The Truth About the Sportsbook Deposit Bonus

With the NFL season ready to start, bettors around the world will be looking for the biggest and best sportsbook bonuses available.  I am here to tell you that is the wrong way to pick a sportsbook.

What would you say if I told you that sportsbook bonuses are over-hyped?

Would you believe that I think they are waste and don’t give them anything thought?

While a bonus of free money to bet is very enticing, you really should be looking at the long-term.  After all, you should be looking for a sportsbook where you will be placing bets for years – long after the sign-up bonus is gone.

I find it far more important to find a solid sportsbook that will reward you year in and year out and pay you when you request your winnings than it is searching for best sportbook bonus.

After looking at the details and requirements of a bonus, you will see that they aren’t everything that they are cracked up to be.  A bonus that first started as an enticement is now nothing more than an overused marketing ploy.

With the recent chaos in the online sportsbook industry, these bonuses have only become more diluted.

Regardless of my opinion, many sports bettors will still look for a huge sign up bonus.  If you are trying to decide on what bonus to take, I suggest that you look at four details of the bonus.

1. Bonus Types
2. Rollover Requirements
3. Minimum Deposit
4. Maximum Bonus Amount

Bonus Types

Almost every sportsbook on the internet will provide you a bonus that equals a percentage of your initial deposit.

You will find bonuses range from 10% to 100%.  But it isn’t only the percentages that vary; it is the type of bonus.

There are two major types of sportsbook deposit bonuses.

1. Cash Bonus
2. Free Play Bonus

A cash bonus is what most sports bettors are expecting when they open a new sportsbook account.  When you receive a cash bonus, the money is deposited along with the funds that you made with your initial deposit and acts just like the money that you deposited.

Since there is no difference between your funds and the bonus,  when you win a bet, the amount that you win plus the amount of the original bet is returned to your available funds – just like a normal bet.  This isn’t the same when it comes to a Free Play Bonus.

A free play bonus is advertised in a similar fashion to a cash bonus.  It is a percentage of the initial deposit, has a rollover and can be used to place bets.

How a free play bonus works is where it differs.

Your free play bonus is separate from the funds that you deposited.  When you choose to use your free play bonus to place a bet and win that bet, only the amount that you win will be added to your available cash funds.

What is the benefit of a free play bonus?

What I have noticed after reviewing about 30 sportsbooks bonuses is that free play bonuses typically have a lower rollover requirement.  But that all depends on what how the rollover is defined.

Rollover Requirements

As you can imagine, the promise of free money is too much for some people.  Years ago, people dubbed bonus whores played the system.  They opened accounts, received the bonus money and took the money and ran.

To guard against this kind of behavior, sportsbooks instituted a rollover requirement.

A rollover is usually in the form of a multiple such as 5x (five times).

The question is five times what.

Sportsbooks will usually define a rollover in two ways.

1. Times the Bonus Amount
2. Times the Initial Deposit + Bonus Amount

It is my experience that the higher rollover requirement will be a rollover defined only by the bonus amount.

Before you make your deposit, make sure you look at the fine print and ask what the rollover requirement is.

Minimum Deposit

A minimum deposit requirement is exactly what it sounds like.  It is the minimum amount that must be deposited when opening your account to be eligible for a bonus.

You have to be careful.  The minimum deposit  required for the bonus might differ from the minimum amount that the sportsbook might accept from a funding option such as credit card, Western Union, etc.

If you don’t meet the bonus’ minimum deposit requirement, you will not receive the sign up bonus.

When you are looking for a bonus, make sure the minimum deposit amount is in-line with your budget.

Maximum Bonus

When a sportsbook advertises a 50% bonus, this doesn’t mean that they will provide a bonus for any amount deposited over the minimum deposit requirement.  Though it isn’t usually clearly advertised, there is a cap on the bonus.  This is called the maximum bonus amount.

A sportsbook might provide a 50% bonus up to a bonus of $1,000.  This means that if you deposit $3,000, you will only receive a $1,000.  That 50% bonus has now become a 30% bonus.

When you are opening an account, make sure your deposit amount will not exceed the maximum bonus that the sportsbook will give you.

F the Sign Up Bonus

That’s how I feel about a bonus.

Forget it!

In such a chaotic industry, you should be looking for a solid, well established sportsbook that will pay you your winning when you ask.  While it is nice to receive free money to bet, it doesn’t last forever and is only a small part of your lifetime bankroll.

Instead of looking for instant gratification in the form of a sign up bonus, consider the long-term.

Many sportsbooks offer player rewards – just like a brick and mortar casino. Players reward points are earned on every bet that is made for the life of the account and can be cashed in for merchandise, tournament entries, cash, etc.

Another feature you should be looking for are free contests.  While most sportsbooks offer free contests throughout the year, you can enjoy even more by opening an account through a third party affiliate.

While it is true that many sportsbook affiliates are only in it for the money and don’t care about the service you receive, there are some that have built strong relationships with sportsbooks and offer an extra service to their players such as a free contest, extra bonuses and much more.

Because of the relationships that I have built, I often offer bonuses that you can’t find at the sportsbook’s website and also have FREE contests sponsored by these same sportsbooks.

If you are looking for more than just the regular sign-up bonus, I suggest you check out my JustBet.  I only promote sportsbooks that I actually use and have build a strong relationship with JustBet and run contest throughout the year such as college and NFL Pick’ems and March Madness Brackets. These contests are completely free for anyone that opens a JustBet account by using Promo Code OOB.

You can open a new JustBet account by simply clicking here, but I suggest your read my personal review of JustBet : Just Bet Now at JustBet.

If you decide to open a new JustBet account, remember to email me your account number so I can put you on the list of eligible players and notify you when a new contest is about to start.  Just hit me up using the Contact Page.