I have always been sceptical of anything that is free and even more sceptical of anything that involves money and worse still anything that happens online. As a result I thought free bets online would be well out of my comfort zone. I simply did not believe that these offers would be free and I thought that they would only be offered with extensive restrictions. So what is the truth behind these 'free bets'.

The first thing to realise about your free bet is that it is a marketing ploy by the bookie designed to encourage you to provide them with custom in the future. They inevitably want to make some money out of you. That's not to say that you can't get a truly free bet but it is important to remember. Most 'free' bets require the better to deposit a chunk of money into a online betting account and the online bookie will generally match that deposit with a 'free' allowance of the same amount.

The main reason for the online bookies generosity is to encourage you to bet online and discourage you from using more traditional gambling methods such as the high street bookies. Most of these online bookies will offer the gambler free bets as part of a strategy to get you to sign up with them as a first time user but many online bookmakers also offer these deals as periodic promotions to encourage gamblers to use their site over their competitors. Keeping informed of the offers available at any one time is an effective way of maximising your outgoings on betting and will enable you to make the most of your gambling budget.

Betting sites will expect you to deposit money into a newly created a betting account and they will generally match the cost of your first bet with the same amount of money. So if you were to deposit 25 pounds and if you spent this on a bet then the online bookmaker will generally match this sum of money by depositing your account with the same sum of money 25 pounds. This money could then be spent on a bet on any sporting event. Please note ordinarily it does not have to be the same as the bet you made with your initial deposit.

Some online bookmakers that offer free bets do so with a restriction on the type of bet and area upon which you place your bet. For example the bookmaker might limit you to a bet on the upcoming horseracing meeting or football game. They may impose this restriction to prevent you betting on an event too far in the future. This means they see the money back in their business as quickly as possible.

Fortunately there are numerous websites that will help you find a free bet online. These sites locate the latest deals that are offered by online bookmakers and direct you to them. This saves you the hassle of searching the extensive number of bookmakers manually. So if you have a bet that you know you will be making then take the time to use one of these sites to help you maximise the sum you can bet.