How Do ESPN BET Bonus Bets Work?

The $250 offer from ESPN BET ends at 11:59 pm ET on Dec. 31, 2023

We have a new sportsbook on the market, and the first ESPN BET promo code is now available — bet anything, get $250. Use promo code ACTNEWS to claim it. If you claimed or are trying to claim the $1,000 deposit match, check out our full breakdown.

But what is that $250? It's bonus bets, the nearly-universal promo currency used by most sports betting sites. It's not quite the same as cash.

You must wager bonus bets to turn them into cash. Then you'll keep any profit from those bets, but not the bonus bet itself. So if you put a $50 bonus bet on the Bucs to beat the 49ers at +400, you'd earn $200 in cash if the Bucs win ($50 x 4.0). If the Bucs lose, the bonus bet just goes away.

Confused? Learn more about American odds first.

How do ESPN BET's bonus bets work?

Let's run through a more detailed example. Say you deposited $200 cash in your account, and then you get the $250 in bonus bets after making a $1 first wager.

Then you wager $50 in bonus bets on Ravens WR Zay Flowers to score a touchdown against the Bengals, priced at +200. Here are the two outcomes:

• If Flowers scores, you profit $100 in cash ($50 x 2.0), but you don't keep your $50 bonus bet. That just goes away. So including the $200 cash you deposited, you now have $300 in cash, plus $200 remaining in bonus bets.
• If Flowers doesn't score, your bonus bet just goes away, and you're left with $200 in cash and $200 in bonus bets.

For each wager, you'll choose in the bet slip whether or not you want to use bonus bets or cash.

What else should I know about ESPN BET's bonus bets?

There are a few other things to know about ESPN BET's bonus bets:

• Bonus bets do expire if you don't use them. For this promo, it's seven days.
• If you push on a bonus bet, you lose it. So say you put $50 in bonus bets on the Chiefs -2 and they win by exactly 2, your bonus bet just goes away.
• Bonus bets can't be withdrawn or used in the online casino.
• Some sportsbooks will split up your bonus bets into pre-determined increments — for this initial ESPN BET promo, you get five, $50 bonus bets totaling $250. Other books will allow you to wager whatever you'd like — $1 on 250 different wagers, or $250 on one wager, and anything in between.
• Bonus bets will hit your account within 72 hours, though it's usually much sooner than that.

What's the best way to use bonus bets?

We did a deeper dive on the optimal way to use bonus bets, but the short version is that you want to bet longshots, preferably in the +300 to +500 range in tight, two-way markets. Because you don't keep the stake, you're always getting more expected value when you bet longer odds with bonus bets.

The trouble is that you only get so many bonus bets — if you make all five of your bonus bet wagers at 100-1, you likely won't win one, and you'll end up with nothing.

That's why we opt for +300 to +500.