Home Betting Best Betting Sites With Free Bets in the United Arab Emirates 2023 – Compare the Best Today
Joe Halliday

There are few things as exciting to punters as betting sites with free bets. Whether you’re a veteran bettor, or new to sportsbooks in general, the appeal of these bonuses is clear. With a free bet you can still make real profits, without even using your cash balance. 

For bettors based in the UAE, we’re happy to say that there are plenty of betting sites with free bets who are more than happy to accept your custom. Read on to learn about the best such examples, and discover everything else you need to know about getting and using these bonuses. 

Top Free Bet Bookies in the UAE 2022

  1. Betway – #1 among betting sites with free bets
  2. 888sport Prestigious brand with outstanding track record
  3. 1xBet – Globally-popular bookie, with plenty of promotions
  4. 10Bet – A fun and beginner-friendly sportsbook
  5. Rabona – Exciting, up-and-coming sports betting site
  6. ShangriLa – Receive 10% of your losses back each week
  7. Bet-o-bet – Get free bet bonuses when you make deposits
  8. Mr. Play – Receive regular rewards via a strong VIP program
  9. FansBet – One of the biggest free bet welcome offers around
  10. Cashalot – Some of the best odds of any UAE betting site

Our Top 5 Free Bet Sites Reviewed

Punters in the UAE actually have plenty of great betting sites with free bets available to them. We’ve sorted through all of these for you to curate our top 10 list, and you can learn about the very best of the best below. 

1. Betway – Best Overall Free Bet UAE Sportsbook (100% Deposit Match, Up to $30)

betting sites with free bets - betway

Betway has been in business since 2006, making it a true veteran of the hyper-competitive sports betting industry. It has taken an international approach throughout that time, with the UAE being just one of the many countries it serves. 

Fans of betting sites with free bets will be more than pleased with what’s on offer here. The headliner is definitely the Free Bet Club, which can give you a $10 bonus each week. There’s also another Free Bet Club specifically for eSports fans, and a tidy little new customer free bet bonus. Last but not least, the streaming options, mobile apps, and user interface are all top-notch. 

Pros:

  • Get a $10 free bet each and every week
  • Excellent eSports betting section
  • Highly impressive track record

Cons:

  • Customer service could certainly be improved

2. 888sport – A Prestigious and Trustworthy Sportsbook (Bet €10, Get €30 in Free Bets)

betting sites with free bets - 888sport

888sport might only have launched in 2008, but its parent company – 888 Holdings – launched its online casino long before that. In short, by signing up to 888sport, you tap into a whole world of experience in the betting industry. 

This is definitely one of the most prestigious betting sites with free bets you can use in the UAE. Indeed, free bets have been a pillar of this sportsbook for many years now. At the time of writing there are a whole range of such offers, including daily, weekly, and event-specific deals. You’ll also find boosted odds, fantastic mobile apps, and live streaming for horse racing and other sports.

Pros:

  • Get money back on losing wagers
  • Good selection of live streams
  • New and existing customer free bet offers

Cons:

  • Not the widest market selection around

3. 1xBet – Some of the Biggest Free Bet Deals Around (100% Match, Up to $100)

betting sites with free bets - 1xbet

1xBet might not be quite as well known as the previous two brands on this list, but its track record is actually comparable. It’s been around since 2007, and – even more so than Betway – has taken a heavily international approach. For UAE punters specifically, it not only accepts dirham payments, but also provides full Arabic-language versions of its platforms. 

As for special offers, 1xBet is easily one of the most impressive betting sites with free bets. Long after you’ve triggered the respectable welcome offer, you can benefit from risk free bets, other deals which boost your winnings, and more. Oh, and 1xBet also happens to have one of the biggest selections of betting markets around. 

Pros:

  • Lengthy track record
  • Arabic language sportsbook available
  • Excellent range of special offers

Cons:

  • User interface looks a little cluttered and outdated

4. 10Bet – Incredibly User-Friendly Betting Site (50% Deposit Match, Up to €50)

betting sites with free bets - 10bet

10Bet is the youngest of all the betting sites with free bets we’ve looked at so far, and it’s certainly the least-known. You certainly shouldn’t let either point put you off though, since this brand absolutely begins on our exclusive list. 

After using up the welcome offer here, you’ll find several other excellent free bet offers waiting for you, including an Acca Boost. Our favourite thing about 10Bet, however – on both the desktop site and mobile apps – is its user-interface. It’s cool, modern, and incredibly easy to use, making this an excellent option for new and experienced bettors alike. 

Pros:

  • ‘Money back as free bet’ offer in place
  • Solid mobile apps
  • Cool, user-friendly interface

Cons:

  • Lack of live streaming

5. Rabona – Exceptional Variety of Free Bet Offers (First Deposit Bonus Up to €100)

betting sites with free bets - rabona Rabona is actually even younger than 10Bet. In fact, it’s comfortably the newest of all the free bet bookies on our list. Once again though, this shouldn’t dissuade you, since Rabona already has the features, betting markets and more of a much more established brand. 

Most importantly for this article, Rabona also excels when it comes to special offers. There’s an excellent amount of variety in the selection, including VIP free bets, those for different sports, reload bonuses, and more. If you’re looking for a brand which rewards its users for their loyalty continuously, Rabona is a fantastic option.

Pros:

  • Get free bets via the 50% reload bonus
  • Cashback deal worth up to €500
  • Exciting, up-and-coming sportsbook

Cons:

  • Relatively short track record

Best Free Bet Offers Compared

All 10 of our recommended betting sites with free bets provide welcome offers. These are designed to entice new customers in the UAE into signing up, but they can still provide excellent value for users. 

We’ll explain how the formats of these deals actually work shortly. For now, let’s see how our 10 chosen betting sites with free bets stack up in this key area.

Sportsbook Free Bet Amount Wagering Requirements Min. Odds
Betway  $30 $10 Qualifying Bet 1.50
888sport  €30 €10 Qualifying Bet 1.50
1xBet  $100 5x 1.40
10Bet  €50 5x 1.40
Rabona  €100 1x 1.50
ShangriLa  €100 8x 1.60
Bet-o-bet $100 10x 1.50
Mr. Play €100 9x 1.40
FansBet €500 10x 1.35
Cashalot €100 10x 1.80

What is a Free Bet and Are They Really Free?

We’ve mentioned betting sites with free bets several times already. What we haven’t explained yet, however, is what these bonuses actually are. 

Free bets are digital tokens, awarded to punters via new customer free bet welcome offers and ongoing promotions. Specifically, they are digital tokens – with a specified value – that can be used instead of your cash. A $10 free bet, for example, can be used to place a $10 wager, without any money actually coming out of your balance. 

In fact, there are only two real differences between free bets and regular wagers. The first is that these tokens come with an expiry date. The second is that the stake will not be included with any winnings.

Actually using free bets is extremely straightforward. In most cases, you just make a selection as normal. In the betslip though, you choose the option to use one of these tokens, rather than your actual balance. 

Finally, we come to the question of whether or not free bets are actually ‘free’. Technically, the answer is ‘yes’, since they don’t cost anything to use. In almost all cases, however, you’ll need to commit real money in the first place in order to get these tokens as a reward. 

How We Rank Free Bet Offers 

There are a whole lot of free bet bookies serving the UAE. In turn, that’s a whole lot of special offers to weigh up. 

Fortunately, we’ve done all the hard work here so that you didn’t have to. Our analysis of these deals was carried out according to a strict set of criteria, with these being five key areas we looked at. 

  • Genuine Value

When it comes to betting sites with free bets, you can’t always just look at the impressive headline figure. Instead, you must evaluate whether or not the deal represents genuine value. A welcome offer might promise a mighty $1,000 bonus, for example – but, if you need to complete a $10,000 wagering requirement to actually get that $1,000, it suddenly doesn’t look like such a good deal.  

  • The T&Cs

All free bet offers will come with terms and conditions attached. This is crucial, since it lets punters know exactly what they’re getting into when they attempt to trigger such a deal. 

Our focus in this area, quite simply, is to check that the ‘small print’ is fair. We’ve got years of experience in combing through T&Cs, and know what wagering requirements, minimum odds, and so on are reasonable, and which – by contrast – might be exploiting the bettor.

  • Clarity of Explanations

Thankfully, we’re generally past the days in which betting sites with free bets tried to trick customers into signing up. Industry regulators – such as the government of Curacao – have seen to that. 

With that said, some brands definitely explain their offers better than others. The clarity with which the deals are laid out was a big factor in our rankings, and we rewarded sites which gave punters plenty of information in an easily-digestible manner.

  • Welcome and Ongoing Promotions

Welcome offers certainly deliver the biggest bonuses. In our opinion though, the best betting sites with free bets will be sure to follow these up with ongoing promotions. In turn, they will continually reward punters for their loyalty to the brand. We’ve certainly prioritised bookies who have done so, whether that be through a VIP program, or simply a good selection of repeatable special offers.

  • Variety of Offer Types

It goes without saying that different punters have different tastes. What appeals to one bettor won’t necessarily appeal to another. 

Last but not least, that’s why we’ve rewarded betting sites with free bets that feature a nice variety of free bet bonuses. Ramping up the winnings for ambitious bettors via Acca Boosts is all well and good, for example, but – for the more cautious punter – a Risk Free bet or Money Back deal could be far more appealing.

Different Types of Free Bets for New Customers

All online betting sites with free bets provide welcome offers, and – in turn – almost all of these welcome offers include free bets. The ways in which these free bets are actually awarded vary wildly though, as you can see below. 

Free Matched Bets

This is the most common type of welcome offer among betting sites with free bets, by far. It also delivers the biggest rewards and – arguably – is the most straightforward to understand.

Quite simply, when you make your first deposit with one of these deals in place, it will be ‘matched’ by the brand. Deposit $100, for example, and you might be given a $100 free bet. Do be aware, however, that you must complete a ‘wagering requirement’ before you can withdraw any winnings made using this bonus. 

Bet and Get Offers

This is probably the second-most popular welcome offer type, currently being provided by brands like 888sport. The bonuses won’t be as big as with a Deposit Match deal, but – thankfully – there’s no wagering requirement involved. 

With a Bet and Get offer (also known as ‘Bet X, Get Y’), you must first place a qualifying wager. If it meets all the T&Cs then – whether it wins or loses – you’ll be given free bets. A classic example is ‘Bet $10, Get $30’, in which you place a $10 qualifying bet and are given $30 in bonuses as a reward. 

Risk Free Betting

The Risk Free Bet is the third and final major welcome offer among betting sites with free bets. It presents a fascinating alternative to the other two, and risk free betting is arguably more suited to the risk-averse bettors among you. 

With a Risk Free Bet, you basically get insurance on your first wager, up to a certain amount. If the bet wins, you’ll simply collect your winnings as normal. If it loses, however, your stake will be refunded as a free bet, up to a certain maximum amount. 

Free Bets No Deposit

The Free Bets No Deposit is one of the best free bet offers by far. Unfortunately, it’s also incredibly hard to find online betting sites with Free Bets No Deposit deals available. 

Free Bets No Deposit deals give you tokens without asking you to commit a single penny. Instead, all you have to do is create an account (and provide your personal details), and you’ll be given a bonus in return. 

Free Bets No Deposit offers aren’t literally ‘too good to be true’, but they’re incredibly hard to find. If you do come across one, we’d recommend pouncing immediately. 

What to Look Out for with Free Bets

It’s hard to overstate the importance of making sure you read through the T&Cs carefully, before committing to any deals on online betting sites with free bets. As you do, these are the three main areas to look out for. 

Signing Up 

From the moment you begin creating your account on betting sites with free bets, you must be careful. Some will require you to enter a promo code when you sign up. Others will make certain payment methods ineligible for the welcome offer. Most, if not all, will begin a countdown once you’ve created your account, and the entire welcome offer must be wrapped-up within a certain time frame (usually seven days). 

Wagering Requirements

Deposit Matches are the most popular welcome offers among online betting sites with free bets, and the wagering requirement is their most important part. 

You’ll receive your bonus immediately after making your first deposit. Before you can withdraw any bonus winnings, however, you must complete the rollover requirement. The three most important factors here are the rollover amount (e.g. 10x), the minimum odds for qualifying wagers, and the time limit in which the rollover must be completed. 

Free Bet Usage

Actually using your free sports bet is fairly simple. There will usually still be at least a few T&Cs to take into account, however. 

The most important is the expiry date. Once this is reached, any unused free bets will simply disappear. Certain betting sites with free bets will also impose minimum odds requirements or market eligibility rules when using these tokens.

Pros And Cons of Free Bets in the UAE

We’ve genuinely been positive in this review of betting sites with free bets, since we believe these deals can be hugely beneficial for punters in the UAE and beyond. Like everything, however, they have both their pros and cons, as you can see below. 

Pros

  • Spare Your Balance

Your focus in sports betting should be to grow your account over the long haul. This isn’t just achieved through big wins, but also through sparing your account balance whenever possible. Free bets help you to do just this, by placing wagers without committing any actual cash. 

  • Get More Adventurous

We still advise you to make smart picks on betting sites with free bets. That said, since your cash isn’t actually on the line, you can definitely afford to take bigger risks here, in the hopes of landing even bigger rewards.

  • Try Out New Brands

A quality welcome offer can be the perfect excuse to try out a new brand. If you like it, you can use it full-time from that point on. If you don’t, you can simply move on to one of the many other online betting sites with free bets in the UAE.

Cons

  • They’re Not Completely ‘Free’

These digital tokens themselves are free to use, in that they don’t take money from your account balance. To get them in the first place though, you’ll almost always need to commit some money initially. 

  • It’s Easy to Make Mistakes

Even with the best free bet offers, following the T&Cs can feel like navigating a minefield. There’s a lot to keep track of, and – if you make one mistake – then the entire offer can easily become void.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Betting Sites With Free Bets

Betting sites with free bets tend to be extremely straightforward to use, even if the offers themselves can sometimes be a little complex. Below, you’ll find a quick and easy guide on how to get a free sports bet.

Step 1 - Pick a Brand

betting sites with free bets - 888sport

There are plenty of online betting sites with free bets which serve the UAE. To get started as quickly as possible, we’d recommend using one of our recommended brands from this article. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll assume you’ve picked the extremely user-friendly 888sport. 

Step 2 - Create an Account

betting sites with free bets - 888sport sign up
Head to the homepage of your chosen brand, then click the ‘Create Account’ or ‘Register’ button in the top-right. Now just follow the indicated steps, providing some  personal information and setting your account details. Remember to enter a bonus code here, if it’s necessary to trigger the welcome offer.

Step 3 - Make a Deposit

betting sites with free bets - 888sport deposit

Your next step is to fund your account, which is done via the ‘Cashier’ section, usually accessed via a button in the top-right. Be sure to choose a payment method that’s eligible for the welcome offer, and to meet the minimum deposit amount. 

Step 4 - Complete the Wagering Requirement

betting sites with free bets - 888sport bet placement

With a Deposit Match deal, you’ll already have the bonus in your account after making your first deposit. Before you can withdraw any winnings though, you’ll need to complete the wagering requirement. This can usually be done by placing wagers on any sports you please, as long as the total stakes of your wagers meet the rollover amount. 

Step 5 - Make a Withdrawal

Now that you’ve completed the wagering requirement, you can withdraw your bonus winnings. Simply head back to the ‘Cashier’ area, pick your withdrawal method of choice, and request a payout. Be aware that - before you do this - you might need to provide a couple of pieces of ID in order to verify your account.  

Can Existing Customers Get Free Bets?

Thus far, we’ve focused mainly on welcome offers. The best betting sites with free bets, however, will also be sure to provide these rewards to their existing customers. Below, you can see the three most common ways in which this is done. 

Free Bet Clubs

This is arguably the best way for existing users to get free bets. It’s definitely the most reliable, allowing you to claim these valuable tokens over and over for as long as you please.

Free Bet Clubs usually run across a single week. Within that week, you simply need to place wagers on the sportsbook which total a certain amount, and meet any other requirements. Do so, and - after the week has finished - you’ll be rewarded with a free sports bet. Betway is just one of our recommended betting sites with free bets to provide such an offer. 

Money Back Free Bets

These special offers can be thought of as ‘insurance’ deals. They cover certain wagers that you place, with 888sport and 10Bet being just two big brands which provide them. 

When these bets are covered then - if they win - you’ll receive your winnings as normal. If they lose, however, then you’ll automatically be given your money back as a free bet. The most popular example is probably Acca Insurance, in which - if one leg of your multiples bet fails - you’ll get your stake refunded rather than losing it entirely. 

Loyalty Schemes

Most of the best betting sites with free bets online will offer some form of loyalty scheme nowadays, with that on Rabona being particularly good. 

These VIP programs work differently depending on the brand. The one thing they have in common, however, is that each will continue to give you better and better rewards as you stake more and more money. Some betting sites with free bets will include those tokens among those rewards, while others will skip to simply giving you straight-up cash. 

Top Tips When Using Free Bets

The rewards you get from betting sites with free bets are valuable, and should be treated as such. If you’re interested in getting the most you can out of these tokens, here are five tips to help you do just that. 

1 - Read the Small Print

We can’t emphasise this point strongly enough. It is absolutely imperative, before attempting to claim any free bets, that you read the attached T&Cs in full. Don’t simply read the headline - such as ‘Bet $10, Get $30’ - and think it’s as simple as that. Ensure you know about any and all requirements, including minimum amounts, minimum odds, expiry dates, and so on. 

2 - Stay Patient

Getting rewards from betting sites with free bets is certainly exciting. You must resist that initial temptation to use your free bets immediately, however. Most brands will give you seven days before your tokens expire. If necessary, use every one of these as you wait for the perfect betting opportunity to emerge.

3 - Balance Risk vs Reward

They might be free bets, but you shouldn’t treat them as ‘free hits’, to be thrown away carelessly on any old market. Instead, your picks should be researched in advance, and have a reasonable shot of actually winning. 

With that said, remember that you don’t get your stake back when using a free bet. As such, you may still want to take higher odds than normal, so that your increased winnings make up for this. 

4 - Consider Matched Betting

If you’re looking to get a little more adventurous with your free bets, you should definitely look into matched betting. This is an extremely popular strategy which - when executed correctly - will theoretically guarantee you a profit. Make sure you do plenty of research into how it actually works though, and you should strongly consider the use of matched betting calculators and other tools. 

5 - Shop Around

Remember, there are plenty of betting sites with free bets out there, and there’s absolutely nothing tying you to a single one of them. In fact, many experienced punters will simply move from sportsbook to sportsbook, triggering and using the welcome offer to claim their big-time free bet, then moving straight on to the next brand. 

Mobile Free Bets & Betting Apps 

On-the-go betting is incredibly popular in the UAE nowadays, and it’s not hard to see why. After all, the development of mobile technology has allowed punters to wager where they want, when they want. 

Betting sites with free bets online tend to perform extremely well in this category. Several of our recommended brands provide excellent mobile apps, and even those which don’t have strong mobile websites. In each case, you will find all of the same free bet offers in place as you would on the desktop version. 

If on-the-go gambling is a priority for you, these three betting sites with free bets definitely fit the bill:

  • Betway - 100% Deposit Match, Up to $30
  • 888sport - Bet €10, Get €30 in Free Bets
  • 10Bet - 50% Deposit Match, Up to €50

Best Football Free Bets in the UAE

When it comes to online sports betting, football is the biggest market by a distance. It’s massively popular in the UAE too, and - unsurprisingly - enjoys universal coverage on bookies serving the Emirates. 

Football fans can also enjoy special treatment from betting sites with free bets. Not only will all the welcome offers cover football, but you’ll also often find football-specific deals in place. Acca Insurance and Acca Boost are two common examples, but the big bookies like to put free bet offers in place for the top competitions too, like the Euros and World Cup. 

For fans of the beautiful game, these betting sites with free bets provide both excellent football coverage, and plenty of suitable free bet offers:

  • 888sport - Bet €10, Get €30 in Free Bets
  • Rabona - First Deposit Bonus Up to €100
  • Bet-o-bet - 100% Welcome Bonus, Up to $100

Best Horse Racing Free Bets in the UAE

Football might be the biggest market to bet on online, but horse racing is a comfortable second-place. The ‘sport of kings’ is particularly popular in the UAE, with Dubai having become one of the global centres of racing. 

Regarding the best betting sites with free bets, horse racing tends to have just as many, if not more free bet deals devoted to it. Money Back as Free Bet offers are particularly prevalent, but others will give you odds boosts, or extra winnings on successful wagers. 

Like football, horse racing enjoys excellent coverage among betting sites in the Emirates. That said, these three bookies really do stand out from the crowd:

  • 888sport -  Bet €10, Get €30 in Free Bets
  • 1xBet - 100% Deposit Match, Up to $100
  • 10Bet - 50% Deposit Match, Up to €50

Best E-Sports Free Bets in the UAE

eSports is one of the fastest-growing markets in online betting. That’s true not just in the UAE, but around much of the world. 

Betting sites with free bets have been quick to catch on to this growing popularity. They tend to provide plenty of markets and live streaming options for competitive gaming. Not only that, but some - such as Betway - will also provide offers to dish out free bets online specifically for video game betting. 

If you’re one of the many eSports fans in the UAE, these are the sites we’d recommend prioritising:

  • Betway - 100% Free Match Bet, Up to $30
  • Mr. Play - 100% Deposit Match, Up to €100
  • Cashalot - 100% Welcome Bonus, Up to €100

Casino Free Bets

We’ve focused exclusively on the sports betting side of our chosen brands so far. In all cases though, these brands will also provide high quality online casinos

If you’ve got an account with a brand, you’ll be able to access the sportsbook and casino sections using the same cash balance. The offers, however, will be kept completely separate - bonus cash given via a sportsbook special offer, for example, can’t be used to play casino games like real money slots

As with sportsbooks, you’ll find quite a bit of variety when it comes to casino free bet offers. Even after using your Deposit Match welcome bonus, you’ll often be able to choose between Reload Bonuses, Cashback deals, and more.

How to Withdraw Free Bet Winnings

Generally speaking, using a free bet differs little from placing a regular wager. You can still choose between the same sports, matchups, bet types, and so on. When it comes to withdrawing your free bet winnings, however, there are a couple of key differences. 

Firstly, remember that your free bet winnings will immediately seem smaller in scale than your cash ones, since you don’t get the stake back. A $10 regular wager at odds of 1/1 would get you a $20 return. A winning $10 free bet with those odds, however, would only net you $10. 

Secondly, you will often need to complete a rollover requirement before withdrawing your free bet winnings. This will involve betting through your deposit and/or bonus amount a certain number of times. If you get a $50 bonus, for example, but the wagering requirement is 10x, you must bet through $500 in total before withdrawing your bonus winnings.

Can I Cash Out Free Bet Winnings?

The rise of live betting has been one of the biggest changes to strike the gambling industry over the past decade or so. Nowadays, punters in the UAE expect to not only be able to place live wagers, but to cash them out too. 

Most of the best betting sites with free bets will allow you to cash out a wager placed using a bonus. This works in exactly the same way as a regular cash out, except that - as always - the cash out amount won’t include the stake. Crucially, however, cashed-out bets will invariably not count towards the wagering requirements for any welcome offers. 

Final Thoughts

If you’re neglecting to use special offers, then you’re not squeezing as much value as you could out of your sports betting. Of the many special offers that you can choose between, free bet deals are arguably the very best. Betting sites with free bets help your money go further, whether through letting you shoot for big winnings, or covering your losses on losing wagers. 

After reading this article, you now know everything you need to in order to start using betting sites with free bets in the UAE. All you need to do now is pick one of our recommended brands, claim its welcome offer, and start reaping your free bet rewards.

FAQ

Where can I find the best betting sites with free bets in the UAE?

How do you claim a free bet in the UAE in 2024?

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Is it possible to get a free match bet?

Joe Halliday

Joe Halliday

Joe is an expert in both online casinos and sports betting sites. He has worked as a full-time online gambling content creator for over six years now, and has many more years of personal betting experience. He particularly enjoys betting on football, where he favours a stats-based strategy, but likes gambling on the NFL, NBA, and more too. Elsewhere, Joe carries his data-driven approach to Fantasy Premier League, for which he writes tips columns, how-to guides, and more. Joe has written for a wide variety of sports betting and casino sites including TopBettingSites, FootballBettingSites and OnlineBettingSites