How do Free Bets Work for Betting on Football?

Last Updated on 27/10/2025 by Andy Clark

How do free bets work with online bookmakers and what are the different types of free bets available from the different UK bookies?

When you are looking for free bets it’s important to do some research and find out exactly how free bets work with the different bookmakers. Some will need to you place a bet before you get the free bet, some will give you money back if you lose and the most common way free bets work is that you get the free bets when your first bet has settled.

Read on below to see exactly how to use free bets on all the most popular bookies such as Paddy Power, bet365 and Ladbrokes.

Types of Free Bet Offers

Bet £x get £x in free bets
Refund if your first bet loses
No deposit-free bets
Free bets for existing customers

There are a number of different types of sign-up offers and we’ve outlined them for you below. Whichever one you choose has its own benefits and people have different opinions as to which is the best free bet sign-up offer at the moment.

From money back specials to enhanced odds specials, different bookmakers offer different types of sign-up bonus bet offers and when it comes to the European Championships this summer, they will all be on this page.

Bet £x get £x in free bets

The first type of free bet offer is currently the most popular with a lot of bookmakers. When you open a new account and bet £x, you will get free bets to a certain value. For example, Coral are currently doing a bet £5 get £20 in free bets sign-up offer which means as soon as you bet £5 you will get 4 free £5 bets. This is a great offer if you like to bet small amounts at a time because it gives you four £10 bet for the price of one. Ladbrokes also do the same offer as do 888Sport. William Hill have recently changed their offer to bet £10 get 2x free £15 bets which is slightly different, but still works on the same principle.

Get a refund if your first bet loses

Some bookmakers choose to give a different type of sign-up offer and Paddy Power are currently leading the way in this field. They will give you a CASH refund if your first bet loses, up to the value of £20. Even though a lot of people already have a Paddy Power account, this is my personal favourite sign-up offer at the moment because they’re the only bookies that will refund you in cash if your first bet is a loser.

How do free bet work with no deposit?

These types of sign-up offer are few and far between but at the moment, there is one free bet offer that doesn’t require a deposit and that is the Quinnbet welcome offer, which gives you a free £1 bet, plus a second sign-up bonus and casino offer.

A no deposit free bet gives you the chance to try out the bookies in question before you commit to depositing money and placing bets with your own cash. It is not very often that we see free bets in the UK with no deposit needed. Bookmakers do sometimes offer these types of offers though so it is always worth checking this page.

Free bets for existing customers

One of the questions we get asked most is “are there any free bets for existing customers today?” or, “is this offer only for new customers?” The answer is normally the same for both of these questions, but from time to time we do see free bets for existing customers pop up and Paddy Power are usually the ones offering these.

As well as things like Paddy Power Rewards Club and a similar incentive at Sky Bet, Paddy Power have also been offering no deposit £5 free bets on certain events in the last few months.

These might be a big fixture in the Premier League, or the feature race in a big day of horse racing and it will be a simple process of logging into your account and claiming the free bet.

The image below shows one of the most recent free bets for existing customers that was on offer.

Our Favourite Current Free Bet Offers

Bet £10 get £40 in Free Bets & £25 Boost on Chelsea vs Arsenal Bet Builders

9.8/10 Read Review

How do Free Bets work & what types of Free Bet are available?