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Free bet calculator
A free bet usually pays your winnings but not the stake. A £10 free bet at 5.0 pays £40 if it wins. Lay it at a betting exchange and you lock in most of that value whatever happens. This calculator shows the lay stake and what you keep.
How to use the free bet calculator
Enter the free bet amount, the bookmaker's odds and the exchange lay odds. Leave the bet type on "stake not returned" unless your offer says the stake comes back too. Exchange commission is usually between 0% and 5%, so check your own exchange.
The two profit boxes show what you end up with if the bookmaker bet wins and if the exchange bet wins. With the right lay stake they match, so the result doesn't depend on the race or match.
What a free bet pays
Most UK free bets are "stake not returned" (SNR). If a £10 free bet wins at 5.0, you get £40, not £50, because the £10 was never yours. A few offers return the stake too (SR), which makes them worth more.
| Odds | Stake not returned | Stake returned |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | £10.00 | £20.00 |
| 3.0 | £20.00 | £30.00 |
| 5.0 | £40.00 | £50.00 |
| 8.0 | £70.00 | £80.00 |
Bet a free bet on its own and you usually win nothing, because most selections lose. Laying it at an exchange swaps that gamble for a smaller, certain amount.
Why higher odds keep more of a free bet
The stake doesn't come back, so the profit part of the odds is all you can extract. At low odds there isn't much of it. At higher odds you keep more, as long as the lay price is close to the back price.
| Back odds | Lay odds | Lay stake | Liability | You keep | Of the £10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 2.08 | £4.85 | £5.24 | £4.76 | 47.6% |
| 3.0 | 3.12 | £6.45 | £13.68 | £6.32 | 63.2% |
| 4.0 | 4.16 | £7.25 | £22.90 | £7.10 | 71.0% |
| 5.0 | 5.20 | £7.72 | £32.43 | £7.57 | 75.7% |
| 6.0 | 6.24 | £8.04 | £42.12 | £7.88 | 78.8% |
| 8.0 | 8.32 | £8.43 | £61.73 | £8.27 | 82.7% |
| 10.0 | 10.40 | £8.67 | £81.50 | £8.50 | 85.0% |
Higher odds need a bigger liability, so you need more money in your exchange account. Back odds between 4.0 and 8.0 are a common balance between value and liability.
Free bet terms to check
- Stake returned or not. It changes the lay stake.
- Minimum odds. Many offers only count bets at 1.5 or higher.
- Expiry. Free bets often run out after 7 days.
- Which markets count. Some free bets only work on one sport or one market.
- Whether winnings need to be bet again before you can withdraw them.
The calculator shows standard returns. It doesn't know your offer's terms, so read them before you bet.
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Read the guide: Matched betting explainedRead →Questions people ask
What does SNR mean on a free bet?
Stake not returned. If the free bet wins you get the winnings only. A £10 SNR free bet at 3.0 pays £20, not £30.
What odds should I use for a free bet?
Higher odds keep more of the free bet's value, as long as the exchange price is close to the bookmaker's. In our table, back odds of 4.0 to 8.0 keep 71% to 83%. Higher odds need a bigger liability at the exchange.
Can I withdraw a free bet as cash?
No. You can only bet with it. The winnings from a free bet are yours to withdraw, unless the offer has conditions on them.
Why do I need an exchange account?
The lay bet is what locks in the profit. Without it, a free bet is a normal bet with no stake at risk, which usually loses.