Betting online can be very lucrative, thanks in part to the bonuses bookmakers offer. But you must understand that there are always clearing conditions attached. You’ll need to meet these before you can withdraw the bonus money, usually, but in some cases even before you can bet with it!
Expiry Dates
Some bookmakers’ bonuses expire if they’re not used and cleared within a certain amount of time. This is why it’s so important to read the Terms & Conditions attached to any offer. You need to be sure you can meet all the demands timeously.
Minimum Deposit Requirements
All sportsbooks will have a minimum deposit in place that you’ll have to meet to receive the bonus. This can be small, AU$20, or high, AU$300, and anything in between. Always find out what this is before you try to trigger your reward because you may end up losing it altogether.
Rollover or Clearing Requirements
Let’s say that a bookmaker, X, requires that the bonus be rolled over three times before you can withdraw anything. If you’d deposited AU$100 and received AU$100 thanks to the bonus, then you would have to place bets worth AU$600 to meet the clearing requirement.
The Most Popular Bonus Types
Risk-Free wagers refer to offers where you won’t have to pay any losses if your first stake is unsuccessful. Your account will get credited with a bonus bet to the value of the amount of your first bet.
Free wagers live separately from your first wager, so you might get the offer in the form of a 100% Free stake up to AU$500, getting a second bet for nothing up to the value of the first wager you make. So, let’s say you deposit AU$500 after opening your new account at the X sportsbook. You then bet AU$500 on the Baggy Greens to beat the Black Caps. You will then get a bonus wager in your account for the same amount, although processing may take 24 hours.
Whatever happens with your Baggy Greens stake, your bonus bet will still be available. So, if you win your wager at -110, you’ll end up with AU$954 in your account.
Match Deposit offers are very similar to the free wagers but are more flexible. The sportsbook promises to credit your account by the same amount that you first deposit, within limits which you’ll see defined in the Terms & Conditions. So if you make AU$400 available in a 100% Match Deposit offer up to AU$400, you’ll start off with AU$800 in your new account.
The No Deposit free stake is a mighty fine offer, but increasingly rare these days. It’s usually extended on condition that you’ve registered for and obtained a real money account that is valid and has been verified and may rely on your signing up for emails or similar.
Once you’ve registered, the bookmaker will credit your account with the amount outlined in the offer. These kinds of freebies are generally smaller, but welcome nonetheless, and come in amounts between AU$5 and AU$25.