August and September are usually exciting times for sports fans.
If you are an American football fan or soccer fan, then you have new campaigns to look forward to in competitions like the NFL, NCAAF college football, and, of course, top-rated soccer competitions like the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and La Liga.
The period is also a busy one for sportsbooks, as they know that there is renewed interest in betting on these competitions, especially for futures markets like the Super Bowl or Premier League title.
Those sportsbooks also tend to ramp up the promotional offers at this time of year in a bid to attract new customers.
Arguably, sports bettors aren’t just as discerning as casino players when hunting bonuses and promos. The latter will certainly look for casino bonuses and sign-up offers before choosing a platform, whereas sports bettors might be more driven by looking for a particular market or searching for value in the odds.
Nevertheless, with so many sports betting promos available at this time of year, we thought we’d come up with a few guidelines – dos and don’ts – to help you think about getting value:
Be Wary of Odds Boosts
Odds Boosts are effectively bigger-than-usual prices for certain things to happen, and they are much more frequently offered before a new season.
For example, you might get an odds boost for Josh Allen to be MVP or Real Madrid to win the Champions League. Now, there is nothing wrong with taking that bet if you think it will actually happen.
The problem lies in betting on something you weren’t sold on in the first place due to the fact the odds are bigger. In short, the use of the promo must remain in line with your original strategy.
You Can Hedge Your (Free) Bets
Let’s take another hypothetical. Say you fancied the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills to make the next Super Bowl, but couldn’t decide between the two.
Well, a lot of sportsbook sign-up promos involve receiving a free bet token, often matching your initial bet.
So you can back both, essentially at half of the cost. Some take the art form of “matched betting” to the extreme, hunting for free bets across various platforms to create no-loss strategies, but this takes time and effort, and it can have some drawbacks.
But if you’re a casual bettor, getting two shots for the price of one is quite attractive.
Think About Where a Free Bet Has the Most Value
There’s an interesting mathematical point here without needing to get overly technical. A free bet usually doesn’t return to stake as part of the winnings.
That eats into any potential profits in small-odds bets, but you hardly notice when the bet has long odds.
As such, you need to weigh up the value proposition. The caveat, of course, is that the longshot bet is less likely to come in.
Treat the Promo As Real Money
As a continuation of the above, know that, as humans, we are hard-wired to think of promos like free bets as “not real money”.
Of course, it does make sense to think of it as a risk-free shot to nothing, but be aware that pro bettors tend to be less frivolous than that, thinking about the free bet as part of their strategy.
In simple terms, don’t just throw it away on something that has no chance of winning.
Watch for Loyalty/Existing-Customer Offers
A lot of bettors will go in to sign up for new platforms for a new season or at the beginning of a tournament (like the World Cup), but it is also worth remembering that sportsbooks will reward loyalty.
Shopping around may be good in the short term, but you might be better off in the long run by sticking with the same book, provided that they do, indeed, hand out generous promos from time to time.
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