Best Sports Betting Welcome Offers - Apr 2025
If you are new to sports betting, then you will undoubtedly be looking for a welcome bonus to start your journey, and OddsPortal is here to help with an abundance of betting offers available for you to claim with a click of a button.
Discover all of the welcome offers we have available below, and provided you are a new player with the suggested online betting sites, follow the links to lock in your betting bonuses today.
What Is a Welcome Bonus?
A welcome bonus is a promotion provided by online bookmakers that can be claimed by new players only, meaning you must have never signed up with that specific site before. If you are new to sports betting then this shouldn’t be a problem for you seeing as you will have never signed up with online bookmakers and claimed a welcome bonus before.
An example of a welcome bonus could be as simple as something like bet 10 get 30, which would require you to deposit 10 and stake that amount to receive 30 in free bets or bonus bets.
For those of you who have signed up with online betting sites before, you might encounter some cases where registering with one site prevents you from claiming an offer with another due to them being connected, so that’s always something to look out for.
Types of Welcome Offers
We already referred to the bet and get welcome offer, which we go into more detail about below, but there are several other types of welcome promotions that you might come across on our page and elsewhere when you are looking for sports betting offers for new players.
Below are just a few of the most common welcome offers that you will find with OddsPortal if you are interested in some betting bonuses as a new player.
Bet and Get
The most common type of welcome offer that you will come across is the bet and get, which usually requires a deposit and stake of 5 or 10 whichever currency you are using after after signing up.
You can sometimes receive up to 6x the value of your opening bet in free bets or as bonus funds when you claim a welcome offer through OddsPortal.
An example of this can be seen with the current BetMGM UK welcome offer where you can deposit and stake £10 and it will guarantee you receive £60 in bonuses at the online betting site.
Other examples which require less of a stake include the Ladbrokes welcome offer, which is bet £5, get £25 in free bets at the moment.
Deposit Match
A deposit match as a welcome offer is simple, the amount of money you decide to add to your account when you first sign up will be matched in free bets or bonus funds.
More often than not, this will be capped at a certain amount. It could be up to 50 of your chosen currency, and will be a varying percentage of your first deposit. Most of the time, it will be a 100% deposit match but can sometimes be 50%, 200%, 300%, or another figure.
Although it wouldn’t be a deposit match, a similar type of welcome offer that you will come across is a matched bet. This applies to your first wager at an online betting site
Money Back
You will rarely find welcome offers in sports betting that give you cashback, but they can often provide you with a way to get your first stake back as a bonus or free bet instead.
In some cases, like with the Bwin UK welcome offer at the moment, you can get up to £20 back as a free bet if your first bet loses. Similarly, other betting sites have been known to offer similar and sometimes even more in a profit boost as part of their welcome offer.
Profit Boost
A fairly new welcome promotion that has recently been made available is the profit boost, which rewards you if your first bet is a winner with the selected online bookmaker.
For example, with LeoVegas welcome offer at the moment you can get a 100% profit boost up to £100 with a maximum stake of £10.
How We Rate Welcome Promotions
We could just offer any welcome promotions currently available, but there are plenty of steps we take to ensure you are getting the best offers available.
Moreover, OddsPortal also tries to secure unique offers just for our players, meaning you can sometimes be claiming extra with welcome offers at our website.
Overall, there are a few things we consider when deciding whether to include a welcome bonus on this page and on our site in general, and they are described in greater detail below.
Bonus Offered
When deciding whether to include a welcome bonus on our site, we carefully consider whether it matches up to the industry standard and ensures players get a healthy bonus amount for what they deposit after signing up.
This is why we have offers that can sometimes grant you 3x, 4x, 5x, and even up to 6x your deposit and stake in bonus funds, making sure you get to enjoy plenty of betting on the online bookmaker before having to make another deposit.
Deposit & Stake Required
Not everyone is looking for a deposit match and to add a substantial amount upon signing up with an online betting site, which means we had to make sure to have welcome offers that require a minimal deposit and stake.
For example, the bet and get offers we have available will typically require a small deposit and stake to earn you free bets or bonus funds, and are perfect for players who don’t want to spend a lot when first signing up.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t have matched bets, money back, or deposit match welcome offers for those of you who would like to make a bigger deposit and bet when you sign up.
We ensure that we cover all bases so that all players can enjoy the welcome offers we have available.
Limitations on Usage of Bonus
Some people would be glad to see a welcome offer that is restricted to use on a football bet builder only, or maybe an accumulator. However, others would prefer to have a welcome bonus that can be used on all sports because they like to bet on football, but other things too.
This is why we have the perfect combination of some offers that grant a welcome bonus which are for specific markets, while others can be used for any sportsbook market with our recommended online betting sites.
How To Claim Welcome Offers
Claiming welcome offers is a simple process, especially with OddsPortal. It can be broken down into just a few steps, and the exact process will vary depending on which welcome offer you have decided to claim, but the below confines it into a step-by-step guide for you.
- 1. Firstly, click on either the operator logo or the “Claim Bonus” button for the welcome offer that you want to claim and know that you are a new player for
- 2. You will then be transferred to the welcome offer with the selected online betting site, where you will be more than likely find a button to “Join”, “Sign Up”, or something similar
- 3. Enter your personal details, including your name, date of birth, address, email address, and anything else required
- 4. Now your account has been created, it’s time to make a deposit with your preferred payment method to ensure that you claim the welcome offer, unless it is a no deposit welcome offer
- 5. Make the minimum deposit required as detailed in the T&Cs of the welcome offer, and then finally the stake required with the minimum selections and odds as described in the T&Cs
- 6. You will now either receive your welcome bonus in free bets or bonus bets, or wait for settlement of your first bet to ensure you receive the entitlement of the welcome offer with your chosen online betting site
- 7. Finally, you are now free to use your welcome bonus on either any sportsbook markets, or what the offer is eligible for!
Understanding Terms and Conditions of Welcome Offers
When exploring welcome offers, it's essential to understand the terms and conditions that apply. Knowing the wagering requirements and qualifying bets can help you maximise your benefits and avoid any surprises.
Understanding the details of any welcome bonus you claim will help you make the most of your betting experience, and most importantly help you avoid your bonus funds going to waste or being used on something you are not particularly fond of or interested in.
Wagering Requirements
Typicaly reserved for casino betting only, wagering requirements show how many times you must bet the bonus amount before you can withdraw any winnings. For example, if you receive a bonus with a 5x wagering requirement, you must bet 5x that amount before being able to withdraw your funds.
- Check the specifics: The specific requirements of an offer can vary widely, and aren't usually found with sports betting welcome offers, but you should always read the terms to find out.
- Expiry dates: Many bonus funds can have expiry dates, even if you have won a bet with your welcome offer. With that in mind, you will need to meet the wagering requirements in time before the funds expire because they aren't cash.
Qualifying Bets and Withdrawal Limits
Nobody ever wants to find themselves in the position where they either need to place another bet to confirm their welcome offer bonus funds, or because they have placed a bet at the wrong odds they are no longer eligible for the offer. To avoid that being you, look out for the key information in the terms and conditions which will tell you exactly what you need to place with your qualifying bet.
- Minimum stake: Often, there's a minimum amount you need to wager, and that is typically the amount you needed to deposit for the offer. For instance, you might need to deposit and bet at least £10 on a qualifying bet to claim your welcome offer correctly.
- Minimum odds: There will more than likely be minimum odds attached to your welcome offer, which your first bet will need to meet to ensure you receive your bonus.
- Withdrawal conditions: Once you meet the wagering requirements, there might still be withdrawal limits, so make sure that you check how much you can take out if there is a limit.
Sports & Bet Types Restrictions
Very often, you will come across amazing offers that might for example say bet 10, get 40 in free bets, which seems incredible on the surface, and it is. But, there might be restrictions on which sports you can use that on, and especially the bet types.
For example, you could find that all of your bonus bets are only eligible to be used on football, or another sport which you might not be interested in betting on at that specific time. Moreover, you might want to use it across multiple sports, and if it is limited to just one then you won't be able to place the bets you would have liked to originally.
Another important condition to be aware of is the bet types your free bets are eligible to be used on, especially if you only like betting on specific markets. You may receive a hefty chunk of free bets, but they might only be able to be used on bet builder bets only, which might not be of interest to a lot of people.
Additionally, it's crucial to be wary of terms and conditions of welcome offers around the time of major sporting events, like for example the World Cup. This is because the bonus you receive after you sign up might only be available for use on that event. That's perfect if you are looking to bet on it, but not useful if you had in mind that you would use it for something different.
Utilising Betting Apps for Welcome Offers
There can sometimes be app-specific promotions made available to new players that sign up on the betting app of that specific operator, allowing you to get an enhanced offer or something different to what is typically available at that betting site.
Using betting apps provides flexibility and it enables you to access your account, view odds, and place bets from your phone, regardless of if you are at home or on the go. Although there are mobile browser options available for all of our suggested betting sites with welcome promotions, it can often be much faster to quickly click on your app and start finding the odds for an upcoming event, place a wager on live odds, or discover which games are being played today or this evening.
Designed to be easy to navigate for players, betting apps have become increasingly popular and overtaken desktop sites and mobile browsers for sports betting, which is why online bookmakers have decided to make offers just for those who register and claim their welcome bonus through this option.
Other redeeming features of a sports betting app include notifications for promotions and live updates on matches. A well-designed mobile app, which all of our suggested bookmakers offer you, help to enhance your betting experience and allow you to bet anytime and anywhere.
Payment Options and Security
When selecting an online bookmaker, it’s important to consider both payment options and the security measures they have in place. Understanding how you can deposit and withdraw funds safely is essential for a smooth betting experience.
In most cases, you are limited to using only debit cards for deposits for welcome offers, but some of the payment options you are likely to find that you will be able to use after that initial deposit are:
- Debit cards
- PayPal
- Apple Pay
- Skrill
- Bank transfer
Customer Service and Support for Welcome Offers
Good customer service is essential when you are signed up with betting sites because you never know when you might need it. A sign of good customer service at an online bookmaker is when they offer multiple ways to support you, and usually give a quick response time for each of them.
The most common options online betting sites use for communication are:
- Live Chat
- Email Support
- Phone Support
Check the availability of these options on the betting site you choose. Some sites provide 24/7 support, while others may have limited hours.
As a way to avoid any contact at all and to reduce response time even furthe, you can attempt to find the answer for your query in the comprehensive FAQ section which is usually provided. This can help you solve common problems about your welcome offer and more without needing to contact support. FAQ sections with online betting sites typically cover topics such as:
- Account verification
- Payment methods
- Bonus claims