Welcome Offers to Entice New Customers

Today we are going to talk about welcome offers. The online sports betting market is extremely competitive and somewhat overcrowded, with a vast array of different sites where customers can spend their hard-earned cash gambling on their favourite sports.

In order to compete, and possibly get ahead of the competition, betting sites need to do whatever they can to entice new customers to sign up for an account. The main way of doing this is by offering fantastic welcome offers, which are used as a marketing tool to increase customer numbers.

There are several different types of welcome offers and, in this article, we will look at the most popular and widely-used.

Types of Welcome Offers

It’s important for sites to keep their offers relevant and ever-changing, to keep up with the competition and stay up-to-date with what customers are betting on.

So, when looking at signing up for a new account you may find you’re offered free bets, enhanced odds, a deposit bonus, or even a risk-free bet.

Let’s take a look at what these offers all involve.

Free Bet Offer

Offering customers something for free is a sure-fire way of getting them to sign up for a new account, because everyone loves getting something for nothing.

Free bets are usually offered to new customers who deposit or bet a certain amount within a given time period after signing up, and winnings are usually paid as withdrawable cash minus the original free bet amount.

There are sometimes wagering requirements attached, such as a 5x turnover of free bet amount, but a lot of companies are now offering requirement-free offers to keep them ahead of their rivals.

First Deposit Bonuses

Another popular offer, which gives customers more for their money, is the first deposit bonus.

This is where a betting company will boost a customers first deposit using a pre-set percentage, which can vary from around 10% up to a staggering 500%. So, at the highest, a customer who deposits £10 would be given a £50 bonus.

These bonuses do usually have several wagering requirements attached to them before any winnings are converted into withdrawable cash.

A first deposit bonus of 100% may also be know as a matched deposit bonus, basically meaning that the first deposit will be matched by the site.

One of our favourite first deposit bonuses is with 10Bet, we’ve written about it here.

Enhanced Odds Offers

Enhanced odds bonuses are becoming more widely used and are increasing in popularity, with new customers being offered a bigger price on a specific sporting event.

A recent example of this offer was for the Stoke City vs Manchester City match played in March. City, as league leaders and in the form of their life, were red-hot and odds-on favourites to beat a relegation-threatened Stoke side.

One bookmaker offered new customers enhanced odds of 40/1 for City to win, which they did by two goals to nil.

There is usually a maximum stake applied to this type of offer, which may be £1, and winnings are sometimes paid out as free bets, but it’s still an extremely tempting offer when applied to what many believe to be a dead cert bet.

Risk Free Offer

Risk free betting offers are where a sportsbook offers to refund stake money for losing bets to new customers who bet a required amount on a specific sporting event.

For example, customers who sign up and bet £10 on a certain football match will be refunded their stake money if the selection loses. Several terms & conditions will be applied to the offer, but it allows customers the chance to test out a new site without spending a huge amount of money.

Money-Back Bonuses

Not to be confused with a risk-free offer, although very similar, the money back bonus is usually only used for big sporting events or on specific markets. It also may not be applicable to just new customers.

An example of this offer is customers betting on the first goal scorer market for a specific match will have losing stakes refunded if their selection scores the second goal or sometimes any goal during the match. As the promotion name suggests, the losing stake will then be refunded as withdrawable money.

No Deposit Bonus

This is a rare, but extremely popular bonus where new customers are offered a bonus just for signing up for a new account with an online sportsbook.

The bonus could be a free bet or a (non-withdrawable) cash amount, giving customers the chance to try before they buy. As fantastic as this offer sounds, there will be several restrictions and requirements added to it so always read the terms & conditions carefully.