 30 days and their stakes are not returned. Skrill and Neteller deposits do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £5 | £306 × £5 (2 for bet builders) | 6× | 1/2 (1.50) | Partly restricted | Excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Bet £5 or more at odds of 1/2 or bigger within 14 days of registering to get 6 x £5 free bets, including one football and one horse racing bet builder. Valid 7 days, stake not returned. PayPal, Apple Pay, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafe and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £5 | £306 × £5 (2 for bet builders) | 6× | 1/2 (1.50) | Partly restricted | Excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Bet £5 or more at odds of 1/2 or bigger within 14 days of registering to get 6 x £5 free bets: four for any sportsbook market, one football Bet Builder and one horse racing Bet Builder. Valid 7 days, stake not returned. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafe and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £5 | £303 × £10 free bets | 6× | evens (2.00) | Any market | Excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Place a £5 bet at evens or bigger to get 3 x £10 free bets. E-wallet deposits do not qualify. Free bet stakes are not returned and the free bets expire after 30 days. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £50£30 sports + £20 bet builder | 5× | evens (2.00) | Partly restricted | Excluded |
New UK customers only, 18+. Deposit by debit card and place a first sports bet of £10 or more at evens or bigger, settled within 7 days, to get £30 in sports free bets and £20 in Bet Builder free bets, valid 7 days. E-wallets and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £404 × £10 for accas and bet builders | 4× | evens (2.00) | Builders / accas only | Excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Deposit by debit card and place a £10+ pre-event bet at odds of 2.0 or bigger within 7 days of registering. Get 4 x £10 free bet tokens on settlement for accas or bet builders of 4+ legs at odds of 4.0 or bigger, valid 7 days. Stake not returned. PayPal, Revolut and Neteller deposits do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £303 × £10 (football, racing, in-play) | 3× | 1/2 (1.50) | Partly restricted | Excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10 with promo code 30FXS and place a £10 bet at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or bigger to get 3 x £10 free bets: one for football, one for horse racing and one for in-play. Free bets valid 7 days, one stake each, stake not returned. Paysafecard, Skrill, Neteller and MuchBetter deposits do not qualify; cashed-out bets excluded. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £30£30 in Bet Credits | 3× | 1/5 (1.20) | Any market | Some methods excluded |
New UK customers only, 18+. Place a £10 qualifying bet at odds of 1/5 or bigger within 30 days to get £30 in Bet Credits. Bet Credits expire after 7 days and the stake is not returned. Some deposit methods do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
 | £10 | £303 × £10 on set football markets | 3× | evens (2.00) | Partly restricted | Not excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Opt in, deposit and bet £10 on any football at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or bigger within 3 days of sign up to get 3 x £10 free bets for set football markets, credited in stages. Free bets expire after 14 days, stake not returned. Cashed-out, void and boosted bets do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
 | £10 | £303 × £10 for multiples | 3× | evens (2.00) | Builders / accas only | Excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Place a £10 sportsbook bet at evens or bigger to get 3 x £10 free bets for bet builders, accumulators or multiples, valid 30 days. Only debit card, Apple Pay or Pay by Bank deposits qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £30£30 on selected markets | 3× | evens (2.00) | Partly restricted | Not excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Opt in, deposit and bet £10 at odds of 2.00 or bigger within 7 days of registering to get £30 in free bets on selected markets, valid 7 days. Cashed-out and void bets do not count. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £30£30 in free bets | 3× | evens (2.00) | Any market | Excluded |
New UK customers only, 18+, excluding Northern Ireland. Deposit and bet £10 at evens or bigger within 30 days to get £30 in free bets, valid 7 days. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and Paysafe deposits do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
 | £10 | £303 × £10 bet builders | 3× | evens (2.00) | Builders / accas only | Not excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Opt in when you register, then within 7 days deposit £10 and place a £10 sports bet at evens or bigger to get 3 x £10 Bet Builder free bets, valid 7 days, with minimum combined odds of 3/1. Virtual sports, esports and horse racing are excluded. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £302 × £10 + 2 × £5 bet builder | 3× | 1/2 (1.50) | Partly restricted | Not excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10+ and place a £10+ cash bet on any sport (excl. virtuals) at odds of 1/2 or bigger, settled within 14 days of registering. Accept 2 x £10 sportsbook free bets and 2 x £5 Bet Builder free bets within 7 days; valid 7 days once accepted. Stake not returned. Prepaid, virtual and unidentified debit cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
 | £10 | £30£30 on selected bets | 3× | evens (2.00) | Partly restricted | Not excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Place a £10 bet at evens or bigger within 14 days of signing up to get £30 in free bets on selected bets, valid 7 days. Free bet stakes are not returned. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £302 × £10 + 2 × £5 bet builder | 3× | 1/2 (1.50) | Partly restricted | Not excluded |
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10+ and place a £10+ cash bet on any sport (excl. virtuals) at odds of 1/2 or bigger, settled within 14 days of registering. Accept 2 x £10 sportsbook free bets and 2 x £5 Bet Builder free bets within 7 days; valid 7 days once accepted. Stake not returned. Prepaid, virtual and unidentified debit cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
| £10 | £30£30 in free bets | 3× | 1/2 (1.50) | Any market | Excluded |
New UK customers only, 18+. Place a £10 single at odds of 1/2 or bigger from cash funds to get £30 in free bets, valid for 7 days. Stake not returned. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and some other deposit methods do not qualify. Not available in the app. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
 | £20 | £403 × £10 bet builder + £10 acca | 2× | evens (2.00) | Builders / accas only | Excluded |
New GB customers only, 18+. Opt in, deposit £20+ by debit card or instant bank transfer and place a £20+ sports bet at odds of evens (2.0) or bigger, settled within 7 days of registering. Get 3 x £10 Bet Builder and 1 x £10 acca free bets (4+ selections each), valid 7 days, not for racing. Stake not returned. Cashed-out and boosted bets do not count. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+ | ||||||
No offer matches all three filters. Loosen one to see more.
The welcome offer counts for 10% of our overall rating, a deliberate choice, while price carries 30% because it touches every stake. When two bookmakers show similar deals, the one with the lower margin is usually the better home for your account. The best betting sign up offers on paper can belong to one of the dearer bookmakers.
Offers move often, sometimes twice in a month. We recheck each one against the bookmaker’s own terms and print the check date inside its box. If a deal changes between our checks, the terms on the bookmaker’s site are the ones that apply, so read them before you deposit. The short version here is a fair summary, not a contract.
How free bets work in the UK
The first rule surprises many new punters: the stake of a free bet is not returned. Say you place a £10 free bet at decimal odds of 3.00 and it wins. A cash bet would pay back £30. The free bet pays £20, the profit only. At short odds that missing stake eats most of the value.
What your free bet is really worth
Fractional (5/2), decimal (3.50) or "evens"
- If it wins you get
- £20
- The same stake in cash would pay
- £30
- Average value at fair odds
- £6.67 (67% of face value)
- Chance the bet wins at fair odds
- 33%
Enter a free bet amount, and odds of 1.01 or more or a fraction such as 6/4.
- 1/21.50 £533% of face value on average
- evens2.00 £1050% of face value on average
- 2/13.00 £2067% of face value on average
- 4/15.00 £4080% of face value on average
- 9/110.00 £9090% of face value on average
Paid to youStake kept by the bookmaker
Fair odds leave out the bookmaker's margin, which trims every figure a little further. The average is over many bets; a single free bet either wins or pays nothing.
To receive the credit you first place a qualifying bet with your own money. The terms set its size, the window you have to place it after registering, and often which bets count. Some bookmakers exclude cashed-out and void bets, and some insist the qualifying bet is settled within a set number of days before anything is paid.
Minimum odds stop new customers from qualifying on a near-certain favourite. Some bookmakers accept a qualifying bet at quite short prices, while others ask for evens or bigger. The same minimum often applies to the free bet itself, so check both lines. A qualifying bet one tick below the threshold earns nothing at all, even when it wins comfortably.
How long a price the qualifying bet needs
- 1/51.20 decimal83% implied chance
- 1/21.50 decimal67% implied chance
- evens2.00 decimal50% implied chance
Expiry is the term that catches out the most people. Several bookmakers give you seven days to use the credit, and a few allow 30. Then the credit disappears without a reminder. Join on a Thursday with Saturday’s fixtures in mind and you have time; join on a Monday in an international break and you may not.
Payment exclusions trip up people who deposit by habit. Some bookmakers refuse the welcome offer when the first deposit came from an e-wallet such as PayPal, Skrill or Neteller, and a few also exclude prepaid cards. A debit card or an open banking payment is the usual route through these terms, and the full terms name every excluded method.
The credit does not always arrive as a single token. Some bookmakers split it into smaller free bets, and some lock part of the bundle to bet builders or to particular markets. The split leaves the headline value unchanged. What it does decide is how flexibly you can use the credit once it reaches your account.
Winnings from a free bet normally land in your cash balance, and you can withdraw them like any other money once your account is verified. The credit itself can never be withdrawn. Before placing it, read the terms for minimum odds on the free bet, any market restriction, and exclusions on each-way or multiple bets.
Verification comes before any of this. Since 7 May 2019 a licensed operator has had to confirm your age before you can deposit or place a bet, including a bet placed with free bet credit. Some bookmakers also ask you to confirm a phone number by text message before they release the reward, so a hurried account can stall.
What changed for betting sign up offers in 2026
The Gambling Commission rewrote its rule on bonuses, and the new version took effect on 19 January 2026. The start date had first been set for 19 December 2025 and was pushed back in July 2025. Two changes matter to anyone comparing deals: a cap on wagering requirements and a ban on mixing different products in one promotion.
The rules behind every offer, 2019 to 2026
- Age check first
Your age must be confirmed before you can deposit or place any bet, free bets included.
- Start date moved
The new bonus rule, first due on 19 December 2025, is pushed back a month.
- Financial limit prompt
Every operator must ask you to set a financial limit before your first deposit.
- Wagering capped at 10×
Any wagering is capped at 10 times the bonus, and one offer may cover only one product: no more free bets plus casino spins.
- One meaning of "deposit limit"
A limit now counts money paid in over the period, with withdrawals not netted off.
Any wagering requirement on a bonus is now capped at 10 times the bonus. The regulator’s own illustration of what is no longer allowed is a £10 bonus with 50 times wagering, or £500 of play before a withdrawal. Most UK sports welcome offers never had wagering, because the reward is paid as free bets.
The second change ends a bundle many punters remember. A single incentive may now cover only one type of gambling product: betting, casino, bingo or lottery. The familiar package of sports credit plus casino spins is gone in Great Britain. In the Commission’s own examples, a bet that triggers a free bet passes and a bet that triggers spins fails.
The Gambling Commission said the changes were meant to make promotions safer and simpler, so that people can see what is on offer and how much they must bet before they can withdraw. For sports bettors that has largely happened. Offers are easier to compare side by side, and the terms that remain are mostly the ones explained above.
What the rules leave alone is just as useful to know. Betting sign up offers still carry their own qualifying stakes, minimum odds, expiry periods and payment exclusions, which differ widely. The cap also says nothing about how generous an offer must be. Two compliant deals can still differ a great deal in what they are worth to you.
Why the margin matters more than the size of free bets
A welcome offer is paid once; the margin is paid on every bet while the account stays open. That imbalance is why our list prints both, and why we weight price three times as heavily as the offer when we rate a bookmaker. The headline credit is the easiest number to compare and the least important over time.
What the margin takes over a season
The figure is the share of your stakes the margin keeps on average over many bets: stake × margin ÷ (1 + margin). It is an illustration of price, not a prediction; any single bet can win or lose.
Total staked: £2,000
Of every £100 staked, the margin keeps on average
- £2.10 Matchbook
- £6.81 Casumo
- £9.76 BoyleSports
Same bets, same stakes: £153 apart between the lowest and the highest margin we have recorded so far.
Illustration only, based on median football margins as of 2 November 2026. Real results vary bet by bet. Only bet what you can afford to lose.
Here is a worked example with made-up round prices. One bookmaker offers 1.95 on both sides of an evenly matched two-way market, another offers 1.87. Stake £25 a week for 40 weeks and you have placed £1,000 of bets. At fair chances, the first bookmaker keeps about £25 of that turnover and the second keeps about £65.
The £40 gap in that example is in the same range as the credit many welcome deals pay once. By the end of those 40 weeks, the dearer bookmaker has taken its offer back and carries on taking. A punter who stakes more, or who sticks to markets with wider margins, sees the difference build faster than the example suggests.
Our margin figures come from match-result prices we record every day across English and Scottish football: the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, Scottish Premiership, FA Cup and EFL Cup. For each fixture we take the last price before kick-off and report the median across fixtures. Every competition has its own column on our bookmaker margins page.
Two limits apply. The margins describe football only, so a punter who mainly bets on racing should weigh features such as best odds guaranteed and extra places instead. The odds history is also still young, which means the current tables show a snapshot of pricing. We refresh them weekly, and the line under each offer updates with them.
The kinds of offer you will meet
Bet and get is the standard UK format and covers most of the list. You place one qualifying bet, win or lose, and receive free bet credit afterwards. The qualifying bet is settled on its own merits, so a winner pays out as normal. This is the simplest kind to value, because the reward does not depend on the result.
| Type | Paid when | Paid as | Watch for | Current offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bet and get | After one qualifying bet, win or lose | Free bet credit, stake not returned | Minimum odds, expiry, credit tied to bet builders | 18 |
| Money back | Only if the first bet loses | A free bet | Expiry, and whether the stake comes back | 1Casumo |
| Losses back | On net losses over the first weeks | Free bets, a share of what you lost | Caps per event, excluded bet types, token expiry | 1Matchbook |
| Odds boost | When the boosted bet wins | Extra winnings in cash | Maximum stake and fractional odds only | 1Grosvenor Sport |
| Commission-free trading | On every bet that settles in the period | No commission on net winnings | Only worth it if you trade in the first weeks | 1Smarkets |
Money back offers pay only when your first bet loses. If it wins, nothing extra is paid. The refund usually comes as free bet credit, though some offers return cash. A cash refund is worth more than the same amount in credit, since cash can be withdrawn, or staked again with the stake coming back on a win.
Bet builder tokens can only be used on combinations within one match, such as a team to win and a player to score. Some bookmakers pay part of the credit this way, and at least one ties its whole offer to bet builders with a minimum combined price. These tokens suit punters who enjoy the format and frustrate the rest.
Exchange offers work differently, because an exchange matches you against other punters. Their welcome deals tend to be commission-free periods or a share of early losses returned as free bets, often with caps per event and some bet types excluded. Read our guide to betting exchanges first if you have never used one, since commission changes the arithmetic.
Some offers add a token that is not a free bet at all, such as a feature that saves one losing leg of an accumulator. These extras are pleasant but hard to put a value on, and our offer score ignores them. Judge the deal on its free bet credit and treat any token as a small extra.
Existing customers see a different menu once the welcome credit is used. Bookmakers in our list run acca boosts, acca insurance, money back specials on selected events and price boosts. They change week to week, so we fold the standing features into our rating and leave the daily promotions alone. A strong standing feature can outweigh a bigger opening deal.
A sign-up checklist for UK punters
Opening an account takes about ten minutes with everything to hand, and it tends to go wrong through small details. We would run through the same steps at any bookmaker above. None of them is complicated. Skip one, though, and you can lose the welcome credit or end up with an account that has no limits set.
Start with the full terms, then the box. The short version in our list is accurate, but the full terms settle edge cases: which markets count, whether the qualifying bet must be a single, and whether the offer works in the app at all. One major bookmaker excludes app sign-ups from its welcome deal, easy to miss on a phone.
Have your details ready. Bookmakers check your name, date of birth and address against electronic records when you register, and they must confirm your age before you can deposit. If the automatic check fails you will be asked for a document such as a passport or driving licence, and the window for the qualifying bet may already be running.
Expect a prompt to set a financial limit before your first deposit. Every operator licensed in Great Britain has had to show one since 31 October 2025. Since 30 September 2026 a “deposit limit” must mean money paid in over a period, with withdrawals not netted off, and the periods on offer include 24 hours, seven days and a month.
Pay in with a qualifying method. A debit card works for every offer in our list, while e-wallets and prepaid cards fail some of them. Once you have deposited, place the qualifying bet at or above the minimum odds and inside the window. Then write down the expiry date of the credit somewhere you will actually see it.
Claim each offer once. Welcome deals are limited to new customers, and most bookmakers also restrict them to one per person, household or device. Opening a second account to claim twice breaks the terms and can see both accounts closed. At least one current offer also excludes Northern Ireland, where gambling law sits outside the regime that covers Great Britain.
Getting fair value from a free bet
A free bet is worth less than its face value, and how much less depends on the odds you pick. Because the bookmaker keeps the stake, a £10 free bet on a fair 2.00 chance has an expected value of £5. On a fair 5.00 chance the figure rises to £8, yet four times in five you get nothing back.
Neither approach is wrong. A punter who wants a likely small return picks a short price; one who accepts a likely blank picks a long one. The only poor choice is backing something you would never have touched, purely to use the credit before it expires. Choose the bet first, then see whether the free bet fits it. Our free bet calculator works out the value at any price.
A side note on account restrictions, because new customers ask about them. Bookmakers may limit stakes on any account, and some act quickly with customers who mostly take offers. Commission guidance protects one stage: after you begin qualifying for a free bet promotion, a restriction must not cost you that reward. Our account restrictions guide covers the wider rules.
Safer gambling when you open a new account
A welcome offer exists to get you betting, so decide your limits before the novelty of a new account sets in. Set the deposit limit at an amount you would happily spend on an evening out, never at whatever the offer asks for. You can lower a limit straight away, while raising one normally takes effect only after a delay.
Every bookmaker in our list offers deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion, and some add reality checks or a running profit and loss figure. A time-out locks you out for a chosen spell, and self-exclusion with one operator lasts months. To stop with all of them at once, use GamStop. Our safer gambling page explains each option.
GamStop is free, and one registration excludes you from every online bookmaker licensed in Great Britain for six months, one year or five years. The exclusion does not end by itself: after the minimum period you have to contact GamStop to remove it. More than 562,000 people were actively excluded at the end of 2025.
Expect occasional checks as well. Once your net deposits exceed £150 in a rolling 30 days, operators run a financial vulnerability check that uses public records such as County Court Judgments and bankruptcy orders. It does not touch your credit file. If betting has stopped being fun, GambleAware offers free and confidential support, and talking to someone early helps most.
Where to look next
Among the free bets in the UK, the strongest choice for most punters is an offer with short, clear terms from a bookmaker whose margin line sits low in the list. A smaller credit at a cheaper bookmaker usually beats a bigger one at a dear bookmaker within months. Our bookmaker reviews set out each brand’s prices, payments and features.
Bookmakers that launched recently sometimes compete harder on their opening deal than the established names do. We track them separately on our new betting sites page, with the same licence check and the same margin line where we measure it. If you already hold accounts at the big names, look there for a fresh welcome offer.
Frequently asked questions
Are free bets legal to claim in the UK?
Yes. Welcome offers from bookmakers licensed by the Gambling Commission are legal for anyone aged 18 or over in Great Britain. Since 19 January 2026 they must follow tighter rules on wagering and may not mix betting with casino rewards.
How can I tell a sign up offer comes from a licensed bookmaker?
Look for the Gambling Commission account number in the site footer and search it on the Commission's public register. Every bookmaker in our list holds a current licence, and its review links to the register entry.
Does GamStop stop me claiming free bets?
Yes. While you are registered with GamStop, no online bookmaker licensed in Great Britain may let you open an account or bet, so welcome offers are closed to you as well. That is the point of the scheme.
What are the most common types of free bet?
Bet and get offers are the most common: place one qualifying bet and receive credit whatever the result. Money back offers, bet builder tokens and exchange deals such as commission-free periods make up most of the rest.
Do free bets have wagering requirements?
Most UK sports welcome offers have none, because the reward is paid as free bet credit and winnings go to your cash balance. Where a bonus does carry wagering, the rules in force since January 2026 cap it at 10 times the bonus.
Can I withdraw winnings from a free bet straight away?
In the usual case, yes. Winnings from a free bet are paid as cash without the stake, and you can withdraw them like any other balance once your account is verified. The free bet credit itself can never be withdrawn.
How long do free bets last before they expire?
Several bookmakers give you seven days from the moment the credit lands, and a few allow 30. Unused credit disappears when the period ends, so note the date when you claim.
Can I use a free bet on any sport or market?
Not always. Some credit is restricted to bet builders, accumulators or selected markets, and minimum odds often apply to the free bet as well as the qualifying bet. The full terms list the exclusions.
What is the difference between a free bet and a deposit bonus?
A free bet is a stake you can use once, with only the profit paid out if it wins. A deposit bonus adds money to your balance and may carry a wagering requirement, capped at 10 times the bonus in Great Britain.
Do I need to deposit to get a welcome offer?
For every offer in our list, yes. You deposit, place a qualifying bet with your own money and then receive the credit. No-deposit offers are rare in the UK and usually small.
Is the stake of a free bet returned if it wins?
No. A £10 free bet at 3.00 that wins pays £20, the profit only, where a £10 cash bet would pay £30. That is why longer odds keep more of a free bet's value.
Why does my PayPal deposit not qualify for the offer?
Some bookmakers exclude e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill and Neteller, and sometimes prepaid cards, from their welcome offers. Deposit by debit card or open banking if you want the credit, and check the named methods in the full terms.
Can I claim betting sign up offers more than once?
Each welcome offer is for new customers only and normally limited to one per person, household or device. You can claim one offer at each bookmaker, but a second account at the same one breaks the terms.
Are the offers available in Northern Ireland?
Most are, but at least one current welcome offer excludes Northern Ireland. Gambling law there is separate from the Gambling Commission regime in Great Britain, so read the eligibility line in the terms.
Can a bookmaker restrict my account during a free bet offer?
Bookmakers may restrict accounts in general. Gambling Commission guidance says that once you have started qualifying for a free bet promotion, a restriction must not stop you receiving those free bets or cut their value.
Do I pay tax on free bet winnings?
No. Punters in the UK pay no tax on betting winnings, including winnings from free bets. The bookmaker pays betting duty on its own profits instead.
Why is there no margin line for bet365?
bet365 is not in the odds feed we record each day, so its prices sit outside our measurement. Its offer and terms are listed in full, and its rating uses five of our seven criteria, leaving out price and market coverage.