How to value a sportsbook bonus

The short answer

A sportsbook bonus has a headline number and a set of terms, and its value to you is set by the terms. Two offers with the same headline can be worth very different amounts. The terms to read are how the bonus is paid, whether you keep the stake when a bonus bet wins, how many times you must wager before you can withdraw, which markets count and how long you have.

This page does not describe any particular app's offer. We have not verified app-level offers, and terms change. The examples use made-up numbers to show the arithmetic you can apply to a real offer.

The main kinds of offer

Bonus bets

A bonus bet is credit you can stake but cannot withdraw. In the usual form, if it wins you keep the profit, but the stake is not returned. That changes its value a lot. A $100 bonus bet on a +150 price pays $150.00 if it wins and returns nothing if it loses, because the credit itself is not cash. Its average value depends on the price you choose and on the margin of the market.

Deposit matches

A deposit match adds bonus credit equal to a share of your deposit, up to a cap. A 100% match up to $500 on a $500 deposit adds $500 in bonus. The bonus usually comes with a rollover requirement: you must wager a multiple of an amount before the bonus or its winnings can be withdrawn.

Other offers

Apps also run boosted prices, insurance-style offers that return credit if a bet loses, and loyalty rewards. Each has its own terms and its own cost to you, and the same reading approach applies: find what you can keep, what you must do first and what it costs you in average results.

Valuing a bonus bet

The average value of a bonus bet is lower than its face value, and the market you use it on matters. Using a rough illustration with a margin of 4.5%, a $100 bonus bet placed at +150 is worth about $57.30 on average, while the same bet at -110 is worth about $45.48. Longer prices are worth more in this case because the profit is larger when the bet wins and the stake is not returned. The effect is real, but so is the risk: a long price wins less often, so results swing widely.

The takeaway is not to chase long prices. It is that "$100 bonus bet" is not $100. Convert it to an average value before comparing it with a deposit match or another app's offer.

Valuing a deposit match with rollover

With a rollover, the cost of unlocking a bonus is the margin you pay on the bets you must make. Take a $500 deposit with a 100% match, so a $500 bonus. If the rollover is 10 times the bonus, you must wager $5000.00. At a margin of 4.5%, the average cost of those bets is $225.00. The bonus, after that cost, is worth about $275.00 on average.

Change one term and the value moves. With a 1 times rollover, you wager only $500.00, the cost is $22.50 and the bonus is worth about $477.50. If the rollover counts the deposit as well as the bonus, you must wager $10000.00, the cost is $450.00 and the value falls to about $50.00. A rule that looks minor can change the worth of the offer by hundreds of dollars.

Terms to read before you accept

• What the rollover applies to: the bonus alone, or the deposit and the bonus together.
• The rollover multiple: how many times you must wager.
• Minimum odds: some offers count only bets at or above a given price.
• Time limit: how long you have to complete the rollover.
• Excluded markets: bets that do not count, or count only in part.
• Maximum bet or winnings: caps on what you can stake or keep.
• Withdrawal rules: when winnings become cash.

Offers and regulation

Advertising of sportsbook offers is regulated by each state, and regulators can set rules for what an ad may say and what terms it must show. We have not verified those rules state by state, so check the regulator in your state for what applies there. On this site we avoid language that suggests a bet is without cost or a win is certain, because no bet is, and you should be wary of any ad that implies it.

When a bonus is not worth it

An offer is not worth taking if it makes you bet more than you planned, if the rollover forces you to stake at prices you would not otherwise choose, or if the terms are too hard to read. The cost of a bonus is not only the margin. It also includes the pressure to keep betting until the rollover is done. A bonus you decline costs nothing.

A longshot is not a plan

A common misuse of bonus bets is to put them all on a long price. A $100 bonus bet at +400 pays $400.00 if it wins. It wins about 20% of the time at best, and the rest of the time you get nothing. The average value is higher than at shorter prices, but you should expect to lose most of the time. If that does not suit you, choose a shorter price and accept a lower average value.

Mistakes with bonuses

• Comparing headline numbers instead of values after terms.
• Ignoring the rollover until after the deposit.
• Staking more than planned to finish a rollover.
• Opening accounts at several apps for offers and losing track of the total staked.
• Assuming a bonus bet returns its stake when it wins.

A checklist before you accept an offer

• How is the bonus paid, and do you keep the stake on a win?
• What is the rollover and what does it apply to?
• What would the required bets cost you on average?
• Would you have placed these bets anyway?

Two offers side by side

Take two made-up offers. Offer A is a 100% deposit match up to $500 with a 10 times rollover on the bonus. On a $500 deposit it is worth about $275.00 on average, using the margin from above. Offer B is a $200 bonus bet. Placed at +150 it is worth about $114.60, and placed at -110 about $90.95. Offer A has the bigger headline and the larger average value, but it needs $5000.00 in bets, and Offer B needs only one bet.

Which is better depends on what you would do anyway. If you do not plan to wager $5000.00, the first offer asks you to bet more than you wanted, and the cost is in your behavior, not only in the margin. A smaller offer with a lower requirement can suit you better, even if it is worth less on paper.

A smaller deposit

The numbers scale with the deposit. A $200 deposit with a 100% match and a 5 times rollover on the bonus needs $1000.00 in bets, costs about $45.00 in margin and is worth about $155.00 on average. The rollover multiple matters more than the deposit size, because it sets how much you must bet per dollar of bonus.

Keep records

Offers come with deadlines and progress counters. Write down the date you accepted an offer, the rollover you must meet and how much you have wagered toward it. If you have accounts at more than one app, keep each one's record separate. The point is to avoid betting without noticing, because a rollover can make small bets feel less real than they are.

Questions for the app's support

If a term is unclear, ask before you deposit, and keep the reply. Useful questions are: does the rollover apply to the bonus alone or to the deposit as well; which bets count and at what minimum price; how long do I have; is the stake returned when a bonus bet wins; and what is the maximum I can win from the offer? A clear written answer is worth more than a banner, and an app that avoids answering has told you something about the offer.

An offer you can ignore

Nobody has to accept an offer. If you would rather keep your account simple, deposit what you planned and bet at the prices you choose. You lose nothing by declining, apart from the bonus, and you keep full control of how much you stake. Offers can be a fair way to try a new app, and they can also be a reason to bet more than you meant to. Knowing which one you are dealing with is the point of valuing it first.

A note on timing

Deadlines on offers are part of their cost. A rollover that must be completed in a few days asks you to bet faster than you might otherwise, and a faster pace means larger totals staked. Divide the amount you must wager by the number of days you have, and ask whether that daily figure fits your budget before you accept.

Words you will meet

• Bonus bet: credit you can stake but not withdraw.
• Deposit match: bonus credit equal to part of your deposit.
• Rollover (playthrough): the amount you must wager before withdrawing.
• Minimum odds: the lowest price that counts toward a requirement.
• Terms and conditions: the rules that decide what an offer is worth.

Keeping it in proportion

An offer is a reason to open an account, not a reason to bet more. Decide your limits first, and treat any result as entertainment spending. If it stops being fun, open the responsible gambling page for tools and help, or call 1-800-GAMBLER whenever you need to. The article on how sportsbooks make money explains the margin behind the numbers above.

Frequently asked questions