Cheltenham Free Bets and Betting Offers

The Cheltenham festival ranks among Ireland's most wagered sports events. Bookmakers took over €500 million during last year’s festival alone and 2023 could well surpass that.

One of the year's most anticipated events for bookies and punters alike

To help you find Cheltenham free bets and betting offers, we’ve run the rule over Ireland’s leading horse racing bookmakers and rounded up all the best deals. This page has recommendations for both new and existing customers.

There's no event quite like Cheltenham. 28 of the most competitive races in the world take place over four days, the last of which features the prestigious Gold Cup. The popularity of Cheltenham sees both bookmakers and punters preparing weeks in advance.

The build-up to the event is an endless loop of racing bookies honing their products and betting offers, and horse betting enthusiasts scanning the market to see who has the best deals.

Best bookmaker deals for Cheltenham

1. Bet365 - Each Way Extra, Price Promise
2. BoyleSports - Great for money-back specials
3. Betway - '4 To Win' racing prediction game
4. William Hill - Daily racing specials
5. Ladbrokes - BOG from 8 am on race day
6. Coral - Coral Racing Club
7. 888sport - Many free bet offers
8. Novibet - Excellent enhanced odds offers

Most Cheltenham free bet offers are reserved for new customers. For example, if a new customer signs up, creates a new account and deposits for the first time, they will get x amount in free bets.

Bet365, BoyleSports and Novibet have excellent free bet sign-up offers for Cheltenham. But they’re not the only ones, as our full list shows:

Best Cheltenham Free Bet Offers

• Bet365 → Bet €10 get €50 free bets
• Novibet → Bet €10 get €50 free bets
• BoyleSports → Bet €10 get €40 free bets
• William Hill → Bet €10 get €40 free bets
• BetVictor → 100% up to €100
• Betway → Bet €10 get €30 free bets
• Kwiff → Bet €10 get €20 free bet
• Ladbrokes → Bet €5 get €20 free bets
• Coral → Bet €5 get €20 free bet
• Rhino Bet → Bet €20 get €20 free bet

As you can see, the amount you need to deposit and the amount you receive in free bets differ between each bookie. But in the lead-up and during Cheltenham, you can expect bookie sign-up offers to be ultra-competitive as betting companies compete for a slice of the new customer market share. We will update the above list as and when bookies release new offers.

If you’ve seen a free bet offer you want to claim and go steaming in without reading the terms and conditions, there's a chance you will end up empty-handed.

There can be many intricate aspects of an offer that you need to be aware of before you go ahead and claim your free bets. Meeting the conditions of the deal is important if you don’t want to fall at the first hurdle, pardon the pun.

Here are some key things to remember when claiming free bet offers for Cheltenham

• You need to meet the minimum deposit required to qualify
• You need to make a qualifying bet before getting your welcome bonus
• Qualifying bets come with minimum odds
• Free bets are credited once you have met the wagering requirements and your qualifying bet has been settled
• Payment options like e-wallets aren’t accepted when claiming sign-up offers - you should always check.
• Free bets expire after a certain period of time.
• Usually, your stake isn’t included in any winnings generated from free bets.

Once you have claimed your sign-offer, there are also heaps of betting offers that you can take advantage of as an existing customer.

You tend to see a lot of horse racing bookmakers offering very similar deals. However, in order to stand out and gain an edge, some bookies have a slightly better version of the following promotions:

🏇 Non-Runner No Bet

🏇 Money-Back Specials

🏇 Best Odds Guaranteed

🏇 Extra Each-Way Places

Let's dig a bit deeper into each offer and which bookies do them best.

Non-Runner No Bet (NRNB)

The offer: Your stake is returned if you bet on a horse and it doesn’t run. The offer acts as insurance should your selection not race for any reason and is one many racing punters instantly look for in a racing bookmaker.

Which bookies are Non-Runner No Bet?

• Bet365 - Available on every race at Cheltenham
• BoyleSports - Available on every race at Cheltenham
• 888sport - Available on every race at Cheltenham
• William Hill - Available on every race at Cheltenham (until 12th March)
• BetVictor - Available on every race at Cheltenham
• William Hill - Available on every race

Money-Back Specials

The offer: This type of deal offers punters terrific value. Most often the bookie will give your stake back as a free bet (and sometimes as cash) if a certain outcome occurs. For instance, if your horse finishes second to the favorite or loses by a narrow margin. You may even get your stake back if your horse falls or fails to finish.

Which betting sites are best for Money Back Specials?

1. BoyleSports - ‘Money back as a free bet if 2nd to SP Fav’
2. Coral - ‘Beaten by a length’
3. Kwiff - ‘2nd Place Refund’

Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG)

The offer: Let’s say you back a horse early. You’ve locked in your bet, and you’re happy. But then the Starting Price (SP) ie. the odds assigned prior to the start of the race, turn out to be higher than the initial odds. Well, bookies guard against this with BOG. No matter the price difference, this offer guarantees you the best odds, as the name implies! Punters tend to look for bookies that offer BOG as early as possible. Given how the odds fluctuate, the earlier you can lock a price in the better the potential payout.

Which bookies are BOG?

• Ladbrokes - from 8am on race day
• BoyleSports - from 8am every day
• Betway - from 9am on race day
• Bet365 - from 10am on race day
• Rhino Bet - from 10am on race day

Extra Each-Way Race Places

The offer: More places refer to the number of positions in which a bookie will pay out. ‘Money Places’ alter from race to race but for Cheltenham, there will be extra places than usual for almost every race.

Every top betting site has extra places. But you’re best to check out 888sport, Ladbrokes, Coral and BoyleSports when the festival comes around. From our experience, these bookies are the most prolific in terms of extra places.

Other Racing Promotions to keep an eye out for during Cheltenham

First past the Post - Get paid out if your horse finishes first even if the result no longer stands post-race following a Stewards Enquiry.

Double result - A winning horse, the one that is ‘first past the post’, may end up being demoted following a Stewards Enquiry, with another horse being promoted. In any case, Double Result pays out on both horses.

Enhanced odds - This is where the price for a horse is increased or “boosted” for a period of time, giving you a better potential payout. Most if not all bookies will have enhanced offers. Some will have more than others, however, while others will offer better prices.