Gambling can become an extremely expensive hobby if lady luck turns against you, or if you like to take a punt on riskier bets with longer odds and less chance of coming in.

Because of this, some people decide to give up sports betting or take a break as they simply cannot afford to do it.

Bookmakers have realised this and many now offer money back guarantees for certain markets, which enable those riskier gamblers and those with bad luck to have a risk-free bet knowing they will not lose all their money.

Sometimes, betting for some people can be more about not losing than actually winning and that is why money back offers have become extremely popular.

With betting sites trying to outdo their competitors and coming up with more ways of attracting and retaining customers, more and more bonuses and promotions are offered. One of the more popular ones is the money back guarantee.

This basically means that the betting company will refund losing bets, up to a certain amount, on selected qualifying markets and as long as all terms & conditions are met.

There are several types of money back guarantee promotion, with this offer covering several different markets across a variety of sports. Obviously, each betting company will have different terms & conditions for each different promotion. So, as with any type of gambling promotion, always read the small print before you place a bet.

As we said, there are many different types of money back promotion offered by pretty much all the major betting sites. These vary from one-off promotions for a certain sporting event, such as a football match, to promotions which cover every event within a certain tournament, the Premier League and Six Nations being such examples.

It would be impossible to list every single type of money back promotion here, mainly due to the frequency with which they change, but we have listed some popular promotions which we believe are some of the best around.

Bore-Draw or Score-Draw Insurance

These two promotions are different but work the same way. These are usually offered to customers who place a bet on pre-match correct score markets, but other markets are sometimes included. Check with the betting site and read the small print to see which markets qualify for this offer.

Then, if the match finishes 0-0 (bore-draw) or as a score draw, the betting company will refund the stake money up to a certain amount and usually in free bets.

Bet 365 offer the bore-draw insurance to customers who place a pre-match bet which loses on either correct score, half time/full time, or scorecast markets for any football match.

If the match finishes 0-0, they will refund the entire stake as cash if the bet was placed from the customers withdrawable balance. If the customer used bet credits, the stake will be refunded back to the bet credits balance.

Also, customers who partially cash-out can still receive the remaining stake back if the match finishes goalless.

One company who offer the score-draw promotion are 21Bet. They offer this to customers who place pre-match correct score or first player to score bets and lose, if the match finishes as a score draw.

So, if the customer had a bet on the home team to win 3-1 and the match finished 2-2, they would qualify for a refund.

This is a little different to the previous example, as the betting company here only refund stakes up to £25 and all refunds are credited as free bets which must be used within seven days.

First Goalscorer Refund

This one is offered by several different betting sites and basically offers customers a refund on losing first goalscorer bets, if the player they bet on scores later in the match.

Most of these promotions will refund if the player bet on scores second, some refund bets if the player nets anytime, and a few offer this promotion if the player bet on scores the last goal in the game. Again, it’s advisable to check the terms & conditions before looking to take advantage of this promotion.

An example we have selected for this type of promotion is from Net Bet, who offer this to customers who bet at least £5 on the first goalscorer market and their chosen selection scores the second goal of the match.

If the second goal is an own-goal and the customers selection scores the third, they will still be refunded.

Stakes up to £25 are refunded, as free bets within 72 hours of the bet being settled. The customer then has seven days to use the free bet and must do so on a bet with odds totalling 1/2 (1.50) or more.

Second-Placed or Losing Horse

Most bookmakers realise that not everyone bets on football, so they offer money back promotions in other sports too. Rugby, Darts, Boxing, and Tennis are some, but we are going to pick one of the most popular money back promotions from horse racing to use as an example.

Here, customers will be refunded their stake money on all win bets if their selection finishes second (or even last in some cases) in races which are included in the promotion. Usually, this is limited to certain big meetings or certain days of the week.

An example of this promotion is from SkyBet, who during the Cheltenham festival are offering a money back if you lose promotion on the first race on each day of the meeting.

Stakes up to £/€20 will be refunded on all win bets, or the win part of an each-way bet, as a free bet if the customers horse loses in the first race of the day.

If a customer bets £/€20 to win on number 5 and number 7 wins, they will receive a free bet of £/€20. However, if they bet £/€10 each-way, which still costs £/€20, they will only receive a £/€10 refund from the win part of the bet.

Pretty much every betting site will have some kind of money back promotion, with the ones who don’t probably lagging behind the competition.

We will keep you updated with the best money back promotions, with regularly updated information, but you can also visit your favourite bookies website to see what they have to offer.