What is the difference between cash and free play?
Cash is yours. Bet it and a winner pays your stake back plus the winnings. Free play is the book's money. A winner pays only the winnings, and the stake goes back to the book.
One bet, both ways
Take $100 at -110.
| It wins | It loses | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | you get $190.91: your $100 and $90.91 in winnings | you are down $100 |
| Free play | you get $90.91 in cash, and the $100 stake disappears | you are down nothing |
A free play can't be withdrawn. It only turns into money by winning.
What a free play is worth
Less than the number printed on it.
A $100 free play at -110 wins a little under half the time and pays $90.91 when it does, so its value is about $45. It is worth more on an underdog: put the same $100 free play on a +300 shot that wins roughly one time in four, and it pays $300 when it hits, which makes it worth about $70. Because you never get the stake back anyway, a free play does better the longer the price.
That is why I'd always use free plays on plus-money prices and never on big favorites. A $100 free play at -300 pays $33 if it wins. I can't think of a worse use of the book's money.
Where it comes from
Mostly from bonuses. A book advertises a 100 percent bonus, and the terms say it is credited as free play, not cash. Your account then shows two balances, and the rollover usually applies to both.
A cash bonus and a free-play bonus of the same size are not the same offer. The cash one is worth about twice as much, and I'd find out which kind a bonus is before depositing a dollar; it is in the terms, and support will tell you if you ask.
A $500 free play is not $500. Price it at about half and you won't be far wrong.
Related questions
What is a 20x rollover?
A 20x rollover means you must wager 20 times a set amount before you can withdraw. On a $100 deposit with a $100 bonus, that is $2,000 or $4,000 in bets, depending on whether the book counts the bonus alone or the deposit plus the bonus.
What is the vig?
The vig is the bookmaker's cut, built into the price. At the standard -110 you lay $110 to win $100, and that extra $10 is how the book gets paid.
How do payout limits work?
A payout limit caps what a sportsbook will pay you. It can apply to one ticket, to a day or a week of winnings, or to each withdrawal. Win more than the cap and you are paid the cap, or paid in installments.