Getting free bet offers out of the bookies

Many people have asked me what to do with the free bet offers they see from bookmakers. There are so many rules, so many catches - they just get
lost looking around.

You know, there are free bet sites everywhere - and most of them are run for the profit of those owners. Not many of them will say what you have to do when you have already signed up and opened an account.

That's what I do - I have worked with bookies for years and I know their tricks! They want to get you involved, get you betting and take as much of your money as possible. Well, isn't that their job at the end of the day? A few examples:

Bookmaker A has a 10 pound free bet offer

"Well I never. 10 pound free in my account. I'll have some of that."

Hold your horses. Bookie A - no names here! - is giving you a 10 pound free bet if you sign up, open an account and bet 10 pound exactly. You won't get the stake money on your free bet.

So, if you bet on - erm - Liverpool to beat Torquay, you get 10 pound + 1 pound at 1/10. This will happen 10 times out of 10, so you have 1 pound in your account + your free bet of 10 pound (your original stake).

So now - if you want to place that, on say Chelsea to beat Dagenham and Redbridge - you can't. The odds are too low - you must bet EVENS at least. So what are you meant to do now?

Look for a longer shot that provides value. You'll often find this in horse racing - a horse at EVENS in a mid-sized field has a better chance than a football team at EVENS because football is a terrible betting market. Your free bet is safer with an EVENS horse than an EVENS football team!

Bookmaker B has 25 pounds worth of free bets in a 'basket'.
"Woohoo - a basket of free bets. I'll never be poor again!"

Sorry. These bets are very often staged across several weeks - depending on how often you bet. There are triggers so if you bet fifty quid you get a free bet of 5, and then have to wait until you have bet a total of 10 pound0 until you get another 5 pound free bet. And so on and so on.

We don't work with this bookie as their free bets take forever to come in. It wasn't worth our time at all as we aren't the types to splurge big money all the time. We wait until a good one comes along.

Which bookmakers are the best for free bet offers? Visit our website, the Free Bet Bookmaker, and you'll find a handful of bookmakers that have simple offers that won't see you waste your money. Go for Paddy Power,
Ladbrokes, Coral and Betfair and you'll be safe.

The last of those - Betfair - is unique in that you bet against each other. So you may find better odds on here. Beware, the minimum bet is four pounds.

Paddy Power have a great double your money free bet too, but they don't let you keep the 20 pound stake so bet wisely if you're going to take that one.

What other things should I consider?

Don't go mad! You need a bank card, and you need to be over 18 of course. Don't use Moneybookers accounts as they are now banned due to unscrupulous scammers getting free bets galore out of them. Not clever.

And don't spend your life savings. It's not worth it. You will make some good money - not loads - but good money if you follow our advice.