Free Bets and Bonus Bets Explained: SNR, SR and What They Are Worth

A free bet is a bet the sportsbook pays for. You pick the selection and the odds, the bookmaker supplies the stake, and if the bet wins you are paid. In the US the same thing is usually called a bonus bet; in the UK and Ireland it is a free bet. The mechanics are the same, and so is the catch most beginners miss: in most cases the stake is not paid back with the winnings, so a $100 bonus bet is worth a good deal less than $100 in cash.

This guide covers how free bets settle, stake not returned (SNR) vs stake returned (SR), what one is worth in expected value at different odds, and how expiry, minimum odds and playthrough terms change that figure. Every amount is a hypothetical example, not an offer, and we do not name or recommend any sportsbook. Laying free bets on an exchange to lock in a fixed sum is a separate technique, covered in our guide to matched betting.

Free bet or bonus bet: what you are actually given

A free bet arrives as a credit in your account, sometimes shown as a token or bet credit. It is not cash and cannot be withdrawn; only what it wins can become withdrawable money.

Sportsbooks hand them out in a few standard ways:

• Sign-up offers, where a new customer's first deposit or first bet triggers one or more bonus bets.
• Bet and get offers: stake a set amount at minimum odds and receive a free bet whether or not the qualifying bet wins.
• Second-chance or bet insurance offers, where a losing first bet is refunded as a bonus bet rather than cash.
• Reload and loyalty offers for existing customers.

The two names reflect regulation as much as language. In the US, early offers were often sold as "risk-free bets", usually a first bet refunded as bonus credit if it lost, and some regulators have acted on the wording. Ohio's sports gaming rule on promotions (Ohio Administrative Code 3775-16-09, published by the Ohio Casino Control Commission) says promotions or bonuses described as free or risk-free must not require the patron to incur any loss or risk their own money to use or withdraw winnings from the free wager (checked on 7 November 2026). The neutral term bonus bet is now common in US offers. Rules differ by state and by country, so check what applies where you live and bet only with operators licensed there.

Stake not returned vs stake returned

With a stake not returned (SNR) free bet, a winning bet pays the profit only. A £10 SNR free bet at 5/1 (6.00 in decimal) returns £50. The £10 stake was never yours, so it is not paid out. Most free bets and bonus bets in the UK and the US are SNR.

With a stake returned (SR) free bet, a winning bet pays like a normal cash bet: profit plus stake. The same £10 SR free bet at 5/1 returns £60. SR free bets are much less common.

With a free bet of B at decimal odds d, the SNR return is B × (d - 1) and the SR return is B × d.

In American odds the SNR return is simply the profit a normal bet would show. A $50 bonus bet at +150 pays $75. A $50 bonus bet at -110 pays $45.45, because -110 pays $100 for every $110 staked. A $50 cash bet at -110 would return $95.45, since that figure includes the $50 stake. The gap between $45.45 and $95.45 is the stake you never get back, and it is the main reason bonus bets are worth less than they look. Our odds calculator converts American and fractional prices to decimal, and how betting odds work explains the three formats.

Why a $100 bonus bet is worth less than $100

To value a bonus bet, use expected value (EV): the average a bet returns over many repetitions. Our guide to positive EV betting covers the general formula. For an SNR bonus bet it is shorter, because there is no stake of yours to lose:

EV = p × B × (d - 1)

Here p is the true chance of the selection winning. The bonus bet either pays its profit or pays nothing.

Take a hypothetical $100 bonus bet at four prices. In each case the true chance is set a little below the price's implied probability, because the sportsbook's margin is built into the odds:

• At -110 (1.909), implied probability 52.38%, true chance 50%: EV = 0.50 × $90.91 = $45.45.
• At +200 (3.00), implied 33.33%, true chance 32%: EV = 0.32 × $200 = $64.00.
• At +400 (5.00), implied 20%, true chance 19%: EV = 0.19 × $400 = $76.00.
• At +1000 (11.00), implied 9.09%, true chance 8.5%: EV = 0.085 × $1,000 = $85.00.

Two things stand out. Even the best of these is worth well under $100, and the value rises with the odds. If a price were perfectly fair, an SNR free bet would be worth B × (1 - 1/d): half its face value at even money (2.00), two thirds at 3.00, 80% at 5.00 and about 91% at 11.00. The lost stake is a fixed cost, and at higher odds it is a smaller share of what the bet pays.

The catch at high odds is variance. The +1000 bonus bet has the highest EV here but loses 91.5% of the time, so with only a few bonus bets a year the long-run average may never show up. At -110 you collect $90.91 about half the time. Margins can also be larger on long shots, and on a parlay or acca the margin compounds leg by leg, which eats into the advantage of higher odds.

Compare a cash bet. $100 cash at -110 on a true 50% chance has EV = (0.50 × $90.91) - (0.50 × $100) = -$4.55, so you expect to keep $95.45 of it. The same $100 as a bonus bet is expected to produce $45.45. The $100 on a bonus bet is a stake size, not a cash value.

Stake returned free bets hold their value

An SR free bet works differently. Its EV is p × B × d, the same as the expected return of a cash bet of that size, except that you have not put up the stake. A £10 SR free bet at evens (2.00) on a selection with a true 48% chance has EV = 0.48 × £20 = £9.60. At 5/1 (6.00) with a true 16% chance it is 0.16 × £60 = £9.60.

The value stays close to the face value at any price, minus only the margin. There is no reason to push an SR free bet onto a long shot; the odds change how often it pays, not what it is worth on average.

The terms that cut a free bet's value

The headline amount is only the start. These conditions, set out in each offer's terms, decide what the bet is really worth:

• Expiry: free bets and bonus bets must be used within a set period, sometimes only a few days, and an expired $100 bonus bet is worth nothing.
• Minimum odds: many offers set a minimum price, for example 1/2 (1.50, or -200), on the qualifying bet and sometimes on the free bet itself.
• Eligible markets: a free bet may be limited to one sport, event or market.
• Single use: if a bonus bet cannot be split, placing $30 of a $50 credit can mean losing the other $20.
• Maximum winnings: a cap on what a free bet can win cuts the value of using it at long odds.
• Excluded features: bets placed with free bet credit are often excluded from cash out, price boosts and concessions such as best odds guaranteed.
• Playthrough: winnings may be paid as bonus funds that have to be wagered before they can be withdrawn.

Playthrough and wagering requirements

A playthrough (US) or wagering requirement (UK) sets how many times bonus funds, and sometimes the deposit too, must be bet before they can be withdrawn. It is more common on deposit-match bonuses than on simple free bets.

Every bet placed to meet a playthrough costs the sportsbook's margin on average. A rough guide to the expected cost is turnover multiplied by the bettor's expected loss per unit staked, which on -110 coin flips is 4.55% of the stake. Suppose a hypothetical $100 bonus carries a 5x playthrough on the bonus alone. You must bet $500, at an expected cost of about $500 × 4.55% = $22.73, so the bonus is worth roughly $77 before anything else is taken into account. If the same 5x applies to the deposit plus the bonus, say $100 + $100, you must bet $1,000 and the expected cost doubles to about $45.45. Same headline, very different value. A losing run along the way can also empty the balance before you finish.

In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission's social responsibility code says licensees must not apply wagering requirements on bonus funds above a maximum of 10 times, and must not include more than one type of gambling product, such as betting and casino, in the same incentive. The Commission announced the changes on 26 March 2025 and they came into force on 19 January 2026 (checked on the Commission's website on 7 November 2026). Other countries and US states set their own rules.

Second-chance bets and risk-free offers

A second-chance offer, also sold as bet insurance, refunds a losing first bet as bonus bets. It is better described as a cash bet with a partial rebate than as a free bet.

Take a hypothetical $100 first bet at +100 (2.00) on a selection with a true 48% chance, refunded as a $100 SNR bonus bet if it loses. Assume the bonus bet is then used at +200, where the list above put its EV at $64. Without the offer, the first bet has EV = (0.48 × $100) - (0.52 × $100) = -$4.00. With the offer, the losing branch becomes -$100 + $64 = -$36, so EV = (0.48 × $100) + (0.52 × -$36) = $48.00 - $18.72 = +$29.28.

The offer adds $33.28 of expected value, but the worst case is untouched. The first bet loses 52% of the time and the bonus bet at +200 loses 68% of the time, so you lose the full $100 of cash about 35% of the time (0.52 × 0.68 = 0.354). A bigger first bet to earn a bigger refund means a bigger possible cash loss.

Where beginners lose free bet value

The most common mistake is using an SNR free bet on a short-priced favourite because it feels safe. A £10 SNR free bet at 1/4 (1.25) pays £2.50 if it wins. Even if the selection wins 78% of the time, the EV is 0.78 × £2.50 = £1.95, under a fifth of the face value. The bet wins often and the winnings barely register.

The second is treating the bonus bet as money already won, for example raising stakes because the free bet "covers" the risk. It covers nothing.

Third, letting a free bet expire, or forcing it onto a high-margin market only because that market is eligible.

Last, confusing SNR with SR. If you expected £60 from a £10 free bet at 5/1 and received £50, the terms said stake not returned.

Free bets exist to keep customers betting. If an offer is the reason you are betting more than you planned, or depositing just to unlock one, it is costing you more than it is worth. Our responsible gambling page lists deposit limits and support services, and bankroll management covers setting stakes before offers get a say.

Before you use a free bet

Run through the terms and the numbers before you place it:

• Check whether it is stake not returned or stake returned.
• Note the expiry date and use it before then.
• Check the minimum odds, eligible markets, whether it can be split and any cap on winnings.
• Check whether winnings are paid as cash or as bonus funds with a playthrough, and how many times.
• For an SNR free bet, work out the return as B × (d - 1) and the fair value as B × (1 - 1/d) at the odds you plan to use.

A final worked example: a hypothetical $25 SNR bonus bet at +250 (3.50) pays $62.50 if it wins and nothing if it loses. The implied probability is 28.57%, so even at a perfectly fair price it is worth $25 × (1 - 1/3.50) = $17.86, and a little less once the margin is counted. Set your expectations by that figure, not the $25 on the label. To lock in a fixed share of the value whatever the result, see matched betting and hedging.