Call it the golden days of legalized sports betting.
Right after the repeal of PASPA, the major national retail sportsbooks, in need of customers, basically purchased them via an incentive campaign centered around free bets and matching deposits.
Those were +EV opportunities for bettors. They got a chance to wager legally on sports and kicked it off with significant deposit bonuses and plenty of free $5 to $20 credits added to their accounts.
Before anyone takes on some high-roller persona and scoffs at those relatively small amounts for free bets, let’s acknowledge that very few people would walk right past a $20 bill lying on the ground without picking it up.
A steady stream of rewards shaped the perceptions of a new generation who were wagering on sports for the first time. They came to expect the books handing out freebies, a far different experience from the past.
Nobody was walking into the Stardust circa 1982 and asking the gruff employee behind the ticket counter what free bets were being passed out that day.
Since free bets developed into a commodity associated with wagering with the national books, we wanted to gauge their current status in a maturing market.
Word of mouth
The introduction of bonus bets and related perks became one of the best marketing tools in the legal era according to Alexander Piskopos, an industry veteran who went from the bookmaking side to a career as a professional bettor.
“Free bets definitely enticed a number of novice bettors,” said the Canada-based podcaster known on social media as RiskyPisky. “Who doesn’t like ‘free’ money?”
He added: “The sharing of all the referral codes and sign-up bonuses for both parties meant the sportsbooks didn’t even have to spend on advertising. It was just one novice bettor recruiting another.”
It was a quasi-pyramid marketing strategy that worked out well for the books.
Sign-up bonuses and referrals are still around years later, but the fine print for them has changed.
For example, FanDuel requires new customers to make a $5 initial bet to get back $250 in bonuses if that -500 or lower wager wins. Same policy for DraftKings, but the return on the initial $5 bet is $200 in bonuses. BetMGM and Fanatics are going with the bet-insurance route for the opening wager.
Free is good
Even though a bettor like Doug Tuttle regularly makes wagers far larger than $5-$10, he came to rely on achieving bonus bets to then turn them into useful bullets.
“I like getting those smaller free bets, regardless of the amount, ” said the Virginia-based Tuttle, a recreational bettor who treats it like more than just a hobby. “I use them on future props, and just a couple bucks can lower my exposure. They let me play some longshots without risk.”
Free bets are one of the reasons Matt Haney finds himself spending so much time scrolling through his apps. The financial services professional calls free bets very important to his betting strategy.
“I use them on futures or moneyline underdogs around +250 or higher because I would be less likely to use my own cash on plays like that.”
Backing off
Perhaps it’s like what those during the Gold Rush era or the dot-com boom felt, but as more consumers enter a market, the opportunities first enjoyed by the early adopters tend to dissipate.
“I definitely see a decrease in the bonuses,” said Tuttle. “They used to be really common, not so much now. The bonus bets are extremely low and typically tied to some sort of low-percentage parlay play.”
Another active recreational bettor, John Lund, has also observed fewer free bets sent his way.
“I don’t think I’ve had a free bet opportunity the entire football season, at least not since the start of it when they try and reel new people in,” said Lund, who works as a radio producer. “This at least on DraftKings, which I use the most.”
Lund bemoaned the current state of perks offered by the books by noting that the so-called “free bets” being offered are usually just getting the original wager back after a multi-leg parlay fails to cash.
“In general, the profit boost and free bet options are drastically down compared to years ago, along with the max limits for those promos.”
Market watch
In order to find some tangible data regarding the current state of bonus bets and incentives, I tracked the promos for DraftKings, FanDuel, and theScore Bet from Dec. 10-12 in New Jersey.
DraftKings and FanDuel were used because they present bonuses to their national customers, while theScore Bet was included because it is currently undertaking a new marketing campaign after rebranding from ESPN Bet.
12/10 promos
DraftKings:
- (2) 20% boost on same game parlay (SGP); max bet: $20
- 20% profit boost any sport; max bet: $5
- 20% 4-leg SGP boost for college basketball; max bet: $20
- 20% 4-leg SGP Champions League; max bet: $20
- 30% 3-leg SGP NHL; max bet: $10
FanDuel:
- Choice between 50% profit boost for 3-leg SGP for NBA Cup game OR 2 25% profit boosts for any NBA Cup games; max bet: $10
- 30% profit boost on 3-leg parlay for college basketball; max bet: $10
- 30% profit boost on 3-leg parlay for any soccer match; max bet: $10
- 30% profit boost for college football playoff futures bet; max bet: $10
- 30% profit boost for World Cup futures bet; max bet: $10
- 25% profit boost on 3-leg SGP for NFL Thursday night game; max bet: $10
theScore Bet:
- 30% profit boost for 4-leg parlay AND 20% profit boost for 3-leg parlay for any soccer match; max bet: $5
- $10 bonus bet after wagering $50 on live Champions League matches (-200)
- $10 bonus bet for 4 $10 4-leg parlays for any sport (-500)
- $5 bonus bet after wagering $25 on live NBA games (-200)
12/11 promos (not including those previously listed)
DraftKings:
- 30% profit boost on 3-leg SGP NFL Thursday night game (+300); max bet: $10
- 20% profit boost for any sport; max bet: $5
- 30% profit boost any live TD NFL Thursday night game
FanDuel:
- 25% profit boost on 3-leg parlay for NHL (+100); max bet: $10
theScore Bet:
- 40% SGP for NFL Thursday night game (+400); max bet: $50
- $2/$4 bonus bets if Dallas Goedert, Romeo Doubs, or Davante Adams score a TD
- $10 bonus bet if a 4-leg SGP NFL bet loses (+400)
- 20% profit boost on 3-leg parlay for college basketball; max bet: $50
- 30% and 20% on 4-leg or 3-leg NHL parlay, respectively (+300/+400); max bet: $50
- $10 bonus bet if a $10 first goal scorer in NHL game loses
- +200 boost (from +150) if either Bucky Irving or Bijan Robinson register 150+ rushing or receiving yards in Thursday night game
12/12 promos (not including those previously listed)
DraftKings:
- 25% profit boost on 4-leg SGP NBA (+300); max bet: $20
- 20%-105% boost on 4-11 leg parlay college basketball (each leg -400); max bet: $10
- 30% profit boost for Arizona-Alabama college basketball (-200); max bet: $10
- 30% 3-leg parlay for NFL Sunday night game (+300); max bet: $5
FanDuel:
- Bet-back token for NBA (-200); max bet: $5
- 5% profit boost 2-leg parlay college basketball; max bet: $10
- 30% profit boost on Indiana-Kentucky or Arizona-Alabama college basketball; max bet: $10
- 30% profit boost 3-leg parlay soccer; max bet: $10
theScore Bet:
- 50% profit boost 3-leg SGP (+300) Army-Navy football; max bet: $10
- 20% profit boost parlay (+300) UFC; max bet: $10
- $5 bonus bet after wagering $25 on live NBA (-200)
- $5 bonus bet after wagering $20 parlay college football and basketball (+300)
- 20% profit boost 3-leg parlay (+300) college basketball
More for less
Though the above was admittedly a sample taken over a short period of time, it’s notable that there were no free bets available and an overwhelming amount of the bonuses were tied to multi-leg parlays — as Tuttle and Lund had observed.
To contextualize how the tone of how bonuses offered to customers seems to be changing, a four-leg parlay with each leg coming in at -110 creates an overall win probability just over 6%.
In a way these are bonuses in the books’ favor — they keep the cash on the original wager and return a bet with less fungibility and something that will likely be used for longer shots, a play less likely to win long term.
These less-rewarding bonuses won’t deter many bettors, according to Risky Pisky. He believes the betting public is more swayed by what can be given to them and cares less about the math.
“I think newer bettors are very illiterate when it comes to odds in general,” he said. “Rookies just want to bet on teams, and they are usually unaware or don’t even care that Sportsbook A has 5 percent better odds than Sportsbook B.”
While someone such as Haney, who works in finance, is certainly aware of odds, he sometimes takes the bait and makes a decision on where to wager based on bonuses, not optimal numbers.
“I’m drawn to free bets and probably could shop around for better odds, but my feeling is if free bets are being offered, then it makes up for slightly better odds that I would use my own cash on.”
Changing lanes
These new waves of bonuses indicate an evolution taking place in the market. As would be expected, the invisible hand of the books continues to guide bettors along the way.
When the likes of DraftKings and FanDuel first hit the market, they wanted to attract customers and then quickly get rid of any of their preconceived notions about sports betting.
Free and easy bonuses have an effective way of quickly changing mindsets.
Now, as sports betting has become part of the cultural landscape, the next step for the books is to have these loyal customers act in a way the books find most advantageous.
And that is to have them latch on to parlays — particularly single-game parlays.
The numbers show that when parlays dominate the action, the books do most of the winning.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported that 72.5% of sportsbook revenue in the state during 2024 came from parlays.
Diminishing returns
After talking to these bettors regarding their observations of fewer bonuses coming their way, it led to some additional insight on the overall relationship players have with the books.
“All of a sudden it seems like my promos have dropped, and when they are there, it’s with a lot of bells and whistles,” said Lund. “Then my max bets have dropped. I’m not sure if they ever did, but it seems like the books don’t care about recreational bettors anymore.
“It’s funny to me they reward the people spending hundreds or thousands of dollars with free bets and incentives, because you’d imagine those people are betting daily, regardless. You’d think the more average betters would get more promos to try and keep them around.”
Tuttle offered similar sentiments.
“There seems to be a lot more strings attached with any bonuses, like MGM will give deposit bonuses occasionally, but it has a short expiration date,” said Tuttle. “The real problem we’re facing are books limiting accounts they feel are sharp. I recently had one remove my cash-out ability on open bets and was told I will no longer be allowed to wager on certain markets. Another limited me on futures. It’s a loophole the books have found where they deny a wager on a future prop and immediately move the number lower.
“It feels like the states with weak regulations have the biggest house advantage and it’s driving a lot of gamblers back to offshore betting.”
