Savvy gamblers have known for years that to maximize your gambling dollar, and you’ve got to find the freebies. Freebies come in a plethora of forms.

For casino gamblers, these may be free spins or various comps from free buffets to luxury suites.

Live Betting $25 Free Play - First-time live betting customers are eligible for a free $25 bet. If the wager wins, you have to bet 6x the bonus amount before your free play is cleared. You can only use the free play you earn on live betting wagers. $25 Horse Free Play - First-time racebook customers can earn a free $25 bet just for signing up. Bonuses Bovada offers a 50% signup bonus up to $250 and a bitcoin sports bonus of 50% up to $500 with a promo code. There is also a 100% match bonus eligible up to $1,000 and a bitcoin casino signup bonus of 150% match up to $1,500, both of which are redeemable up to three times. An online sportsbook bonus is exactly what it sounds like: an online sportsbook bonus! Essentially, bonuses are special perks you get for signing up or making fresh sports betting deposits with any legal sports betting website.

Michigan Lottery is the premier online lottery system in the country. They have taken a traditionally paper betting operation and gracefully turned it into a fun and engaging online platform. They also offer the top sign up bonus among their counterparts. New users received a free 50% bonus match up to $100 on their first deposit.

Bonuses can be as varied as the comps you find in brick and mortar casinos. The sports betting game is extraordinarily profitable, and the books want your money.

Luckily for you, the industry is also incredibly competitive. I’m going to show you the various ways online sports betting bonuses can stretch your gambling bankroll to its max.

Online Sportsbooks Want You

Every online sportsbook is going to use bonuses to lure you through their virtual doors. You should expect to have tons of promotions, bonus money, and various other freebies laid at your feet to draw you in as a new customer.

Existing customers are afforded many of the same luxuries, and if you put a lot of money into play, those luxuries may be better than new customers get.

I want to give you the skinny on all the things you need to know about online sports betting bonuses.

I’ll explain the different promotions and how they work. We’ll also look at how to ensure you’re receiving absolutely the best value for your gambling dollar.

You have bonuses coming from every direction at times, and it may be overwhelming.

Online sports bettors who understand where the best value is are putting themselves in a much more advantageous position for success.

If you are new to online betting or a grizzled veteran, you will undoubtedly benefit from the information I will provide you.

Let’s Be Clear About Bonuses

Before we take another step, I want to make something crystal clear.

Bonuses are amazing, and it’s basically free money.

Who doesn’t love free money?

That’s right, nobody.

However, it’s imperative that you not chase a bonus ahead of a better line offered by a competing sportsbook.

Winning is 100% more valuable to your bankroll than any bonuses you’ll receive. I have never come across a single bonus that provided near the value of merely winning.

I was recently faced with such a choice. One sportsbook I have used in the past was offering a decent money-back bonus on an event.

Yet, a competing sportsbook that I hadn’t ever used was offering an extra 1/2 point on the spread.

Bonuses are fantastic, but they’ll never be able to replace higher payouts or better odds.

You don’t want to lose a $100 bet by 1/2 a point and walk into the office the next day, bragging about your free hat.

Having said all of that, if you are offered the same line by multiple real money sportsbooks and 1 offers a free money bonus (or even a hat), take the free money.

Reducing the Vig

Reduced juice bets are some of the most popular bonuses you’ll see. They are also one of the best values you can get.

Sportsbooks take a percentage of bets as payment for bringing the action to the masses.

This percentage is referred to as the vig or the juice, among other terms.

Sportsbooks are looking to attract equal money on both sides of any particular event.

By doing this, it guarantees that no matter the outcome of the contest, they will make a profit.

Bonuses, where the sportsbook chooses to offer a better payout, is a reduced vig bonus. So, instead of betting $110 to win $100, you may be offered $105 to win $100.

The veteran sports bettors understand how significant that $5 can be when you’re betting $10,000 as opposed to $100.

$5 quickly becomes $500.

Savvy gamblers will not pass up an opportunity to lay money when the house reduces the juice. They know that you don’t have to win as often to make money when this is presented.

Typically, you’ll see this promotion offered for random games across a selection of different sports.

You can gain a tremendous advantage playing reduced vig bonuses.

Obviously, the reduced vig doesn’t do you any good if you still lose the bet.

The Deposit Bonus

The deposit bonus has become the industry standard for attracting new customers. Casinos, poker sites, and sportsbooks all embrace the deposit bonus.

Deposit bonuses are reasonably straightforward.

The sportsbook will match the amount of money you deposit with them. Usually, a percentage of your deposit is matched.

Think of it like your 401k, where your company matches a predefined percentage of your investments. Only you might get a 100% match from an online sportsbook.

The percentages that will be matched can vary greatly, and the dollar amounts are just as widely varying.

It is for this reason that you absolutely must read all the fine print associated with any bonus you choose to accept.

Without exception, there will be specific criteria that you will need to meet before you can ever manifest the bonus dollars into cold hard cash. If the online companies didn’t place these stipulations, people could simply create an account, deposit $200, and immediately withdraw $400.

If enough people logged in to simply get their free $200, the sportsbook would go bankrupt.

For the sports bettor that plans to be in the game long term, the deposit bonus is fantastic. Suppose you are more interested in making a small deposit and placing only a few bets before cashing out. The deposit bonus won’t be the best option for you.

The deposit bonuses are a driving force for new customers to online sports betting. Always be sure to read the terms and conditions of online casino bonuses carefully.

Top Bonus for Existing Customers

Reload bonuses are nearly identical to the deposit bonus, with the most significant difference being that these bonuses target existing customers.

Anybody that has taken even the most basic of business classes will know that it costs much less money to retain customers than it does to draw new customers to your business.

You can almost always find great bonuses if you are new to an online sportsbook. If you are on a rough losing streak or simply wanting to add funds to your account, you may find options are thin.

You can find sportsbooks online that will extend reload bonuses reasonably regularly, while many only offer this customer loyalty a few times a year. If you’re in the market to reload your account and don’t have any bonuses sitting in your inbox, I encourage you to contact the site’s customer service.

Free Bet Bonuses

Free bets have gained a lot of traction as a popular online sport betting bonus over the past several years. You are mostly going to find these at the more popular online sportsbooks.

Basically, the sportsbook will cover the first bet you place with them if you happen to lose. This is, of course, up to a certain dollar amount. Often it’s in the range of $10-$30.

When you see a free bet offer, you should always take the sportsbook’s offer. You’re playing with house money, so it’s a real win/win.

If your bet wins, that’s great. You don’t need a bonus. Yet, if you lose the bet, you are going to have a freebie waiting on you.

Conclusion

There are as many different types and variations of online sports betting bonuses as there are online sportsbooks. You may come across several versions of the bonuses I’ve covered for you here.

It’s just as likely you will come across something on the leading edge of sports betting marketing that I may have missed or simply doesn’t exist yet.

In summation, always read all terms and conditions of the bonus you’re receiving and never under any circumstances pass up a better line for a bonus.

Picking the best sportsbook sign-up bonus can be difficult as no two welcome bonus offers are exactly the same.

We’ve dug through the fine print and looked at the rollover requirements to figure out which are the best bonuses in the three categories most important for sports bettors: overall bonuses, highest maximum bonuses, and Bitcoin bonuses.

Read on for a catch-all guide on the best sportsbook bonuses.

Overall Best Bonuses

When deciding which sportsbooks have the best overall sign-up sportsbook bonuses, we analyze the all bonuses offered, in addition to the terms and conditions they are subject to. In short, we look at the bigger picture.

To come up with our list of the best overall bonuses, we made sure that both the benefits and restrictions, taken together, made our top picks superior to those offered by competing sportsbooks. In short, we selected the sign-up bonus offers that are greater than the sum of their parts.

On all bonuses, sportsbooks impose a wagering requirement, also known as “rollover.” This refers to the amount of money you have to bet at your sportsbook before you can withdraw your bonus funds. For more information on rollover, check out our guide on all things related to bonuses.

Most frequently, the higher the dollar amount of the bonus, the higher the rollover requirements. The smaller the bonus, the smaller the rollover rate will be. With this in mind, the best overall sportsbook bonuses above have lower rollover requirements than the bonuses for bigger deposits below.

Best Sportsbook Bonuses for Large Deposits

his list ranks sportsbook sign-up bonuses for people putting high dollar amounts into their betting accounts. This is arguably the biggest incentive to join a sportsbook, and an important factor if you’re looking to make a big splash in the world of sports betting.

Sign-Up Bonuses are sometimes called Welcome Bonuses or Initial Deposit Bonuses. These are all the same and refer to bonuses for new players.

Best Bonuses for Bitcoin Deposits

Many sportsbooks now accept Bitcoin as a payment method. Using Bitcoin is just as advantageous for you as it is for your sportsbook. As a result, many sportsbooks are offering Bitcoin-specific bonuses to incentivize their bettors to use the digital currency.

Bitcoin bonuses mainly come in the form of deposit bonuses and reload bonuses. In both cases, Bitcoin bonuses will be a significantly higher percentage of your deposit. This applies either at sign-up or when you re-up.

Online Sports Betting Free Sign Up Bonus

We look at the bigger picture when assessing Bitcoin bonuses. We factor in in the dollar amount, types of bonuses, and rollover rates that come with Bitcoin bonuses. In addition, we consider how many restrictions, if any, are placed on the types of sports bets you can make with your Bitcoin.

Online Sports Betting Promotions

If you are looking for more than what’s available in the lists above, check out our dedicated page that lists 100% sportsbook sign-up bonuses.

Online Sports Betting Bonus

There are a whole host of factors you have to consider in the process of picking the best bonus for you. A first-time bettor has many different considerations than a seasoned “sharp.” Always factor in your unique sports betting goals and what sportsbook suits your needs when choosing a bonus.