As legal sportsbooks in the United States continue trying to grow their customer bases, deposit bonuses remain a top option for them to bring new users onboard — and to keep paying customers playing. Let’s dive into what sports betting deposit bonuses are and how to get them, including at BetMGM. Let’s dive into how to use OddsShopper’s +EV betting tools and model to help you build your bankroll. Make sure to check out our sports betting tools or our sports betting promos as well!
What are Sports Betting Deposit Bonuses & How to Get Them
What are Deposit Bonuses in Sports Betting & How to Get Them
Deposit bonuses come in different forms at different books, but in general, a sports betting deposit bonus is a bonus contingent upon you placing a certain amount of money down at the book.
Three things generally vary when taking advantage of a deposit bonus: first, the percentage of your deposit that’s matched; second, the maximum amount you can receive; and third, whether there is a play-through requirement.
Some sportsbooks offer first-time deposit bonuses, and others will offer smaller bonuses to existing users. As of May 8, new users at DraftKings and FanDuel could receive $150 and $200, respectively, after placing a $5 bet.
BetMGM will occasionally offer existing users up to $50 in deposit bonuses at a 50% match rate, meaning you’d need to deposit $100 to take advantage of the full offer. The site also attached a 100% play-through requirement to the bonus funds, meaning they’re not withdrawable until the full $50 bonus has been wagered at least once.
Because deposit bonuses are functionally free money, how to get deposit bonuses will vary by book. You’re at their whim. Still, the sites I’ve seen the most deposit bonuses available at are BetMGM and ESPNBET.
Use BetMGM Bonus Code “OSINSIDER” for OddsShopper Premium and up to $1,500 in bonus bets if your first bet loses!
How to Use Deposit Bonuses Profitably
Some sportsbooks issue deposit bonuses as bonus bets. Others issue them as standard funds but add a playthrough condition. We have tools to help bettors with both types of deposit bonuses.
First up: bonus bets. We have a bonus bet converter and a guide about how to use bonus bets. In short: to guarantee a return, you can play one side of a bet with your bonus and the other with actual bankroll, usually at another book.
Next up, playthrough-conditioned funds. We have +EV betting tools to help you find the sharpest bets on the slate. We also have a Premium Discord where you can tail expert picks as well — pick your poison. Without further ado, let’s dive into how to use our tools.
How To Use OddsShopper’s +EV Betting Tools
The following content is repurposed from our guide to how to use +EV betting tools. For more information, read the full story!
How to Use OddsShopper’s +EV Betting Tools
Now let’s talk about how to use OddsShopper’s tools. When you first sign up, you should navigate to the shop pages to see the best +EV bets today. It should look something like this:
You’ll find bets from a variety of sports and on a variety of markets. In this screenshot alone, we’ve got several NBA player prop bets, a few MLB player prop and home run bets, as well as a golf tournament matchup.
Our shop pages are customizable. You can change your state, which will lead to only wagers available to you rendering as +EV bets. You can customize your bankroll, which will change the recommended bet sizing. You can also filter by league, sportsbook, type of bet and when the game, match or tournament in question will occur
Next, let’s take a quick look at an example wager and how our product team describes each of the key terms.
Bet Size: The recommended bet size as a percentage of your bankroll. This metric is based on a fractional Kelly Criterion approach that leads to a reasonable balance of minimizing risk of ruin while maximizing potential reward.
EV: An abbreviation for “expected value,” this metric estimates the long-term profitability of a wager by taking into account the probabilities/payouts associated with each potential outcome.
xWin: The probability of winning the bet implied by the Sharp Sportsbook Algorithm true odds.
OS Rating: The OS rating provides a rating for each +EV bet. An OS rating above 20 signifies an exceptional bet. Ratings between 10 and 20 are highly favorable bets. Finally, a rating between 0 and 10 indicates a solid bet. We factor in the EV, expected win, bet size, and negative geometric drag to calculate this rating.
Hold: The synthetic hold across the entire market, which is the loss a bettor would sustain if he bet both sides of the market to win equal amounts. The larger the hold, the more difficult it is to beat that market.
OddsShopper’s Sports Betting Tools & Tips
New to sports betting? OddsShopper’s selection of Betting 101 articles is here to help. We even have a parlay builder and our guide to parlay betting. Check out our guide to finding positive expected value (+EV), and you can unlock more +EV plays by signing up for OddsShopper Premium!
