Free Bets Ireland ☘️ New Irish Betting Offers 2025

Why Trust TopBetting.ie for Free Bets?

Before we delve any deeper into free bets and understanding the ins and outs of what they are and how they work, you may be wondering: how can you trust TopBetting.ie, as a platform, to provide the most relevant up-to-date information on what free bets are? Well, there are several reasons that you can count on us for accurate free bet information, including the following key points:

• Industry experts. Here at TopBetting.ie, we’re proud to be industry experts for the online betting field. Our experience, coupled with our own passion for sports betting, allows us to provide unparalleled insights into the betting markets.
• Only reviewing bookmakers licensed to operate in Ireland. We never review bookmakers that are not fully licensed to operate in Ireland. As a result, you can trust that all of the bookies on our site are fully licensed and legal to operate in Ireland.
• Unbiased reviews. We’re not influenced by any advertisers when it comes to our reviews. As a result, all of the information we include is factual and free from bias or advertiser influence; in other words, we aren’t limited on what we can or can’t say – so you get the full story.
• Up to date information. All too often, it can feel difficult to find accurate and up to date information about current free bets, especially when they’re short-term bets (e.g., free bets on specific events). Fortunately, all of our free bets are manually compiled and checked by our team, so you can count on us for regularly updated information on recent developments.
• Focusing on key factors. At TopBetting.ie we strive to focus on the most important factors that influence your decision to bet with an online bookmaker, including the value and accessibility of welcome offers, the range of deposit methods and processing times, the choice of sports markets available, previous customers’ experiences with the brand, and more. We understand what matters to you, and we take all of this into account to provide a fair assessment of each site.

What is a Free Bet?

By now, it’s time to address the key question on everyone’s mind: what is a free bet, anyway? Well, at their simplest, free bets are generally offered by bookmakers as special promotions, and we’ll look into this in more detail shortly. Free bets provide an opportunity for bettors to place a bet on their favourite events without having to use their real funds, making it a great way to enhance the betting experience.

A free bet is generally provided on a stake not returned basis, meaning that if your free bet is successful, you’ll receive all of the winnings with the exception of the stake itself. For example, if you had a €10 free bet at odds of 10/1 that won, you’d win €100 (i.e. €110 total winnings minus the €10 stake).

Generally, free bets will usually have qualifying terms in order to be eligible for the free bet (e.g., depositing a certain amount). However, some free bets may also be awarded completely free as a loyalty bonus.

How Do Free Bets Work?

We’ve briefly touched on how free bets work, but it’s time for us to delve a little deeper into this idea. Now, we should stress that there are several ways that free bets can work, depending on the type of free bet in question; we’ll look at this a little more closely in the next section.

However, for now, we’ll give a basic summary of how free bets work in general. Simply put, free bets are generally offered in one of two ways: either a “no conditions attached” free bet which is simply applied to your account as a loyalty bonus or a “qualifying free bet” which is applied once you have met qualifying terms.

Once you have met any relevant terms, the free bet will then be added to your account either in the form of a set price free bet or a free bet balance. Free bet balance can generally be divided up as you see fit (for example, if you had €5 in free bet balance, you could place five €1 free bets). In contrast, a set price free bet will usually have to be staked on a single market.

In general, once the free bets are applied to your account, you will be able to use them directly from within your betslip. Each online bookmaker will have slightly different methods for applying free bets, so be sure to double check this while placing your free bets to ensure you don’t accidentally use your real balance.

These free bets will usually have an expiry window applied to them, and critically, they may lapse or expire if you do not use them within the specified time frame.

Types of Free Bets in Ireland

By now, we’ve considered what free bets are generally, but it’s important to be aware that free bets come in many different shapes and forms; they’re not all the same! Given this, just a handful of the most common types of free bet offers in Ireland include the following.

#1 Existing Customer / Loyalty Free Bets

Perhaps the most desirable free bet of all is the “no conditions” type of free bet, which is generally offered as a loyalty bonus to existing customers. These free bets are usually quite low in value and are usually only worth a couple of euros each. Fortunately, since they are pretty low value free bets, they also rarely come with many terms attached to them, making them incredibly easy to use.

These types of free bets are generally based on an invitation-only model, although some bookmakers will also offer low-value free bets without any qualifying terms to all of their members for large events. So, be sure to check out your emails and promotion offers regularly to see if there are any you might be able to benefit from!

Another common type of free bet, and one that’s quite similar to the no condition free bet model, is the “spin to win” or “play to win” free bet. These free bets are generally offered as a reward for completing a certain type of free-to-play minigame on the bookmaker’s site, such as spinning a sportsbook prize wheel or scratching off a card. A popular example of this is PaddyPower’s “Wonder Wheel,” which offers free bets as a potential prize. These aren’t usually worth that much, but given they’re free to play and often available daily, it’s definitely an enticing offer.

#2 Matched Free Bets

Generally, the most valuable types of free bets are the matched or deposit bonus offers, which are most commonly available as welcome offers when new bettors join the platform. These free bets are often provided in the form of a deposit bonus or a stake bonus.

For example, you might get an offer that sounds something like “deposit €20 and get €20 in free bets” or “get three €10 free bets after depositing and staking your first €10”.  In other words, the bookie will match partially, fully, or even above what you initially deposited and/or staked as a free bet.

Once you’ve met the qualifying requirement – in these cases, depositing or depositing and staking a certain amount, respectively – you’ll be rewarded with free bets based on the value of the offer. The exact amount you’ll be awarded varies greatly from bookmaker to bookmaker, and while some will offer massive matched bonuses comparable to your deposit amount (e.g., deposit and stake €5 and get €25 in free bets), others may be a little less generous, with 100% to 200% matches being about the norm.

#3 Bet X, Get Y Free Bets

Some of the most common types of loyalty offers include the “Bet X, Get Y” format of free bets. With these bets, bookies will give an offer that sounds similar to the following example:

“Bet €10 on today’s horse racing and get a €5 free bet to use on horse racing.”

These bets are generally pretty simple and may not come with as many terms, although they can often be restricted to certain markets (such as specific events or sports). Be sure to check the terms to make sure that you’re placing qualifying bets correctly or you could miss out on the free bet!

#4 Money Back and Risk Free Bets

A final common type of free bet is the money back or (even better) risk free bet, which promise money back – either as a free bet or cash – if a certain event happens. Be sure to double check which form these will be refunded in; of course, money back as cash is way better but also much less common, usually reserved only to the biggest events.

Most often, these will be money back if a certain event happens, which can be somewhat unlikely to occur; for example, a bookmaker might offer money back on horse racing if your horse is second to the starting price favourite or money back on the football if your team goes two goals ahead than loses. When placing a bet on these offers, don’t necessarily expect to come away with a free bet; nevertheless, it is often a nice “consolation” prize if the initial bet should fall flat and lose.

A far more exciting and lucrative type of offer is the risk free bet, which offers money back as either cash or a free bet if your bet loses. This is pretty simple to understand; if you don’t win, you’ll either get your money back as cash or get a free bet of the same value. Needless to say, these are very enticing, especially the risk-free “money back as cash” offers.

How To Choose The Best Free Bet Offer

By now, we’ve looked at all of the key things you need to know about the different types of free bets available. However, you may now be wondering: how can I choose the best free bet offer for my account? Well, this largely depends on the type of free bet you’re looking to claim, and in some cases, the number of free bets at any one time may be a little limited. Still, there are a few things you may want to consider when making this decision.

1. What are the qualifying requirements for the free bet offer? As we’ve already mentioned, some free bets may have no terms at all, whereas others could have strings attached (such as depositing a certain amount or a certain event occurring). Given this, it’s often preferable to choose a free bet offer that has no, or fewer, restrictions than one that has loads of terms.
2. Is the free bet available on my favourite markets? Let’s face it – if you’re a lover of Irish horse racing, you probably aren’t going to get much fun from a free bet on the footie (and vice versa). As such, be sure to check the free bet terms to see if it’s available on a sport you actually enjoy betting on.
3. Is the free bet stake returned? This generally won’t be a “make or break” factor for most people when choosing an online free bet in Ireland. However, most free bets are offered on a stake not returned basis. As such, if you find an offer that does return the stake, this could be very appealing.
4. Are there any wagering requirements? Wagering is common on bonus funds in online casinos, but this is much less frequently seen when it comes to online bookies. However, it’s still important to consider whether your winnings from the free bet will have wagering. If so, that’s a lot of bets you’ll need to place before you can withdraw your winnings.
5. Does my deposit method apply? Not all deposit methods are necessarily supported for promotions and free bets. Be sure to check this if you have to deposit before being eligible for the free bet!

These are just a few simple considerations to think about when selecting a free bet offer. You’ll generally have a lot more room to “shop around” when choosing a new online bookmaker; in contrast, free bets on existing accounts may be fewer, farther between, and less valuable.

Mistakes to Avoid When Claiming Free Bets

So far, we’ve outlined the main things you need to know about free bets. However, before you dive in, be sure to keep the following mistakes in mind to avoid a potentially frustrating situation.

Placing a normal bet alongside the free bet. Sometimes, the bet slip can allow you to place a bet with real money and top it up with your free bet. This could leave you spending real money when you’d only wanted to use the free bet. So, always double check before finalising your bet slip.

Not Reading the Terms and Conditions. Of course, no one likes having to read T&Cs. However, these can potentially outline restrictions you may not have realised, and failing to read the terms for a free bet offer could lead to misunderstandings that leave you ineligible. Common examples of things people might miss include minimum odds terms, deposit methods, restricted markets, and so on.

Forgetting to use the free bet. Some free bets are applied after a bet settles, sometimes with a delay. This can make it surprisingly easy to forget about your free bet, causing it to lapse before you have chance to use it.

Forgetting to opt in. Sometimes, players see an offer on their sportsbook page and immediately assume they’re eligible. However, you’ll often have to manually opt in before you can claim the free bet, so keep this in mind.