As the top names in the UK market battle it out to provide the best betting sign up offers, we’ve taken a deep dive into what the top ones have in store and what separates the top ones from the chasing pack.
Betting Offers: Sign up and Free bets offers in the UK
For New Customers. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&C apply. See full T&C
18+. Bet £10 on any Bet Builder Min Odds 3/1 (4.00). Min 3 Selections. Free Bets will be split into 2 x £10 Free Bets to be used on any Bet Builder. T&C Apply. GambleAware.org
18+ New UK+ROI Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 5x £5 free bets. Free bets available to use on selected sportsbook markets only. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply.
18+ New Customers Only. Opt in and bet £10 (odds 2.00+) within 3 days of sign up. No cash-out. Get a £10 Free Bet (odds 2.0+), which expires in 5 days. Scroll down for T&Cs. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly
18+. Play Safe. From 00:01 on 18.10.2022. £30 bonus. New customers only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on sportsbook (excluding Virtual markets). Further terms apply. #ad
The Best Betting Offers – Our Top Picks
We’ve compiled the big household betting names in the UK and examined their current offers above. We’ve also rummaged through their terms and conditions and tried out each code to see how good it is in practice, some key features, and which ones we’d place in the top bracket.
Let's take a closer look at the cream of the crop among betting offers and understand why they are better than the rest.
1. Bet365 – the world’s favourite sports betting platform
As arguably the face of UK sports betting, Bet365 has a brand name and marketing strategy that has caused great admiration within the industry. It’s led to the CEO becoming one of the wealthiest women in the UK – and the company expanding into Australia, Mexico, India, and Canada.
Their Bet £10 Get £30 offer is something that has been around for at least a few years – it’s tried and tested, allowing free reign across the vast majority of their sportsbooks, plenty of time to use it (90 days once credited) – and allows you to cash out as long as the remaining stake value is the same as the Free Bet placed.
Just be sure to enter the 365MOLE code to utilise this promotion, as we believe it's one of the best betting offers on the market.
2. William Hill – A familiar name in the UK betting landscape
As with Bet365, William Hill’s sign up offer provides impressively low min bet odds of 1/5; both companies benefit from having a hugely recognisable name that now has international viability online. In terms of value and structure, William Hill and Bet365’s welcome offers are very similar, and are two of the best betting sign up offers there is.
One thing that does separate William Hill away from its key competitor is that they will often trial different versions of this and have recently pieced together welcome bonuses that include a £40 or £60 free bet alongside a £10 deposit. So they’re always looking for ways to try and close this ground.
3. Betfred – the market leader of the best free bet offers?
On the face of it – Betfred’s welcome bonus ticks many of the boxes as the best betting sign up offers currently on the UK market. It offers a 500% return in free betting credits, and the expiry date of 7 days is industry standard. One thing to be careful of is that it only applies to card payment methods; if you use Apple Pay, PayPal, bank transfer, etc., you will not qualify.
Their T&Cs are well structured on their site, and given their presence in the UK market since the mid-1960s, they’re a visible brand that people recognise. The betting credits are paid out as 3x£10 bets and 2x£10 accumulators.
Free bets, how do they work?
Businesses need some form of slippage, and one of the biggest cliches is that a business must spend money to make it back. Free bets embody that ethos for sports betting platforms.
Ultimately, they’re weighing the cost of offering free betting offers against the long-term potential of attracting new customers.
It’s a balancing act, especially for new providers, not so much the established names we’ve touched on, as they have bigger marketing budgets and a bit more leeway.
Free bets are a form of advertising. You get something for a cost-effective price, and the betting platform gets to show you around its site or app for free. That’s the whole foundation of how they work, and the best betting sign up offers embody this.
Difference between free bets and deposit bonuses
Deposit bonuses aim to supplement your initial deposit with free betting credits. This is the industry-wide approach, and it is by far the most common of the promotions you will encounter as a new customer.
The main difference is that deposit bonuses require you to put some of your own money in, and free bets are for simply registering with the site.
Other types of the best betting offers
While we’ve covered 10 of the prominent names in UK sports betting, this is the tip of the iceberg regarding the types of betting offers available in the market.
Platforms will hone in on the ones that yield the biggest influx of new customers. Here are the other types of the best sign up betting offers to look out for and a few elements they comprise.
Cashback offer
Cashback offers aim to provide some initial stake back even if your bet is unsuccessful. The only current example out of the selection we’ve been through today is the Star Sports Bet offer of getting up to 50% of your stake as a cashback when you place a £50 bet.
Other types of this offer vary, which you’ll usually find in casino bonuses moreso than sports betting promotions.
No deposit
These bonuses are rare but are considered the best betting sign up offers because you don't have to put down any of any cash. Usually, you will have to sign up, verify, and register for the best free bet offers no deposit promotions.
No deposit bonuses tend to have less scope than deposit bonuses, as the platform gives you something for free without expecting anything in return.
Still, they’re one of the most sought-after promotions, and as long as you look at the T&Cs, these are usually some of the best sign-up offers that betting companies offer.
Vital elements of betting offers
While all of the offers we’ve explored already have a lot to like – you may have noticed we’ve touched on the importance of terms and conditions.
It’s not in the best interest of any sports betting company to bury important terms or overuse jargon – and the best free bet sign up offers will ensure they're clearly signposted.
Minimum deposit
Usually, in sports betting, the minimum deposit and minimum bet amounts are interchangeable terms. It’s often detailed as part of the promo, so a £10 bet on Bet365 to get £30 bet credits – the minimum deposit is £10. Same with Ladbrokes and their bet £5, get £20 offer.
Any deposit less than this will mean you don’t qualify for the promotion. The best free bet offers will clearly label their minimum deposit as part of their advertising strategy.
Minimum odds
Each betting offer comes with minimum odds. Usually, this is around 2/1, but some offers lower the threshold to appeal to more customers. The current Bet365 offer we discussed involves a £10 bet on any sports market with odds of 1/5 (1.2) or higher.
If your bet falls under this, you will not qualify for the free betting credits, so it’s crucial to take this on board when you sign up.
Minimum bet amount
Again – much like minimum odds, a minimum bet is the smallest amount you can wager to qualify for the promotion. Usually, for sports bets, this is around £5. Ladbrokes Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets offer has a minimum bet amount of £5, as detailed in the title of the promotion.
The same applies to Bet365, Betano and William Hill’s current offers, too. The best betting offers will usually give this information upfront and ensure it is easy to find.
Expiry date
Another important component is the expiry date. You don’t want to sign up for a betting offer and come back to it the following day only to find it has expired. While this is rare, some bonuses include a 24-hour expiry.
From our experience, this can be the case with smaller providers. All of the big names we’ve touched on today range from between 3-7 days, but in the case of Bet365, once you have placed your qualifying bet, you have up to 90 days to claim the £30 in betting credits – again, always check the expiry to avoid this potential disappointment.
Wagering requirements
In sports betting, wagering requirements are usually covered by the minimum betting amount and minimum odds. If you tick these boxes, you have met the criteria to claim your free bets.
If the sportsbook offer includes an additional promotion for free spins, this is where you’ll most commonly encounter wagering requirements. It’s detailed as a multiplier – such as 30x or 40x.
Available markets
Sports betting companies often allow you to use your betting credits across various sporting markets.
Although some might have specific promotions for a tournament like the Euros or the World Cup, it’s counterproductive to get you on board and then tell you that you can only use your promotion for one game.
Best new customer betting offers – Latest promotions
Although sports betting platforms will use their main offer to bring in new customers, there will be limited-time offers that aim to take advantage of specific tournaments that are capturing national interest. The most obvious recent example is the Euros, where Ladbrokes, William Hill, and Coral offered specific Euros-based best betting offers.
Betano went one better and aligned themselves as the betting sponsor of the whole tournament, and they had extensive offers available to welcome new customers. This is mirrored through other tournaments, too, including the World Cup, the Super Bowl, the Grand National, and the Rugby World Cup—to name a few. Ultimately, the idea is to capitalise on the trending markets and bring in sports betting fans who are partial to following these big tournaments.
Best free bet offers and bang for your buck
Out of the 10 sign-up offers we explored, Betfred offers the highest amount of free bet: £50 for your initial £10 deposit. It’s not paid out as a straight betting credit of that value, but they rarely are.
The 3x£10 bets and 2x£10 accumulators all focus on the sports betting markets, so it’s not like some operators that will say you’re getting X amount and end up paying it in free casino spins or on select markets only.
On the whole, it’s one of the best sign up betting offers available to UK customers.
The best betting sign up offers – Sportsmole's pick
Out of all the promotions we’ve explored today, it’s difficult to decide on one. The truth is, at least half of the ten we looked at could have a strong case – we’d say, though, out of all the options, it’s Bet365.
Their offer includes £30 of betting credits on any of their sports betting markets. While all of the others we touched on include a cluster of popular sports, Bet365 proves why they’re consistently named as the best betting sign up offers online.
All their sports markets are included in their betting credits; you can use the free bets in any denomination you want – including sixty-50 pence bets if the mood strikes you.
The minimum odds of 1/5 and having 90 days to use your betting credits help Bet365 stand out. While the other bonuses have high points and positives, the best free bet offers UK customers can currently take advantage of are Bet365 and Betfred.
Summary of the best betting offers – Other notable free bets
Betano
It’s not easy to challenge some of the names we’ve discussed today, but Betano is doing the right things. The Betano sign-up offer mirrors Bet365 and William Hill’s, and given their significant inroads into sports partnerships with the Euros 2024 & several elite clubs in Europe, they’re following a blueprint set out by early industry pioneers in a bid to attract some of the UK markets to their site.
You can only use Apple Pay or debit cards to qualify; placing your bet within three days is one of the shortest time windows out of the entire list – so while it might not rank amongst the best betting offers, there’s a lot worse out there.
Ladbrokes
With the smallest minimum deposit, Ladbrokes allows new customers to get £20 free bets for a £5 deposit, immediately placing it among the best new customer betting offers.
Again, be careful with this one, as several payment methods do not qualify: Prepaid Cards, Moneybookers, Paypal, Paysafe, Neteller, or Skrill are all excluded. It’s also paid out in 4 separate amounts of £5 rather than a £20 betting credit, which is also something to be mindful of.
Coral
As the UK's oldest active sports betting company, Coral has more than 300+ locations nationwide. Since 2016, the company has been owned by Ladbrokes, which went through a corporate takeover and restructured the business, which is why the welcome promotion is virtually the same.
With the Coral sign up offer, prepaid cards, Moneybookers, InstantBank, Paypal, Paysafe, Neteller, and Skrill are not accepted and must be used within seven days. Coral is known to offer some of the best free bet offers and often mixes them up to attract new customers.
Planet Sport Bet
Names like Betano and Planet Sport Bet are less familiar with UK betting customers than William Hill or Bet365. While Planet Sport Bet deserve credit for having several varying promotions for existing customers, their welcome offer is at the bottom of the pile in terms of value.
It's not a bad offer compared to bookmakers of the same size. We just wouldn't classify it as one of the best free bet offers. However, the £10 free bet for a £20 deposit doesn’t measure up well against the premium operators. The bet must be placed within 24 hours of sign up, too, which is, again, a small timeframe.
StarSports
We’d mirror the same opinions with StarSports as with Planet Sport Bet. While their platforms are both easy to use and involve predominantly the same markets as all of the other big platforms on our list, the cashback bonus of up to 50% of your stake is a cashback when you place a £50 bet isn’t really comparable in terms of value to any of the other promotions we’ve looked at.
The best free bet offers should provide value at the foundation of their promotion, but to place a £50 only to get up to £25 maximum back – we’d put it toward the lower end of our list.
SBK
SBK’s promotion is slightly different from the rest of the sign up offers we’ve explored. New customers must register for their app, and the initial deposit must be via card or bank transfer. We can’t criticise the speed or efficiency of the site once you tick these boxes, though.
However, it goes through a staggered payout of £10 in free bets upon settlement, another £10 after 24 hours with a further £5 Horse Racing Multiple tokens, and a £5 Football Bet Builder token credited after 48 hours.
It’s not the worst, but it's also not the best free bet sign-up offers we have looked at today. It feels overthought, unlike the Betfred offer, which is just £30 on any sportsbook and £20 on two accumulators – much simpler.
BetVictor
Deposits from any method other than Debit Cards or Apple Pay payments do not qualify for the BetVictor bet and exclude virtual markets. While the value of the bet is decent enough, it’s paid out in 4 separate amounts.
It consists of 2 x £5 accumulator betting credits and 2 x £5 free bets on any sports betting market. The seven-day expiry is the industry average.
Latest Betting Offers
