One returns your stake and one does not, which changes both what the bonus is worth and how you should bet it. Most people get the second part wrong.
Offshore books usually offer both, and the choice is presented as a preference. It is not. They are structurally different products with different values and different optimal strategies, and the one with the bigger headline number is frequently the worse offer.
On this page
The mechanical difference
Free play returns the profit and keeps the stake. Bet $100 of free play at even money and win, and you receive $100. Not $200. The credit is consumed whether the bet wins or loses.
A cash bonus is real balance. Bet $100 of it at even money and win, and you have $200, exactly as though it were your own money.
That single difference is why a $200 free play and a $200 cash bonus are not the same offer, and why comparing the headline figures tells you almost nothing.
What free play is actually worth
Because the stake is not returned, a free play credit is worth substantially less than its face value. How much less depends entirely on the price you bet it at.
| Price | Profit if it wins | Roughly worth | Percent of face |
|---|---|---|---|
| -110 | $90.91 | ~$45 | 45% |
| +150 | $150.00 | ~$57 | 57% |
| +300 | $300.00 | ~$72 | 72% |
| +500 | $500.00 | ~$80 | 80% |
A $200 free play bet on a -110 spread is worth around $91. The same credit placed on a +300 underdog is worth around $144. Same bonus, same book, nearly sixty percent more value, purely from where you put it.
How to bet free play, which is not how you bet normally
This follows directly from the table and it is the single most useful thing on this page.
With your own money, a losing bet costs you the stake, so there is a real penalty for variance. With free play, the stake is gone regardless of outcome. Losing costs you nothing you had. That removes the reason to prefer short odds.
So the correct approach with free play is the opposite of the correct approach with cash. Put it on something long. An underdog moneyline, a longer total, a futures price. The community advice on this is right and the arithmetic supports it.
The practical caveat is that most offers cap the maximum price that qualifies, and some exclude certain markets. Check the terms rather than assuming you can put it on a 20-to-1 shot.
Splitting it across several short-priced favourites is the most common mistake. It feels safer and it is worth the least. You cannot lose more than the credit, so there is nothing to protect.
Where cash bonuses win and lose
A cash bonus is worth its face value, which sounds decisive until you look at what it costs to unlock.
Cash offers almost always carry heavier rollover, because the operator is giving you real money rather than a discounted credit. At one book we checked, the free play runs at 1x rollover on deposit plus bonus while the cash bonus runs at 8x. That is five times the wagering for a quarter of the bonus.
Wagering costs money. At -110, every dollar you stake carries roughly 4.55 percent in margin. Clearing a $2,000 requirement to unlock a $50 cash bonus costs a breakeven bettor about $91, which is more than the bonus. Clearing a $400 requirement to unlock a $200 free play costs about $18, against a credit worth $91 or more depending on how you bet it.
The full arithmetic across four published offers is in sportsbook rollover explained.
Choosing between them
| Your situation | Take | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You bet occasionally and want to withdraw fairly soon | Free play | Low rollover means a clean path to a withdrawal. The cash bonus will not clear before you lose interest. |
| You already turn over several thousand a month | Cash bonus | You were going to place that volume anyway, so the rollover costs you nothing extra and the bonus is real balance. |
| You mostly bet horses or casino | Check exclusions first | Several sports bonuses exclude racebook, casino and live dealer wagers from rollover entirely, which can make the offer unclearable by your normal betting. |
| You are not sure how much you will bet | Free play | The downside is much smaller if you stop early. An unclearable cash bonus locks your deposit as well. |
| You bet mainly favourites at short prices | Cash bonus, if the rollover is reasonable | Free play is worth least at short odds, which is where you would naturally use it. |
Three terms to check before you deposit
- The rollover basis. Bonus only or deposit plus bonus. The difference is usually five-fold.
- Whether the bonus must be selected at deposit. At most offshore books it cannot be applied afterwards, so choosing wrongly is not reversible.
- Which markets count. Minimum odds, excluded products, and partial credit on some sports all turn a clearable requirement into an unclearable one.
Our current bonus listings set out the live offers with their terms.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between free play and a cash bonus?
Free play returns only the profit and consumes the stake, so a winning $100 free play bet at even money pays $100 rather than $200. A cash bonus is real balance that behaves like your own money, and it usually carries much heavier rollover as a result.
What is free play actually worth?
Substantially less than face value, and it depends on the price. A $100 free play credit is worth roughly $45 placed at -110, around $57 at +150, and around $72 at +300. The longer the price, the more of the face value you capture.
How should you bet free play?
On longer odds than you would normally take. Because the stake is consumed whether you win or lose, there is no penalty for variance, so short-priced favourites capture the least value. Splitting free play across several favourites is the most common and most costly mistake.
Which is better, free play or a cash bonus?
Free play for most people, because the rollover is usually far lighter and the path to a withdrawal is cleaner. A cash bonus is better only if you were already going to wager the required volume, in which case the rollover costs you nothing extra.
Can I switch bonus after depositing?
At most offshore books, no. The bonus has to be selected during the deposit process and cannot be applied retroactively, so the choice is made before you have any experience of the platform.
Sportsbooks.ag may earn a commission from some links on this page, at no extra cost to you. That does not affect our reviews, ratings or recommendations. See our affiliate disclaimer, editorial policy and how we rate sportsbooks.