Online sports betting

What is a sports betting bonus?

A sports betting bonus is a promotional offer provided by sportsbooks to attract new customers or reward existing ones. These bonuses typically come in various forms, such as:

1. Deposit bonuses: Sportsbooks may offer to match a portion of a player's initial deposit, effectively giving them extra funds to wager with.

2. Free bets: Some sportsbooks provide customers with free bet credits that can be used to place bets without risking their own money.

3. Risk-free bets: This type of bonus refunds a player's stake if their first bet loses, up to a certain amount.

4. Odds boosts: Sportsbooks may offer enhanced odds on certain bets, increasing the potential payout for winning wagers. 

5. Loyalty rewards: Existing customers may receive bonuses based on their betting activity, such as free bets or cashback offers.

Overall, sports betting bonuses are designed to incentivize customers to sign up, deposit, and continue betting with a particular sportsbook by providing added value and potential rewards.

Main types of sports bets

Most team sports, such as football, basketball, hockey, and baseball betting, typically offer four fundamental types of bets:

1. Moneylines - Moneyline bets are straightforward wagers on which team will win the game outright, regardless of the margin of victory. Each team is assigned odds, with a minus sign (-) indicating the favorite and a plus sign (+) indicating the underdog. For example, if Team A has odds of -150, it means you need to bet $150 to win $100, whereas if Team B has odds of +200, a $100 bet would yield $200 in winnings if Team B wins.
2. Spreads - Spread bets, also known as point spread or handicap bets, involve betting on the margin of victory rather than just the outcome. One team is designated as the favorite, indicated by a minus sign (-), while the other is the underdog, marked with a plus sign (+). The favorite must win by a certain number of points (the spread) for the bet to pay out, while the underdog can lose by less than the spread or win outright for the bet to win.
3. Totals - Total bets, also referred to as over/under bets, involve predicting the combined score of both teams in a game. Oddsmakers set a total score, and bettors can wager whether the actual combined score will be over or under that predetermined total. For instance, if the total for a basketball game is set at 200 points, bettors can bet on whether the total points scored by both teams will be over or under 200.
4. Parlays - Parlay bets involve combining multiple individual bets into a single wager. Bettors can select two or more teams, spreads, totals, or a combination thereof, and all selected outcomes must win for the parlay bet to pay out. Parlays offer potentially higher payouts than individual bets but are riskier since all components must win for the bet to be successful.