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UK focussed bookmakers are among the most generous in the world when it comes to rewarding their loyal players and it certainly pays to stick around for the long term. The welcome deals may not be as tempting as you’ll find in mainland Europe for example but those regular offers are going to be tough to beat.
Naturally there are some exceptions but the initial account bonuses from British Bookmakers are relatively modest. Over at Coral for example, you open that account with £5.00 and get an additional 4 free bets at that same £5.00 level.
Elsewhere, William Hill’s opening deal promises a 200% match on your first deposit but it is also capped at that relatively low ceiling of £20.00. Ladbrokes are considerably better with their welcome bonus of £50.00 and there are certainly exceptions to this general rule but even the newer players keep that initial deal at a lower level.
So, if you’re looking for a new operator then you may be swayed by the 100 Euro deals that some mainland European bookies quote as a welcome. But, you need to do your research here to see if those providers can match UK firms when it comes to loyalty.
Virtually every UK bookmaker offers some form of promotion tied to accumulator bets and this can come in two distinct forms. Firstly, there are the insurance deals where you could claim a refund if just one leg of your multiple lets you down and once again, William Hill provide a very good example of this.
Hill’s Acca Insurance is specific to football and you can pick at least six selections. If one fails to win then your stake is refunded as a free bet. That’s very typical of the insurance deals on offer although some bookies, such as Coral, offer a little more room when it comes to losses.
Coral’s Super Acca Insurance promo also requires you to pick at least six selections but depending on how many bets you take, you can suffer up to three losses and still receive a refunded bet.
The other form of accumulator deal gives an enhancement on your returns. These can be very lucrative but they are rarer and they require all your selections to win.
In the main, this type of accumulator bonus / insurance may be restricted to the football and tennis markets but there are exceptions and regular NFL offers can appear during the American Football season.
As we’ve already seen, many of these UK bookmaker promotions centre around football. Some follow a common theme and are similar wherever you go while some are far more innovative and may be exclusive to a particular operator.
Refunded bets in the event of a 0-0 draw is quite a common promo: William Hill call it Bore Draw Insurance while at bet365 it’s Bore Draw Money Back* but the two offers are almost the same. Place a bet in selected markets on games in certain leagues and if the match finishes goalless then you can claim a refund by way of a risk free bet.
*Bore Draw Money Back
Refund for any Soccer game that finishes 0-0 at bet365.
Applies to losing pre-match bets on any Correct Score, Half-Time/Full-Time or Scorecast markets. Bet restrictions and T&Cs apply. New and eligible customers only.
One bookie who does look for something out of the ordinary is Betfred and their Double Delight / Hat Trick Heaven is a popular option. With this promotion, you stake in the first goal scorer betting and if your winning selection goes on to score two or three goals, you can get a boost on your returns.
Goal scorer betting has been popular for decades now and was one of the very first side bets, way before the internet came around and this is another area where UK bookies may concentrate their offers.
While many mainland European operators keep clear of horse racing, UK bookies actively promote it. After all, this is where betting really began so it’s no surprise to see it thriving in Great Britain.
A number of bookmakers, including William Hill and Coral will offer a best odds guarantee where they promise to match the best price for an event. This could also apply to greyhound racing which is very popular in the UK.
Elsewhere, some bookmakers allow you to use an Acca Insurance offer on horse racing while others are a touch more creative. Over at Betway you can claim a free bet refund on losing bets when the race winner is priced at 10/1 or more – a similar promo used by 888sport on occasions.
UK bookmakers can sometimes be slow to embrace sports that are popular in the US but when the NFL season starts there is always a selection of offers to be found. As we’ve already seen, William Hill promote an Acca Insurance deal and there can be similar promos from 888sport, Winner Sports and others.
Tennis can also be heavily featured and this could be a bonus for those in mainland Europe where the sport is arguably more popular than it is in the UK. Acca Insurances are typical but there can be extra promotions introduced whenever a Grand Slam event is taking place.
Golf offers can also centre around the four majors – the Open, The Masters, The US Open and the USPGA – while the Biannual Ryder Cup is also a huge focus for British Bookies.
Cricket also gets some coverage and although those outside of the UK may not have much interest in the actual sport, there is some value to be found when the big tournaments come along. The same can be said for rugby union and rugby league: whenever a major event comes around, there should be a choice of generous bookmaker promotions.
That gives a good round up of the types of free bet offers that you will find from UK bookmakers but be sure to keep following the news updates to see just who is offering what at any particular time.
Welcome bonuses are quickly used up but ongoing promotions can be there for the life of your account so if you are a regular player, it pays to compare and contrast in order to get the best value.
If you’re only looking to sign up with two or three UK bookmakers then it’s even more important to look for the best value. For many, they define that value by the offers that the bookie provides although you should also look for the strongest odds in your preferred sport.
Welcome bonuses can be similar although there are exceptions but once those initial deals have come and gone, there are ongoing promotions to consider. Here’s where it really pays to do your research because these offers can be for the life of your account. You should also consider what type of promotion you want and once you’ve narrowed that information down, it’s time to make a decision.
Here are some typical offers that UK bookmakers provide with a rough guide to how they compare.
If you like to place multiple bets then the good news is that most bookies provide some form of incentive for accumulator punts. But what exactly are you looking for?
Accumulator deals usually take two separate forms: Firstly, there are the insurance deals which will typically refund your stake if one leg fails to land while others will boost your profits if all your selections come in.
Ladbrokes publish a good example of the insurance deal: Here, you can pick five legs and if one lets you down then you can reclaim a free bet token up to £25. An important thing to note is that many of these accumulator deals relate to football bets only and this Ladbrokes promo is one of those.
Within that restriction, you will also have to pick games from certain leagues although Ladbrokes is one of the more generous as you can select from domestic leagues in England, Scotland, Spain, France and many more.
William Hill’s Acca Insurance Offer is very similar but here you have to pick a minimum of six selections before you can qualify. These are the small changes in terms and conditions that can make a big difference
There are exceptions to the football only rule: Unibet are one of a selection of bookies who will let you pick from anywhere in the sportsbook, but in general, these are for football and horse racing. Others bring them in for the NFL American Football season – William Hill and 888sport are two examples of this.
The second form of Acca promotion will give you a bonus if all your selections drop. OK so these will not reduce your exposure but there is some seriously good extra money to be earned under some of these deals.
MansionBet are a great all-round UK bookie when it comes to welcome bonuses, ongoing offers and value for money prices so their Acca Boost Offer can earn a mighty 60% for 15+ correct picks.
Elsewhere, Winner Sports offer a 50% boost on accumulator profits for anyone picking 14 correct bets.
There are similar things to watch for with this type of deal: who offers the highest level of bonuses and how many winning picks do you need to land? Also, check the entry points as some bookies will offer a profit enhancement for a minimum of 3 picks while others will extend this to 4.
If you like your horse racing then the best odds guarantee schemes are good news and it seems as though every major UK operator has their own version of this system. Essentially, if you pick a horse ante post and its SP price is higher, then the bookie will pay out on the longer set of odds.
You would think, therefore, that there is no advantage to picking one bookie ahead of the others but you still need to find the ones that give you the best ante post prices across the horse racing calendar. This may differ depending on the type of race but in general, the likes of William Hill, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power are always strong.
Individual goal scorer markets in football were among the first crop of side bets and they remain very popular in the digital age. As a result, a lot of current promotions centre around this type of punt.
Perhaps the most well-known is the Double Delight Hat Trick Heaven offer which is published by Betfred. With this deal, if your first goal scorer bet wins then you get price boosts if he finds the net again. For two goals, Betfred will double the profit and then treble it if he scores a hat trick.
Elsewhere, William Hill have an interesting second chance offer whereby, if your chosen player is substituted, your bet will then transfer to the sub.
Like the accumulator promotions, this type of offer is a mix of profit boosts and second chance, insurance deals so decide what you really want and then go for it.
Many other football promos are quite similar: bet365 are, for example, one of a number of bookies who publish ‘Bore Draw’ deals* which will refund your money in certain markets if a match finishes as a goalless draw.
*Bore Draw Money Back
Refund for any Soccer game that finishes 0-0 at bet365.
Applies to losing pre-match bets on any Correct Score, Half-Time/Full-Time or Scorecast markets. Bet restrictions and T&Cs apply. New and eligible customers only.
It’s hard to be unique but there is value to be had if you research and see what offers suit your style of betting.